Chasing Serenity (River Rain Book 1) by Kristen Ashley
2nd in a series. Can stand alone but better in order.
After reading After The Climb, I was excited to read the books about the kids. Chloe is Imogenās (from After the Climb) daughter. But the first time I read Chasing Serenity I wasnāt in love with it. I thought it was my mood and the fact that I am not reading as much as listening this year, so I got the audiobook. Sadly, I still felt the same way.
“Life is a risk. But you win nothing if you don’t risk anything.”
It wasnāt that I didnāt love Chloe and Judgeās story, it was just so rambly! Let me quote my notes:
āWhat the fuck is happening with this random story about random people. OMG.ā
āOMG. If this wasnāt KA I would DNF. This in-depth discussion of Judgeās family tree introduced 29 people. WTF. Iām too high for this.ā
Chloe owned a size-inclusive boutique. Oh my gosh, this was my favorite part of the book. A customer was shopping in her store and telling her how wonderful it felt to find her size and how hard it is normally to shop. The scene brought me to tears because it was so relatable.
Chloe also reminded me of Josephine from The Will. Very formal in speech, throwing french words into conversation, and being a designer label whore. She often seemed like a spoiled brat and I just couldnāt imagine a young woman acting like her.
Judge kind of felt like he fell out of Yellowstone. I didnāt feel the chemistry between them as much as I usually do in Kristenās books. But that doesnāt mean I didnāt enjoy it, it just wasnāt a favorite.
āThere is a man out there who will worship you. Not because heās intent to make you feel special. Because he understands to his bones that you already are.ā
Of course, there were amazing Kristen Ashley quotes, and I still got the feels that I always get from her books. But you know Kristenās style of rambling run-on sentences describing locations or people? Chasing Serenity seemed to have this more than ever. It almost felt like someone trying to write a Kristen Ashley book but overdoing it. I had to read passages several times to even understand who was talking when and what the heck they were saying.
Likes:
- The way any Kristen Ashley book makes me FEEL.
- Chloeās size-inclusive boutique.
- I loved the banter when they first met.
- The fact that itās a new town and new characters that donāt really cross over.
- The comfort reading KA gives me.
- I really really love all the familial relationships.
- It was cool seeing Imogene from her daughterās POV.
Dislikes:
- The pacing was off, the first half dragged a bit.
- There are SO MANY CHARACTERS to keep track of, and long stories about extended family that introduced so many more.
- This went a little overboard on the Kristen Ashley style of writing.
- A lot of rambling that didnāt pertain to the story.
- I just didnāt feel that much chemistry.
- There was a little too much about Corey.
- An irredeemable small character crossing over from another series.
The Down and Dirty:
Rating: 3 Stars, 4 Heat

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