BOOK REVIEW + INTERVIEW⎜The Time In Between by Kristen Ashley

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW + GIVEAWAY
AT THE END OF THE POST

MY RATING

If you like the heartbreak of a second chance at love, a slow burn romance that runs emotionally high but still manages to give light and sweet heart warming moments, if you read romance for that satisfying HEA then don’t hesitate and visit The Time in Between.

Book Infos

After a painful loss, Cady Moreland is coming to Magdalene to start the next chapter of her life. A chapter that began eighteen years ago but had a heartbreaking ending. The time in between was full of family and friendship, but Cady could never get the man she fell in love with all those years ago out of her heart.
 
Coert Yeager has learned to live without the girl who entered his life right when she shouldn’t and exited delivering a crippling blow he never would have suspected. The time in between was full of failing to find what he was missing…and life-altering betrayal.
 
But when that girl shows up in Magdalene and buys the town’s beloved lighthouse, even if Coert wants to avoid her, he can’t. A fire in town sparks a different kind of flame that won’t be ignored.
 As Cady and Coert question the actions of the two young adults they once were thrown into earth-shattering circumstances, can they learn from what came in between and find each other again?
This book will be out in digital, print and audio and pre-orders are available now with more links from iBooks, Audible and Google Play coming soon!

Author : Kristen Ashley
Title : The Time In Between
Series : Magdalene series #3

Number of pages : 563
Publisher : 
Release Date :  August 29th, 2017
Genre : Contemporary.

My Review

-I wouldn’t be here … if I wasn’t all in, if I didn’t still love you. You said you still loved me too. So we have that. We hold on to it. And we ride these rapids until I can get us to safety. You with me?

-I’m with you.

There’s a trope in romance that seems to get me every time : Second Chance At Love.
There is something about rekindled lovers that pushes all my buttons, will it be a long time awaited reunion, or an unexpected and rocky confrontation? Can there be better love the second time? Whatever the circumstances, I’m only sure of one thing, its always about that one true love and the concept that soul mates are finally reunited for that big satisfying HEA and that’s why I love them so much. After all, romance is hope, isn’t it?

And if there is one thing I love Kristen Ashley for,more than anything else, it’s her craft for redeemable heroes and heroines and stories centered on mature characters. I also love that her characters, just like in real life, are not perfect. Real life is messy and this fact is more than accounted for in her stories.

She creates dream heroes, alpha males with a temper and many flaws, and I for one find them just as appealing—if not more— than the usual prince charming. It gives an edge or reality to the romance.

Same goes for her heroines, sure, some are tethering the lines of being perfect, but scratching the surface a little, Kristen Ashley gives her heroines insecurities real women, readers, can identify to.
I also like the idea that their hearts and minds had space and time to grow and adjust to real life messiness and maybe learn to overcome issues from the past.

In “The Time in Between, Kristen Ashley gives us glimpses of a yearning love that was lost too soon, portraying a young and inexperienced Cady falling deep for Coert and a slow burn yet very angsty reunion 18 years later.

Almost two decades later and suffering a painful loss, Cady Moreland had time to learn from her mistakes and is determined to get what she deserves and mend lost relationships. And it’s in Magdalene, Maine, that she decides to settle down.

It’s just unfortunate that Sheriff Coert Yeager doesn’t feel the same regarding Magdalene newcomer. This upsetting turn of event is going to cause tension, hostility and reminders of past errors—his and hers— all of which Coert doesn’t need complications from.

In this rocky, unsteady context, I can only say my heart broke to witness Cady being confronted by Coert. The man was so rude and hostile, it made me admire Cady for her resilience and standing her grounds against him. It also gave me hope that some major groveling would take place later on!

I don’t want to give any spoiler about the story, I’ll just say that the obstacles to overcome run deep and both Coert and Cady will have to work past the reasons that made their first time fails, and concentrate on the future.

With Coert being a dad now (helllooo single dad crush!) I need to point out how much I appreciated the author’s choice to go past the usual cliché of deprecating the ex and instead put the focus on family values. Coert may be separated from his daughter’s mother, there was no drama drawn from that fact. 

Another thing I love in KA books is her talent for writing families! The dynamic, the sweet and funny moments. Sigh. I would go as far as say it played a major part in my rating, maybe even equal to the romance in that book.

I missed your smell. I missed those green eyes. I missed holding hands with you. And I missed just having coffee with you … We had a version of paradise, but this here? This is the real thing.

The romance aspect in this story was simply golden. Amplified by the fact that one true love reconnects, the relationship between Cady and Coert was just adorable as it was passionate. After overcoming their issues, they just both dived into it, no holds barred, not wanting to lose any more time. The result is an intense and burning connection, a feeling of urgency to make up for lost time, Kristen Ashley once again upholds her status as a romance and erotica author gratifying us with sensual and steamy sex scenes. All in all, it felt beautiful! 

