An exciting debut by Kate Ashenden. Here’s what the book bloggers have to say…“Wanted in Paradise is a steamy romantic suspense novel filled with plenty of drama, tension, not to mention forbidden love,” Rainey Day Book Reviews.“Wanted in Paradise, the perfect title for this book. It’s a great read with a plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat and keep you turning the pages to see … great read with a plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat and keep you turning the pages to see what happens next,” Love2ReadRomance.
“I love nothing more than being transported to a beautiful place whilst reading and that is exactly where this book takes you. It is so full of passion it makes your heart race and keeps you wanting more,” Mrs C’s Honest Book Reviews.
“If you’re looking for a read that holds you by the heart and gut, takes you through the wringer to the point you yell at them to ‘Just realize it already!’ to an HEA then this book is for you.” A Romantic Journey Book Blog.
“Their story is filled with drama and twists, and although their journey has a lot of ups and downs you knew that a love like theirs was meant to be,” Kari’s Book Reviews and Revelations.
“What hooked me was the suspense part of the story,” Amazeballs Book Addicts.
“There is a bunch of surprises in store for the reader. Humor and heat, and even some tension to complete the book,” Book Kitty.
“A great debut book by Kate, full of drama and forbidden love. Everything you’d like and expect from a summer of love read,” Cupcakes and Bookshelves.
“The descriptions of the characters were perfect and Ashenden did a really great job painting a picture of the villas and the setting of the Maldives,” Book Smugglers Den.
Story summary…
Shocked by family tragedy, Jasmine Hartwell returns home with a need to do something meaningful with her life. Romeo Moretti, the only man Jasmine has ever loved, but could never have, is now an international singing sensation, adored by millions. However, he is disillusioned with his fame and decides to use his high profile for a good purpose by hosting a benefit concert in the Maldives, which will be broadcast across the world.
It has been five years since Jasmine and Romeo have seen each other, but a heartbreaking twist of fate leads to a reunion between them. Romeo whisks Jasmine away to the Maldives, to help with the concert’s publicity, but their path to success is fraught with challenges and danger, as they battle to resist their burning desire for one another.
Excerpt from book…
She started walking towards the yacht again, more resolute and determined than before.
“Jasmine, stop!” Romeo stood in front of her, trying to block her path.
“Get out of my way!” she said, noticing that their argument amused the captain of the yacht.
In an instant, Romeo lifted Jasmine from her feet and threw her over his shoulder, his strong arms locking her legs into his chest. She thumped his back angrily and tried to flip up in the way a toddler does in a tantrum.
“Let me down,” she said. “You’re insane!”
“I’m trying to save you,” he said, appearing angry by her defiance.
She managed to arch back far enough to make him lose balance and trip. They landed on the decking with a loud thump, the right sleeve of her dress ripping as it caught his watch.
“Jas, are you okay?” he asked, offering to help her up.
Jasmine didn’t reply. Instead, she slapped him across the face and told him to move out of the way. She ran to the yacht as fast as she could, tears spilling from her eyes…
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Wanted in Paradise by Kate Ashenden is a wild and passionate story of love, for the girl who fell for her boyfriend’s brother.
Will Jasmine and Romeo ever be happy together or will guilt keep them apart?
Jasmine
Jasmine is our main character. She is young, smart, and good looking. Jasmine has been in love with Romeo for a long time but feels that they can’t be together because she lived with his brother, Diego for a while. After Diego disappears, Jasmine reaches out to Romeo to offer friendship and condolences. I think this is sweet. It shows the caring side of Jasmine.
Jasmine and Romeo work together on one of his charity concerts but there is a part of Jasmine that doesn’t feel as though she fits in. This is where I get aggravated at Jasmine. She could summon the courage and talk it out with Romeo but she chooses to try to hide her feelings. I feel like she allows herself to be a pawn in everyone else’s fight against Romeo.
Romeo
Romeo is of course our other main character. He has a lovely singing voice and heart of gold, yet he is also possessive and holds his feelings in. Romeo has put his loyalty to his brother before his own happiness. The question is, however, does his brother deserve Romeo’s loyalty? Romeo does a lot of growing throughout the story and I was really glad when he decided to stand up for what he wanted.
The one thing that bothered me was that all the people who wanted to cash in on Romeo’s behalf. That is probably something that happens when you are a celebrity. However, I thought it was sad.
