Wicked Reads Reviews – What It Takes by Kathryn Ascher

After graduating college, Kelsey Morgan left her small-town Virginia roots to make it in L.A. After years slogging in commercials and music videos, her movie career is finally taking off. But she's still miles behind her current costar, and Hollywood playboy, Patrick Lyons. Kelsey does everything she can to avoid Patrick off-set, hoping to not become fodder for the supermarket tabloids that scour the streets for Patrick, trying to get an exclusive look at him and his alleged woman of the week. Kelsy has successfully kept Patrick at a distance, and her reputation intact, until her drunkard brother-in-law Richard threatens to ruin everything by selling her darkest secret to the highest bidder. Now the victim of blackmail, Kelsey has nowhere else to turn but to Patrick's arms. But, can he be trusted? Or will the past destroy them all before she can find out if he's the hero she needs?

Book 1
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆☆
Kelsey Morgan has been betrayed and now doubts her ability to tell good men from the bad. Working as an actor in Hollywood, she's vowed to keep her life there separate from her home life in Virginia.

Patrick Lyons is intrigued by his co-star, Kelsey and likes the fact that she doesn't fawn all over him. What he doesn't understand is why she seems to dislike him so much.

Vowing to be her friend, Patrick lets Kelsey know that he's in it for the long haul – as friends, or if she would allow it, so much more.

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Great character development and awesome story.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is a lovely story, and a most impressive debut novel. That it is the first in a series makes me very happy, as I cannot wait to read more about this group of wonderful characters. My sincere compliments to Ms. Ascher.

It pulled me in from the very beginning, and I am still thinking about the plot, the characters and the romance, which together have created a very special story. The author has seamlessly drawn together two different worlds and made it difficult not to care about the protagonists. There is humour, drama, and sizzling attraction.

I highly recommend this book to you.

Born and raised in Virginia, Kathryn Ascher tried her hand at poetry and fiction in high school, but put it all aside when she went to college. After graduating from Virginia Tech with her degree in communications, she married her college sweetheart and went to work for a local radio station. After her first child was born, she became a stay-at-home mom and began spending her free time crafting and reading.

It wasn’t until after the birth of her third child and a blind book exchange that Kathryn decided to give writing another try. When she picked up her first romance novel, she immediately knew that was the genre for her. She was drawn to the strong lead characters and the quirky secondary characters, the settings, the humor, and most importantly the feelings of falling in love for the first time. She hopes that her readers enjoy these aspects in her writings as well.

The inspiration for Kathryn’s first novel, What It Takes, came during a trip to the grocery store. In the checkout line, she amused herself with a tabloid article about a movie sequel she was looking forward to seeing. She read an interview with one of the actors who, when asked if he was dating his co-star, replied that he thought fans confused the characters with the actors and saw what they wanted to see. Kathryn began to wonder what would happen if the actors themselves got confused about their relationships and feelings—and a book was born.

Kathryn resides with her husband and three children in Land O' Lakes, Florida. – Bio from author’s website

Connect with Kathryn

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of What It Takes (Rocky Creek #1) by Kathryn Ascher to read and review.