Complicated

By: Kristen Ashley

Narrated by: Lance Greenfield, Erin Mallon

Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

From the New York Times best-selling author of the Rock Chick series comes a story of love, murder, and second chances....

When small-town Nebraska sheriff Hixon Drake meets Greta Dare, the connection couldn't be stronger, but the timing couldn't be worse.

Dealing with the fallout of a divorce he never wanted and setting up a new home for his kids, Hix becomes that guy, that one he never wanted to be, and puts a stop to things before they can even start. Protecting his kids and himself is his only priority.

Greta, on the other hand, has found the place for her and the brother she adores that's perfect for them - a sleepy little town in Nebraska. She's learned from life that there are no hopes and dreams. The only thing to look forward to is peace. And that's what she works hard to build for herself and her brother. Right up until Hix walks into her life.

Hix can't fight the pull and stay away from Greta for long. And Greta's finding it hard not to hope for something more with all the promise that is Hix.

But when the first murder that's happened in over five decades rocks his small, sleepy county, Hix has got to learn to trust again, convince Greta to take a shot with him, and at the same time catch a killer.

In other words, things are definitely...Complicated.

©2017 Kristen Ashley (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

A SUPERNOVA OF SENSATIONS & DELICIOUS COMPLICATION

Kristen Ashley very quickly became an auto-download author for me because her multi-layered stories never disappoint, always entertain and I'm captured from the start by her loveable fictional characters. And, with this plot, KA has outdone and outshone herself as she so skilfully weaved a slow to develop well crafted love story between a vulnerable yet strong Hairdresser/Lounge Singer and a vulnerable yet very alpha Sheriff who'd both experienced love and marriage before. Neither one was looking for love in their small town, neither one was expecting the bag full of complications their relationship would bring, neither one would go unscathed by the challenges brought on by past relationships of various different kinds and I'd like to say neither one let go.. but tut tut that would be a lie.

Detailed descriptions allowed me to conjure up full mental images as each chapter whizzed by telling the story of second chances, stressful situations, small town life, strings, smouldering passion, sizzling chemistry, sexy times, a sinister Mother, a shitty ex wife, a brain-injured son, three torn in two siblings.. and a murder most foul. And I was gripped as it seemed like every chapter threw in new complications, new challenges and new revelations for these two lovers whose rollercoaster romance would be sweet but tested over and over again. However, their HEA destination would be worth every twist, every turn, every tug at their hearts.. and every tear. Dual POV's and Lance and Erin did a fantastic job of narrating this written for Audible love story.

Worth a credit? Definitely.. and, at 18.14 hrs, it's thankfully a COMPLETE story - so no delays to the HEA's, no release dates to watch out for before you lose sight of the intricacies of the daily dimming plot and hallelujah no cliffhangers that'll take another one, two or even three credits before you get the full story. So thank you Kristen and thank you Audible because in this epic emotion filled story is heart, heat, home, humor and happy endings.

Ehh

Predictable and quaint. I listened to the whole book. It never got exciting or interesting.

It's pretty uncomplicated

The book was ok. Narration and proper pronunciation are paramount!! I had the hardest time getting past the female narrators breathy, timid, unsure of herself, way of speaking every time Hixson said anything to Greta. Ugh!!!! Also, when you're 3/4 way through the book and the narrator starts mispronouncing one of the main characters name?!?!? Oh! And the kicker for me comes at the verrrry end of the longest epilogue in history... Hope, the ex wife of Hixson, suddenly has a name change to Faith. Oy!

An enjoyable story

Any additional comments?

as books go, this was another Kristen Ashley book with a delicious love story and satisfying drama. It wasn't terribly complex and I think a little more action and intrigue would have been nice considering the length of the book, but I enjoyed it very much.

Very shallow storyline

I never read a book by this author and I will never again. The story was so shallow with over abundance of supernatural sex. The story plot involving the divorce was laughable. But the side bar involving the murder made no sense and had no interesting intrigue whatsoever. Greta's dysfunctional relationship with her mother could have save the story but that storyline fizzled quickly. Hicks was so obnoxious his Adonis looks couldn't save his character. I usually can find some redeemable aspects in most books but this was a flop, except for the narrator. The narrator did the best he could to savage this disaster.

Okay, but way too long

What did you like best about Complicated? What did you like least?

I liked the romance between Hicks and Greta, but I didn't like that there were so many scenes that were just unnecessary to the plot. There were too many sex scenes also that did not add to the plot. One or two in the right places would have been sufficient.

Would you be willing to try another book from Kristen Ashley? Why or why not?

No. Her book was just too long and too much that wasn't necessary to the plot and subplots.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

If the author left out a lot of fluff in between. Too many details where there didn't need to be.

Any additional comments?

I didn't like that they all treated Andy condescendingly. Andy was special needs, but they did not need to talk to him as if he were a toddler or a first grader. Every single character referred to him as bud or buddy, and the tone they used was very patronizing. I wouldn't be able to refer this to anyone else unless they just needed to fill 13 hours of their time.

Disappointed

So not what I expected. To me a very week story with a lot of explicit love scenes left me hanging with what I thought was the original plot, the murder.

Perfect Romance

At the beginning I was hesitant to read. The pairing of the moments to songs was perfect. The beginning of the book starts after the couple's first meeting. Their POVs about the moments reeled me in. Very enjoyable and kept me smiling or on edge. Wonderful story about family in a small town.

MUST READ!!!

If reading books by Kristen Ashley is wrong, then I don't want to be right!!!! Absolute GENUIS!

Sizzling and Relatable

We can all only hope to find such true love and have such a spark between us. Written very well and very tantalizing too.