From the Bookshelf of Turning Pages At Midnight…

The Will (Magdalene, #1)

Kristen Ashley

Start date: July 24, 2021

Finish date: July 29, 2021

Discussion: Buddy Reads

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* September 2025 Buddy Reads
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last updated Sep 04, 2025 07:25AM

* October 2025 Buddy Reads
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What Members Thought

Jan 05, 2014 SamJ ★Needs a HEA★ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: theme-horrible-ex, reviewed, theme-awful-parents-of-a-mc, book-challenge-2015, book-challenge-2014, re-read-2015, genre-contemporary-romance, 3-star-reads, theme-abuse-issues, read-2014

Re read March 2015. - While I disliked Josie as much as the first read for the first 50% or so of this book, once it got to the point where she stopped "hiding" after watching Jake fight I did find myself warming to her more. She is never going to make it into my top ten fave KA heroines, BUT - on a re read, I understood more, her vulnerability, and how she had build up a wall, in the guise of a standoffish formal persona to keep people at arms length. And I did end up really liking her toward t ...more

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Dec 29, 2013 Jennifer☠Pher☠ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-unlimited, skulls-m-f-challenge-2016, re-read-2025

Re-Read, 2025

I added this back to my Kindle a few months ago, or last year, which I guess could be sort of a few months ago, wanting to do a re-read. I finished a new KA and since it didn't wow me I thought, yes, let's read something older, something I loved and gave five stars. So, that's what I did.

I don't know if this go round I'd start my review with "OH MY GOD" or even the "I loved this book!" but it did give me exactly what I was looking for after reading something that was just fine.

I'm g Re-Read, 2025

I added this back to my Kindle a few months ago, or last year, which I guess could be sort of a few months ago, wanting to do a re-read. I finished a new KA and since it didn't wow me I thought, yes, let's read something older, something I loved and gave five stars. So, that's what I did.

I don't know if this go round I'd start my review with "OH MY GOD" or even the "I loved this book!" but it did give me exactly what I was looking for after reading something that was just fine.

I'm going to stop and re-read my original review for two reasons. First, sometimes it is easier to write the second review comparing it to the first and second, I'm trying to decide if I want to keep going with the series or read something else. Hold please.

Ahhhh...Ok. I get it. Yes, I can see exactly why I would have loved this when I read it. Absolutely 100% get it and agree.

I'm going to leave my rating, I don't normally change that on a re-read, I've maybe done it once or twice but I try to not do that, so this will stay at the five it definitely deserved when I gave it. But this time around, maybe I'd have given it four, or maybe not. I did devour it and I mean nothing really could distract me and if I could I was reading.

I think this may have been one of the first where KA had older characters? Maybe? I know for me now, I loved that. Honestly, as I type and recall and smile at my laptop, I think I loved a lot of this and although I thought I had some complaints at this juncture I'm struggling to come up with why I'd even mention them.

Yeah, I'm going to leave it there and read the next one. If I recall, the third was an absolute killer, I think I want to get there.
*******
OH MY GOD! I loved this book! I loved Josie so very much. I loved the setting. I loved the kids. And of course, I loved Jake. I even loved the tears I spilled and I spilled a few.

Kristen Ashley is like coming home. You know what you are going to get going in but man, she always finds a way to give you more and make it so much better.

I think as much as I am upset I waited so long to get back to one of my favorite authors part of me is happy about it. This was so refreshing to me. Kristen Ashley has never let me down, ever. But, I got so swept up in my love of boys loving boys I stopped reading anything else. Shame on me. So, I am taking this as a lesson. A lesson to share the love, read a better variety and make sure to read my favorite authors even if there are chicks in the books, ha!

Beautiful. ...more

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Feb 25, 2014 Lindsay rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: will-read-again, made-me-laugh, made-me-cry, bad-boys, full-figured-heroines, bad-boy-heroes, heroine-attacked-abused, alpha-hero, mma-fighter-boxer, jerk-heroes

I was both nervous and excited about reading this book. Nervous because this would be my first new series by KA (new as in, not previously published before I started reading her) and excited because the book sounded good. But honestly, I always go into KA's books with trepidation. I just have such a contentious relationship with the heroes that I know it won't be an easy read for me.

