Cat's Books: Romance

An old flame rekindled . . .

Zara Cinders always knew Ham Reece was the one, but he wasn't interested in settling down. When she found someone who was, Ham walked out of her life. Three years later, Zara's lost her business, her marriage, and she's barely getting by in a tiny apartment on the wrong side of the tracks. As soon as Ham hears about Zara's plight, he's on her doorstep offering her a lifeline. Now, it will take every ounce of will power she possesses to resist all that he offers.

Ham was always a traveling man, never one to settle down in one town, with one woman, for more time than absolutely necessary. But Ham's faced his own demons, and he's learned a lot. About himself, and about the life he knows he's meant to live. So when he hears that Zara's having a rough time, he wants to be the one to help. In fact, he wants to do more than that for Zara. A lot more. But first, he must prove to Zara that he's a changed man.

Review

This book was a strange journey for me but overall it was good read.

The book opened with prologue that made me cry. Perhaps, I am a tad hormonal but it is actually very rare for me to tear up during a book and within the first few pages it almost never happens. There is something so touching and wrenching about the dilemma that Zara faces in moving on from Ham (I am just letting go my resistance to this awful not biker related nickname and ignoring it).

We, then, flash forward to three years later when Zara is a bad place with the recession (I love that KA deals with this) stressful time) and the ending of her marriage. Ham comes roaring back into her life with his own near death experience having caused him to reevaluate his life choice of being a rolling stone.

I enjoy much of what happens in the book but it all seems a bit disordered and without the lushness I love about KA. The sexy times are wonderful but even though Ham explains a pile of his behavior and comes through with flying colors in the end, it seems he could have groveled a bit more. I also didn't really care for his big compliment for Zara being that she was easy (as in to be with). Things we learn should happen earlier or in a different order. This is the best I can explain my response to the events of book as less than glowing without giving the plot away.

There is family drama and for once the women that are seen as villains are more grey and change in some cases so this makes me happy.

The epilogue is sweet but could have been much more gluttonous.

So, I liked it but if this was the first book I had ever read by KA I wouldn't glom her backlist. This might be because I didn't care for the Burgs series and Ham's backstory is in there. However, as an already established reader of this writer, I was happy enough.

I was given this book for my honest review. So, there you have it!