This wasn’t playing around. This wasn’t going slow. This was us, taking all we could get of everything we had as fast as we could.

Cady was an amazing heroine, with a fragile side to her and a need to nurture, but also strong and tenacious. Coert was the epitome of KA’s alpha males. Strong, possessive and stubborn man he also had a sweeter side to him, protective and caring. They made a great pairing and completed each other perfectly, definitely deserving their HEA!

The Time in Between embodies everything I love in Kristen Ashley books. It went straight to my favorites shelf. If you like the heartbreak of a second chance at love, slow burn romance that runs emotionally high but still manages to give light and sweet heart warming moments, if you read romance for that satisfying HEA then don’t hesitate and visit The Time in Between. It can be read as a standalone as every book of this series. I’ve no doubts you’ll want to read more about the other couples of Magdalene!

Rock Chick series fans will appreciate the cameos from several few characters, with a glimpse of young Indy, Ally, Lee and Hank… I loved how she tied both series together, SWEET!!! 

Alleskelle :  When I first discovered your books, what instantly seduced me was the similar situations your heroines seem to be in.

They were all over 30 or shamelessly rocking their 40s—which is still a rare thing in romancelandia— , they all struggled with life disillusions, but all were being handed a second chance at some point, at love and at life, meeting the man of their dreams but not only. They often met a whole new family in the process, forming new bonds, getting new friends or family relatives, step kids…
First, cutting in here to say…huge kudos to you for the made-up word “romancelandia.” I love it!
I’m a sucker for second chance at love and I have to say the Magdalene series is a favorite of mine for this reason!

Reading Coert and Cady in “The Time in Between” was absolutely satisfying and a great ending for that series leaving us in a good place but I’m hoping this wasn’t a real goodbye to the people of Magdalene… Or was it?

Speaking of Magdalene… Bonus question : Who would you cheer up for on a fight night at the gym, Jake “The Truck” or Mickey “The Irishman“?

KRISTEN ASHLEY: This is definitely a real goodbye to the people of Magdalene, or however much I say goodbye to my characters. You never know when or where they’ll turn up in my other books. But I have to close out series so that I can get on with writing series I’ve promised or be able to jump into a book that consumes me when inspiration hits.
And if/when I get to the “kids” portion of writing series (that is, going back to characters we know and love and seeing the romances of their children), I think there are a few in Magdalene who’d be candidates!

As for who I would cheer for, this is like asking me how I felt with Jaime was charging Dany in the battle scene of episode four of this season of Game of Thrones! It’s impossible to say when you love them both! But I’m an underdog type of gal…so since Jake would win, I’d probably root for Mickey. 

Alleskelle: Lately we’ve seen a few indie titles being adapted to TV shows or movies, have you ever been approached in that regard and would you be interested in seeing one of your books/series translated into a movie or a TV show? Which one would you like to see on screen?

KA: Yes, I’ve had a book optioned (though I’m not at liberty to discuss which one) and several more I’m in discussions about, as well as quite a bit of interest in doing the Rock Chicks. 

I wouldn’t mind any of my books being made into movies, if I feel the folks buying the rights are going to stay true to the meanings and messages in my books (for instance, I would be very disappointed if one of my heroines was curvy, or petite, and she was portrayed by a thin or tall actress). 

That said, I’m not sure how I’d feel about letting go of the Rock Chicks without having some significant input. I’d have to really trust whoever bought the rights to those books! They’d have to be as perfect as possible (which is impossible but you know what I mean) and they’d have to cover all the bases of being funny and fast-paced but still raw and emotional, highlighting the theme of sisterhood throughout the books (rather than latching on solely to the love stories). That or paying me a bucketload so I could retire and still keep the cats properly groomed. 

So the Rock Chicks would have to be television series. One season per book would work. So we just have to get HBO or Showtime or Netflix interested (because you can’t take out the cuss words…or the sex scenes)!

Alleskelle: One of the strongest traits of your writing and why we love your books so much is how relatable your heroines are. Women all around the world can identify and put themselves into your heroine’s shoes and have a front row almost living the story.
If you could be any heroine from any romance book (not necessarily a book of yours), who would you be and why?

KA: Hmm…this is a good question. Years ago, I would have said Stephanie Plum (but I’d stop messing about and go for Ranger—that said, if Joe made a Hail Mary play, I would not be averse to that). More recently, I’d have a tough time picking…but I think I’d like to be Ehlena from Lover Avenged (I first typed “Ahvenged”—this is how deep into the Black Dagger Brotherhood I am…I’m going to start willy-nilly adding “h’s” everywhere!). I loved Rehvenge. The broken hero, the one who sacrifices of himself for the women in his life…ah. I’m a sucker for him and Ehlena was his perfect match. She sacrifices for the ones she loves too. And she’s a tough cookie! Runner up in that series would be Bella because I would utterly live to make Z happy.

