Sweet Dreams (Colorado Mountain, #2) in ~Midnight's Embrace~

May 17, 2012 ~*~Princess Nya Vasiliev~*~ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Another good, hot Alpha read but with sentiment and heart.

I have to say that I love the story surrounding Tate & Lauren more than anything. There were things here that were touching. A bit scary and I must admit one unpredictable climax. Caught me off guard.

I love Tate and I hated him too. Lauren was, I'm not sure how I feel about her really. I didn't dislike her character, but there was nothing really there for me to make me say I really like her either... Upon my re-read years later, I've c ...more

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Feb 23, 2024 Matthew Cross rated it it was amazing

this is the best book that i have read in a while , there are countless things that i love about it not only how loving lauren is to tate but later own she shows just as much love. lauren is so strong in so many ways , its amazing how she slowly learned to be the strong sassy biker chick that she becomes how through something incredibly terrible she wont let that effect her happiness in any way. tate is amazing , strong , thoughtful and is a man of few words and cuts to the chase and is super pr ...more

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Apr 29, 2014 Shan ~A~ rated it really liked it

Shelves: in-series-or-trilogy, erotic, romance-humor, humorous, novel-adventure, kindle-unlimited, mystery, romance, crime, setting-us-colorado

Lauren Grahame & Tatum Jackson

Updated Review ~ 08/17/2024 ~ still 4 stars

I have to say that although I still like this book (it's hard not to), I thought Tate spent a lot of this being a jackass. He admits he is, but doesn't really do anything to change it and Lauren is supposed to be okay with that.

I honestly may have forgiven it if it wasn't for his initial scene when he first met Lauren. This time around I had a hard time forgiving him for those comments. Maybe it's because I'm around the sa Lauren Grahame & Tatum Jackson

Updated Review ~ 08/17/2024 ~ still 4 stars

I have to say that although I still like this book (it's hard not to), I thought Tate spent a lot of this being a jackass. He admits he is, but doesn't really do anything to change it and Lauren is supposed to be okay with that.

I honestly may have forgiven it if it wasn't for his initial scene when he first met Lauren. This time around I had a hard time forgiving him for those comments. Maybe it's because I'm around the same age now that Lauren was in the book, and I feel that differently now.

What brought it back for me were the sweet moments between them and how he was with her as their relationship progressed.

Original Review ~ 04/16/2015 ~ 4 stars
What I like the most about Kristen Ashley's books?
They always have me laughing out loud.
They always feature hot alpha's
They always feature strong women

This one was no exception. Lauren has been searching for a place to call home and she finds that in Carnal,CO. She wasn't looking for love, but found herself being the center of the attention of two men. Well, the first being Tate and our hero, screwed up when she first officially met him and he had a lot of ground to cover to get her and it didn't help that his job had him leaving town as soon as he was able to convince her to forgive him. Then we had Wood, who was there when she wasn't so sure about Tate and his intentions.

Both hot, both wanting her.

Well, tragedy strikes and Tate steps in to be their for Lauren and makes his presence in her life known, not only to her, but to Wood also.

Now, that things seem to be going pretty good for the hero and heroine, women are turning up dead. In Carnal, and surrounding area. They soon realize that it is someone they most likely know who is committing the crimes. But who?

You will have to read the book to experience the ups and downs of the journey of our H/h hea and to find out who the culprit is. I will say that for the first time in a long time, I didn't have it figured out. ...more

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Nov 07, 2024 ^Kalinka^ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Great read.

