Tobias Gamble knew from a young age precisely the kind of woman he was going to make his. She was not going to be like his mother. She was going to be like the mother he claimed. In other words, she was going to be just right.And when Toby returns to his hometown of Matlock, Kentucky and claps eyes on Adeline Forrester, he knows she’s the one.The problem is, his brother Johnny has a new … Johnny has a new girlfriend. And Addie is her sister. Last, Toby would do nothing to hurt Johnny’s chance at happiness.
Toby hangs around town to get to know the woman Johnny fell in love with. He also hangs around to get to know Addie.
But he’s fallen hard, and he knows the best thing for him—and Addie—is for him to leave.
Addie Forrester is thrilled her sister Eliza found a good, solid man. Johnny Gamble is the salt of the earth. The best guy in the world.
The best except for his brother, Toby.
Toby doesn’t know it, but Addie’s fallen hard too. He’s perfect, except for the fact that he’s hands off and it’s torture, being friends with Toby when she wants so much more.
Addie also has a lot on her mind. She’s got bills to pay, her young son needs food, Christmas is coming and her job at the grocery store just isn’t cutting it.
Toby is steering clear of Addie. Addie is steering clear of Toby. But everyone around them knows this is the slow burn.
Because just like Eliza and Johnny, Addie and Toby were made for each other.
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Oh my Lord… can Toby be anymore… just more?!?! He’s off the charts with his sexiness and insane sweetness. Addi and Toby are the best fit. There road isn’t easy but it’s so worth it. I can’t even tell you all how relatable Addie is. Her hysterical days seriously crack me up. Her feels are so full and so strong. This family… all these characters, the main and secondary characters are so amazing. They felt real!
These two narrators, Stella Bloom and Lance Greenfield, are unlike anything I’ve ever listened to previously. This is a true full performance for the ears and mind. I’ve never, ever, had two narrators create such a story before. Both of these narrators are able to take on multiple characters and voices with not one single issue. Everyone is different and expressive. Really, there’s a few characters in The Slow Burn so they had they had their work cut out for them. But they are pros. You get that from them… the experience, the ease that they tell the story… that they LIVE this story.
I’m seriously an awe of Kristen Ashley’s writing… her entire storyline. Everything she covers is real, everything is honest. I have never read or listened to another Kristen Ashley book, yes, I know this is a book two, but I am enthralled. My heart is full and feels like it will burst. I love me some books but especially audiobooks. They add another layer to the story. Audiobooks give the story a literal voice and with that, my mind creates even more with those audio visuals to go on. The Slow Burn is worth more than one credit! It’s a story that is deeply developed. Everything about this storyline was perfect for me! I can’t recommend more.
I received a complimentary copy of this audio book with the hope that I would leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… my opinions.
I don’t know about you guys but when Addie and Toby met in THE HOOKUP it wasn’t only obvious that they had some serious chemistry it was OBVIOUS, so I couldn’t wait to get my greedy hands on THE SLOW BURN. I’m happy to report that Kristen Ashley didn’t disappoint.
Both Gamble men are an entirely different species from KA’s usual alpha male – they both are sweeter, not as rough around the edges. We know KA’s heroes to be protective, sometimes a little overbearing, and definitely bossy. Toby has all that down pat. When Addie and Toby meet it’s pretty much love at first sight for both of them – but since the older Gamble man is going to marry Addie’s older sister Toby doesn’t want to go there. The family dynamics would take a serious hit if it went south. And Addie? She’s completely oblivious to Toby’s feelings for her.
Addie barely makes ends meet. It goes as far as her not eating properly although she has a great support system and people who would fall over themselves to help her out but while she doesn’t have money, she has buckets full of pride. The situation escalates into a huge fight almost causing Toby to throw the towel and leave Matlock, KY. This argument is the catalyst that gets their relationship going and on the right track. From then on it’s pretty much smooth sailing for them (their make-up sex is pretty spectacular and SCORCHING).
In most of KA’s books there is always a bit of a lull when the relationship is building and running. Most of the times it works very well for me because the author packs lot of sweet stuff into that pause. It definitely worked this time around because Addie and Toby are all kinds of funny and sweet together. Especially this man, who gives Addie everything she wants and needs, who loves her so openly and says the sweetest things in the most unexpected times. And if the scene in which he feeds the little toddler doesn’t melt your ovaries then I don’t know what would.
She gave him another soft look before she hid it and sassed, “You’re into me too.”
“Totally into you,” he admitted openly.
Both of them understand that life is full of compromises and Addie in particular learns that pride, while it has its place, shouldn’t come first, especially if you have a child to care for. I loved Addie, she was a firecracker with a heart of gold and true dedication to her son and family. She was independent and strong but she learned that sometimes pride and independence may just be in your way of the truly important things.
“Today, I went to the Fair with you and my boy and doing it, I remembered who I am. I stopped walking the path I’d veered onto and got back to the path that’s me.”
While this story is pretty low in angst it has its heartbreak and emotional parts – especially in the last few chapters – that will have your heart in your throat and it’s then when all of these characters, main and side cast, truly shine. In these scenes the main theme of this story is the strongest: family is the most important thing. No matter what riches you gather, they won’t make you happy, if you don’t have anyone to share them with. So it’s pretty awesome that we get to hang out with Johnny and Izzy, Deanna and Charlie, Margot and David.
