Having Her by Jackie Ashenden

Having Her
By Jackie Ashenden
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
Ok, so I started this book ages ago. I love Jackie Ashenden's writing. Her style is awesome and when you need angst, this is the place to be. But...I over angsted myself right before I started this book. I got about half way through, saw a certain plot twist, and nearly threw my kindle against the wall. I had to take a break. But I knew I'd finish it eventually so I just put it aside for a while.

And it's true. I got back in the mood and I picked it right back up. There were tears and feelings and so much caring and angst. I liked the story a lot, even if you need the right mood for angst.

It's so rare to have a book that allow the heroine to dress however she likes, even if it's out of the norm, without trying to change her. Vin doesn't LIKE her clothes and makeup, but he's completely attracted to her even with all of it. He never asks her to change it even when he thinks it's weird.

The two of them were into BSDM a little bit, but it wasn't a “this is the only way we do it”, it was just “this is fun”. In some cases, it was letting each character hide behind a facade, but I never felt like it went into unhealthy territory.

Both characters grew and changed, even if it was a quick turn around. They tugged on my heartstrings and I really wanted them to work out. I'm still of the rational mind that “changing your attitude” or “true love” will not magically solve all your emotional issues, but I enjoy having an angsty book where everything is perfect in the end.

**This review is archived on my blog: The Theory of Lieto Fine

Taking Him by Jackie Ashenden

Taking Him
by Jackie Ashenden
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
How can I describe how much I enjoyed this story? It's passionate and intense, sweet and quirky. A computer game designer girl and a general contractor-type guy. I love books that give the heroines all kinds of smarts as just a normal part of life. There wasn't a big deal about Ellie being a computer geek or making her conspicuously out-of-the-ordinary. She was just herself.

I loved Ellie's fascination with Hunter. I swear Jackie Ashenden pulled out every possible detail on Hunter and made me feel like I was witnessing this story as it happened. I could believe Ellie's attraction in an instant. Ellie was always the kid in their relationship and it took her a lot to make Hunter see her as a woman. I loved how fearless she was.

Hunter was morose and complicated. He got pulled in to a relationship with Ellie, almost kicking and screaming. Ellie knew what she wanted and went after it with everything she had. She had a certain innocence but a lot of determination. I was fascinated with Hunter just as much as Ellie was.

But, for all the passion, I did get a little irritated at Hunter. There were times he was violent, in a grabby way that left bruises, when he was upset. I understood where it was coming from, but there were times I wanted to tell Ellie that you just don't stick around a person who does that to you. There were times when this book reminded me of Surrender To A Wicked Spy by Celeste Bradley (I think that's the one). Ellie and Hunter have the same sort of I'll-save-your-soul-through-sex journey that Olivia and Dane go through. From that perspective, I wanted Hunter to get some outside help before the story resolved, but in the fantasy of this book, his problems went away as soon as he faced them. Luckily, the rest of the book was so good that I was able to believe in him.

And now that I'm reading Having Her, some of the background questions in this book are being answered, leaving me goggle-eyed and saying “ooooh, that's what was going on”. Both books are stand-alone stories, but they take place during the same time period, so read them close together to get the full effect.


I enjoy the older-brother's-best-friend trope, so when you combine that with Jackie Ashenden (who I just discovered recently and love, love, love), it was an auto-buy. I couldn't seriously pass it up. The story was so well written and so gripping. I was enthralled and barely put the book down. And I ended up crying near the end. It totally sucked me in. I didn't even highlight passages because I was so into the story. This one goes into my read again pile.

Falling For Finn by Jackie Ashenden

Falling For Finn
by Jackie Ashenden
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

My Review:
This book was all kinds of awesome. There's something so fun about the passionate, soap opera books. These characters can change emotions on a dime. They finish having sex and one of them literally runs out of the room.

It tugged on my heart and I felt so much for Finn and Anna. They had a lot of issues to work through and the author did a great job of writing each character so passionately that you feel everything they're going through.

Anna was drugged and sexually assaulted six months before this book starts and she's just starting to come out from the cave of dealing with it. It feels like she's so innocent and naive: to believe that your best male friend would just automatically help you overcome the terror of being touched by having sex with you. You completely feel for her that she just can't even wrap her mind around what life is like apart from living with this fear. She can't see anything beyond “Finn helps me with everything, so obviously he'll help me with this”.

Finn is tough and physical but also really vulnerable. It's not very often you find a romance hero who's been pining for the heroine and pretty much the instance he has a chance, he's actually honest about it. He doesn't beat around the bush or pretend he's not in love. When they finally do have sex, you see how much he wants more and the anguish of not getting it right then.

And I loved how these two actually talked. No lack of communication keeping them apart. Their conflict is completely based on their emotional issues. By the end, they were both able to accept and own their ways of sabotaging themselves and deal with them. They took risks and owned up to their lack. I was really satisfied with how they worked through things and accepted each other.

There was a lot of yelling and anger and frustration, but never any angry sex. When they did have sex, it was hot and sweet. The emotions related to them having sex are huge and grandiose. Think starbursts and almost telepathic connections. I love reading books like that, with emotions that draw you so close to the moment.

This was nearly a single sitting book for me. I could barely put it down the first night and there was no way I was putting it down the second night. I will definitely look for more by this author.