Review: Heaven and Hell by Kristen Ashley

Title: Heaven and Hell
By: Kristen Ashley
Series: Heaven and Hell #1
My Copy: Amazon.com
Book Whisperer's Rating:

After making a bad decision when she was very young, Kia Clementine finds herself in hell. Then, suddenly, within the time it takes for a shotgun to blast, her hell changes. Completely. Then out-of-the-blue she sees Sampson Cooper, her celebrity crush. A man the whole world knows is decent. A man the world knows is loyal. A man the world knows is good. All of these very unlike her now dead husband.

He’s sitting at a table right next to hers. And she catches his eye.

Terrified of the interest Sam shows in her, Kia finds the courage to go out with him. Not long after, she shares her dark secrets and Sam shares that he’ll stop at nothing to gain her trust.

As Sam leads Kia to heaven, Kia realizes that Sam is living his own hell. But although he gives her beauty and she gives him everything, he withholds his trust.

Even with all the beauty Sam shows her, Kia wants it all. But Sam forces Kia to make a heartbreaking decision and only she can decide. It’s all or nothing.

Without knowing whom the author was, I would have been able to guess that it was Kristen Ashley within the first few chapters of the book. There is something about her writing style and skill that just stands out.  While all her plots are different, there is something so familiar about them: alpha male, witty woman, troubled pasts, amazing family and friends, and we can’t forget danger. Heaven and Hell was exactly this. 

Kia’s abusive husband dies, leaving her millions of dollars and the ability to travel.  While romping about in foreign lands, Kia sits across Sam, her crush of all crushes.  Of course, attraction ensues, however for the couple it is a bumpy road throughout the entire book.

Let’s talk about a few of these bumps. Kia finds out that her dead husband took out a huge life insurance plan on her and hired a hit man to take her out before he died.   Once Sam finds out, his entire role is to be her protector over everything else.  But he also becomes her lover and confidant.  Sam coats her to open up about all that she has been through, to let all of her well-hidden secrets out in order to help her heal but never delves into his past, his pain, or his fear until around 94% into the book.  This is where everything goes down. I found myself getting goose bumps because it was so pivotal and monumental that all these feelings swept through me and I couldn’t help but physical react. 

Kristen Ashley was born to write alpha males that want to live life, protect their women, and love their women.  She was also born to write stories that suck you in and embed you in the world until the very last page.  KA succeeded all of these and more in Heaven and Hell.