People see what they want to see. They only view what’s on the surface, and they’re easy to fool. I let them see on the outside that I’m a successful businesswoman. My clothes are designer, my makeup flawless, and I live in a high-rise condo in Lennox Hills. They see perfection, not what lies beneath the surface.The real me, the one I keep hidden is a broken-hearted woman who uses the makeup to … makeup to hide her tears. The expensive clothing covers a heart once shattered by love. The walls of my expensive home shelter a lonely woman who hides the fact that deep down she wants to be loved. A woman who is too scared to risk her fragile heart.
For ten years, I’ve managed to hide behind the image of perfection. Only letting people see what’s on the surface.
Until I ran into him.
Now, every raw emotion, every shattered piece of my heart that I buried long ago is exposed outside the protective walls of my high-rise condo. No matter how hard I try, I can’t keep the walls from crumbling. He sees me beyond the image that I’ve created. He says he can handle what’s below the surface, but can I?
On the Surface is a standalone second chance, single dad romance
more
On the Surface by Nikki Ash is book 3 in the Imperfect Love Series. This is the story of Jase and Celeste. I haven’t yet read the previous books, so for me this was a standalone book.
Celeste has a very unstable past that has created her future. Celeste’s mother was crippled by her love for a man that she wouldn’t do anything but wait and hope of his return. This left the Celeste without a real childhood because she had to become the adult. Celeste never wanted to be her mother and doesn’t want such love to touch her life to cause her to be like her mother. Jase and Celeste meet with they where young and Celeste started having feelings for him but then a misunderstanding seem to break them up. Celeste has went on to be tough women who many do not like. Celeste armor is her clothes / attitude to protect how hurt and damaged she is inside. Jase never really understood why they broke up but now seem to be thrown together which just may be their second chance. Jase was such a great father and he is exactly what Celeste needs.
Really enjoyed their story.
***5 ‘Dandelion’ Stars***
I knew Celeste’s story would be a good one, but this was more.
So. Much. More than good. It was awesome! The swoons and big dopey cheek hurting grins were numerous, as were the heartbreaking and heart mending ones…and then you add in the smexy…let me tell you this book had it all and more!
So, Celeste. Let’s be real. She was an evil queen incarnate when I first met her in The Pick Up, and I have to admit that because she was, she absolutely fascinated me and there was that knowing that there was so much more to her that I NEEDED to know more about her and does this book give you all that. It doesn’t forgive her bitchness, but it does explain it and as I got to see the real Celeste, I ended up adoring her. She is kind and caring, but she is also a hardass and knows how to play the game and I loved seeing both sides of her become one as she worked through the issues of the past.
Jase. Ink’d up “bad boy” on the outside, sweet, caring, almost marshmallow like goodness on the inside ~ but all wrapped up tight in a protective smexy as sin alpha male package (does that even make sense?? LOL). I mean, talk about being my kind of book boyfriend.
As for their journey to their HEA. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. I loved their bantering, the smexy was nuclear and just enjoyed how they actually communicated with each other after they worked through what happened in the past. But what got me, both times around, was how much fun it was to be around them and it was because they simply flowed well together. They, for all their differences, we perfect for each other on every level.
This may just be my fav of the series (so, far…will there be more??) Jase and Celeste were awesome and I loved catching up with Nick, Olivia, Reed, Killian and Giselle and seeing how close they’ve all gotten. And then there are Jax, Quinn and Skyla, I’m crossing my toes they all get their own books because they definitely need some good ole HEA loving too.
As noted at the bottom of the books description, On the Surface can be read as a standalone, and it can, but I highly recommend that you start at the beginning and read both The Pick Up & Going Deep so you fully understand the dynamic between all the characters and why certain things garner a certain reaction.
~ Copy provided by Enticing Journey & voluntarily reviewed ~
It’s interesting how you can meet a secondary character in a book, see only the top layer of that character and form an opinion. Then when her own book is written and all those deeper layers are revealed, it’s a completely different picture and the initial opinion is obliterated. It’s amazing to me how an author can make a reader love a character she thought she hated, and wow, what a terrific life lesson, as well.
