KALEIDOSCOPE by Kristen Ashley

KALEIDOSCOPE

(Colorado Mountain #6)

by Kristen Ashley

ARC Review

Published: February 4, 2014, Forever

My Rating: 4 of 5 ⭐️








Last time Jacob "Deck" Decker, saw Emmanuelle Holmes, she had come to his door after he had been given the heave-ho by her best friend and what he thought at the time was the love of his life. The only thing he recognized about her now was her voice and her dimples, the rest of her had gone through a dramatic change. But boy was it good to see her. The two of them had had a great connection back then, a friendship that was swept up in the aftermath of his breakup with her best friend. But with the knowledge that Emme apparently was living in Gnaw Bone, where he would be working for the next foreseeable future on a case, he planned to rectify that.

Bumping into Deck brought home how much Emme had missed him over the years. She tried not to think about how much she lost when she lost her friendship with him, but now that she found him again, she wasn't going to let the opportunity slip away. After the year or so she has had struggling, she was ready to bring some positives back in her life, and she couldn't wait to catch up with Deck. 

But Deck seems determined to not only pick up where they left off before, he intends to take it to a whole new level. Seeing Emme has clarified some things for him he should have seen years ago. She has always been the right one for him, challenging him intellectually and enticing him physically. But although Emme has always harboured more than just 'friendly' feelings for Deck, the future he is looking for is difficult to imagine when the ghosts of your past still haunt you....

*****

It has taken me weeks to write this review.... Normally I am jumping up and down after reading a KA book, not able to purge the words and thoughts fast enough. This time. No jumping involved....I loved the book, don't get me wrong.....but my reaction was less adrenaline-infused.

I have had a 'thing' for Deck, since we first were introduced to him, found him to be deep and mysterious and utterly intriguing, but with his rather obscure profession, I thought for sure his story would be more suspenseful. The fact that it deviated not only from the character I had seen built up in earlier encounters with him, but also from my expectations from a KA book, threw me for a bit of a loop. 

Oh, as an alpha male Deck worked well, real well. I liked this rather mellow person, who could turn fierce on a dime when those he cared for were threatened in any way. And I particularly loved his focus and patience with Emme, the way he interacted with her and built a strong bond, even before they reconnected after nine years of separation. But what didn't sit well with me, is the sudden realization of what he has in Emme, or rather what he lost in her nine years ago. Brought about by the jolt of her altered appearance. Out of the blue Deck has this wake-up call, that she should have been his all along, but for nine long years he couldn't be bothered to waste a minute finding out where or how she was. It's a hard sell for me to buy that it has nothing to do with the way she looks now versus the way she looked then. 

Emme seems a pretty simple and straightforward kinda gal, but is anything but. She has some deep-rooted issues that may give the appearance of being involved, but she never quite trusts herself to become invested. She had been in love with Deck since he had been head over heels for her friend, and still was able to maintain a great friendship with him. That is the way Emme functioned, she could push things she didn't want to deal with so far down, they wouldn't see the light of day. That is, until some particularly dark memories would bubble to the surface and completely blindside her. Never properly processed or dealt with, they can wreak havoc on the psyche and cause all kinds of damage. 

I enjoyed this book, even though it may have been a bit of a change of pace from what we have become accustomed to with a Kristen Ashley book, it had a deeper exploration of an emotional nature and frankly, less action. Enough Alpha behaviour from Deck to make my knees rubbery, and that's always good, and Emme had enough bite on her to create some decent friction to keep all types of sparks flying. No nail-biting, last minute rescues in this one, but an overall satisfying knowledge where the years are going to lead.

✨A deliciously steamy, spirited and honest interaction!✨

**ARC provided by NetGalley and Forever in return for an honest review.**