“And in that moment I knew Toby was wrong. Life wasn’t about disappointment. Life was a journey. The journey of finding what I’d seen on my sister’s face the night before. Finding your place. Finding your people. And settling in so when those cold winds blew, you had warmth to see you through.”
THE SLOW BURN was one of my most anticipated books this year. I adored THE HOOKUP but I think that this installment is even better by a tiny margin – in my opinion it’s Kristen Ashley at its best. She is a master at writing family dynamics and stories to make you dream. This book starts with a poignant foreword – make sure you read it – and ends on an uplifting, sweet note.
“‘I wonder what the poor people are doing?’”
I’m quite literally one of the biggest Kristen Ashley fans ever.
So when I was asked to review the audiobook for THE SLOW BURN I nearly fell off my chair!
What can I say THE SLOW BURN is yet another mindblowing, heart-stopping one of kind love stories. That will pull you in like wind a breeze. Wrapping you up in its breeze and never letting. Till you don’t know where the story stops and where your heart begins. Like that fated love that Adeline Forrester and Tobias Gamble had! So if your dying for a hot as heck Alpha hotness audiobook look no further. You will get lost in the voices of Stella Bloom and Lance Greenfield. While they bring this story to life like a film playing in your mind!!
See my review in French here
SIZZLING. BEAUTIFUL. HEARTBREAKING.
I think Kristen Ashley should have her own “genre”.
Her books are like rich chocolate.
You just can’t get enough.
The more (you got), the better.
And the more (it lasts), the better.
I read this book in two days, having to interrupt the reading because… Real life ALWAYS gets in the way, but really, the story is amazing.
THE SLOW BORN is as good as the first book, but in a very special “Addie and Toby’s” way.
Their story is perfectly built, never rushed, and of course, when all this sexual tension explodes…
You’ll enjoy every bump in the way, every fight, every sweet moment, every scorching scene, and the supporting characters.
This wonderful family (by blood or the one you just “chose”) will conquer your heart, and you will swoon, laugh, cry, and heal.
There is a lot of redemption, mourning (a past, a beloved one, bad decisions, etc.…) but also a lot of healing.
It was just perfect, really, from the beginning… till the very end.
And I LOVED this personal touch the author gave us, about “poor people”.
This book conquered me in so many ways.
You need to read the whole series, and this one gives you a lot of closure, the epilogue is just perfect, bittersweet, but above all, beautiful, till the very last word.
A must read.
***ARC Provided by the Author for an Honest Review
Visit my French blog: https://isalacroqueusedelivres.wordpress.com
Slow Burn is Kristen Ashley at her FINEST
I was a mess at the end of Slow Burn. I had no words to process all, Ms. Ashley gave in Slow Burn. I have already have done two re-reads by the time it is released. This is not only about Toby & Addie (but their love story is pretty awesome in its own right!), but really is a love letter to the women who made KA into who she is today. That is beautiful and priceless in its own right. I rarely shed a tear when reading, but from a surprise diagnosis to the last page the tears rolled down my cheeks. They went from tears to uncontrollable sobs. This book is about love, forgiveness, and the ties that bind a family whether they are related by blood or family that you make your own. This book has soared into my Top Ten Favorite books of ALL TIME!
From the bottom of my soul, thank you Kristen Ashley, for this book and showing what truly matters in life.
I loved the first book in this series and when I then got the chance to read an ARC of this book I jumped in right away (also who says no to a KA book?)
In the beginning of this book, I was not as into it and couldn’t figure out if liked this book more than the first. But the more I got to know Toby and Addie the more I started slowly falling in love with them. They both have crazy personalities and Addie is one sassy woman (as all of the best KA heroines). They are both proud people and stubborn so they were bound to bud heads and make some huge drama at times but every time it happened it only made me fall even more in love with them.
Addie is one of the best kinda heroines. She is funny, sweet, proud, really stubborn and just so amazing. She is the kinda heroine I feel like I can relate to in so many ways but also one I can look up to. She fights for what she believes in and I pray I will never get in her way if she first gets herself in the protective mode because she will plow right over anybody who is in her way.
But if I should tell you why this book was special for me, why it was so good I was in so many tears at one point I couldn’t even continue to read, I have to tell you about Toby.
Toby just stole my heart and refuse to give it back. He was a hard nut to crack but every time he gave me just a little bit I fell a whole lot more. I think even if KA writes badass alpha men she found something new for Toby. She gave him even more heart than normal, she created a soft spot and made him a perfect gentleman (or the most gentleman way a KA hero can be).
The way he felt so deeply about everything and everyone around, how he continued to amaze me with how he showed his emotions and how he shared his love with his family. I loved him throughout the entire book, but it is a scene at the end of the book that will make sure I will never forget him. I cried so much for him and he made me feel everything he was going through. Only a really strong man can feel like he does, he is a rare diamond.
So to sum it up. Kristen Ashley did it again, she blew me away with her perfect storytelling, She pulled me in from the beginning and she made me feel so deeply as if it was me that was in the book. She created the perfect characters and made you feel like you were a part of the family. As only Kristen Ashley can do.
Are you looking for your next small town book with some hot alpha men, some sassy women and a whole lot of love this is your book.