If you met Celeste in either Nick or Killian’s books, like me, you probably didn’t like her character very much. She’s a top fashion model with her own clothing line and she comes across as arrogant, cutthroat and ruthless, even in her social interactions. But there is so, so much more to her! She’s the poor, “trailer trash” child of a single mom, and Celeste did more parenting and handling of responsibilities than her mother. But Celeste had hopes and dreams, and she worked hard and created her own success.
The only place she isn’t successful is when it comes to love, but Celeste learned a long time ago to protect her heart. Her mother’s staying stuck in the past and pining for a man for eighteen years was a good lesson on love to Celeste, but the best lesson was a glorious week falling for a guy and the betrayal that followed right before Celeste moved to New York to start her career. Imagine her surprise, eleven years later, when Celeste walks into a tattoo shop with her friends and comes face to face with Jase, the one who broke her heart.
Jase can have my heart to do with it whatever he pleases, because this guy had me swooning from the very beginning. Jase ticked all the boxes for me and is everything I love in a romance hero. Strong family values, sturdy moral compass, a phenomenal dad, a heart of gold that is quick to forgive, and a believer in second chances. Add to that his rugged, muscular, tattooed exterior — gah! And he’s absolutely perfect for Celeste and exactly what she needs. He knows when to push and when to step back and wait, always supporting her and steadfast in his love.
Ash has certainly moved the bar higher with this book. Easily the best book in the series so far with more humor, more steam and so much more heart! It felt like coming home to meet up with these characters again, and this story held me in its clutches from the first word to the last. I love everything about this one, and love it hard, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series about Jase’s sister, Quinn! On the Surface is everything a contemporary romance should be, and you don’t want to miss this heartfelt, feel-good, phenomenal read!
*I reviewed an advance copy of this book freely and voluntarily, having made no commitment to provide a review and receiving no compensation of any kind from any source for this review.
5 exceptional stars!
Review by Nancy
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night w/ Books Blog
Another exceptional read! On The Surface is hands down one of my favorite single parent, second chance romance novels. Nikki Ash not only wrote an amazing story, she turned me into mush.
On The Surface is the third book in the Imperfect Love series. If you have read the previous books, which you should, you probably thought the same way I did, there is no way Nikki Ash was going to make me like the heroine. Not only did I end up liking her, but by the end of the book, she became one of my favorite heroines.
Celeste grew up in a broken home, she never met her dad and her mom was too busy being drunk. From a very early age, she learned that the key to her happiness was going to be money. As she got older her dreams became more ambitious. She thought the only way to get out of her home situation was to find a wealthy man to marry. Love was never in the picture. Her view on love had been tarnished by her mother and no one would change that. Except she did fall in love, it happened when she was only eighteen. She fell in love hard and fast. She was willing to give up all her dreams and ambitions for the one she thought she loved until he broke her heart.
Jase was absolutely dreamy! He looked like your typical bad boy, but he was far from it. Also from a broken home, he went to school, opened his own business, and took care of his siblings. Jase had everything he could want, including a teenage daughter. The only thing that was missing from his life was a significant other. He had found love once, only to have her run away without an explanation or a second glance. Ever since “the one that got away” he had dated and had been in short relationships, but his heart always belonged to her.
One misunderstanding destroyed what could have been an everlasting love. Years later Celeste and Jase are brought together by mutual friends. To their surprise the chemistry they once had had only intensified as the years passed. Both had suffered hardships and grown since the last time they had seen each other.
Could it be as easy as just re-connecting? They once thought they had fallen in love and lost it, this was their second chance at that everlasting love. But now there was a third person to consider, Jase had a daughter. In order for their relationship to work, they had to learn to love and accept the changes that came with the time they spent apart.
Nikki Ash could not have written Celeste and Jase’s story any better! It was an absolute page turner, probably my favorite book in the series. I love that we got a glimpse of the other couples from the two previous books, but more than that, I loved that she gave us more on Jase’s brother and sister. I can NOT wait to see what Nikki Ash writes next!
I tried to let my heart settle before I wrote this review, but I can’t. I can’t let this story go. I keep running it through my mind over and over, and the feels just wont go away.
