Finished Reading August 30, 2022

Oh Dear! Somehow I missed the Buddy Read in Nov 2021!
Hope TPAM doesn't spank me.

Making up for that now & catching up on the series.
BR link
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/22091743-chasing-serenity-river-rain-1-by-k...

3.5 Stars.
Definitely not my favorite KA book.
KA outdid herself with her rambling descriptions and most of them were Very unnecessary. Maybe one of the slowest of her books I've read.
I did love learning more about Cory and how much he cared for her and her family.
I also loved Chloe (aka Coco) and Judge.
But super slow read and super slow burn.
The sex scenes were there but .... not really all that intense. ( )

She did it again.

There is something magical about the way that this author creates a story. I find myself lost in the worlds that she creates. Her characters jump off the pages and become real. They don't just live on the pages of the book that she pens and I love that about her. Every decision that she makes when creating a new world and new characters is done precisely and with intention, because she knows that they all have a story waiting to be told... further down the line which always manages to get me excited for what story will come next.

That was most assuredly the case with Chloe and Judge. When Chloe was first introduced in the prequel novella to this series, it was apparent that Chloe was a force to be reckoned with. In that book, she was a scene-stealer in the few scenes that she was in. However, I knew that there had to be more to her story, and I was correct in that assumption. In this book, Chloe is still her fun self but the author finally dived into her vulnerabilities and I was here for that. I loved getting to see how she tackled everything in her life and didn't buckle under the weight of all of that. I felt her pain and guilt and anger over the way that things had and were unfolding. The demise of her parent's divorce, while still loving them despite it weighed heavy. Knowing that the person that she loved the most and had been instrumental in shaping who she was having a role in that destruction didn't help alleviate those feelings.

Judge was perfect in stepping into that role of helping bear the weight and putting her first. I loved that for her. On paper, these two were as opposite as one could be. I am all for opposites attract but even I had to wonder if the author knew what she was doing because this wasn't a love story of a heroine that needed a white knight because Chloe was definitely the type of woman that would always figure out how to come out on top. However, it wasn't until Judge went through some pretty major revelations and discovery of past issues from his childhood and, especially a particular scene, that I realized that the author knew what she was doing because Chloe was the embodiment of love. Together, they were perfect for each other. They were the foundation of being family and a reminder that family comes in a plethora of ways. Judge wasn't the typical KA alpha man who just bulldozed his way into their woman's life. Instead, he let Chloe set the pace and that was perfect for a character like Chloe.

The story had great cameos from previous characters as well as set up some of the other characters that will get a story in this series. There are a lot of characters in this family and I look forward to them all getting their story. I am anxious for the next story, if not a little surprised of who it will be, I thought for sure that it would have been a different character first. I am sure the author has a plan so I will not question it.

There were a lot of great messages that came from this story and made me love the author even more. She gives them without being preachy and makes me ponder her words long after I have finished reading them. She also added a few chapters in this story that gave me insight into a character that should not have the pull that it did but lord, it really did. I want to hate this character but the chapters in this story told me so much about the how and why of things that could have been just brushed aside but instead added another depth to the underlying story that started with Imogen and Duncan. I have a feeling that she will continue that in future stories and that makes me a little happy because there is a definite message about this character.

This book didn't start out perfect for me. In fact, I was a tad frustrated at how long it took for Chloe and Judge's actual relationship to start, which is unusual for a KA book, but after finally getting to the meat of the story I understood the slow approach that the author took in getting to that moment. She was creating a foundation and I am okay knowing that as this series continues the characters themselves will have more room to blossom. I highly recommend anything this author writes, and this book is no different. There is a reason that I own every book that she has ever written. ( )