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The Will (Magdalene, #1)

Kristen Ashley

Start date: April 8, 2014

Finish date: April 30, 2014

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What Members Thought

Apr 12, 2014 Crazy for Books (Stephanie) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance, series-sequels, romance

SHE'S BACK... LOVED IT !!!!!!

5++ SLICK STARS

Josie is poised and a little stand-offish. After living the past twenty-three years as the personal assistant to famed photographer, Henry Gagnon, and traveling the globe several times.

description

She's back in Maine to take care of things after her Gran has passed. Before she can get back to her jet-setting life there's the reading of the will, where she finds out Gran had befriended Jake Spear, three time married and divorced single father of three (Conner, Ambe ...more

22 likes · Like · see review

Mar 26, 2014 Jessi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014-read

Kristen Ashley does not disappoint! I absolutely loved this book. Josie, grew up with her Gran after being abused by her father and abandoned by her mother. She is high class, her job in the fashion industry takes her all over the world. She stays away from relationships after an abusive father and an abusive boyfriend in college, her heart if stuff off and she wears a disguise to the world will not see her pain and loneliness. Her Gran is the person in the world that she is closest to. When sh ...more

21 likes · Like · see review

Jan 17, 2014 TeriLyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ultimate-favorites, re-reads, 2014-favorites

Updated Review

Alas-5 Vintage, Glorious, Kristen Ashley Stars

Awesome BR with the beautiful people of the CD Canaries. This was THE MOST fun BR I've been a part of and I'm glad we read it together.

So - The Will - I sat and stared at my Kindle in awe and disbelief – for a good while. The woman made me cry. I don’t cry. But I guess for Kristen Ashley I certainly will and with good reason. Great reason. Heart full of happiness, satisfying, and most grateful reason. She’s a master of her craft this w ...more

20 likes · Like · see review

Jan 28, 2014 Lady Heather rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: domineering-alpha-lead, eagerly-anticipating, love-the-author-a-must-buy, adult, contemporary-romance, 2014-release, 1st-in-a-series, kristen-ashley-magdalene-series

Synopsis

Early in her life, Josephine Malone learned the hard way that there was only one person she could love and trust: her grandmother, Lydia Malone. Out of necessity, unconsciously and very successfully, Josephine donned a disguise to keep all others at bay. She led a globetrotting lifestyle on the fringes of the fashion and music elite, but she kept herself distant.

While Josephine was trotting the globe, retired boxer Jake Spear was living in the same small town as Lydia. There was nothi ...more

20 likes · Like · see review

Dec 28, 2013 Angie **loves angst** rated it liked it

Please don't crucify me goodreads friends, but this was just okay for me. I have a confession. I never got over when Tate called Lauren fat and old in Sweet Dreams. I know he made up for it, but that has sullied KA heroes a bit for me.

So with that said, Jake being a strip club owner and having three marriages behind him, it took me a while to warm up to him. On the other hand, I never warmed up to Josie. Every time she spoke I cringed. I didn't find her quirks cute or sweet. The quirks were ann ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Apr 08, 2014 PJ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: my-faves, romance-alpha-male, 2014-books-i-ve-read, romance-contemporary

The Will: A review

Wow, just wow! 5 Very Willing Stars!

There are so many great pic/gif-filled reviews I'll just throw in a few words to say this is my absolute favorite of Kristen Ashley's books! And I have so very many favorites. It's long, but I wouldn't cut a word! This book, whoa, it had twists, but none gratuitous. It felt complete. It finished right where it needed to finish. But it could've gone on and on and I'd savor every last word.

The MCs were in there 40s in this book, although at ti The Will: A review

Wow, just wow! 5 Very Willing Stars!

There are so many great pic/gif-filled reviews I'll just throw in a few words to say this is my absolute favorite of Kristen Ashley's books! And I have so very many favorites. It's long, but I wouldn't cut a word! This book, whoa, it had twists, but none gratuitous. It felt complete. It finished right where it needed to finish. But it could've gone on and on and I'd savor every last word.

The MCs were in there 40s in this book, although at times Josie sounded/acted much younger. But then I'm in denial, because I'm in my 40s and still act like a juvenile at times. :) Also, Josie had a very particular speech pattern, which leant more of a British play feeling to it. I think the reason behind this was to express with words her mask or disguise. Ms. Ashley couldn't keep giving examples of this, so giving her a specific speech pattern and then having it relax throughout the book demonstrated this beautifully. And, it really did make Josephine's character unforgettable.

Ms. Ashley really knows how to inhabit the souls of her characters. Especially her female characters who are equally smart and quirky, wounded and in need of a strong man--not to rule over them, but to stand beside them, whose words ring like a bell inside them, whose lips and fingers bring them to life and fill them with passion.

Ah, and then there are KA's men: most are cut from the same rugged cloth, but there's comfort to be found in that. They love profoundly. They protect fiercely. They are insatiable, thankfully. And they go after what they want absolutely. Jake fits this description to a T.

Then, there are the support cast: some are necessarily evil, but most are sweet and loving, people you'd want to be your best friends and your best men, people who would do anything for you and you would do the same for them.

Jake's children, eight-year old Ethan, specifically, really popped off the page. He was so sweet and funny. And Josephine's Gran, the lovely Lydie, who has passed before the book begins, had a presence that just shines all the way through the book. I loved every single character, so hopefully this won't be the last we read about the folks that live in Magdalene: Mickey and Sheriff Coert, for example. And some characters that don't reside there, notably Amond, and perhaps Harry, too.

Lastly, there are the locales. KA creates towns that would grow into cities quickly because of all of us fans who would pack up our lives in a second and relocate there (or is that just me?). Yes, there's drama there, but for the most part Ms. Ashley creates places you would wish to inhabit, places where you could set down roots and raise your families. Places with shops, and hair salons, restaurants and coffee shops that you'd already plan to visit, make appointments and make reservations for. Towns that are the modern Mayberry.

A couple of wishes:
(view spoiler)

Note: I read this along with a few Canaries and had so much fun. ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Mar 23, 2014 Cyndi Becker rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-its

What can I say about this book that hasn't been said. NOTHING, but I will try.

This was my 4th or 5th KA and I found it simply, well, stunning! I'm told it's KA at her finest and back to being the queen of contemporary romance with a kick!

What I loved --> the characters: Josie and the way she talked - Stick up her ass and all. But boy, was she genuine. She had so obviously trained herself to come off as cold, as a crazed OCD Fashionista, and as forever immaculate and untouchable. Nice try Josie - ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 25, 2014 Linda rated it it was amazing

Josephine is back in her old hometown to bury and grieve her grandmother, the one in her family who always was there for her. The reading of the will gives her a surprise, though, and now everything is new.
What did her grandmother plan, and what is she to do with this rough boxer and his family?
Jake and his three children found a friend in Lydia, and all though they never were introduced to Josie, they all fell for her.
Can this work, the quirky lady and the rough boxer?
A classic Kristen Ashley ...more

Like · see review