I went into this story ready and fully waiting to embrace Jase and all his bad boy tattoo artist glory. Because who doesn’t love or want a bad boy? But Jase showed a completely different side of himself that I was not waiting for. It can’t believe I will say this but he gave my favorite Nikki Ash man a run for his money. With Killian I swooned…so hard. But with Jase…Jase made my heart soar. His heart..oh man his heart. We need more men like this!
In book one of this series, The Pick Up, I didnt like Celeste. Like AT ALL. Borderline hate even. Book 2, Going Deep, had me seconding guess my feels for a bit, but not completely. I still didnt like her. But this book…this book changed it all!
“And from the chaos of her soul flowed beauty.”
To say that Nikki Ash blew me away, is a complete understatement. She made me fall in love with a character I didn’t want to. She made me cry for her when I didnt think it was ever possible. She has opened my eyes to see that what broken people show on the surface isn’t always the heart of things. There is so much more.
THIS was so much more.
First let me start by saying I love single parent stories, and this one definitely didnt disappoint! Jase is a hot tattoo artist and an amazing father to his daughter. I have to say I had mixed feelings about Celeste is the previous books. She wasnt a character I loved but you could tell there were reasons she had her walls up. Thier story is one that will keep you wanting to read till the end. Nikki does a great job hitting you with all the emotions with these two. I also love how previous characters are still part of the story. On the Surface can be read as a standalone but it is book 3 in the Imperfect Love series. I would recommend reading the other 2 books first because they are just as awesome as this one!
I loved this book so much. The characters are very relatable. This story is so good because the Celeste has a terrible past with relationships. Sh doesn’t believe in love and doesn’t want it to define her. When she meets jase all her rules go out the window and she falls for him. Years later they see each other again and the sparks are still there. I love a good second chance romance and this one was great.The writing was amazing.
I’m so glad we finally got Celeste’s story. And I wasn’t disappointed at all. I loved it. I had to stop myself from reading quicker. I couldn’t put it down. The characters were amazing and the storyline was brilliant. I enjoyed reading the backstory as well. I hope we get to read more about Jase’s brother and sister. Amazing.
On The Surface is the third book in Nikki Ash’s Imperfect Love series and I feel it is completely possible for the series to be named after this couple. So don’t get me wrong, this series has been filled with perfectly imperfect couple but Celeste…oh this girl…
If you have read the rest of the series, you have met Celeste…btw each book is a standalone so you don’t have to read them first but why not because it’s a great series…anywho, Celeste is a character that I really had a hard time connecting with previously but this book changed everything!! I actually really love her now that I understand her a bit more and I feel like this author did a great job portraying her faults and insecurities in a way that made her vulnerability crystal clear and relatable.
Then there is the H, which I will not name specifically just in case you have read the other books, it will be a surprise…but this guy…ugh ovary explosion!! He is the sweetest, most understanding and thought alpha EVER!! I loved that he knew just how to handle Celeste but did it in a way that didn’t further hurt her.
This book is an amazing addition to this series and I can’t recommend it enough!!
My most highly anticipated book of this series!
I absolutely LOVED Celeste and Jase’s book. I can’t even adequately describe how much I looked forward to reading it! As Nikki Ash put out each book in this series, I thought I’d anticipated my most wanted read, but the anticipation grew, until it was this book that I couldn’t wait for. And it lived up to every anticipated word.
On The Surface can be read as a stand-a-lone, absolutely. But, the characters are so wonderful, that you really will want to read The Pickup and Going Deep first. The secondary characters are reasonably prominent throughout the series, as best friends often are in our own lives, and many readers had formed opinions about Celeste going into this book.
Celeste is firm minded, a top model, and now a successful businesswoman, who seems all about material things and money. She’s also deep and complicated. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t like her, but rather that there had to be more to her than she showed us, merely because Nick was the most gorgeous and loyal of men. They’d grown up together, and she was one of his best friends. There had to be more to her! What no one realised was that Jase and Celeste had history!
Tatted up and sexy Jase is now probably my favourite best book boyfriend. He’s a beautiful man through to his soul, close with his siblings, and such an amazing father Nikki’s writing is so powerful, that the few words where Jase tells Celeste about his mum and his special memory of her, had me burst into tears. TBH, I was gutted for Celeste to read the blurb and find that he was a single father, but as always, there is so much going on under the surface.