Alleskelle: Your paranormal series are beloved here and by many fellow bloggers and readers. You reconciled this very reader with vampires thanks to “Until the Sun Falls From The Sky” , turned a few of my friends into Shifters fanatics with “Everything That I Am“, converted many readers to Games of Thrones with “Golden Dynasty“, do you plan on writing more paranormal / fantasy romance? What are your personal favorites in this genre?

KA: Yes, I am definitely getting back to fantasy for sure. I have an idea for what will happen on the “other” continent in my Fantasyland books and would love, love, love to explore that. All the countries, histories, peoples have already come to me. It’s just that I don’t have the time to dig in (because it…is gonna…be…EPIC [I hope]).

I’d also like to do some stories for Callum’s boys from With Everything I Am. At this point, they might have to be novellas. But I feel those werewolves have been on hold for way too long to get their happily ever afters! As ever, lots of writing to do, not enough time!

Now, my favorites in this genre (and must admit, even after reading romance voraciously since I was very young, I haven’t read many paranormals) are Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series and if you follow me on social media, you’ll know I’m working my way through JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood with a rabidity that’s a little concerning…but I love it! 

Alleskelle: Eliza and Bookerina, two followers of this blog, have each a question for you!
– What as been your most enjoyable read this year so far?

KA: I feel like I’m being obsessive, but I’ve tremendously enjoyed every single BDB novel I’ve read, all in the last month or so (and I’m on #11, The King, starting tonight!). I also read Joey W. Hill’s Truly Helpless, which was exceptional, as all of Joey’s books are!

– Could “Complicated” be part of a new series? *batts eyes hopefully*

KA: I’m afraid not, sorry! That’s a standalone for certain (or as certain as anything can be in my writing world, I reserve the right to change my mind at any time! ). Though, again, now that I’ve discovered novellas, it’d be interesting to see if Hix’s two best friends find love. Not to mention, find out who his deputy married. But right now, I have no plans for getting deeper into that world.

Alleskelle: Can you tell us more about your upcoming releases, maybe about Heaven and Hell #2? 

KA: I’ll have the print and eBook versions of Complicated out on November 7 and I’m squeezing in one last book in December that will be an introduction to a short new series.
I had a bit of time to write earlier this year, but not enough to write a book in a series (which takes a lot of extra time to get back in that world/zone/headspace) so I pounded out this book that I utterly adore in order to get it out of my head and get another book in readers’ hands in 2017.
I’ve also completed two Chaos books to be released in 2018 and the finale to my Honey series, The Greatest Risk, will be out in 2018 as well. I’m afraid I’ll be carrying on with either Chaos or Colorado Mountain after that so Hap and Luci’s story (from Heaven and Hell) may not be among books or novellas in 2018. But again, with me, you never know!

Alleskelle: Thank you, Kristen, for the interview opportunity, your time and answering our questions!

KA: Thank you for having me! And for your great questions! Keep well and keep rockin’ on! xx-K

Author Bio & Links

kristen-aboutI was born a middle class white child in Gary, Indiana, USA. One of the last of a dying breed. I nearly killed my mother and myself making it into the world, seeing as I had the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck (already attempting to accessorize and I hadn’t taken my first breath!). Mom says they took me away, put her back in her room, she looked out the window, and Gary was on fire (Dr. King had been assassinated four days before). She remembered thinking it was the end of the world. Quite the dramatic beginning.

Nothing’s changed.

All I’ve ever wanted to do was write (well, and be the Queen of the World, but you gotta start small) and I’ve published a gazillion books and counting (and a gazillion is a lot! shoo!).You can learn about my titles that have been released or that are soon to be released in the Titles section of the website.

Even though I jump genres, there is always a theme to my books…humor (hopefully), engaging characters (again, hopefully) and romance (definitely).

My loves are movies, music, food and fashion and I partake of all of them as often as I can (the middle two more than the others, the former, which takes time I don’t often have and the latter, which takes money I rarely have). In fact, I love food so much, I like to share my good fortune so I put my recipes on offer for you on this page (see top menu and don’t miss them, they’re awesome!).

I grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana and have lived in Denver, Colorado and the West Country of England. Thus I’m blessed to have friends and family around the globe. My family was (is) loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write and growing up it was large and multi-generational. We all lived together on a very small farm in a small farm town in the heartland. I grew up with Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake (and the wardrobes that matched). Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music, clothes and love was a good way to grow up.

And as I keep growing up, it keeps getting better.

So here I am, thank goodness.

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