Justice Lonesome has enjoyed a life of bounty.
Even so, she’s inherited the curse of the Lonesome. A poet’s soul. Which means she’s still searching for something. Searching for peace. Searching for the less…that’s more.
And when the foundation of her life is pulled out from under her, grieving, she goes to the mountains to find her oasis. She hits Carnal, Colorado and decides to stay.
Deke … to stay.
Deke Hightower lost everything at the age of two. He lost it again at fifteen. His life has not been about bounty. It’s been about learning to live with less, because there’s no way to get more.
Deke’s also watched all his friends go down to the women who gave them what they needed. He wants that for himself. But he knows that search isn’t going to be easy because he’s a rider. His home is the road. That’s the only place he can breathe. And the woman who takes her place at his side has to do it sitting on the back of his bike.
When Deke meets Justice, he knows she’s not that woman. She’s cute. She’s sweet. And she’s into him, but she’s got it all and Deke knows he won’t fit into that. So he holds her at arm’s length. Establishes boundaries. And Justice will take it because she wants Deke any way he’ll let her have him.
But when Justice finds herself a pawn in a dangerous game, Deke makes a decision.
When he does, he has no idea he’s just opened himself up to bounty.
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I just love Justice Lonesome and Deke. Justice’s gypsy heart combined with her mountain man’s brooding attitude is a real page-turner.
“Who we are might not fit but it can still work.”
More tears filled my eyes and I didn’t clear the hoarse from my voice when I said, “I hope that keeps going too.”
“I get that, Justice. You haven’t hidden you been into me from the start. Or, if you tried, you’re shit at it.”
It feels like I have waited ages for Deke’s story and now that I have it, I can’t imagine anyone else for him other than Justice. She fit him in every possible way, mostly in the fact that she never tried to change who he was. He is a rider and no matter what life dealt him that is always who he would be.
Justice Lonesome has a poet’s soul. Always searching for something even when it seems as if she has everything she could possibly want. She might have more but what Jussy really wants is less, a life that includes the simple pleasures and not the stardom that she is used to from growing up in the spotlight. When Justice loses her father, and she is left feeling emptier than usual she turns to the mountains of Colorado and finds a home in Carnal. Unbeknownst to herself she also finds the one man that she thought she would never see again. A man who sparked something in her years earlier but because of life’s circumstances she was never able to see what that spark could be.
Deke Hightower lost his father at the age of two, at fifteen his life crumbled even further and by the time he was an adult he was left with a life of empty. Now at 38 Deke has seen all his friends settle down and find their women but he knows that finding someone who can handle his life isn’t going to be easy. When the weather is bad, he is home in Carnal and working but when the weather is nice, he is a rider, out seeing what the world has to offer. When he meets Justice, Lonesome there is a spark there as if he has seen her before but knows that if he had he would have remembered her.
As Deke and Justice dance around one another forming a friendship both are left with a different feeling of empty of what could possibly be a future for them. Jussy wants to give them a shot, but Deke is against it because he knows he can never be with a women like her. A woman who is so much more than he could ever be. When Justice’s life is put in danger Deke puts all his hesitancy aside to be there for Jussy and thus begins the relationship he never saw coming.
Every Colorado Mountain Man book in Carnal always feels like coming home and Bounty was no different. Justice was accepted into the fold rather quickly by the women of Carnal even Krystal and she eventually won Tate over too. This story was just as beautiful as the rest of the series and I know that we might still get Maggie and Wood’s story so it would be wonderful to get more chance to come home to Carnal, Colorado.
Another Kristen Ashley winner. Her characters are interesting and hot. This is a wonderful read. Enjoy!
The first book in the series that featured the town of Carnal hadn’t won me over as much as the first book on Gnaw Bone. I can say by this 7th book in the series, I’ve come to really love all the characters in both towns.
I also like how the author has brought the towns together with expanding side characters and their connection to each other. I’m the type of reader that fall more in love with a series when you do get the same characters in each book and you see the growth and sense of family they all feel towards each other.
I was happy to finally get Deke’s story. While it wasn’t my favorite, by the end I was crying like a baby with all the feel good vibes going on. I’m not much of a fan of resistance and hated that Deke wouldn’t allow himself to go there in the beginning. Once he committed though, I found no fault with their budding relationship.
Justice was a another sweet and cool KA heroine. I do think a lot of this authors heroines are very alike, but that isn’t necessarily a negative for me since I like their personalities so much. I always find myself liking them so much that I would hang out with them if they were real.
Overall I enjoyed Deke and Justice. I especially enjoyed more of the rest of the series characters.
One of my favorite Kristen Ashley books that I’ve reread numerous times.
Justice and Deke meet at a bar in Wyoming where he caught her writing pieces of a song no one would ever know was intended solely for him. When he stood Jussy up the next day she figured it wasn’t meant to be and moved on.
10 years later after a tragedy that has worn Justice to a thin reed she doesn’t know how she’s going to find it, but all she wants is less. Settling in the Colorado mountain town of Carnal, she runs across Deke again in Bubba’s bar after she finds some of her ‘less’ buying a home. When Deke doesn’t recognize her Justice is devastated, especially when he shows up Monday to start working on her home.
And thus begins one of the most beautiful love stories I’ve ever read. Action laden suspense has Justice being threatened in retaliation against someone close to her who has fallen off the beaten path, and can’t seem to find her way back.
