Games of the Heart (The 'Burg Series Book 4)

This book was about two great love stories. The heartache of losing a loved one and the happiness of finding peace and the love strength to push through to the best part of yourself finding hope and family

Gotta love Kristen Ashley. I am new into her stories and I am forever grateful to my sister for introducing them to me. Dream Man Series, Colorado Mountain Man, The Burg, and now The Unfinished Heros. You go Kristen, I cant wait for more to come. I will say this is totally worth the read, but it is not as great as her other books, but that is just me and my opinion. Still love the stories she comes up with.

This is the first book I've read by this author. I liked the heroine and her love interest, including the steamy sex scenes. This is what ultimately kept me reading to the end. However, they all seemed to be speaking in slang. I know people do this, as do I, but I don't speak with everyone that way and not everyone I meet speaks that way. They would all stay stuff like "he threw down for you" or "you get me?"...it's OK to have this as part of your story, but it wasn't realistic to have so many characters speaking with what seemed like the same voice. Also, part of the authors writing style was to write about what the characters were thinking. Again, this is OK on occasion but about a third of the book was written like this. It was like the book was filled with hundreds of thought bubbles and almost all of them started off with "FU@#" and SH*%". Now I'm not against swearing mind you, and I do it on occasion myself, lol, but this was over the top. These were supposed to be a 38 year old woman and 43 year old man...it seemed too immature for them. I think the book needed a good editor.

ugg. Why must the heroines in this series be so totally unliakble. Damaged is one thing but seriously put on your big girl panties and be an adult. Also TSTL clearly applies to Dusty. The secondary characters are what saved this book and honestly all the books in the series.

Start out a little vague as to where the story is going. I don't care for the teenagers (15 and 17) having the same speech patterns and deep feelings as the adults though. I'm 74% in so maybe it's not the case.

I am a big fan of Ms. Ashley's stories, and I reallllly like the Burg series.. (Cal and Vi's story, wonderful in At Peace and in particular was richly woven..) But this one was a DUD, except for the teen love story of Fin and Reese-- Beautifully done! But I found this book very tedious.

Mike was not particularly interesting and pretty damn negative, and I found Dusty pretentious and annoying. Mike's way of speaking was so crap I needed a translator half the time Cursing does NOT bother me, but when I cannot understand what our Hero is trying to communicate most of the time, then it is a Problem. (yeah, Mr.Tough Guy-- oh save me Mitch Lawson and Tate Jackson from this guy!) and Dusty's favorite words were "Cool!" "Awesome" and the best when first meeting Mike's kids: "I'm into your Dad" You must be kidding. Ugh. It was ridiculous. And I liked Sylvie in Creed and even Hawk, so don't get me wrong-- I like KA alpha characters, but here I was NOT drawn in, it didn't feel real.

The emotional complexity was lacking for me in this one, the bedroom was not so hot, only in a rather superficial way, and I've read almost all of KA's books. I had to force myself to keep plowing thru this one, and yeah, I'm glad I did because of Fin and Reese. ONLY. Well, that and seeing Vi and Cal again. Sorry!

After the first 2 books of the Burg series the last 2 are a bit of a let down... I have had 28 sleepless nights reading this amazing author's work because I can not bring myself to put her books down. Though Mike and Dusty share an amazing love story it simply was not Kristen's best work

I LOVE anything written by Kristen Ashley, but for some reason this book just wasn't up to par....I don't feel like it was her usual, intense, grab my heart story....but still love her and would continue to buy ANYTHING written by her!

Games of the Heart by Kristen Ashley
Genres; Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Romance, Suspense
4.75 Stars

Positives & Negatives
I know! Like Ms. Ashley needs yet another 5 star review. But, what can I say.... It was just that good. I took off points for one thing. It really isn't much of a negative. There wasn't much in the mystery category. You pretty much knew who was doing what throughout, but the suspense more than made up for that.
She switched things around in this one. Quite frankly, I didn't just like or really like this one. I loved it. It may be my new favorite in this series.
Mike and Dusty are completely different from all the other main characters and so is their situations. They're both more realistic, easier to connect to. Their problems are things we hear about, see and experience in our everyday lives.
There were two passages that made me laugh out loud. Both are on my kindle highlights, but I have to share this one,
'Right, I should probably not pray to God to give me great sex, but seriously, He created Mike and gave him his abilities, He had to know a woman would want more.'
As you can see the adult romance of this story is spot on. Plenty of yummy passion.
So is the suspense. You will be completely invested in the story.
You will lose sleep because you won't be able to quit reading it.
The writing and flow of the story is some of the best I have read, and that includes other books written by Ms. Ashley herself. She has a tendency to ramble and I did not find that to be the case here.
Since there are so many reviews on this book already, I will end my review with this,
If you haven't read a Kristen Ashley book, do yourself a huge favor, get one. You will love them. I've read a ton of her books & only one I didn't care much for. She is definitely a phenomenal writer.

bookshelves: 1-dig-lib, romance, contemporary, adult, suspense, mystery, 5-favorite-authors
3 notes & 3 highlights (All visible)

Games of the Heart is a breath of fresh air for me.

I have read a lot of my queen, Kristen Ashley's books, so I say this with total confidence... Dusty is one unique heroine. I totally love her and she's the best reason to give this book a perfect 5. She's a breath of fresh air because... she's just... her. Honest, no pretenses. She's open. Nothing fazes her. She's also darn talented. I am in awe of her because she can design, make pottery, bake, sing etc. Not only is she talented in those aspects, she's also kind, like really kind. The kind that drops everything in another state to be with her family and help them throughout the process of grieving. She's kind enough to not hold a grudge. I think the best part is that she speaks her mind, does what she feels like right that very moment. Oh my, I just.. I wish I had that. :) I guess it's safe to say now that she's another woman that I want to grow into someday (I'm still 26 and she's 38 here).

