Storm (Ashes & Embers #1)

I first listened to the book on Audible.com. The narration was awesome! I fell in love with Evelyn and Storm. They were both hilarious and down to earth, serious yet could still be playful with each other. Their meeting was not a conventional one at all. Two strangers stranded by a snow storm. However, they aren’t stranded in a cozy warm cottage. Instead they are in a truck with no heat. Not just for a few hours but two days! The funny part is Storm is famous, but keeps that secret to himself once he realizes that Evelyn doesn’t have a clue who he is. They are forced to tolerate each other but they soon realize their feelings go beyond just a friends. Things get interesting soon after they are rescued and forced to leave their bubble. Evelyn finds out he’s a famous rockstar and feels like a fool because she didn’t know. Soon they admit to each other how they really feel but there are a few hurdles. Evelyn is engaged and Storm is about to leave and go on tour. Carian shows the struggles of 2 people trying to overcome obstacles in order to be together. I loved this book especially in audio form!

You know how it is….. You\’re looking for something to read but not sure what you\’re in the mood for. So you decide now is a good time to \”dig deep\” into your kindle library. Apparently, in 2015, (i told you i was digging deep) I bought this, I have no clue why, but I did, so here we go. I\’m not even sure where to start with this. The beginning was actually kinda funny. Evie, out heroine, is lost, driving in a blizzard, loses control of her car and gets stuck in the snow, in the middle of nowhere, with no cell service. In rides our hero, Storm Valentine to the rescue. All 6\’2\” , long hair, tatted up, and complete with guyliner. He even had to carry her to his truck because she couldn\’t walk in the snow in her heels. I was totally cracking up. Aaand then it went in the ditch, figuratively and literally. So they\’re in his truck, headed to his cabin (in the woods), where she can use his landline to call her boyfriend and a tow truck, when out jumps a deer, he slides on the ice, off the road, hits a couple.of trees and, you guessed it, now his truck is disabled….In a blizzard, in the middle of nowhere, with no cell service. It\’s too cold and snowing too hard to risk walking to his cabin, so they hunker down in the truck and wait for the inevitable snowplow to come. This is when things get unbelievable. So, over the course of the next 2 days, they pass the time with napping, eating snacks, talking, bickering and bumping uglies (while fully clothed) and, in case you\’re wondering? They umm …. finished (in their clothing….gross). Let me back up…. Early on, they decide the backseat will have more room to stretch out and easier to share the blanket and snacks. They talk about relationships; Evie\’s boyfriend of12 yrs, how Storm only does hookups, she gets all judgy because she can\’t imagine that. Evie is prone to panic attacks and all the stress of being stranded with a stranger triggers one. Storm holds her hand, pulls her into his lap, embraces her, soothes her, crisis averted and BAM the bumping begins. So long story short…. On day two, they get rescued, he decides he wants a relationship with her, she goes back to jerk boyfriend, and they text back and forth. She finds out he\’s a rockstar, stays with boyfriend for half of book. She leaves bf, gets her own apartment, become his mother\’s PA because she\’s a famous romance author. Storm returns from his concert tour, they bump uglies for realz, say love you, go out a few times and then he proposes…. The end. No character or relationship development, no getting to see them fall in love, nothing, nada, zip, zilch, zero. That\’s all folks! So here we are, the down side?. This was completely unbelievable, I saw no romance and felt no chemistry. I considered dnfing several times and skimmed here and there. The upside? I have one less book I didn\’t know I had and no clue why I bought. BTW… I seem to have acquired VANDAL (book 2) as well….go me!

So many things wrong with this. I have a horrible sense of direction but come on! If you’re going out of town for work and get lost easily, look up the directions. Also, don’t reach for your phone while driving in a blizzard. The slut shaming! Good lord. Evelyn was the biggest holier-than-thou prude i’ve read in a long time. “Cheating is terrible, i’d never do that, you only like sluts, those girls are trashy, i’m not a slut, don’t make me one, you force me to cheat……” ughhhh. This gem solidified my dislike: \”That\’s why God mad sluts- so men like you can have something to keep their little one-track minds happy because they\’re too shallow to have real relationships.\” Cheating doesn’t bother me like it does some people but OMG it was annoying as hell in this. I swear when she accused him of making her a cheater, I wanted to reach through the book and smack her. He should have kicked her out of his truck in the beginning. Then again, he’s not much better. Storm is immature and can\’t take no for an answer. He literally ignores her saying “stop please” then says ‘you didn’t say no’ – dude, she did you just didn’t care. They have no chemistry or romance.

A great read. Romantic, sexy, and with many unforgettable moments. Storm was amazing. Intriguing, hot, persistent and irresistible. I had mixed emotions towards Evelyn. She was feisty and sassy, but also insecure, and indecisive. I didn\’t like how blind she was to how wrong her current relationship was, and I didn\’t like that it took her weeks of flirting with Storm to break it off… The book: • 316 Pages • Contemporary • Standalone • Happily Ever After • In A Series • First-Person Narrative • Her POV The romantic theme: • Love Triangle • Forbidden Romance • Rock Star Romance The read: • Good Pace • Made Me Smile • Touching • Sexy • Dramatic Heat level: • 3 / 5 (Includes hot and explicit sex scenes) • MF • Dirty Talk • Vanilla Story ingredients: • Instant Clash • Witty Banter • Opposites Attract • Paparazzi Target • Romantic Pursuit • Unforgettable First Meeting • Heroic Rescue • Big Romantic Gestures • Cheating He is… • Alpha Male • Bossy • Cocky • Possessive • Hot • Beautiful • Fit • Wealthy • Bad Boy • Troubled Past • Guitarist She is… • Pretty • Sassy • Had Few Bed Partners • Troubled Past

This story popped up on my recommended feed and I simply liked the blurb, thought it would fill in the evening and of course it was only 99p. So all good! Then the first few chapters happened and I was a little sceptical as I didn\’t warm to Evelyn but again figured it was only 99p so , it was still cheap and would fill in the evening. Then…I started to like her. By then I was already loving Storm, but it was a story very much leaning towards liking her to pull it off. Simply because she had let her life just slow to a dull ride where she worried herself into being ill – panic attacks and depression. Whether her rut happened because of the depression or her depression happened because of her rut I never really figured out, but then that could be clever writing on the part of Ms\’ Cole, or simple an unintended confusion that is actually fitting with depression. Michael … well I don\’t think he was a bad person, but he was a cowardly one. He was an unhealthy aid rather than a good love interest and deserved to havd his eye wipped. Nuff said. The book is simply written, in particular the earlier chapters. Slight signs of immaturity in both characters that had words used like \’screamed\’ irritated me. In particular with Storm. Men don\’t scream unless they\’re being sawn in two by a crazed killer and only then if the author can\’t find a better word. When they get impatient or annoyed or exasperated, the shout, yell, call out, even roar. But not scream. That one word made me view Storm as childish. …but only briefly. Thankfully the improvement in the authors handling and writing was actually very noticible aa the chapters unfolded. And from that point, my cheap 99p book became one of those little unexpected treasures. OK you\’re not going to learn how to perform heart surgery reading this. Nor bake a cake ( which surprisingly I have done because of tips given in romance novels lol), but you WILL enjoy a nice girls blossoming because a sexy rocker who wears smuged eyeliner, has tattoo\’s even on his legs, and two colored highlights in the side of his hair. Oh…and a fab enormous dog. The books good enough I\’ve bought the second in the series for tonight. Oh and BTW they are stand alone stories but as always I\’m sure better enjoyed if all are read. Rock on! This will be my review on good reads also.

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