The Will

First thank you to the TPAM ladies especially Cassandra & Stacie who gave me the push to read this book. I love Kristen Ashley, but I didn’t want to cry and was like meh I can miss it, but this story was so totally worth it. Jake & Josie were the kind of perfection that only KA can create. Oh, and yeah, I totally cried because I am a sap.

“It hit him in that moment in a way he knew he’d never forget that he could take that hand and she could lead him anywhere. Just tip up her lips, turn those eyes to him and hold out her hand and he’d go straight to hell with her and do it smiling.”

Josephine Malone learned early in life that the only person she could count on was her grandmother Lydia. As she grew up, she had a wonderful life and fulfilling job until it all came crashing down one one day when she got the call that her grandmother had passed away. While Josie only had her grandmother and herself it was enough for her but losing her grandmother made Josie realize that now she was well and truly alone. That is until Jake Spear walks in and turns her seemingly content life on its head giving Josie the only thing, she ever truly craved, family.

Jake Spear is a retired boxer, gym owner, exotic club owner and Dad to three beautiful children. His life is full of friends and family but on the woman front he has never had any real luck and after three marriages he doesn’t anticipate that changing. Lydia Malone was the one woman who looked after him and his children but now that she has passed, he isn’t the only one who has lost someone special. Jake has known about Josie for years now but upon meeting her it as if everything he put out of his head came to fruition with their first meeting. She is the one woman who could put him on his ass in one glance and somehow Jake is perfectly fine with that.

Josie and Jake’s love story doesn’t start it out smooth or simple but that is what makes it that much more fulfilling. Josie thought that should be alone for the rest of her life until Jake made his presence in her life permanent despite her pushback and in doing so, she earned the love of three beautiful children who had their own share of problems. Jake has known about Josie for years but the real Josie that he is falling for doesn’t even compare with the Josie he built up in his head. She is so much more.

The Will was such a tender story from start to finish but right there at the end when you think you have made it through unscathed is when KA knocks you on your ass thus bringing on the full torrential down pour of waterworks. There really was nothing about this story that I could complain about and that might be the romantic in me, but I don’t care. Jake and Josie are at the top of my list for favorite KA couples, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

I am looking forward to book two in the Magdalene series where we get to see what is in store for Mickey because SWOON!!!

5 Heart Thumping Stars!!!!

Each time a new Kristen Ashley book is released I eagerly approach it all agog with a rapid heartbeat and barely contained glee. Tuesday’s release of The Will was no exception and let me tell you she has done it again! How she continuously comes up with such wonderful characters that draw us in I don’t know, but I just hope she keeps ‘em coming! If I have any complaint it’s that they keep releasing these books in the middle of the week which is hard on us Monday through Friday working people. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to sit there at work for eight hours when you know a brand new Kristen Ashley masterpiece is sitting on your Kindle waiting for you?

Once again KA has created a hero and heroine that make the reader wonder how on earth she is going to bring them together and make it work, but she does it and the execution of this sweet, sexy union is a beautiful thing to behold. There is the beautiful and elegant Josephine, who in the beginning is a bit cold, standoffish, too overly refined, and honestly to this reader had a stick up her butt. Then there was Jake, oh yeah baby, Jake; he’s a boxer, thrice-divorced, single father of three, and earning a living somewhat disreputably. Oh, but first impressions are so deceiving! Both Josie and Jake are beautiful souls, both have been hurt and are emotionally wounded especially, Josie. They are brought together by the death of Josie’s grandmother, who also cared deeply for Jake and his children, hence “the will.”

This story is not just about pain and grief though; there is much humor and laughter. Almost every other sentence out of Josie’s mouth put a huge grin on my face and at times causing me to laugh out loud. Her use of the English language and her forthrightness in dealing with others was hysterical! And in Jake, KA has created another sexy, tender, funny, swoon-worthy, alpha hero. What more can I say, perfection!

