Review of Sweet Dreams (Colorado Mountain #2) by Kristen Ashley

Sweet Dreams is the second book in the Colorado Mountain series.

After wandering the country for four-and-a-half months, divorcee Lauren Grahame lands in Carnal, Colorado. The town feels right, so she applies to work at a biker bar, Bubba's. She struggles to find her feet as a former suburban wife in a small town filled with bikers.

One of the owners of Bubba's, Tatum Jackson, sweeps in with a solid alpha sex appeal that turns Lauren's crank—until she overhears an insult that shakes her to the core.

The two are at odds at work as Lauren's anger over the insult causes an antagonistic attitude toward him, and he struggles to help her get past it as they get to know each other. Their antagonism dissolves into attraction until misunderstandings and Tate's job as a bounty hunter get in the way of the budding passion.

Meanwhile, a serial killer ravages the area and kills several local women. Lauren must stay safe amidst the turmoil, and Tate will stop at nothing to both keep Lauren from the killer and hunt him down himself.

I loved this book. The depth of character development in Lauren, her journey, the plot, and the characters she interacts with all combined to make a fantastic read. I devoured it in a single day.

Lauren's journey to overcome the suppression caused by her ex-husband and the expansion of her true nature was a joy to read. The way Tate brought out her true sass and attitude that her ex-husband stamped down caused tension between them that he handled well. It almost improved their relationship once she got the confidence to truly express herself. And the way she discovered her passion in the biker community and the way she completely fit in was both surprising and delightful. Her complexity and depth as a character made the book all the more interesting.

Tate was compelling from the start, and his flip after insulting Lauren to caring for her was wonderful. He was also a complex character with secrets, passions, a surprising past that evolved layer by layer, and a tenderness beneath the badass biker and bounty hunter persona. While I have no interest in motorcycles or bikers, I felt the sex appeal dripping off of Tate.

I found myself trying to guess who the serial killer was throughout the novel, and I was completely wrong, and I found myself extremely glad I was wrong. My initial guess turned out to be a hero in the end. The townspeople were quirky, funny, and felt real. The story and setting came to life as Lauren met and befriended so many of the people in town. Sunny and Shambles, Betty and Ned, Wendy and Tyler, Wood, Krystal, Bubba, Jim-Billy, and even Neeta all brought the novel and Lauren to life. This seems to be a strength for Kristen Ashley as it was the same in The Gamble.

The dialog was strong, and it expressed the characters well, especially when Tate and Lauren would argue. It felt natural to me, and I found myself skipping over narration to the dialog and needing to go back to read what I'd skipped. My impatience to get to the dialog is unusual; I'm normally an attentive reader to all aspects of the writing.

The one thing I didn't like was the way the narrative would sometimes jump in time and then Lauren would catch the reader up on what happened during that time before returning to the present. It felt unnecessary to me and seemed to be a method of condensing chunks of time within the novel. It confused me at times, and I didn't like that method of reduction of the length. It happened with regularity, though not frequently. It was at times frustrating to me.

Overall, a delightful read. I can't wait for book three!

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