Four Stars
Wanted in Paradise by Kate Ashenden is full of suspense, danger, thrills, and romance. I thought the story moved along at a good speed, but there was something missing for me. I can’t put my finger on what. However, my favorite parts have to deal with the bad guy and how he hid in plain sight. Therefore, my rating for Wanted in Paradise by Kate Ashenden is four stars.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Wanted in Paradise by Kate Ashenden.
This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove.
Until the next time,
~Jen
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
A very good read. Exciting, dramatic, suspenseful, hot and steamy. A story to keep you changing pages and wanting to know what happens next. A relationship that has many ups and downs and bumps in the road. Well worth reading and no spoilers in here. I received a review copy and voluntarily review it.
For this author’s first book I felt it was well written and has wonderful characters. I loved reading and following Jasmine and Romeo’s story, as well as the environmental statement in the story line. The ending I felt was unfinished as you don’t find out what happens to Rupert, Kamal, and the feelings of the local populace toward Romeo. I look forward to reading more from this very promising and talented author.
Jasmine and Romeo’s story it gave me my favorite feels. Being in love with your ex boyfriend’s brother had to have been hard especially seeing as said brother is a famous singer! The chemistry between these two is so obvious but Romeo fights it because he doesn’t want to hurt his brother or family. Both trying to deal with their pain brings them together in setting up a concert to help bring Renewable Energy and it’s benefits to the entire world. Absolutely enjoyed this book to the fullest! This is Kate Ashenden’s debut novel! As I was reading I kept thinking no way is this her first book I devoured it!!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Who wants to sabotage the concert?
This is a bit different in a way it is a second chance but there is suspense that makes this one a page-turner. The author has titled this so well and her descriptive details were outstanding. The author has also given this some steam in this romance. It was a really good book I will definitely be looking for more pieces by this author. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
I thought that this book was a good read. Jasmine and Romeo’s story has plenty of turmoil, tension, drama and emotions. I found it easy to feel for Jasmine. She had been through so much. I liked the long simmering attraction between these two and the complication caused by their shared history.
A well written story by an Author I have not read before this looks like it is her debut book. I will be watching for more by her. There is a very good storyline and it flows across the pages smoothly with drama, intrigue, and romance. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A romantic suspense that will have you on the edge of your seat. Poor Jasmine has been through a lot. She had a devastating trip while visiting her cousins and she hasn’t quite healed from that. Once she learns her ex boyfriend has gone missing, she reaches out to his brother Romeo, a man that she had always liked and secretly wanted. Once these two meet up again, sparks fly, feelings get a little overwhelming but Romeo offers her a job and she can’t say no because she wants more time with him. But things aren’t always as they seem. And some people are miserable and try to make everyone else miserable. There’s always a rocky situation in a romantic suspense, one that will ha e you trying to figure out.
There were times that I wanted to shake them both but in the end love won yet again.
It’s a great read, full of suspense and good characters.
*I was provided a free advanced review copy of this book by BookSirens in exchange for my voluntary review. All thoughts and opinions in this review are those of my own.*
3.5 Stars
This book had lots going on. There was drama, suspense, heartbreak and adventure and I did enjoy the story line. I thought that the author did an amazing job describing the scenery and making it possible for me to feel as though I could see myself in those beautiful tropical locations. I also enjoyed the love triangle created when the Sheikh started to show Jasmine attention. This really helped to open Romeo’s eyes to how he was feeling.
Full of emotional moments, and some scary edge of my seat moments there were several times that I couldn’t put my kindle down because I was dying to know what was going to happen next.
I do wish that the ending would have been more developed because there was so much leading up to the concert and everything happening with Diego that all of a sudden things were coming to an end and I would have loved to have gone deeper into what was happening instead of rushing to have the book end. – By Alisa
Wanted in Paradise by Kate Ashenden was a quick, light and entertaining read.
I read it in one sitting and didn’t put it down once.
When Jasmine finds out her ex-boyfriend is missing, she immediately call his brother, Romeo to see how he is.
Romeo believing his brother just went off the grid for a bit, asks Jasmine to help with his upcoming concert to raise awareness of renewable energy and climate change.
These two have a history however. One that they never dared explore due to her relationship with his brother, Diego.
Now that Romeo and Jasmine have reconnected it’s not only the heat in the Maldives that’s hot but the passion between them as well.
With allegiance to his brother and a sheikh vying for Jasmine will they ever get their chance?
