Breathe (#4) By Kristen Ashley

In order to protect a father he does not respect, in Lady Luck, we learned that good cop Chace Keaton went bad, sacrificing his career and his future. But when the local police department's secrets are revealed and the wife he's forced to marry is murdered, Chace finds himself the town of Carnal's hero. Knowing how deep in the mud he was forced to sink, Chace feels he'll never get clean. The quiet, content future he envisioned of the love a good woman with whom he could build a family was now beyond his reach. The only thing he can do is find his wife's murderer.

But he isn't the only one looking.

 
While searching for new leads, he runs into Faye Goodknight, the town's quiet, shy, pretty librarian. Chace has long since had his eye on what could possibly be the town's last remaining virgin but he has also long since given up hope he could make her his. Faye is pure and clean and Chace refuses to dirty her with his sordid past.

Pure and clean Faye may be, but when the shy librarian is forced to go head to head with the man who she's had a crush on since he hit her hometown, Chace finds Faye is full of surprises. And he doesn't know what to do with her.

 

Holly's Review:

I have to come right out and say,everything Kristen Ashley touches turns to GOLD! When a dear friend of mine plainly stated that KA has ruined her for all other authors I find that I completely understand this! All of that said, I am going to humbly admit that since the Colorado Mountain Series was my first KA venture, I am ashamed to say that for a brief moment I couldn't remember Chace and Faye. Yes, I said it, get all of your boo-ing out of the way now. But... it only took me about 1 page to find myself right back in Carnal and holy shit did it all come rushing back!

Chace Keaton was the town hero when he exposed the dirty police force in his town in Lady Luck when his wife was brutally murdered, a wife he despised mind you, but his wife nonetheless. Although Chace sees himself as anything but a hero, in fact he feels as though he is drowning in the dark as he calls it, part of his attempting to get clean is his continuing search for his late wife's killer and while doing this he becomes entangled with the one woman he want's more than anything.

Faye Goodnight has loved Chace Keaton since she was 16 years old and has watched him what she feels is from afar, little does she know that Chace has loved her for almost as long. Now knowing that his marriage was blackmail at it's worst, Faye sets about making him hers. Now, to say this starts off rocky for the quiet, seemingly shy, 29 year old virgin is putting it mildly but things quickly heat up. Being the town librarian Faye is a geek of the best kind, in fact, I do believe she and I would get along famously, but anyway, as the town librarian she notices a boy coming in to the library dirty and beaten and he runs when she tries to approach him. Faye knows he needs help and she enlists Chace to help her find out what the frak is going on. As with all of KA's wonderful stories, this means the whole town and then some take Chace and Faye's backs to right a terrible wrong they know is happening. There are bad guys, good guys, hot sex, lots of geek references, lots of love and an amazing towns support and loyalty!

I could go on and on and on about how much I love Ms. Ashley, her books, the characters, the towns, etc but I will stop here because if you have never picked up one of her books stop what you are doing right now and go get one....or all of them! If you have read her then you totally get me! You will love Chace, a smokin' hot Alpha, and Faye, a kickass, geek librarian who show us there is nothing better than Holding Out for a Hero - I promise you!!