Chasing Serenity by Kristen Ashley | Book Review • Ana's Attic Book Blog

Chasing Serenity (River Rain Book 1) by Kristen Ashley

2nd in a series. Can stand alone but better in order.

After reading After The Climb, I was excited to read the books about the kids. Chloe is Imogen’s (from After the Climb) daughter. But the first time I read Chasing Serenity I wasn’t in love with it. I thought it was my mood and the fact that I am not reading as much as listening this year, so I got the audiobook. Sadly, I still felt the same way.

“Life is a risk. But you win nothing if you don’t risk anything.”

It wasn’t that I didn’t love Chloe and Judge’s story, it was just so rambly! Let me quote my notes:
“What the fuck is happening with this random story about random people. OMG.”
“OMG. If this wasn’t KA I would DNF. This in-depth discussion of Judge’s family tree introduced 29 people. WTF. I’m too high for this.”

Chloe owned a size-inclusive boutique. Oh my gosh, this was my favorite part of the book. A customer was shopping in her store and telling her how wonderful it felt to find her size and how hard it is normally to shop. The scene brought me to tears because it was so relatable.

Chloe also reminded me of Josephine from The Will. Very formal in speech, throwing french words into conversation, and being a designer label whore. She often seemed like a spoiled brat and I just couldn’t imagine a young woman acting like her.

Judge kind of felt like he fell out of Yellowstone. I didn’t feel the chemistry between them as much as I usually do in Kristen’s books. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it, it just wasn’t a favorite.

“There is a man out there who will worship you. Not because he’s intent to make you feel special. Because he understands to his bones that you already are.”

Of course, there were amazing Kristen Ashley quotes, and I still got the feels that I always get from her books. But you know Kristen’s style of rambling run-on sentences describing locations or people? Chasing Serenity seemed to have this more than ever. It almost felt like someone trying to write a Kristen Ashley book but overdoing it. I had to read passages several times to even understand who was talking when and what the heck they were saying.

Likes:

The way any Kristen Ashley book makes me FEEL.
Chloe’s size-inclusive boutique.
I loved the banter when they first met.
The fact that it’s a new town and new characters that don’t really cross over.
The comfort reading KA gives me.
I really really love all the familial relationships.
It was cool seeing Imogene from her daughter’s POV.

Dislikes:

The pacing was off, the first half dragged a bit.
There are SO MANY CHARACTERS to keep track of, and long stories about extended family that introduced so many more.
This went a little overboard on the Kristen Ashley style of writing.
A lot of rambling that didn’t pertain to the story.
I just didn’t feel that much chemistry.
There was a little too much about Corey.
An irredeemable small character crossing over from another series.

The Down and Dirty:

I think this may be my least favorite Kristen Ashley book, but I still really enjoyed it. Saying it’s my least favorite of my favorites still means it is better than most books out there. I have no doubt that I will love the next in the series, but we can’t love them all, right? I think any KA fan will still enjoy Chasing Serenity or at least want to read it so you have the background for the next in the series, Taking the Leap.