Review: Kiss My Ash by Leddy Harper
Note: An advanced reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author via Give Me Books Promotions.
There’s something about May-December romances that flip the story by having the female main character the older one in the relationship that always fascinates me. Maybe it’s because I am SO done with stories that have much older men easily finding love with younger women and people ooh and aah over it, but when it’s an older woman with a much younger man, there are those who consider the whole idea distasteful, almost as if the woman being what’s known as a “cougar” actually preys on the guy using her female wiles. I’m inserting an eye roll riiight about…here. Seriously, who says that only teens and those in their twenties and thirties can find love, and why does it have to be with someone who’s the same age or close to their age or only okay if it’s the guy who’s older? Sigh. Don’t worry; I’m about to wrap up my rant with this: I like finding May-December romances with an older woman and younger man but I LOVE it when the author adds her own flair and convinces me that the couple has the kind of connection that will make me believe the happily-ever-after at the end. And that is what I got with Kiss My Ash.
Leddy Harper is a new-to-me author and her latest standalone is a bit of a romantic comedy with a hint of angst and a whole lot of sexual tension mixed in with some slow burn romance. When thirty-three-year-old single mother and bank manager Kristy Richards is finally able to afford her own house, she doesn’t expect to have the benefit of having a hot, younger guy as her next-door neighbor. One look at carpenter and woodworker Asher Jenkins and she knows she’s going to have to keep her lust in check, especially since she ticks him in as being in his early twenties. The fact that he seems to be as drawn to her as she is to him, however, makes for some very interesting flirtatious moments. Maybe giving in to their baser desires wouldn’t be such a bad thing. He’s attracted to her; she’s attracted to him. Win-win, right? At least he’s legal…isn’t he? When Kristy discovers that Ash is seventeen and happens to go to the same high school as her sixteen-year-old daughter throws her for a loop. There’s no way anything can happen between them. So what if he’s just a few weeks’ shy of eighteen? So what if they both feel…more?
Kiss My Ash was a surprising read, mainly because the author took the story in a bold direction and took several unexpected turns as Kristy and Ash flirted and fooled around and then finally fell in love but also fell apart in this novel. I liked that Harper made it a point to establish a firmer foundation for these two. There was a genuine friendship beneath the far more amorous and sexual part of their relationship, and it was something that I appreciated because it highlighted that there was a whole lot of care and concern that had nothing to do with whether or not they were going to end up in bed together. This really was a tale of taking a stand for true amidst judgment, assumption, and perception and it had its focus solely on Kristy and Ash although Kristy’s daughter Emma and Ash’s father Will were important supporting characters who were integral to the moving forward of the story. I know some people may find Ash’s maturity seemingly improbable, but experience has taught me that maturity has nothing to do with one’s age. At the end of the day, Leddy Harper wrote a love story worth reading. Five stars. ♥
Leddy Harper is a new-to-me author and her latest standalone is a bit of a romantic comedy with a hint of angst and a whole lot of sexual tension mixed in with some slow burn romance. When thirty-three-year-old single mother and bank manager Kristy Richards is finally able to afford her own house, she doesn’t expect to have the benefit of having a hot, younger guy as her next-door neighbor. One look at carpenter and woodworker Asher Jenkins and she knows she’s going to have to keep her lust in check, especially since she ticks him in as being in his early twenties. The fact that he seems to be as drawn to her as she is to him, however, makes for some very interesting flirtatious moments. Maybe giving in to their baser desires wouldn’t be such a bad thing. He’s attracted to her; she’s attracted to him. Win-win, right? At least he’s legal…isn’t he? When Kristy discovers that Ash is seventeen and happens to go to the same high school as her sixteen-year-old daughter throws her for a loop. There’s no way anything can happen between them. So what if he’s just a few weeks’ shy of eighteen? So what if they both feel…more?
Kiss My Ash was a surprising read, mainly because the author took the story in a bold direction and took several unexpected turns as Kristy and Ash flirted and fooled around and then finally fell in love but also fell apart in this novel. I liked that Harper made it a point to establish a firmer foundation for these two. There was a genuine friendship beneath the far more amorous and sexual part of their relationship, and it was something that I appreciated because it highlighted that there was a whole lot of care and concern that had nothing to do with whether or not they were going to end up in bed together. This really was a tale of taking a stand for true amidst judgment, assumption, and perception and it had its focus solely on Kristy and Ash although Kristy’s daughter Emma and Ash’s father Will were important supporting characters who were integral to the moving forward of the story. I know some people may find Ash’s maturity seemingly improbable, but experience has taught me that maturity has nothing to do with one’s age. At the end of the day, Leddy Harper wrote a love story worth reading. Five stars. ♥
Date Read: 08 August 2018
Learn more about Leddy Harper.
Purchase Kiss My Ash on Amazon.
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