The Gamble

By: Kristen Ashley

Narrated by: Emma Taylor

Length: 25 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

GoodReads Author of the Year 2012, Nominee

Welcome to New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Kristen Ashley's Colorado Mountain Series, where friends become family and everyone deserves a second chance.

Love is the greatest gamble of all...

Nina Sheridan desperately needs a timeout vacation. With a fiancé who can't even remember how she takes her coffee, Nina wants some distance to rethink her engagement. Flying halfway around the world from England to a mountain town in Colorado should do the trick. But when she finds a gorgeous man at her rental cabin, Nina's cold, lonely adventure suddenly heats up.

The owner of the house, Holden "Max" Maxwell is surprised by the beautiful woman who turns up at his door. But when Nina becomes ill, Max spends days nursing her back to health. A private man with a broken heart, Max finds himself drawn to the strong-willed woman. Soon it becomes impossible for Nina and Max to deny their growing attraction to one another. Yet even as these two wounded souls think about taking a chance on a relationship, a secret from Max's past emerges—and threatens to end their love for good.

©2012 Kristen Ashley (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Love romance and Kristen Ashley

Kristen Ashley's books before she found a publisher are the best! This book had suspense, a strong female and an alpha male mixed with wit and a bit of sassy thrown in the mix. Worth the credit!! Loved the narrator! I could picture the small town feel with the realistic "everyone knows your business" scenario.
I have read all Kristen Ashley's books and can't wait for the Berg series to come out on audible. I have all the Rock Chicks and have listen multiple times!
Buy this now and you won't be disappointed. This whole series is excellent!!

Good gamble

This book was written in such a way that the listeners emotions moved with the storyline. What women wouldn't want a Holden Maxwell? The author has an amazing ability that allows the listener/reader to fully visualize the scene which ultimately makes this such a great listen as you can see what your hearing.

U enjoyed the length of the book because it fit the story it allows the story to build and resolve in an appropriate length of time. I found myself listening when I should have been sleeping...

I hope the next is as good as this one!!!

Loved this love story!

I was glad this book was long and had twists and turns. Fantastic story line and the narrator of the audio book did a great job!

Can listen on 1x3 speed

This book had a good storyline that kept me interested. You really get to know the characters and the town. Some parts of the story are so descriptive that it makes the story a bit too long in parts. In addition, the narration is slow. I listened on 1x3 speed and found that to be just right.

Hard Listen

I am listening to this in 1.7, so it says I have about 4 hrs 45 mins left. KA is great at creating a picture and putting you in the scene. I have listened to several other books by her and this is by far the hardest listen. I listened out of order, but it doesn't hinder your understanding, but I'm some sense makes you just want to go back and get the other stories.

With that being said, Nina is the most insecure of this series and I have read several in this series. When she gets angry she can handle herself great but in regular conversation it is maddening. She ask a question or has a lot of inner monologues but when those thoughts and questions are being answered all she says is "Max." She repeats shit A LOT and you think you're a lawyer you should be better than this. Then there are a lot of things that she is wondering about Max and his past, at one point he says to ask him anything. Then what she really really wants to know she DOESN'T ASK. So that keeps up the insecurities. They may get to the root of things later but as stated I still have over 4 hours left. Then when she's thinking about Anna and she keeps comparing herself it is like he wasn't supposed to have loved anyone previously and that is seriously unrealistic. So this book is already written and therefore nothing we can do, but they should really have a large focus group to tell the author about some of this stuff. I love description, but she has the MC describing every single outfit they wear, what they eat every morning, what other people are wearing, it's really annoying, lol. Okay back to my listen, I'll come back and update.

Gamble and Sweet dreams

Enjoy not the stories but writer needs to realize that women are capable of responding with worlds other than “sorry?”.... it’s extremely redundant and borders on irritating. Very much enjoy the characters.

amazing

I'm doing a reread and Review as when I first started Kristen Ashley work I was giving stars but not reviewing. Kristen Ashley is what brought me back into romance and help me heal alot of broken things. I started with the Colorado Mountain series just not this book. But doing a reread you need to go in order. Max and Nina's story is beautiful. Nina wants some distance to rethink her engagement. Flying halfway around the world from England to a mountain town in Colorado should do the trick. Nina arrives at the house she booked to find the owner Max is their. Max and Nina's journey is funny sad and full of learning how to find the right kind of love. I can't wait to do a full reread of the Colorado Mountain Series and the hot mountain Men that are here

PURE "HEART & SOUL" ROMANCE IN THE COLORADO MTS.