The Will is going on my list of favorites and must re-read list. If you love Kristen Ashley, especially her earlier books, this book should be on your “to read” list too!

I loved every book in this series. It contributes to the need for books that provide hope and life suggestions within a romance that handles those over 40. It provides wonderful characters and wisdom about the realistic issues women face through children, friends, and family.

I had to check out this book because I absolutely love and highly recommend the movie adaptation on Passionflix. The book exceeded my expectations. I thought it would fill in the obvious blanks from the movie but, I had no idea it delved deeper into the small Maine town and it’s residents. It offers so much more about Josie, Jake and the children that I consider it an excellent and must read book. I loved seeing how this family navigates the daily grind as well as the unexpected and unpleasant bumps in the road.

Have you ever started a book and just knew it was going to be epic? That’s what happened to me when I picked up The Will. This was an amazingly beautiful story full of healing and love, family and bonds, and so much heart and emotion. I adored everything!

The book was a good read, but a little too repetitive and long as you hear the main character have the same emotions or responses over and over when I wish the author would have just gotten on with the book. I also wish I would have been made to feel a little deeper about Josie’s past, not enough details to explain the “scars”

Love Kristen Ashley books!

It had so much bad language that it disturbed my enjoyment of the events.

This book almost made my DNF list but I’m so glad that it didn’t as it turned into a sweet, 4.5 star love story that both the hero and heroine deserved

What would your reaction be if you were “left” to someone in a person’s will?! We first meet Josephine Malone at her dear grandmother’s funeral. Her Gran was her only true family and her house, Lavender House, was Josie’s safe haven. To say that she was devastated by the loss of her Gran is an understatement, but then imagine her surprise when her Gran’s will is read and she leaves her precious Josie to one Jake Spear – a man she has never met until that day. Jake is also surprised by Gran’s will pronouncement but unlike Josie, he takes it seriously and intends to do just that- make her his.

So why the potential DNF?

I can see where Kristen Ashley was going with these two as the ending was so heartwarming and made me cry tears- yes, I cried, multiple times- but the way these two started off really grated on me. For one, I didn’t buy that Jake was immediately into following Gran’s proclamation in making Josie’s his because it’s such an odd request for two strangers, though his reasons do become clear later in the book. Given that, I also didn’t understand his initial behavior because he was all over the place. Do you want Josie or not? I just couldn’t tell if he wanted to pursue her romantically or not so the confusion was off-putting. Plus, his way of speaking took some getting used to.

That statement is a whole other can of worms with regard to Josie. Her manner of speaking was very proper to the point of odd. Odd can be totally fine but I just didn’t see where it came from with Josie. There’s no way she was brought up speaking that way with her father and I didn’t get the impression she learned it from her Gran as a late teen so it just didn’t seem in character to me. Plus, her manner of speaking and the way she carried herself seemed to present her as a self-assured, capable woman and yet she was also portrayed as someone who needed taking care of which just didn’t gel either.

But after this initial confusion played out, I just went with it, believing these two opposites could indeed be attracted to one another and enjoyed seeing how Josie and Jake’s relationship grew. I especially loved Josie’s interaction with Jake’s children. She became such a strong mother figure, despite not having one of her own aside from her Gran’s influence, and that was a special thing to see for her. I also loved how there really wasn’t a lot of angst or unnecessary drama to the story because it wasn’t needed. She could have taken it in a different turn when the uncle turned up but I’m glad she didn’t.

The last chapter and the epilogue sealed the 4.5 star rating for me. Kristen Ashley is a pro at words and weaving storylines that come together in the best of ways that can really tug at the heart strings. I am in awe of authors who can do this and she really brought it home in The Will.

Ultimately I found this book to be an endearing love story where a woman after experiencing great loss, finds her true love and more importantly the family she’s always wanted with a man who hasn’t had the easiest of paths himself but finds himself believing that he’s deserving as well.

really enjoyed the book…like how it started and how the story played out.