The Gamble

By: Kristen Ashley

Narrated by: Emma Taylor

GoodReads Author of the Year 2012, Nominee

Welcome to New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Kristen Ashley's Colorado Mountain Series, where friends become family and everyone deserves a second chance.

Love is the greatest gamble of all...

Nina Sheridan desperately needs a timeout vacation. With a fiancé who can't even remember how she takes her coffee, Nina wants some distance to rethink her engagement. Flying halfway around the world from England to a mountain town in Colorado should do the trick. But when she finds a gorgeous man at her rental cabin, Nina's cold, lonely adventure suddenly heats up.

The owner of the house, Holden "Max" Maxwell is surprised by the beautiful woman who turns up at his door. But when Nina becomes ill, Max spends days nursing her back to health. A private man with a broken heart, Max finds himself drawn to the strong-willed woman. Soon it becomes impossible for Nina and Max to deny their growing attraction to one another. Yet even as these two wounded souls think about taking a chance on a relationship, a secret from Max's past emerges—and threatens to end their love for good.

©2012 Kristen Ashley (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Loved the story & performance, but...

Would you consider the audio edition of The Gamble to be better than the print version?

I enjoyed the variation in voice inflections.

What other book might you compare The Gamble to and why?

I would compare it to Susan Wiggs for sex scenes, only not as over done. I would compare it to Sherryl Woods for the series of romantic yet a little suspense.

What about Emma Taylor’s performance did you like?

I enjoyed the awesome voice changes that made the character come alive.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The Gettaway, sometimes stepping back sends you stepping forward in another direction.

Any additional comments?

Way, way, way overuse of the F*** word! I don't mind it occasionally, but when it is used with F***Christ, and the majority of the conversation it makes the author sound like she cannot be creative enough to get her message across.

FABULOUS!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I definitely recommend this book! One of the best written books I've read. Because of the length of the book, I was able to really allow myself to become one with the characters and their lives. Beautifully written!

Superb!

What made the experience of listening to The Gamble the most enjoyable?

The performance and story.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Gamble?

The entire book was memorable

Which character – as performed by Emma Taylor – was your favorite?

Nina

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I listened to this book 3 times.

Review - The Gamble

Incredible storyline. From beginning to end it holds attention. Loved it!!!!! Also love the detailed "after" story.

Alpha male is too EXTREME

I enjoyed the story however, Meeting Max I would see RED FLAGS wondering if he'd be abusive once married. Nina often sounded like her brain was constantly shutting down and she's suppose to be an attorney. While Max sounds extremely sexy and would give a girl an adrenaline rush, the author took the alpha male personality WAY to far (and I do love an alpha male). I'd find it very disturbing to be attracted to such a potentially physically and emotionally abusive man. To the Kristen Ashley; Please continue to write about mature romance, but tone down the domineering traits. And for goodness sake.... STOP with the muddle headed females constantly repeating what is said to her. I'd love a story about an empty nester, not to old, finding a rugged, strong, cowboy type, financially secure, loving man. Just a thought.....

Heavy sigh…

I had high hopes for this book but the male character was hard to root for. I feel like he did a lot of behaviors that were toxic af then somehow it became the female character’s fault…. Also, there were too many times that he talked over her and didn’t let her share how she was feeling 😬 yikes

Loved this story!!

One of the best KA books. Must read! Good story, unexpected development, love, romance, smart and funny heroine, tough-gentle-loving-kind-protective hero

Wonderful narrator

If you could sum up The Gamble in three words, what would they be?

Emma Taylor knocked this one out of the park. Her performance of Nina was spot on and I loved every second of it.

What does Emma Taylor bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Hearing her speak in an English accent really brings more depth to Nina's character.

Just loved the story line, characters, narration, EVERYTHING!!

I took a gamble on this 25 hour book and came out a winner!! The narration was impressive to say the least. With a long list of characters I never lost track of who was talking. The accents were done beautifully.
The back stories on the characters really engaged me and by the end of the book I felt like they were friends. When ever they went "down the mountain" I was guessing who they would run into!!
Great story line. Great characters. Perfect balance of the sexy stuff and the action!!

The Gamble definitely paid off.

I've decided that my re-reads will be done on audio. With my busy schedule and real life, I don't have time to enjoy my re-reads anymore. The beauty of audiobooks is that you can listen to them anytime. I listen to them when I'm exercising, baking, doing school pick-ups (obviously not when my little munchkin is in the car) and when I'm mucking around on Pinterest. As these are re-reads, I don't need to worry that I'll miss something important or need clarification on a plot point, it's just a nice and relaxing way to keep reading while I'm doing stuff.

The Gamble was one of the first books I read by Kristen Ashley and I have a signed paperback that sits on my shelf and never gets touched. If I want to see the message inside...I look at the photos I took. I want it to stay in mint condition. I wasn't sure how the audio would go, to be honest. Nina's character is an American who has spent a lot of time in England and has a "bit" of an accent. The narrator managed Nina's English accent perfectly while also giving Max a fantastic slow and smooth drawl. I always knew when the characters were changing as there was a slight difference in the accents and the way they talked which made it easy to distinguish them.

Max and Nina's story is still one of my favourites. Nina comes to America from England to have a break from her fiancé and to decide if she really wants to stay with him. They had been having difficulties in the relationship leaving Nina concerned she was making the wrong decision. Unfortunately, Niles, the fiancé, wasn't listening when Nina voiced her concerns and didn't really see any problems with the way things were. It doesn't take Nina long to realise that she doesn't really matter to Niles and his work was a lot more important to him than she was. Even when she finally explains this all to him, he can't be bothered or is too busy to "deal" with it. I was glad to see the back end of Niles.

Max has faced heartache and managed to keep going even though he's not happy. When Nina rocks up to his house for her holiday, they realise a mistake had happened and Nina's holiday destination will need relocation. Stuff happens, Nina's sick, the plans are a mess and Max ends up having to nurse Nina back to health. It doesn't take Max long to realise that Nina is awakening feelings in him that he hasn't had for a very long time. He knows he wants more with Nina and doesn't want to see her return to England. When Niles eventually comes out to see what the problem is, Max explains to Niles where he went wrong and why he doesn't get to keep Nina.

The Gamble is at times funny and at times so sad you can't help but shed a tear. All of these emotions are hard to hold back as you're sitting in your car out the front of your kid's school. The squirming at the set of lights when Max is speaking all husky and smooth, demanding that Nina "tell him" (while he's deep inside her) the words he wants to hear. The crying when your heart is breaking for the woman who feels dirty and unclean. The laughing out loud when Nina turns into Zombie Nina in the mornings. But generally, this book just leaves me with a smile on my face.

I still love The Gamble and the audio just reinforces my love.