I'M A KRISTEN ASHLEY BELIEVER AGAIN!

OMG, even though I was loving each of the Colorado Mountain books, when it came to Jagged, plainly, I hated it. I hated the love "set up" so much that I was really upset with K.A. because I didn't feel she delivered a romance that readers could believe was undoubtably a "forever romance" between Ham and Zara (due to February...in my heart I believe Zara was Ham's second choice since February was taken). Sooooo, I ended up taking a sabbatical from reading anything K.A. When I finally decided to listen/read Kaleidoscope, it was like coming back home to VINTAGE KRISTEN ASHLEY.

In Kaleidoscope, you have a second chance at love, but one that you KNOW, as a reader, was Jacob Decker's first heart choice. There was no doubt that Emmanuelle Holmes was the only love of his life, as his previous relationship paled in comparison. The love development progressed very nicely and solidly. I loved the chemistry, intellectual banter and overall moments between Jacob and Emme.

The focus of this book was more on the relationship, as opposed to the unraveling of a complicated plot. This was really nice. Yes, there were A LOT of sex scenes, but I enjoyed that aspect. From many of K.A.'s work, I always come away feeling as though she solved the gender war between the masculine and feminine in the love relationships in her characters. I always feel as though K.A. celebrates equally strong male and female leads. Yet, in this book, there was an added dimension to that, as both Jacob and Emme are on opposite side of the political spectrum---which was like whoah!!! I thought exploring the political views of her leads was ballsy, because of the triggers it can evoke from readers. However, I thought she did a very good job with that. I absolutely DID NOT agree with Emme's political views, but fortunately, I never disliked her character for it.

Now, I thought Jacob was the absolute bomb! He was dominant in all of the right ways. Emme was emotionally shaken due to a past experience, and Jacob senses this and serves as a strong anchor, especially when Emme's emotions became unclear and confusing. Jacob was a strong "uber alpha" who helped center his woman and, in essence, heal her emotional wounds. Wow! Beautiful! Just beautiful! I was completely enthralled and impressed with the integration of the kaleidoscope in the love story. It was a very sweet and touching aspect that made a sweet listen/read.

Narrators: Emma Taylor always does a fantastic job, and she was no different in this book. The listening experience was great!

15 people found this helpful

Very good addition to the series :)

4 stars

This was a very good story. I really liked both Emme and Deck and got in to their story. There wasn't a major action plot but it was still engaging and a very enjoyable read.

Emme is a sweet but damaged woman. She has known fear and loss and it affected her greatly. She's made a life for herself but holds herself back and has few friends. Recently she's made more of an effort to come out of her isolation and has changed some things about herself. She even started dating a man named Dane for the last few months but she's not sure about him and is considering breaking it off.

Deck is a P.I. (for lack of a better definition...he doesn't always do things by the book) and the best friend of Chase (the hero from Breathe) and has shown up in a few previous books. He's a good guy, VERY smart and is a loyal friend. He is someone you do not want to get on the bad side of. Deck is also a bit of a ladies man and doesn't usually do serious relationships. Deck's been feeling like something is missing lately and thinks he needs to find the right girl.

Deck is in Gnaw Bone to talk to the police about a possible job when he and Emme first run in to each other. She's changed a lot in the 9 years since he last saw her and he barely recognizes her but is way happy when he realizes who she is. Deck and Emme used to be very tight for years. Deck was going out with Emme's best friend and the 3 of them hung out all the time. Deck and Emme had a special friendship that his girlfriend was jealous of but there was never a hint of something more at that time because Deck was majorly hung up on his girlfriend. When she dumps Deck for a man with more money, Emme tried to bring him some happiness, giving him a beautiful kaleidoscope and an offer for friendship. Deck kept the kaleidoscope but was too torn up to keep the friendship going and it was 9 years before they saw each other again. When Deck sees Emme again and gets to talk to her, he realizes just how much he missed their friendship and their connection. They make plans to do dinner that evening (which Dane is there to see and not to pleased about) and when they do Deck starts realizing just how stupid he was to have lost Emme from his life.

Deck's job actually has some ties to Emme's boyfriend so there's a little bit of a conflict of interest that makes things interesting but that part get done relatively quickly. Emme was already planning to break up with Dane so when things go down she's not unhappy about Dane being out of her life. She does feel a bit unsettled though because Deck makes it quite clear that as soon as Dane is out he's in and proceeds to make it that way. I liked the way Deck treated Emme, he was bossy but could be reasoned with and wasn't an alpha-hole. He decided that he wanted Emme and wasn't going to balk on that and he made a concerted effort to take care of her in important ways. Emme cares deeply for Deck and has since they first met but because of some of her past issues, Emme has trouble with letting people close and the growing seriousness of their relationship throws her into retreat. This happens on multiple occasions but fortunately, Deck is very smart and figures out that there are deeper issues. There's some drama as those issues are discovered and worked through and I liked how things worked out. There was a bit more on the action plot before the end but nothing too serious. The ending/epilogue was really good and had some touching moments (keep a tissue handy) and I enjoyed seeing Deck and Emme getting their well deserved HEA.