Together they were dynamic. Their relationship is every reason why I love Nikki’s books and read romances. The chemistry between them is so strong and sexy, that I almost took up smoking.
To say that I highly recommend this book, hell this series even, is an understatement. Just treat yourself and grab them. 5 steamy stars!
On The Surface is book three in the series. I loved it! I loved loved Jase, he was so swoony. I loved Celeste. Jase and Celeste had amazing chemistry and were just scorching together! Skyla was adorable. I am hoping Quinn is getting a book! Definitely a must read!
I’ve been waiting for this book and I must say I absolutely loved Jase and Celeste’s story. When we first met Celeste I just knew there was more to her and that mean girl facade she gave to most people. We see her in layers in this one and find out why she thinks the way she does and how she became the woman she grew into. Trust me your heart will take a bit of clutching with this story. Jase (swooning all over again) was one of my favorite book boyfriends from Nikki Ash. He’s just a beautiful soul. Their story was complicated, heartbreaking and sweet all at once. You need to get your Nikki Ash fix, she’s done it again.
4.5 Stars
I have been waiting for Celeste’s story since the first book, then when Jase entered the scene in the second book I knew it was going to be quite the story, further building my anticipation ~ Nikki did not let me down! I love it when a book continues to fill you in on previous characters lives, the interaction makes you feel the complete story, so seeing the rest of the gang only made this one better. The chemistry between Celeste & Jase was off the chain and well-written (a bit steamy too). I loved the growth we seen in Celeste over the series and this one was a touchdown with Sky & her Mom….
Celeste is jaded, she has always said she only needs a man for his connections and money to get her to where she wants to be – a famous model and then to have her own clothing and jewelry line. She wants nothing to do with feelings, emotions and mostly love. Until she meets Jase. When she meets Jase all of that flies out the window. They are young but they have an instant connection and have the most amazing week together. Until one night changes everything, Celeste walks away and they don’t see each other for 11 years. When they see each other again both are hurting and angry thinking the other ruined everything.
When we first saw Celeste and Jase reunite in Going Deep I knew that their story was next and man was I intrigued. Nikki Ash did not let us down with their story. I loved how she took up back in time and we got to see how their story started. I adore flash backs and Celeste and Jase was delicious. I would have liked to see his POV in the flash back but I still loved it. Celeste’s issues annoyed me and I thought she was dumb and blind. But I loved this story. I loved the relationship that Celeste and Jase had and also the relationship that Celeste had with Skyla was amazing.
I am consistently surprised by the books in this series!! I honestly didn’t want to have anything to do with Celeste. I forced myself to start it because I wanted to know what Jase’s deal was. But Celeste was really a pleasant surprise. There are layers to her that are not visible in the first couple of books. I loved the fact that they all came together perfectly. Sometimes you read about a secondary character in a book, and when you finally get to their story, you wonder who that person is because they’re nothing like before. I hate that. But Celeste was still herself in her own story, however, we had the advantage of being in her head and feeling how vulnerable she really was. Jase was a sweetheart, and just what she needed. Really great story!
5 “Dimples” Stars
I finally got to read Celeste’s story and… wow! On the Surface is without a doubt my favorite novel so far in the Imperfect Love Series. Nikki Ash achieved to transform a heroine I didn’t like at first (in the first standalone novel The Pick Up) into such a phenomenal one! I loved her so much and what can I say about Jase! That man is really swoon-worthy! Their romance is a beautiful second chance romance bursting with feels!
” ’ , .”
They first meet when Celeste is only eighteen and it’s love at first sight. After an abrupt end to their one-week relationship, they meet eleven years later and the feelings are still so strong.
Celeste is such an independent, strong and determined woman. From a trailer park girl to the elite of the fashion world, Celeste is an example of determination and drive! On a personal level though, she’s still plagued by fear of love from her past. Jase is the perfect man to make her change and her embrace these feelings though. He’s attentive, sexy, confident and sweet! He looks like a bad boy with all his tattoos, but he’s so much more! Though he can act like a real prince charming, he also hides a dirty side in the throes of passion. Those two share so many incredibly HOT encounters. They’re so combustible and fantastic to watch explode in sexiness.
