Trigger warnings: [recounting of rape, assault and attempted rape, panic attacks (hide spoiler)]

I was honestly surprised this was a debut novel. I enjoyed it very much, and had a really hard time putting it down. I have a bit of a thing for characters with mental health issues (especially those with traumatic pasts) getting their HEAs, so this was right up my alley!

“She dropped his hand and gripped her portfolio case more tightly. She’d gotten used to the occasional wash of fear threatening to overtake her whenever a man stood too close or made his interest clear. She was good at swallowing it, ignoring it, telling herself she’d never be afraid again. And she wasn’t, until the next time.”


Ellen’s a British ex-pat, who’s leaving Boston – actually, leaving the country entirely – in four months. Her visa’s up, and it’s time for her to move on to another hotel management position. But, before she leaves, she’s got one more Queen’s Ball to organize – the crowning charity event at the Rosette, the hotel she works for – and she wants Fielding Paper to contract with the hotel for all its conference needs. Kane Fielding’s paper mills are being set on fire. Kane takes it personally – it’s a family business – and he’s working with the union to make sure that all of his employees are able to work different shifts at other mills, even if he has to pay overtime.

I was torn about their first meeting. Kane attends the meeting between Ellen and her friend. Kane’s just gotten back from the site of another burned down mill, so he’s exhausted and not thinking clearly, but he’s attracted to her. When he reaches to take a coffee tray, she flinches when he gets too close, so he keeps his distance for the rest of the meeting (props for that). Later, however, he shows up unexpectedly at the hotel to ask her out, which I found… vaguely creepy? It’s possible I’m overreacting a bit, due to personal history and Ellen’s past, but it seemed like he should be more aware of the power differential in coming to her place of work, while she’s trying to secure his company as a client, to ask her on a date. To his credit, when she turns him down, he leaves, and it isn’t until they run into each other later – literally run into each other – that she agrees to go out for dinner.

“After a few minutes, Kane broke the silence. 'Good?' was all he said.
'Really good,' she had to admit[….]
He laughed a little. 'That’s the nicest thing you’ve said all night.'
As swept up in the flavors and the pleasure of plain good food as she was, she said, 'Maybe if you were covered in this gravy and served up next to this pile of mashed potatoes, I’d say something nice to you too.'”


Of course, there is an underlying attraction there, and both Ellen and Kane have to work through their issues. Ellen has a hard time getting past his parade of ex-girlfriends and the scrutiny being in a relationship with him entails. Kane has to learn that he can rely on others for help. I really liked them together, though, and I loved how Kane handled winning Ellen’s trust, though, of course, he fumbles a little as part of the culmination of the conflict they have to overcome. That part read particularly real and was very raw, so much that I was sobbing while reading it. Because while Ellen’s trauma is, perhaps, more common and easier to understand, the way his father’s death and the responsibility of turning around a failing company have left its own scars on Kane, and it’s not until he’s able to accept it that their relationship can bloom.

“They stayed like that for a few seconds, or Kane may have slept a little, but then she moved forward and kissed him. ‘I missed you so much when you were away,’ she whispered, and Kane fell in love with her so hard he couldn’t breathe for the ache.”


What I particularly enjoyed about the book is the underlying theme of how you present yourself to the world. Since a disastrous press conference when he took over the firm at 22 after his dad’s death, Kane’s cultivated the persona of the perfect businessman – one that’s immaculately dressed, with stylishly rumpled hair, and a parade of celebrity girlfriends. Ellen, on the other, maintains an illusion of control, of an “ice-queen” and has never even told her parents what happened or that it’s the reason she fled the country. When she can, she suppresses and ignores the trauma, until something triggers her and it explodes all over the place. Ellen has baggage from the rape, and, thank goodness, it’s not the “pretty” fainting or crying you sometimes see portrayed as a panic attack. For example, she has an attack while making out with Kane and literally karate chops him in the neck before kneeing him in the balls. There’s also how the outside world sees their relationship, leading to paparazzi eavesdropping on her conversations and rampant (and harmful) speculation about her visa status.