I really enjoyed this light and fluffy read.
The characters were fun and relatable.
I loved, the lightness of this book, the author touched on some serious issues like PTSD and drug abuse.
Although it may have changed the overall feel of the book, I believe exploring these issues a little more would’ve added more depth to this story.
I also found the whole conclusion rushed. Everything was dealt with a little too quickly for my liking.
Regardless of the ending this is wonderful beach read that I definitely recommend.
I received an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Danger, suspense, heat, and tension
Wanted in Paradise offers suspense, romance, a villain or two, a bit of a love triangle, and danger. While I didn’t really get into the lead character’s personalities, their relationship was an interesting up and down ride. The story is written in third person. It offers informative dialogue about the beautiful Maldives locale and Romeo’s passion for climate change. Interesting secondary characters. I did find I was more into the story from the midpoint. Good start for this author’s debut.
Jasmine and Romeo, circumstances bring them back into each other’s lives. She dated his brother so this could become forbidden love. Mysterious acts of sabotage are happening, who is at fault?
This is a debut novel so I look forward to more by this author as she learns to polish her craft. Some of the book kept me riveted and other parts waffled on a bit. All in all an entertaining story.
Triumph after tragedy, is the focus of this great read. The story of loss and love between Jasmine and a Romeo was beautifully written and had loads of twists and turns. The reader so wants a HEA for both while each chapter kept getting better and better. This book has me locked in from the beginning and the adventure got deeper and deeper. This was a great book.
Wanted in Paradise is a good read. Jasmine’s ex Diego is missing so she reaches out to his brother Romeo. She has a crush on Romeo. Jasmine goes to The Maldives with Romeo to help him with his benefit concert. I liked both Romeo and Jasmine but they didn’t hook me into the story right away. What hooked me was the suspense part of the story. Jassime’s and Romeo’s connection wasn’t super great with me but throw in a Romoe’s creepy manager, Rupert, and a weird Saudi Arabia Sheikh, Kamal, and I was is hooked. And yeah I grow to Like Romeo and Jasmine together more and I did root for them to get a HEA.
This book was an on the whim grab. I’d seen it for free and wanted to check out the author since I hadn’t heard of her before. I’m truly glad I did! It was time well spent reading. I got a great read and added an new author to my list of authors to read.
So, the start of the book was a bit confusing at first. We have Jasmine writing a letter to her cousin Reyna, talking about dating Diego and her friend (her Diego’s brother) Romeo. It confused me for a minute because the blurb implied that it was Jasmine’s and Romeo’s story. However, the first chapter reveals things and the confusion was quickly forgotten.
Jasmine has been through a horrible experience when visiting her cousin in the Philippines. Her love for Romeo is known in the very beginning when she thinks he’s in the room with her while she’s recovering. However, this moment changed Jasmine. The way she viewed the world. The way she viewed her life. Struggling with PTSD, she tried to find her place in the world. Then she sees a news report about her ex boyfriend and her love interest’s brother. She reached out to the man, both out of concern and wanting to offer comfort, but also wanting to see him again.
When she laid eyes on him for the first time after all years apart, she was almost stunned by the waves of euphoria and love that surged through her.
When Romeo offered her a job to help him with his benefit concert he was trying to get word out about, and the chance to heal, that’s when things really change for her. She’s back on an island and a beach. Jasmine had convinced herself it would help her heal. Though, in the back of her mind, she wanted the time with Romeo to see if there could be anything between them.
This is where the real story begins. The minute they board the plane to the Maledives. There was friction between Rupert, Romeo’s publicist, and the staff helping with the concert. Romeo was captivating to watch work but then when they were alone together things got weird. Not in a bad way as in the writing, but as in Jasmine was wanting more and Romeo was avoiding it.
This book had me holding my breath several times as things started to go array with the concert site and someone trying to use Jasmine for their benefits. Then there was Rupert who was just plain nasty. I didn’t like him from the start. Clive, project manager, was funny. A drunken disaster sometimes but funny.
There was a point that I had to set my tablet aside and walk away because the emotions were so intense. The ability to connect to these characters was easily done with the author’s writing. I was able to visualize their surroundings (and longed to visit myself).
If you’re looking for a read that holds you by the heart and gut, takes you through the wringer to the point you yell at them to “Just realize it already!” to an HEA then this book is for you. I loved every moment of this book and will be looking out for more books by this author.