” Justice Lonesome has seized a new crown: Rock’s Gypsy Princess. Long may she reign.” Finally finding her home, and all the pieces that give her such Bounty, Kristen Ashley surrounds her beautiful words with some of my favourite music ever, and shows Justice just how to find that ‘less’ she’s been searching for her whole life.
While I think Bounty would be a beautiful ending to what is unarguably my favourite series in all of Ms. Ashley’s writing, The Colorado Mountain series will not end until we get Maggie and Woods story.
One of my favourite books of my lifetime, I think Kristen Ashley’s Bounty as a whole is effervescent, life affirming, and carries with it a celebration of every aspect of womanhood and how we all cope in different ways, and how to find the Bounty in our own lives.
Unique characters that bring baggage to a blossoming relationship with quirky kids, amazing language use and heartfelt situations.
While I am a KA fan and have read some of her books three or four times, I literally had to beat myself to finish this book. It should have been about half the length it is. It’s basically a reunion of many of the characters in the Colorado Mountain series. As usual, they all turn out in force to support the new woman who comes to town and is immediately beset with danger and problems. We have our second chance romance with a long separation and a woman who is head over heels in love with the big mountain man she met years ago for about 10 minutes, then went on to write a best selling song about him, only to find him years later in Bubba and Krystal’s bar by chance. And she can’t help repeating “You like me, you really like me.” We have descriptions ad nauseam about dry walling, house construction, decorating as well as extensive descriptions of all of the “kick ass” heroines and heroes from other books. Sorry but it was just boring to me. However, I diligently read the entire book and will probably read the next book. But I am getting more and more disillusioned about getting more books that are as good as the Dream Man, Burg, the first four books in the Colorado Mountain series and of course the zany Rock Chick series
I loved this book and along with Lady Luck and The Gamble, it’s a favourite.
Justice is an interesting character and despite being famous and wealthy, I still connected with her character. She is chilled, self reflective and funny. Deke was harder to love because he is surly but as he begins to interact with Justice, and you learn more about his past, I started falling in love with him. The man bun helped too…
This story has a good dose of action, pithy interesting conversations with familiar side characters and some smoking hot love scenes. The use of music and lyrics helps paint the picture and I found myself updating my favourite playlists.
If you are a KA fan, then this is another awesome story. If you haven’t read her yet, the Colorado Mountains series is well worth the time.
Audiobook edit: Honestly, the first time reading this I didn’t enjoy Deke and Justice as much as the rest of the Colorado Mountains books. Listening to it, I can’t even remember why. This was an awesome story. Still wish the narrator did male voices better though.
Another awesome addition to the Colorado Mountain series. And the first KA book I rated below 5 stars. Not to say that this book wasn’t amazing, because it was. I just kind of wanted a lot more drama between Deke and Justice. They fell together too easily and the bad guy segments were really lacking. Beginning and end had the conflicts, the middle was relationship building. However, still loved it. But not as much as usual. Like I was able to put this book down to sleep. Usually, KA keeps a much tighter grip on my attention.
Going into this book I was a little worried. I put off reading it for a week. The reviews on this one are so mixed. Having OCD and knowing I would have to read and if I didn’t like it, I would still have to finish it, made me a little slow to pick it up. So I am relieved to say that I really liked it. Not as much as say Max, Nina, Ty, Lexie, Chace and Faye’s books but it was still a really good read!
I loved Deke and Justice. I found Deke sweet, alpha without being an a-hole, protective, without being controlling and supportive. I thought Justice was cute, quirky and although sometimes cheesy she was endearing. I thought they had a sweet relationship with lots of passion thrown in there. I will say there was a few too many sex scenes in this book. I am so cool with smokin’ hot sex scenes in a book but after the first 13 or so it gets a little redundant. Just sayin’! That being said some of them scenes were melt my kindle hot! Deke’s a bit of a kinky boy!! I loved that for the most part their relationship was low drama and had a great build up. This book really took it’s time showing you their love story. Giving such depth to their relationship and you can feel it.
I always enjoy seeing all the past couples. Getting caught up on their lives. Crystal and Bubba took the cake this book. I loved seeing good things for them and that Bubba still has his crap straight. I will say that I gave this book a 4 star instead of a 5 because I found it at times cheesy especially the whole Poet’s soul thing, and because it really slowed down in the middle. If they would have cut out about 50 to 100 pages I think it would have flowed better. So you know basically if they would have cut out 2 or 5 of the sex scenes it would have taken care of that lol! Over all a good read and a nice addition to the series. I know Wood’s book is next and I don’t really know if I am looking forward to it to be honest. He is already with his wife so I don’t really know what the book is going to tell us since we readers have been seeing him with his wife since book 2??? I guess I will find out when it comes out!!
Deke doesn’t like being unprepared, he learns from that mistake, “shower,” he grunted suddenly. “Condoms,” he went on. His mouth touched mine, “Lots of those effers.” Deke’s comebacks are the ****, “Deke stayed where he was but his attention came back to my face. “Then don’t wear *** that’s gonna make me fight gettin’ hard when the boys are horking back pizza in your kitchen.” In his own macho way Deke could be sweet, “Jussy, I got a ***k and that ***k likes to be in you. You show skin, it reminds me, and specifically my ***k, how good that skin feels, and tastes, by the way, which reminds me how much better you feel inside.” I loved Deke I loved this book, I loved its characters.