Chasing Serenity - Kristen Ashley

 

She’s high heels, he’s hiking boots . . . and they’re perfect together.

 

Chasing Serenity, an all new steamy and emotional opposites attract stand-alone from New York Times bestselling author Kristen Ashley is available now!

 

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kristen Ashley brings a new novel in her River Rain series…

 

From a very young age, Chloe Pierce was trained to look after the ones she loved.

 

And she was trained by the best.

 

But when the man who looked after her was no longer there, Chloe is cast adrift—just as the very foundation of her life crumbled to pieces.

 

Then she runs into tall, lanky, unpretentious Judge Oakley, her exact opposite. She shops. He hikes. She drinks pink ladies. He drinks beer. She’s a city girl. He’s a mountain guy.

 

Obviously, this means they have a blowout fight upon meeting. Their second encounter doesn’t go a lot better.

 

Judge is loving the challenge. Chloe is everything he doesn’t want in a woman, but he can’t stop finding ways to spend time with her. He knows she’s dealing with loss and change.

 

He just doesn’t know how deep that goes. Or how ingrained it is for Chloe to care for those who have a place in her heart, how hard it will be to trust anyone to look after her…

 

And how much harder it is when it’s his turn.

 

Fall in love today!

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Considering the fact he’d brought in a coffee for his buddy, Rix, who managed the store, Judge was down on the floor where Rix’s office was, not on the top floor where his was, so he saw her when she walked into the shoe section.

He’d dated Meg.

And before Meg, there was Jess.

And before Jess, there was Kimberly.

They all had different color hair, Meg and Jess were tall, Kim was not.

But even so, Judge had a type.

He knew it.

And that woman who’d strolled up to the shoe displays?

She was his type.

Multiplied by a thousand.

Christ, she was beautiful.

And bad news.

He could tell that last by the outfit, including her ridiculous, high-heeled booties.

He’d worked at River Rain Outdoor stores for nine years—starting as a sales associate when he was still going to college and advancing to director of the Kids and Trails program.

In all that time, he didn’t think he’d ever seen a woman walk into any of their stores wearing shoes like hers.

And when he came down again a half an hour later to hit Rix’s office to make some copies because the copier in the corporate offices at the top level was busted, he noticed she was still there.

He also noticed he had further evidence she was bad news.

That evidence?

The sheer number of boxes of boots that she was trying on scattered around her.

She looked like she’d not set foot on a hiking trail in her life.

And she looked like she was there because she’d already trolled through all the boutiques around the square, but this hadn’t assuaged her shopping fix, because nothing really did.

Therefore, there was a possibility, after making a member of staff bring her fifteen pairs of shoes, she’d walk out not buying anything.

She’d do this not thinking a thing of it.

However, he noted some of the boots she was trying on were riding boots, and Judge could see that round ass of hers in the saddle on top of a horse.

Wearing a riding habit.

Even if she was trouble, and he had not the slightest interest (or he was telling himself that), he couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

Because he was a moron.

That said, she caught his gaze every time.

So he was looking.

But so was she.

His instincts proved true when he came down for the third time with more to copy, and he again walked through the shoe section to get to the office in the back. Doing this close to where she was seated, still trying on boots, because, yes, in the fifteen minutes between then and now, he had not stopped being a moron.

And again, she caught his gaze.

He had no clue why, but as her gorgeous hickory brown eyes hit his, he muttered, “Nice booties.”

Her back shot straight, and she demanded, “What did you just say?”

Chasing Serenity is opposites attract romance, and the first title in the River Rain series featuring Chloe and Judge. 

Chloe is the child of famous parents and takes her role as eldest sibling very seriously.  She’s a caretaker, and desperate to make things better for her family, even as she struggles with her own grief and heartache. She’s a complicated, and endearing character who at the beginning comes off as a high maintenance fashionista, is very empathetic and kind.  She’s sassy, spirited, stubborn and stylish and owns and runs a clothing boutique and non-profit to aid others.

Judge has strong convictions and runs a non-profit outdoor adventure program for children.  He’s driven and determined when it comes to causes he’s passionate about, and dogged, yet patient in his pursuit of Chloe.

Despite their interactions being quite heated, and quite different this pair are inexplicably drawn to each other.  Their banter is fun, flirty, antagonistic, and quite often full of bickering.  The sparks fly between this pair, and the chemistry is undeniable, with love scenes that are hot and steamy.

 With strong themes of family and friendship, I was engaged from beginning to end, and the side characters captured my interest, and I look forward to future additions to this series.