Excerpt + Giveaway: LOOSE ENDS by KRISTEN ASHLEY

 

Synopsis:

 

In Kristen Ashley’s first anthology, Loose Ends, readers will find three short stories and two novellas taking them back to characters and series in the Kristen Ashley universe. Through stories in this collection, visit The ‘’Burg, Heaven and Hell, Unfinished Heroes, the Honey, and Rock Chick.

No Clue , a short story – Visit with Joe and Vi from At Peace of The ’Burg series and learn how Joe breaks up a fight between his sons, what Ryker’s up to and why, exactly, his wife Violet has no clue.

The Stars Aligned , a novella – The long-awaited love story of Hap and Luci. Introduced in Heaven and Hell , readers learned, after a heartbreaking journey through grief, Luci was ready to take another chance at love. But Hap was adhering to “the code” between brothers, unwilling to betray his dead friend Travis by falling for Travis’s widow. Further, Hap can’t quite believe a beauty like Luci could fall for a normal guy like Hap. But for Luci and Hap the heart can’t be denied. Especially when the stars align.

The Favor , a short story – Deacon and Cassidy from Deacon of the Unfinished Hero series go back to their favorite cabin at Glacier Lily, and there, Cassie asks her husband a favor. He’ll give her anything she wants. Including this.

More Than Everything , a novella – Readers left Diesel, Maddox and Molly at a crossroads at the end of The Greatest Risk of the Honey series. Maddox and Molly were all in with their commitment to their unconventional love triangle. But Diesel was letting the pressures and prejudice of family and society sink under his skin, making him hold himself distant from the man he loved. Can Maddox and Molly lead Diesel fully into their lives and give him more than everything?

Rock Chick Renewal , a short story – Tod has been planning Rock Chick weddings for years. He’s got a new one on his hands. And it’s not what he expected.

 

Excerpt from ‘The Stars Aligned’:

 

“I loved him too.”
She shut her mouth.
“You know that. I miss him too. Not like you, I get that. But I just want you to know I feel that, for me, for you, and I’m there even if we’re like we are right now. I’m there when that hits you, however you need me to be.”
Luci stared at Hap’s profile unable to speak.
She would not be able to do that. If the shoe was on the other foot, he had lost a wife he adored and was moving on with Luci, but he continued to mourn his wife’s passing in his way, she would need him to do that inside himself. To hide that from her. She was too possessive. Too selfish. She knew that about herself, even if she didn’t like it. She’d want to be a bigger person, a better person, and she might be able to hide her feelings from him to give him what he needed, but it would hurt.
She’d never offer it, as Hap would say, straight out.
But he meant it.
He meant every word.
“I would not be able to do that for you,” she blurted.
He glanced at her before looking back at the road. “Sorry?”
“I would want to, but I would find it difficult to support you in that way.”
“Seein’ as that’s not the way it is, you don’t have anything to worry about,” he replied.
That was not the point.
She didn’t belabor the point.
Dio, but she loved him.
“May I ask you something?” she requested.
“Shoot,” he invited.
“If it was the other way around, not you losing a woman you loved, but if I’d found you first, not Travis, and I had lost you, how would you feel if Travis and I found each other?”
“I’d want you to be happy.”
Not a moment’s hesitation.
Not one.
“Do you say that because you know how I was with Travis?” she pressed cautiously.
“I say that because I’d want you to be happy,” he repeated. Another glance to her before he looked back at the road. “Baby, why do you think I’m right here and you’re right there?”
Luci turned her eyes out the windshield but not her attention.
I’d want you to be happy.
Dear Lord, she was going to cry.
“Luce?” he called.
She swallowed and stated, “I would find it in me to support you through the loss of a woman you loved, however you needed me to support you.”
“Honey, look at me,” he urged, taking up her hand, pulling it to his thigh and holding it tight.
She looked to him and he must have felt it because he didn’t take his eyes off the road when he resumed speaking.
“That’s not where we are. As sweet as that is, we’ve got what we’ve got. That’s enough to deal with. There’s no point to this conversation because we are where we’re at and not anywhere else, and we got enough on our plates. It serves no purpose to take it anywhere else. You found Gordo. You lost Gordo. You want me. I’m right here. That’s where we are. Let’s just find our way through that minefield, yeah?”
You want me. I’m right here.
What did that mean?

 

My Review:

 

“He’s always on my mind. When I go to sleep. When I wake. He’s just always . . . there.”

Fans of Kristen Ashley will delight in this very hot, very touching and very romantic collection of short stories!

We have a short visit with one of my all-time FAVORITE KA couples, Joe and Vi from At Peace. I will never tire of reading about them and this sweet, romantic story will thrill fans of The Burg series. Another reason I love Kristen Ashley? Older couples still have all the passion and fire of her younger couples. Y A Y for older married couples!!

The next novella is about Hap and Luce an honestly this could have been its own book. KA must have SO many stories rattling around in her vivid imagination and I am so glad she put this one on paper! This is a very poignant story that is pure KA.

“You were a good boy who would grow into a good man, that coming from what was inside you that she knew was there and they nurtured.” SOBS!!

I was so excited to re-visit Deacon and Cassidy in The Favor. Deacon is still one of my favorite Alphas and the Unfinished Heroes series is NOT to be missed!! Kristen Ashley sets the bar for Alpha males. This sweet story gave me all the feels.

“You’re it, Deacon. You’re the reason I breathe/. You’re my husband. I was put on this earth for you. I can’t exist on this earth without you.”

Get ready for some MAJOR heat because More Than Everything is NSFW and will take your breath away!! Please heed the author’s note about this scorching novella because this might be one of the most graphic and erotic stories I’ve ever read. This is Diesel, Maddox and Molly’s story from the Honey Series and it is a beautiful story about love, commitment and acceptance. Be aware that this is a m/m/f relationship so if that is not your jam, then you probably won’t love this one.

“You are our world. We can endure anything, as long as we do it as our three.”

Finally, there is a cute standalone story called Tell Me What You Want which I thoroughly enjoyed, as well as a sweet visit with Tod and Stevie in Rock Chick Renewal.

SO. A lot to take in, no? Once again, Kristen Ashley delivers a very full contemporary romance reading experience, and I hope she plans to write more of these anthologies in the future!

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