As this novel is part of a series, it was amazing to see more of Olivia, Nick, Giselle and Killian. Their love stories are so pretty too! I also enjoyed meeting new protagonists like Jax and Quinn, Jase’s siblings. They’re so supporting and a tight group! And let’s not forget one of the central part of this novel, Skyla. She’s Jase’s teen daughter and I loved her so much with her bubbly personality and obsession with everything fashion.
“ . , ’ , , ’ ’ , .”
Obviously, this novel was a hit for me! I can never get enough of Nikki Ash’s exquisitely romantic stories!
I didn’t think I was going to like Celeste, after meeting her in the previous books, but I ended up really liking her.
Another a great story.
After reading The Pickup and Going Deep, I was skeptical about how Celeste’s story was going to play out. But hot damn was I freaking wrong! I am an uber sports romance lover and I loved the first two books so much, but this book was it for me. Hands down my favorite of the series. Nikki continues to outdo herself with each book she releases and I am completely flabbergasted with her writing. Yes flabbergasted, because that’s the only word I can think of that comes anywhere close to how I feel about On The Surface.
Celeste grew up in poverty because her mother was too worried about her father who left them coming back then actually making a better life for Celeste. She resented her mother for it and made a promise to herself that she wouldn’t fall in love. She would find a man who could financially support her and she would pursue a career in the modeling industry. But everything changes when she meets Jase and they have a week-long whirlwind of a romance. After walking in on Jase with another woman, she decides to leave for New York and never come back. When Jase and Celeste’s paths cross ten years later, they both realize that everything they thought they knew about their relationship wasn’t true.
Celeste might just be one of my favorite heroines Nikki Ash has ever written about. There are so many layers to her and as each one is peeled back we are able to see the source of her pain. She is so thoughtful and caring of those around her and she constantly sacrifices her own happiness for others. What’s on the surface doesn’t even scratch the amount of beauty and grace this character truly possesses.
Jase is her perfect pair. He matches her kindness and protective nature. There’s a quote in the book that truly encompasses the love he has for Celeste and it goes as so, “I know that while our worlds may not fit perfectly, I will do whatever it takes to make sure they orbit close enough to keep her near me. Even if it means I have to jump into hers.” If he hadn’t already stolen my heart, he did when I read this.
Nikki took the second chance romance and single dad tropes and intertwined them so perfectly in this book. It made for even more angst because a cute little girls heart was also on the line. I felt every emotion these characters did and it was amazing. I started this one night at 10:00 P.M. and stayed up until 5:00 A.M. the following morning to finish it. I couldn’t put this book down to save my life. It was THAT amazing. I’m crossing my fingers and saying a prayer that we will get to see more into Quinn’s story next!
I give this 4.5*
I just love Nikki Ash. Every book I have read of hers I just want to devour and never want it to ends. This is Celeste story and if you have read the series she is Nick’s best friend and is referred to as The Evil Queen. This is a second chance story. Celeste runs into Jase who when she was 18 had a one week fling, it was Insta love but a misunderstanding sends Celeste to flee to New York and focus more on becoming a model. Eleven years later and it’s like no time has gone by and the chemistry and attractions between these two are explosive. In the first book I was not a fan of Celeste but now that I got the bigger picture I understand why she was the way she was and when she lets her guard down its hard not to love her. Jase is a sexy, sweet, protective, loving and tattooed single dad that I just fell for right away. I’m looking forward to reading Quinn’s story.
I have to say that, going into On the Surface, I wasn’t sure that I was really gonna like Celeste – this was after meeting her in The Pickup and how she reacted to Olivia when she came back into Nick’s life…. and even though she was a little better in Going Deep, her behaviour when she met Jase again made me think she was gonna be a nightmare character to read about….
I shouldn’t have worried… Nikki Ash writes in such a way that you can’t help but grow to like and root for her characters and wish all but good things for them.
This was nearly a 5* read for me but it was that pesky issue of non-communication/assuming that knocked it down to a 4.5 in my book. I’m saying no more and you’ll get what I mean when you read the book.
A great read, with wonderful characters, angst, feelings, heat and emotion.
I’m looking forward to more in the Imperfect Love books as I’m pretty sure we haven’t see the last of this series! 🙂