About the Book:
NEW, EXTENDED VERSION!
With many new chapters, and introducing a new series character, this re-released Special Edition version of After the Climb is the book you have, but it’s also so much more!
They were the Three Amigos: Duncan Holloway, Imogen Swan and Corey Szabo. Two young boys with difficult lives at home banding together with a cool girl who didn’t mind mucking through the mud on their hikes.
They grew up to be Duncan Holloway, activist, CEO and face of the popular River Rain outdoor stores, Imogen Swan, award-winning actress and America’s sweetheart, and Corey Szabo, ruthless tech billionaire.
Rich and very famous, they would learn the devastating knowledge of how the selfish acts of one would affect all their lives.
And the lives of those they loved.
Start the River Rain series with After the Climb, the story of Duncan and Imogen navigating their way back to each other, decades after a fierce betrayal. And introduce yourself to their families, who will have their stories told when River Rain continues.
My Review:
It has been a minute since I’ve read a Kristen Ashley book after bingeing on almost all of them a few years ago. A work friend actually recommended this one to me and I have to say I loved it!
The story and the prose are classic KA and the main characters, while a little over the top, are perfect together. I know there is a free version of this story somewhere but I bought the Kindle version and it had lots of fun extras at the end.
If you liked ‘The Will’, then you will love this book. Genny and Bowie are older main characters, with former spouses and grown children between them. The two of them thought they’d spend their lives together, until a horrible misunderstanding broke them apart. Now, years later, they find themselves together again, mourning the loss of their best friend Corey.
Genny and Bowie’s kids are all loving, funny, smart – they were the perfect foil for their parents. This book was just a fun, sexy, fast read and I enjoyed the tension and the emotions between the main characters. I am also a bg fan of the flashback narrative, and it works well here.
The setting was gorgeous and I had forgotten how well KA describes her locations. She really knows the Arizona locales and it shows. This is not an angsty book, and there is a beautiful ending which was just what I was in the mood for at this point. The two families really merge together beautifully for all the heartwarming “feels” that KA is known for.
I am a fan of mature, second chance romance. I loved all of the supporting characters in this book and I can’t wait to see where their stories lead. If you haven’t read KA in a while, or are a new reader, definitely read ‘After the Climb’. It has all the trademark KA feels!
“With age, honey, you learn a lot of shit. One of the things you learn is that, in this world, there is absolutely nothing you can control, except your own actions and reactions.”