I'll admit that early on in the book, I had issues. The overly formal speech from Josephine/Josie was slightly of ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Feb 04, 2016 Shan ~A~ rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance-humor, series-trilogies-i-started, erotic, 1st-in-series, favorites

I always feel that I can never go wrong with a KA book. Ms. Ashley know how to do romance with kick-ass heroines and hot alpha heroes.

Josie loses the one person in her life that she has ever felt real love from. Her Grandmother.
Jake loses a woman who has come to mean a great deal to him and his kids. Josie's Grandmother.

At the reading of the will to which both Josie and Jake are in attendance, Josie gets the surprise of a lifetime. Her grandmother has given her to Jake. Things start to get rea ...more

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Mar 29, 2014 Berta rated it it was amazing

re-read 3/16. Oh my goodness. Even better this time! Forever and completely. Beautiful!!!

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Jul 07, 2014 Cyle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, contemporary, mature, alpha-male

GENRE: Contemporary Romance
THEME: Family Drama
RECEIVED: Bought
BLOG: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/

REVIEW:
Continuing on with my addiction to Kristen Ashley’s wonderful intense and always entertaining writing about two destined people, The Will takes an interesting and wonderful twist at love. This novel has only been out for a couple of months and already has 1500 reviews and has 4.3 stars, an obvious sign on how goo this book seriously is and how much I totally agree with everyone else.

The wi GENRE: Contemporary Romance
THEME: Family Drama
RECEIVED: Bought
BLOG: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/

REVIEW:
Continuing on with my addiction to Kristen Ashley’s wonderful intense and always entertaining writing about two destined people, The Will takes an interesting and wonderful twist at love. This novel has only been out for a couple of months and already has 1500 reviews and has 4.3 stars, an obvious sign on how goo this book seriously is and how much I totally agree with everyone else.

The will follows Josie Malone, who has just lost the most important person in her life, her Gran. After a terrible relationship with her parents, the one who raised her was her Grandmother. But as all people who love someone do, especially the granddaughter, her gran did something unexpected in her Will. Josie is surprised to see someone else sitting along side her when her grandmothers will is being read, a man whom she can’t seem to figure out. But she’s about to get a surprise as this man, Jake Spear, was very important to gran and the one man she wanted for her granddaughter. Thus she leaves Josie to Jake in her Will. Shocked by her request they both come to an agreement and understanding that there might be something that neither were expecting.

Josie is a prim and proper type of woman, talking like she’s from the olden days and in a way it was a bit annoying and my major negative point about her. Nonetheless I loved her innocent mind; though an adult she truly is a sweet and caring woman. She adored her grandmother and shocked by the outcome of her request for Jake to take care of her. She and Jake don’t actually see eye to eye, where Jake knows a heck of a lot more about Josie than she does him. Plus with Jake being an alpha male and wanting to control the situation, Josie is having none of it. It was entertaining to see how these too opposites fall for each other. There were a ton of ups and downs, lost of obstacles trying to tear them apart, but for them the love of her Gran was strong with pushing them together. Josie also has to deal will her family issues, as her uncle wants to take her home from her, a jerk of a businessman pressures her to sell her Grans house and Jakes complex past love life seems to make their connection break.

Jake Spear is one heck of a mans man, a former pro boxer, who now owns a gym and still boxes to keep in shape. He also owns a club that might not be ideal, but to take care and support his three children, he’d climb through hell and back for them. Josie is an unexpected surprise for him; he avoided their meeting for so long, but cant resist the sweet and caring woman who makes his heart catch fire. Plus the way she protects and adores his children makes him sure that she’s the one.

Overall this was a big two thumbs up to Ashley’s fantastic writing and character development. Her characters are so strong; the readers will get so involved and connect to each one, no matter how small their role is. The romance is hot and heavy, it’s passionate from beginning to end and I loved every minute of it. I can’t wait to see how Ashley writes about next in this series because there were some great secondary characters introduced.

RECOMMENDATION:
This is an adult novel meant for mature readers over the age of 18, for its sexual content and adult language. Fans of Jennifer Armentrout author of Be With Me and Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren, will love The Will by Kristen Ashley.
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