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May 19, 2012 Debbie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite

This is my favorite book of all time! It starts out with the h, Lauren, stopping at a bar to inquire about a job in a little out-of-the-way town called Carnal. She's been on the road for awhile, just driving around from place to place, having left her cheating husband, her job, so-called friends, her LIFE behind. She was heartbroken and beaten down and felt like she was never going to have anything "special" in her life, so the only thing she wanted to do was find a nowhere town, work a nowhere This is my favorite book of all time! It starts out with the h, Lauren, stopping at a bar to inquire about a job in a little out-of-the-way town called Carnal. She's been on the road for awhile, just driving around from place to place, having left her cheating husband, her job, so-called friends, her LIFE behind. She was heartbroken and beaten down and felt like she was never going to have anything "special" in her life, so the only thing she wanted to do was find a nowhere town, work a nowhere job and have a life of peace expecting nothing special. What she doesn't expect is the amazing and colorful group of people she meets in Carnal that take her in and become not only good friends to her, but as close as family. These people are real, down-to-earth, and the men there are a whole different breed than anything Lauren has been used to in the past. *stops to fan self* Lauren is staying at the Carnal motel, and the night before she begins her new job at the bar, she witnesses a meeting in the parking lot of a pair of what appear to be lovers, and she is fascinated by the man, thinking he is the most beautiful man she has ever seen. The next day, when she is training with Krystal, this same man walks into the bar, and she finds out he's Tate, one of the owners and sometimes bartender at the bar( and the H in the story). She is thrilled to meet him, until he finds out Krystal hired her, and immediately starts acting like a total jerk! He makes Krystal go into the back with him for a "talk", and while she is busy doing her work during that time, Lauren hears Tate say to Krystal "Jesus, Krys, maybe you wanna talk to me before you hire some sorry-ass, old, fat, suburban bitch to drag around the goddamned bar?" Lauren is devastated, that this beautiful man says this about her at first sight! To say at this point that I did not like Tate AT ALL would be an understatement! I wanted to do bodily harm in all kinds of painful and creative ways! A couple of days later, Lauren has to work one-on-one with (ugh) Tate. She decides the best way to handle this is to avoid him as much as possible, and not give him a chance to be a jerk to her again. By this time she's got her back up and is ready to let him have it when he has the nerve to tell her she can't ignore him, that he knows she heard what he said in the bar to Krystal about her,but that he was mad about something else and didn't really mean it, so she needs to just "shake it off":
Tate: "Like I said, when I get pissed I say a lotta shit I don't mean and what I said about you I didn't mean"
Lauren: "And like I said, you're old enough to learn you shouldn't do that."
Tate: "That isn't me"
Lauren: "We'll, then, this obviously is eating you and that's your consequence because I have feelings and you walked all over them and you can't order me to shake it off so you can feel better. It's there, burned in my brain and I can't forget it because you tell me to. So you have to live with that.
Later on in the conversation, Tate says to Lauren about avoiding each other: "I'll tell you straight, I ain't puttin' the effort in to avoid you just because you're holdin' tight to somethin' that didn't mean shit. You can try to avoid me but it ain't a big bar, it ain't a big town-- you got attitude and you're stubborn as all hell but you ain't gonna be able to avoid me. Our paths will cross.
Lauren: "Great, more reasons to lose sleep."
Tate: "You want sweet dreams, lose the attitude and you might find I'll give you a reason to have them."
Now, the h is totally confused, because after saying all the ugly things to Krys about her, he's sounding interested? Mixed signals anyone?
At this point in the story, different things happen that bring Tate and Lauren closer together, and we get to see underneath the jerk persona Tate initially put out. Just like Lauren, I found myself falling totally in love and swooning over him, which at the beginning of the book would never have believed could have happened. He is the ultimate hot, badass alpha male, a wonderful father, a loyal friend, and loves Lauren with a passion and fierceness that any woman would be envious of.
Kristen did a wonderful job with this book. I love the fact that the H/h were older, that they had some age and life experience under their belts. She created rich characters, people that I cared about, people I would like to know. I identified with Lauren, loved watching her grow, get her confidence back, fall in love, and find her "special". Lauren and Tate were perfect for each other, each had what the other needed.
Kristen also writes suspense well. There is a serial killer loose in Carnal, but I really could not figure out who it was until the end.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book. It's one you'll put on your keeper shelf to read again and again! ...more

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