As for cons, while I enjoyed the arsonist plot, the final resolution was anti-climactic. Honestly, just thinking about it while writing the review annoys me, because it was just so jarring and sudden.

Overall, this was a delightfully fun and sexy read. I’m looking forward to more books by Ms. Ash, hopefully covered in gravy and served with a side of mashed potatoes!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

***ARC provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley***

I was intrigued by this title, I liked the blurb and I was interested in seeing how the author handled the story. Kimberly Ash is a new author to me, and that is something that also appealed, so I was all in with this title.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this title at all. I finished it, I wanted it to get better. It didn't. There were parts that I thought it was picking up, a scene at the office where he was interesting. A scene in the park when she waits for him while he is running...but none of these scenes went anywhere and they were cut off too quickly.

The dialogue was stilted in places and they didn't speak like people do in real life. There was little continuity in the structure of the dialogue, and there were points that I was not able to tell which character was speaking in a string of dialogue, which was disconcerting.

Plot structure was choppy. There was a lot of time spent on scenes that didn't seem important and scenes that seemed important, and that they would move the story forward, were skipped completely. And, the whole subplot with the fires was not only oddly important, but it was solved oddly quickly...and in a throw away scene at the end, that I was left wondering why so much importance was given to the fire subplot.

Ellen and Kane had no chemistry. The sex was bland, and I was not interested in it, nor did it feel like it moved the story forward in any significant way.

The characters seemed forced, and the idea that Ellen is British seemed like the only thing that made her different from anyone else, which was disappointing. The British dialog felt like it was tossed into the dialog to remind me that she was interesting and I was supposed to want to know that was happening to her.

Unfortunately, I am not able to recommend this title.

Excellent debut novel by author Kimberley Ash. The characters, plot and pacing of the book were spot on. Besides I'm an Anglophile and will read anything featuring British characters.

I'll be honest, I had to DNF this one.

there's some confusing timeline issues and I had a hard time following some of the plot. Even though I liked Ellen and wanted her to be happy, I was really troubled by Kane as a character. No one needs a man who thinks he has to "fix" a broken woman. And he is not a trustworthy character when he questions her judgment.

This was just too all over the place for me. I don't think it could decide if it was a mystery or a romance, and the arson plot felt contrived.

I loved this romance by debut author Kimberley Ash so much that I read it in two sittings, even sneaking away to read it Christmas night! Ellen and Kane, the main characters, are beautiful and damaged, and I couldn't wait for them to find their happily ever after. This romance certainly isn't a fairy tale- these characters are mature (they are in their thirties), with jobs, responsibilities, and tons of baggage. A relationship does not come easily to them, but with their physical attraction and chemistry, and emotional need for each other, the reader will ache for them to be together in the end. Ms. Ash did a lovely job at blending the romance with the plot, which kept me swiping the Kindle pages at a furious pace. I highly recommend this book and I'd love to read more about this world (maybe a book about Penny?)!

This book wasn't exactly what I expected or what I usually like, but it is a pleasant read nonetheless, and I do recommend it if you like an easy going story.

I received a no cost arc from netgallery for review purposes.

I LOVED this story. SO MUCH!! It deals with sexual assault so I do want to warn about that but I loved this book so much. I looked the author up and it appears to be her first book and it totally does not read like a new author. It had wonderful characters, a great story and great writing.
The stars are Kane, a target for the press a lot and he runs his company paper company. And Ellen a hotel employee who runs conferences for her hotel. They meet when Ellen tries to get his business for the hotel. Once Kane sees her, she is all he can think about. But Ellen, is a former english girl does not like the press and turns him down.

But Kane keeps at her and finally she agrees to dating him. I loved these two together. They both have issues in their lives complicating it but I loved watching fall for the other and start to rely on the other and share their secrets. I loved how they trusted each other and were there for the other.

This was a truly fantastic book and I was blown away by this new author.

Not a fan. There was no depth, the whole thing just felt like exaggerated casual sex.