This was a very good story. I really liked Emme & Deck and how they interacted and worked through things. I loved the kaleidoscope as part of the story and the meanings/emotions behind it. I particularly loved the part it played in the epilogue. As always, the secondary characters are great and I loved seeing some of my faves from previous books. I did notice a few editing errors but not too many. This was a very good addition to the series and I'm looking forward to the next book. I'd recommend this book. Thumbs up. :D

12 people found this helpful

Poor contribution to series

I had loved reading and listening to the first 3 in series several times.They are examples of KAs best work and the narrator did a great job. Unfortunately, this didnt continue in following books, but i wanted another ka book to listen to, and as I didnt like the male lead and general story in the 4th, and didnt recall hating this one i risked it...and sorry to say, it wasnt worth it. It has a dragging storyline made worse when narrated...in fact, everthing just seems worse. the same narrator didnt do a great job this time, but could be even she lacked enthusiasm. pacing and intonation just didnt hit the mark for the dialogue, which for the most part was quite boring. Almost couldnt believe it was a KA book. If you have to get this book, stick to the one you can read and skip through easily!

1 person found this helpful

Sucks

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I have listened to the series and they sound and end the same!,,, I'm done with on the same story

What was most disappointing about Kristen Ashley’s story?

The the same heme, different names

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

Yes

What character would you cut from Kaleidoscope?

They are all the same in all the series just different names

Any additional comments?

Way too much the same story line just different names!!! After listing to all the rest! So Disapointed

1 person found this helpful

Not one of my favorites

I was really looking forward to Deck's story, and it was just OK. Actually, compared to the other novels, in this series, it was rather bland. I'm not trying to be overly critical, because I can't imagine how difficult it must be to come up with one original story after another. So, this story is not awesome, emotionally powerful or super funny, but it is Ok and worth a credit.
-V from Kansas

3 people found this helpful

Good but too predictable

As all KA books, this one was entertaining, sweet and touchy. The only thing is that this one was less surprising, less hot and a little of the same...
Worth listening but, thank God shorter because she is great with details descriptions but, there was just not enough to tell.
Emmy and Jacob were good together and their drama was lighter and less complicated then the ones in her other books.
Good but far from great.

1 person found this helpful

Great From Start to Finish!

If you could sum up Kaleidoscope in three words, what would they be?

Worth Every Penny

What did you like best about this story?

That it was the same but different from the other books in the series.

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

The same

Any additional comments?

Glad she changed it up some.

1 person found this helpful

5 Kaleidoscope Stars

How did I forget how much I loved this series?!
This is only the second time I have listened to this book and that’s odd for me, I usually listen to KA book’s 3 and 4 and, and, and, times.
But for whatever reason this was only my second time with this book and wow it was so good.

How did I forget how much I loved Decker! I am so glad I thought to re-listen to this book! Emme and Decker are perfect for each other. I loved that even though it really wasn’t a second chance romance it kind of was. How protective Jacob is without being over bearing. I just swoon!

I have said it before and I will say it again KA can write animals and children so freaking well into books! I can’t tell you how many times I have thought where is the dog or the cat and I have never thought that with one of KA’s books.

And the narration Emma Taylor is a huge favorite of mine, she can do male voice but its more than that she can just put so much emotion into her words it almost feels like your eye reading it yourself.

*You don't have to like my review but its 100% my opinion, and I am allowed to have it.*

8 people found this helpful

I loved all of KA's Colorado Series EXCEPT this

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

While I have enjoyed all of the books in this series, and I was really looking forward to Deck's story, this arc just didn't grab me like the rest. If you enjoy listening to Emma Taylor narrating tepid love making over and over again and it can only be described so many times in so many ways that results in the same vanilla flavor, then this is the book for you. I am not even really sure where the climax of the story is suppose to be. Even if it was the climax, I felt the author tried to be creative but in the end felt like a cheap shot to give it a "twist". This story is suppose to be more about the main character dealing with an "invisible" threat than a physical one. However, it didn't really arouse any emotional commitment and the story felt lukewarm at best.

What do you think your next listen will be?

No idea, but I think I am done with the Colorado series. I think the publisher might be pushing KA too hard on this series and it's really crashed and burn for me.

What about Emma Taylor’s performance did you like?

ET's performance is always solid.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Kaleidoscope?

Deck is supposedly be this brilliant PI, but rather than delivering intriguing story lines that provokes the reader to come to that conclusion, the author had to keep repeating it throughout the story line by reiterate his "brilliance", and dressed it up with some presumption dialogues. Not a fan.

3 people found this helpful

Sex scenes get old fast.

What disappointed you about Kaleidoscope?

Too much sex and use of naughty words. I don't usually mind them. Over kill.

What could Kristen Ashley have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Not make Dex so bossy.

Did Emma Taylor do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Kaleidoscope?

About 3/4 of the sex scenes.

Any additional comments?

Boring

3 people found this helpful