Review of Ash’s Fire (The Ash Trilogy #1) by Callie Gold w/a $50 GC giveaway!

Blurb:

 

Smart and successful Attorney Jordan Cohen didn’t expect Sam, her husband and best friend, to invoke their old pact for non-exclusivity. But after twenty-some years together, he did.

 

A chance meeting with Ari Ash, the tall-dark-and-yummy internationally renowned concert pianist, sends Jordan into his arms. Ari’s mysterious ways and magical lovemaking pull the conflicted Jordan into a whirlwind affair.

 

When Ari is implicated in an execution-style murder, she wants to believe Ari is innocent, but one troubling fact after another keeps popping up. Jordan turns to the only man she can trust with her lover’s life – her brilliant criminal defense attorney husband.

 

Is Ari a killer?

 

When Ari is charged, Jordan fears the worst: a life sentence for her lover, exposure of her affair and the ruin of her law firm and irreparable damage to her husband’s reputation. But she can’t let go of Ari’s love…

 

With the trial just days ahead, Jordan races to save her lover, her husband and herself.

 

Desire, suspicion, love and loyalty all clash in the fast-paced Mediterranean city of Tel-Aviv.

 

Excerpt Two:

 

“Did you tell Sam?” Judith asked.

 

“Immediately.”

 

“Good girl. And it’s a good thing he knew you were seeing someone,” she said. “How did he take it?”

 

“Fine, I think,” Jordan said. “No major blowups.”

 

“Jordan, what are you guys doing? This is seriously dangerous,” Judith said.

 

“I know.”

 

“So are you going to end your fling with Ari?”

 

“I don’t think it’s a fling, Jude,” Jordan heard herself say. “And I’m not giving him up.”

 

“We’re going to have a serious conversation about all of this, you know,” Judith said, exhaling.

 

“But for now, tell me, can you work like that?”

 

“I can work just fine,” Jordan said.

 

“You’re the worst liar in the world.”

 

“Sam said the same thing.”

 

“Was Ari shocked to see you when you walked in the office?” Judith asked.

 

Jordan paused. “No, he wasn’t.”

 

“This is strange, you have to admit.”

 

“He’s good at hiding his feelings, so what?”

 

“You’re developing a dangerous habit, Jordan. Keep that in mind.”

 

“It’s just a simple IP case. I can do it in my sleep.”

 

“We do nothing in our sleep. This is dangerous talk.”

 

“Okay, okay, you’re right,” Jordan agreed. “You’re warning me, I appreciate it. I’ll keep it in mind. Promise.”

 

Judith sighed.

 

After she put down the phone, Jordan took out her compact and looked at her face. She concentrated on Ari and kept looking. Her face changed, glowed. You look ten years younger. And sexy. And more beautiful than you’ve been in years. Jordan felt the heat rising in her, and she pressed her hand in her lap. Shhhhh, she her body told.

This is one of the hardest reviews that I’ve ever had to write.  On one hand I really loved the book.  But on the other hand…I didn’t.  Cheating is a HUGE no for me especially when the cheaters are married and for what ever reason, its used as a plot device.  Yes, cheating is a plot device in the book.  I have to admire Ms. Gold for making plausible between Sam and Jordan.  I could see the blandness and the boredom between them but still cheating is cheating.

I have to admit that I skipped some of the smexy parts.  Again…the whole cheating thing but I will let you know what I really enjoyed about the book now.

1.  Characterization – Brilliant!  Oh yes, you really get to know all the characters in the book.  Some were brief but Ms. Gold makes great use of them in her story.  I really did Jordan.  I could understand the “why” with her and the pickle that she got herself into later.  Sam…he’s a work in progress for me.  Ari?  *sigh*  What’s not to like.

2.  Setting – Tel Aviv comes alive in Ms. Gold book.  I’ve never been but just by reading this book, I do want to go there one day.  It was almost like another character in the book.

3.  Plot – Once I got pass the whole cheating thing, I really enjoyed the story.  Briskly paced, interesting and you know I can’t resist a good old fashioned mystery.  I’m a sucker really.

4.  Ms. Gold’s writing kept me going through the book.  I will admit that I almost didn’t finish but I just had to find out what happened.  Again, she kept my interest and it seemed like the book didn’t stop.  🙂

Again, this was a hard one to write but I will recommend it.  Yes, there is cheating but what kept me going was the other things going on in the book and Ms. Gold’s writing.

 

 

Bio:

 

Callie Gold is an Israeli married to an American. She admits that marrying her husband was the smartest decision she has ever made in her entire life. Together they have raised three beautiful children.

Callie is a lawyer, and a Jew, and what’s worse – an Israeli. That means that she’s an in-your-face kinda gal. There is no Hebrew word for ‘subtle’. Callie’s husband says that she has too many opinions, and he’s right. But she’s also open and friendly and very curious, and is known to start intimate conversations with the Falafel guy.

Since she stopped litigating, Callie’s husband says she’s become a much nicer person (Callie’s husband is almost always right, which makes living with him really good and seriously annoying, all at the same time).

When she’s not writing, Callie does divorce mediation and marriage counseling, which, she believes will save her a good seat in that place up there. She also cooks and bakes and you will always find home-baked bread in her freezer, next to the chocolate gelato that her husband makes.

Callie writes because writing creates another life for her, a life in which she can do whatever she wants. In order to write she has become a time thief.

Above all, Callie is a lover of people and she can never get enough of human interaction. So feel free to start up a conversation with her!

http://www.amazon.com/Callie-Gold/e/B00O2X5LLE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_5?qid=1412210048&sr=8-5

 

www.calliegold.com

 

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8591375.Callie_Gold

 

https://www.facebook.com/Calliegold.Israel

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