Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Series review: The Jewel of Colorado: The complete series by Jason Collins


The Jewel Of Colorado:  The Complete Series contains The Jewel Of Colorado and Legacies:  The Jewel of Colorado


Synopsis
When Evan Carlson hears that a member of the elusive Sanders family is visiting his bank to have the most valuable diamond in Colorado appraised, he assumes that he won't be allowed anywhere near the jewel. But when Jacob Sanders arrives, he specifically requests that Evan be present for the secretive meeting, and Evan tries his best to keep his composure around the strikingly handsome man. Jacob comes across as a friendly, assertive guy who is unaffected by his wealth, and Evan feels an immediate attraction.

Invited to visit the Sanders Ranch, Evan discovers a family who cares deeply for each other despite their attempts to keep some of their darker secrets hidden. When one of those unwanted secrets appears out of the blue, Evan and Jacob are thrown together and forced to deal with the chaos. As the two men begin to explore their feelings, they must deal with the realization that the precious jewel has gone missing.

Trying his best to comfort Jacob, Evan agrees to help search for the missing stone or the person who might have stolen it. With fingers being pointed in all directions, Evan tries to keep himself off the list of suspects as he moves forward cautiously. Hoping to save their relationship, Evan joins in the hunt for Colorado's most infamous jewel.

Excerpt
“You never answered my question,” Jacob said.

“About Blue Moon?”

“Blue Moon,” Jacob said as his eyes disconnected from the conversation and drifted to a darker corner of the room. “It’s so unusual to hear it referred to by its name. My grandfather is the only one who ever calls it that – most people refer to it as the jewel –”

“The jewel of Colorado,” Evan interrupted him.

Jacob laughed and asked, “So, what do you think?”

“It’s beautiful,” Evan answered with a sigh. “It’s like something from a movie.”

“Yes, a movie about a very, very expensive stone,” Jacob replied. “It’s not the only attractive thing in this room.”

Evan was sure that he had misheard Jacob, or that he was simply referring to something else. He shook his head and began to reply, but Jacob interrupted him before he could begin.

“What’s your name?” Jacob asked.

“Evan,” he replied, “and yours?”

Evan immediately felt embarrassed for not knowing Mr. Sanders’s first name, but he had only been referred to by his last name previously.

“I’m Jacob,” he replied with a laugh, “and I’m glad you don’t know who I am.”

Review
The Jewel of Colorado is a crime/mystery drama that will leave you guessing until the very end because the author provides the reader with multiple suspects, and the perpetrator or perpetrators of the crime are the ones you would least expect.
The entire cast of characters are interesting and the main characters are easy to relate to and they pull you into their story.
There is not a lot of romance in The Jewel of Colorado, nor are there a lot of explicit sex scenes. There is one explicit scene, and other sexual encounters are alluded to or briefly described. Adding more sex scenes, to me, would detract from the story.
This is perhaps one the finest 'whodunit' stories I've ever read.
However, the one thing that bothers me about the story is a lot of repeating of certain phrases. That being said, The Jewel of Colorado deserves to be on everybody's Kindle/Nook/eReader/bookshelf. 

All-in-all, I give The Jewel of Colorado 4½ out of 5 stars.

₪₪₪₪₪




                     
Synopsis
It's been one month since the Blue Moon diamond was safely tucked away, and Evan Carlson is ready to move past the drama and scandal surrounding it. On his last day as bank manager, Evan is excited to rid himself of his duties and finally focus on his relationship with Jacob. On his way out of town, a chance encounter with Lucy Sanders causes Evan to wonder if their troubles are really over.

Determined to maintain a positive attitude, Evan pushes his feelings of doubt aside until the arrival of a strange new man shakes everything up. When he attends a business meeting with Alex Carter, son of Danielle and Sheriff Carter, he expects to spend a boring afternoon signing documents, but he quickly realizes that Alex is interested in more than just paperwork. Loyal to Jacob and excited about their future, Evan finds himself defending their love from the aggressive interest shown by the mischievous Alex.

With all their attention centered on their relationship, Evan and Jacob let thoughts of the secured diamond fall to the way side. Unfortunately, what once was secure, has again been compromised. The mystery behind the Jewel of Colorado continues as familiar characters clash with new opportunists, leaving Evan and Jacob wondering if they can trust anyone. With the loss of the stone causing tension within the Sanders family, Evan must figure out a way to save his relationship with Jacob.

