Review: "The Closer You Get" by Carter Ashby (Fidelity #1)


Note: This ARC was provided by Patchwork Press Cooperative via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Zachariah "Rye" Holcomb knows what all about the pitfalls of living in a small town. Experience has taught him that prejudice and gossip can run rampant in places that boast of tight-knit communities, the kind of communities that don't take kindly to outsiders. As much as Rye would love to try big city living, he and his brother Cash want to be able to limit the distance between themselves and their mother and their sister and her family. So now, they're in the town of Fidelity and Rye's guard is up. He's there to work, have fun with the opposite sex, and keep watch over Cash. That's always been his MO...until he meets his new boss.

Cora McKay has lived her entire life in Fidelity and she doesn't see herself living anywhere else. The business her father started and that she know owns and manages is based there, as is her home and her family. She doesn't want for anything...except maybe someone to be intimate with, and that sudden urge only sparked to life after she meets her newest employee, Rye Holcomb. He's a definite asset to her business and he's obviously good at his job but he's something of a manwhore. She's never thought of herself as someone who could attract men, but Rye surprisingly appears to be more than interested in her.

As Rye and Cora try their hand at being more than professionally involved, Cash is carefully considering his options with Cora's best friend, Adam Fisk. Everything appears to be going well for the brothers in Fidelity but the past is catching up with both of them and when one person decides to unwittingly sabotage all the good that has come Rye and Cash's way, they'll both need to start making painful choices. Will they run and try to get as far away from Fidelity as they can, leaving behind their broken hearts, or will it finally be time for them to stick around and fight for their own piece of happiness, something they both deserve?

The Closer You Get is the first book in the new series, Fidelity, by author Carter Ashby. It is a touching tale about Rye Holcomb, a man who has seen and experienced life while moving from one small town to another and who would do anything and everything for his younger brother Cash. He meets Cora McKay, a woman who just happens to be his new employer and who isn't exactly the type of woman he usually flirts and ends up in bed with, but he can't seem to keep turning his attention her way whenever they're around one another. Their respective lives have run along set lines but begin to change when those lines intersect. Yes, there were definite moments I wanted to smack these two for their cluelessness but there was just something that felt real about them, something that made them want to try harder with one another compared to had they been with other people. I was so rooting for these two to make things work.

The one thing I didn't like about the book was one particular character, whose name I shall not mention because I don't want to spoil the book for anyone planning on reading it. Yes, I admit it. This person ticked the heck out of me (and this is me self-censoring because I could call them a lot of nasty names after the crap he pulled) and I kept hoping karma would bite them in the...well...let's just say I hoped it would bite them in more than one sensitive area. But I get the need for a villain and I liked that this person was an unexpected villain, so definite bonus points to the author for that. If I had someone like that in my life, I would have decided to end things sooner or later because there are certain things I simply won't tolerate and saying nasty things about those closest to me is one of them. I actually wanted this person to just slink away and live a miserable life but Carter Ashby is way nice than I am, so I accepted her version instead. ^.^

I've read almost all of Carter Ashby's books, save for her debut novel (which is on my TBR list), and I have to say that The Closer You Get is my favorite one, so far. This was a complex story and I loved that amidst the angst there was still a bit of levity so that it didn't end up being overly heavy. Rye and Cora were great lead characters, both discovering new things about themselves and about each other and becoming better individuals and a much stronger and wiser couple. Cash...ah, I loved Cash. He had already been through so much and even though he was wary and cautious, he was still willing to venture into the unknown as far as his heart was concerned. I am curious though about Lyssa and Franny, but most especially Sullivan (aka Sully) but that gives me something to look forward to for the rest of the series. This first book brought about a range of emotions from me, which simply shows how invested I became. I'm giving it five stars. ♥

Release Date: 21 May 2015

Date Read: 15 May 2015

Learn more about Carter Ashby here.

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