ARC Review: Undeniably Asher (The Colloway Brothers #2) by K.L. Kreig

3:09:00 PM

'Undeniably Beautiful'

Book 2 in the The Colloway Brothers series. Each book can be read as a standalone.

Memories.
When does our past stop picking at our scars and start letting them heal?

Scars.
Can we see beyond our wounds to the possibilities the future holds?

Possibilities.
How do we let ourselves become vulnerable enough to trust the love that’s right in front of us?

Fate. She’s a fickle, wily bitch that slaps us in the face every opportunity she gets. Sometimes it’s a taunt, but sometimes it’s a goddamn wake-up call to pay attention. Take what’s rightfully yours without shame or apology. So when destiny put me straight in Alyse Kingsley’s path once again, I knew this was one slap I wasn’t ignoring. I’d let her get away once. I wouldn’t again. She was mine and I was takin’ her, kicking and screaming if need be.

Alyse ~
Deceit and betrayal. Every single person who was supposed to love me committed one of these.
My mother.
My father.
My sister.
My lover.
Incapable of letting people see the real me, I hold them at arm’s length. But Asher Colloway is relentless and it doesn’t take long before I cave to his pursuits. The big question is: can I let him in where it counts most? Before ghosts from my past come back to haunt me in ways I can’t possibly fathom? Before it’s too late?

Asher ~
Trust. Forgiveness. Impossible concepts, having been fucked over by a woman I’d loved before. But those aren’t my only personality flaws.
I’m possessive.
I’m jealous.
I’m dominant.
I have a secret kink.
I want Alyse. All of her. She shows people the shiny, untainted surface. I want the murky, damaged depth. The shadows. I want in all the way. Just when I think I’ve made it, fate cruelly bitch-slaps me again. And this time I don’t see it coming. The question now is: what am I willing to do to keep the woman I love by my side? And can Alyse accept me the way I am, faults and all?

"I would slay dragons. I would walk through hell. I would wage through wars. I would lie and cheat and steal and kill for you. I’d break every fucking law and commandment for no one else but you."

Cherry-popping is always fun for me. Discovering new author and new people to stalk. It’s always a mix of hesitation and excitement for me. But I love to be surprised, so…

I actually had a hard time connecting with the characters at first and it took me long enough to really get them. I guess it was that on the first few percentage, I thought it was like the same with all the million-billion-love out there that it is so predictable with I’m-rich-I’ll-offer-you-the-moon-and-the-stars-with-my-money stuff. But well, I was definitely wrong.

Part of it was maybe because I didn’t get how the prologue was supposed to be this big struggle in the story. I mean, there was this two broken souls who found each other again and they want to give this something between them a chance. And I was thinking, it should have been about them. But, there was more than what it should be, I guess and as the story progress, I’ve come to like Asher Colloway. Yes, I was in for this man.

He’s asking for permission, even though I already gave it. He’s asking for trust, when it’s already his. He’s asking me to be sure.

Asher Colloway. A jaded man who decided to give his all because deep in his soul, he have found someone worth fighting for. What I love about him is that he is intelligent, and that he thinks everything through. Well, okay. He’s an asshole with his neanderthal and irrational jealousy but I love that about him. He gives it all in everything he does and there is more than just being the dominant bossy way that he is. He is in fact a very complicated man.

Alyse Kingsley. Broken soul who have loved and thought that everyone she loved left her in some point of her life. What I love about her though is that she is independent and brave. Brave to try and give something a chance and brave enough to survive what she has been through. Well, okay. Also, her profession. I like that it was given detail, plus the work that she have done, and yeah, I noticed some working back and cross-referencing on details. It would have been a bummer if not, considering I’m very familiar with her line of work.

“Why did it take me so long to find you again?”

I actually have an issue with the ‘recalling of a situation’ (I can’t, for the life of me, remember the right phrase). But on some occasions, I was in point of fact glad it was written that way. It makes me think of the situation in a different light and different perspective and I think it was how the author intended it to be. Not on how you would feel during that particular scene is happening but the way the character is trying to understand how that scene unfold.

From the 40% mark, I’ve become invested and thought this is a beautiful love story and at the end, it was really. It is not just about love and family and letting people in, but of second chances and new beginning and forgiveness.

The turn of events were unexpected and in the end, everything just made sense. I love how it wasn’t predictable and that I didn’t expect it to be ‘that’. It was bittersweet but in the end, I love that it was Asher and Alyse.

This was an emotional read, and hot and scorching. I cannot fathom how they were both brave to overcome such hardships, and I love Barb’s advice and of course, Conn. Aside from that, I love Asher’s kink.

I have made my opinions on epilogues, but then this wasn’t all about rainbows and unicorns. It was beautiful how it ended with closure. It was like it didn’t end. It was a beautiful beginning.