Excerpt

The long driveway which lead to the heart of the Sanders ranch had become a familiar sight for Evan. Over the past month – excluding the two-week vacation they took – Evan had become accustomed to a part-time life on the ranch. Jacob and his grandfather welcomed him onto the property with open arms, and they were constantly complaining that he didn’t spend enough time there, but he didn’t want to feel like a nuisance.

His car poked along the dusty road as he gazed up at the Rocky Mountains in all their glory. The effects of their beauty never diminished, and each time he entered the property he felt like he was seeing them for the first time. As he neared the main house, he looked over at the private lake where he and Jacob had shared their first real conversation. They had known each other for a full thirty days now, but due to the extreme circumstances surrounding their time together, it felt like they had known
each other for years.

He finally saw the main house in the distance, and Jacob was eagerly waiting for him on the front porch. Evan parked his car, climbed out of the driver’s seat, and saw Jacob rushing toward him with open arms.

“You’re here!” he exclaimed as he wrapped Evan in his embrace.

“I’m here,” Evan said with his lips pressed against the flannel covering Jacob’s chest. “I’m sorry it took so long; we had a few extra things to deal with at the bank, and I –”

“Let’s not talk about the bank,” Jacob said, pulling Evan in so tight that he was sure the flannel was going to leave an impression on his skin.

Review

It has been said that history tends to repeat itself. A month after the theft of the Blue Moon Diamond, more commonly known as the Jewel of Colorado, it gets stolen again. Once again the author provides us with a mystery with more twists and turns than a bag of curly fries. What would appear to be a carbon copy of The Jewel of Colorado actually isn't. It just seems that way.



The entire cast of characters with the notable exception of those who were incarcerated the first time the Blue Moon Diamond was stolen. Suspicions about, and just when you think you've solved this mystery, oh crap! Here we go again with another twist. I myself was sure of who stole the diamond, only to be proven wrong.

It has also been said that a leopard can't change it's spots. Well, sometimes it can. Two of the characters have a complete reversal of attitudes, one of which is kinda expected, the other is a complete shock.

The story seems to flow a bit more smoothly than it's predecessor, which I believe to be caused by the author becoming more comfortable with the characters he's created. I've seen this in other book series. The characters are fleshed out a little more, thus are even more real than in the previous novel, although they were pretty real in The Jewel of Colorado. As an author myself, I can definitely relate.

Once again, if you're looking for a lot of steamy, explicit sex scenes I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I believe that, although part of the plot is the two main characters settling into their relationship, having page after page of sex scenes just doesn't fit. What little there is, fits in nicely. Any more than that detracts from the overall story.

Legacy:  The Jewel of Colorado also deserves to be on everybody's Kindle/Nook/eReader/bookshelf. 

All-in-all, I give Legacy:  The Jewel of Colorado 5 out of 5 stars.

Series review wrap-up

There are a couple of things I like about this series. One is that each book is stand-alone. You don't to read one to understand what's happening in the other. There's none of the dreaded 'To be continued', although readers will experience a more pleasurable read if they are read in succession.

Another is that there aren't a lot of new characters introduced in the second book. To me, this tends to get confusing trying to figure out the dynamics of how all the characters fit together. Some readers may disagree with that, but hey, whatever makes the series enjoyable, that's what counts.

Everything I've said in this review is my own opinion. However, I challenge everybody reading this review to read The Jewel of Colorado:  The Complete Series and form your own opinions. I'd be curious to see if they resemble mine.

I highly recommend  The Jewel of Colorado:  The Complete Series.
 
Author bio
Hello everyone, I'm Jason Collins. I'm a writer from the South, but I've been living in New York for quite a while, so I've started calling myself a "southern New Yorker". There's nothing I love more than a hot cup of coffee and a good story, so I try to do most of my writing when I have a fresh pot available. I hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I enjoy writing them.

Find me on Facebook: facebook.com/jasoncollinswriter




 Buy links:
The Jewel of Colorado: The Complete Series 

The Jewel of Colorado 

Legacy: Sequel to The Jewel of Colorado 

All synopses, excerpts, photos and author bio are copyright (c) Jason Collins.  

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