OH WOW! TAKE ME TO THE BEAUTIFUL BLUFF AND COLORADO FRESH MOUNTAIN AIR!!! WHAT A WONDERFUL AUDIOBOOK!

Nina resides in England and decides to take a 2-week "time-out" from her fiancé Niles. Who is completely oblivious to her emotional plight and needs. She rents an A-frame home nestled in the mountains of Colorado and finds that it's inhabited by the owner Max, who is not happy she's there. Yet, the misunderstanding of this booking is just the right set up for a Mountain Man to fall in love with a chic, beautiful woman whom he challenges to take a gamble on love with him. If it's hard to imagine a Mountain Man and a classy lady, then take the gamble to read this incredible story about recognizing something precious and fighting for it, despite the odds.

Regarding the leads, there were things I loved and disliked about Max and Nina, but I think that's what makes their characters more realistic. Max wields this quiet strength and dominates in a subtle, possessive manner. He's not one to explain his thoughts, feelings or background, even though he seeks to pull down Nina's emotional shields. I loved that Max made his mind up about Nina very quickly and he was determined to make her stay with him….forever. I also loved the little things that Max did. He seemed to touch Nina all the time--the sweet almost subconscious touches throughout the day, and he really listened to the things that were important to her. Also, his endearments for Nina were so darn sexy!!! ( DUCHESS, darlin', and baby).

Now, Nina is simply adorable! She has this effortless charm, intelligence and beauty that captures people's attention, unbeknownst to her. I love that she loves make-up, fashion, coupled with her genuine love for people and her courage get down to the nitty-gritty of issues is what makes her one awesome, strong heroine.

Nina finds herself in a whirlwind as Max sweeps her off of her feet in a love development that evolves around the countless needs of the townspeople who are a big part of Max's life and the bevy of characters from Nina's life who also come to make this one big adventure! Yet, there is also danger, and a murder to be solved and Max and Nina find themselves heavily involved in the solving of that case.

This book is long and if you enjoy really getting into background and character development with townspeople who are larger than life in the mountains in Colorado, then this will be a audiobook dream because Emma Taylor is an excellent narrator as she brings these characters to life! I loved this audiobook! And, since I've been running out of credits fast, it was perfect due to the length.

Lastly, the sequence of events that brought this book to a culminating end was fascinating, and so unexpected! K.A. is an exquisite writer as she keeps readers on their toes. I particularly love K.A uncanny ability to write about alpha males and the sassy, strong heroines who catch their attention. And, this romance between Max and Nina really caught my heart and attention. This story was sealed with an epilogue that was just gorgeous….so fulfilling, so endearing and so beautiful!

I finally found an author as good as SE Phillips!

Love! Love! Love this book and how well it is written! I have been searching for an author whose writing I could enjoy as much as I enjoy Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and now I have!

The characters reveal themselves through dialogue and through actions, not from what the author tells you about them. Relationships DEVELOP, they don't just appear out of thin air. Good writing makes all the difference in good storytelling.

This book has lots of texture and layers. She develops a whole town full of characters and creates an armload of people you want to spend more time with. These are mountain folks, and may seem a little quirky to city-folk listeners .... but I am mountain folk too and they ring completely true to me. I loved Carnal, Colorado and its people.

Emma Taylor's narration was great. Each character was distinct and she read the dialogue well. Sometimes dialogue and narrative run together with no differentiation, but Taylor succeeds in keeping the storytelling clear.

I don't think I will be interested in Kristen Ashley's Rock Chick or Chaos books (they sound a little rough for me), but I'll be listening to more of the Colorado Mountain series for sure!

Manly mountain man and a submissive heroine

What made the experience of listening to The Gamble the most enjoyable?

I loved the English accent and the over all story.

Would you recommend The Gamble to your friends? Why or why not?

I am not sure if my friends would like the story. The main character was too submissive to me.

Have you listened to any of Emma Taylor’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not heard Emma Taylor performance but I really enjoyed it.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If I could listen to the whole story in one sitting I would.