Today I have the great pleasure to bring to you B.R Kingsolver’s contemporary romance, Ashley’s Dream. This was a wonderful story. The characters are realistic and entertaining. For my full review keep reading after the book blurb. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. OH and if you didn’t know already The Book Maven is up for blogger of the year. The link to vote is here and my interview is here.
Book Blurb:
Can a woman have both love and her dreams?
Ashley isn’t looking for love. Her dream is to travel the world, and getting tied down by a man doesn’t fit into her plans. Relationships always get so complicated, and men always lie. It’s better just to have some fun and no one gets hurt.
When she graduates college and the job offers don’t come rolling in, it’s life as usual: working as the manager of a college town bar and spending time with her friends. But a tragic event puts romance in her path, and she takes a chance on her white knight.
Things are not always as they seem, and Jeff has secrets. Her friends try to tell her something isn’t right, but when Ashley is with him her common sense is smothered by his kisses and soft endearments.
When Jeff’s deceptions are revealed, his hot roommate Ryan steps in and tell Ashley that he loves her, but she pushes him away. Then the job offer she has always wanted arrives, and her heart is torn between love and following her dream.
Review:
Ashley’s dream is to travel the world. She has decided that nothing will get in her way. The problem is she isn’t being hired by any of the resorts she’s applied to since graduating college. So, she decides to take a job managing the bar she’s worked at for her college career. Though temporary she still gets to use ideas that she has learned. While Ashley is singularly focused on her career her love life has taken a backseat and her relationship have just consisted of a friends with benefits angle. This has worked until one night a devistating event turns her world on its side and she falls for her knight in shing armor. Unfortunately her knight isn’t all he’s cracked up to be and its really his roommate who is the real catch. But, after her many disappointments and constant drama can Ashley open herself up to love and possibly a career or will she decide they are mutually exclusive.
This was a good story with equally good characters. You get drawn in by the drama and the sexy love story. I found myself liking the supporting characters a bit more than Ashley. Here character started to get a bit annoying after awhile. She does eventually redeem herself but I found her decisions at times to be contridictory. At times it was difficult to empathize with her but thanks to the supporting characters and especially Ryan they kept the story entertaining and meaningful. This was probably a longer book than it needed to be and I felt like it dragged in parts but when the characters finally start learning lessons and becoming more rounded then it takes off and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall, this is an entertaining book. It is definitely different from Kingsolver’s Telepathic Clans Series. B.R Kingsolver brings her unique storytelling ability to the contemporary romance genre. This book is a nice addition to that genre.