On the other hand, Mike is also kind of unique because man.. he matches Dusty's humor with his own laugh. Yep. In KA's books, there are many heroes who don't laugh a lot, so it's a special event when they do. Not Mike. His laughs are special because he does it all the time. :) I like that about him. He's easygoing and yet still a badass. He's a cop you know? Cops need to be badass in a lot of ways. He's not perfect. He has his downsides, judging a person fast based on less to none evidences... but it's not something that he can't change or that Dusty can't overcome, so all's well. :)

These meet again under unfortunate circumstances. It brought about the start of their relationship even though it kind of started 25 years ago, they just didn't know it. ;) Both of their families collide in a really magical way. I can't tell you about the details as to why it's magical though. Let's just say that somewhere along the way, these two had fairy godmothers and fairy godfathers to help them.

Sooo they got together... It should have been Happily-ever-after right away... Sadly, nope. They had to deal with trials like weird exes and a sister from hell. This book is all about them powering through every single one of them.

Annndd it's also about another love story on the side. Heh, I'm not gonna say who this is about. I'm just gonna say that it's cute and all consuming at the same time. :)

All in all, of course I'm giving this a 5!!! Kristen Ashley has done it again!

After reading the emotional roller coaster Rule by the author C. D. Reiss, I wanted to read something lighter but still amazing. I am always sure I will like something by the fantastic Kristen Ashley and Games of the Heart was no exception.

This book belongs to KA’s The Burg series, which is still an erotic romance but with suspense as well. In this case, this read is about Mike Haines (the cop who always had an eye on the little siter of the Holliday family) and Dusty Holliday (a different woman, a grown up woman that has just lost her brother).

“You’re right, I’m here to right wrongs and I’m gonna do it, Angel. You told me I’d had my last chance but I don’t accept that and I won’t. If you tell me now that my explanation is not enough and you want me gone, I’m not goin’. I’m not giving up. I got one part of my life’s dream still open to me, every sign she gives me is screaming that she’s standing in my arms right now and I’m not gonna be ninety years old, looking back on my life and regretting that I gave up that dream.”

I have to say, this series is not one of my favourites by K. Ashley but Games of the Heart is one of her best works for me! This is pure Kristen Ahsley style: this book is full of emotions like love, betrayal, sadness, among others; and it has quite a lot of drama (you need no more than a bad sister, a weak sister-in-law and an annoying ex). I laughed, I cried, I got angry, I fell in love with the amazing characters that KA is able to write.

However, what I liked most about this book (apart from the sweet and smokin’ love story between Mike and Dusty) it’s the strenght of Mike’s family and Dusty’s family together. It’s beautiful to read how Mike helps with the Holliday’s farm and how Dusty also falls in love with Mike’s kids (Rees and No). Moreover, there is sweetness overload with the story between Rees Haines and Fin Holliday (Dusty’s nephew): they discover first -and only- love together and, at the end, it was so beatiful, SO BEAUTIFUL!

“I love you, Finley.”
Fin blinked at the creek but he felt his body go stone-still.
Then he whispered, “What?”
“I love you,” she repeated.
He braced his weight against one elbow, lifted his hand, cupped her jaw and whispered back, “I love you too, babe.”

So, my rating is (obviouly) 5+ STARS because Games of the Heart, for me, Kristen Ahsley has the recipe to write an outstanding book. It is PERFECT.

I first fell in love with Mike Haines in "At Peace" when he was vying for the love of Violet who in the end falls for Cal.

I really loved this story although I must say the romance between Mike's daughter Clarisse and Dusty's nephew Fin was just beautiful and really took my heart and breath away. I found myself really wanting to know how they would end up and I really loved at the end of the book we were transported 7 years ahead - so we get to see how everyone is.

I actually have to admit I probably did not like Mike too much for the first half of this book which is strange considering I jumped from book 2 to 4 as I wanted him to find love. I am thinking perhaps he was really closed off after two broken hearts and he really is quite a dominating and stubborn man.

Another surprising character I really followed with such interest was Mike's ex wife, wow I truly loved how her character developed over the course of the book and I was happy for their children in the end, she grew up with them in a sense.

Now I could not fault Mike and his depth of love for his children and can I say as a mother of a daughter the way Clarisse and Dusty's relationship developed and bore such intimate parts of a girl's journey to womanhood was a beautiful thing to read and follow. Mike's relationship with his son and daughter changed over the course of the book and they in turn supported their dad too on so many levels.

I truly savoured this story, there are many sub stories in this which will not leave you disappointed. I do suggest at least reading book 2 "At Peace" to perhaps understand some of Mike's hang ups and also know characters you meet - look start at Book 1 of "The Burg" series!

Lets be honest here… I should know not to doubt KA, but I wasn’t thrilled to be reading about Mike when I first heard about this book. After reading about him in At Peace, I wasn’t that impressed. But dang, I was wrong about him. He was an amazing guy, wonderful dad and I loved him! Plus he had the most kick butt heroine in The ‘Burg series so that just made the book all the better!

Mike Haines and Dusty Holliday have history. It stated twenty years ago, when they were teens and Mike was dating Dusty’s older sister. They’ve always had this bond, this connection, but Dusty took off right after high school and Mike hadn’t seen her since. Now, after Dusty’s brothers passing, she’s back in Indiana for a while. Mike is raising two teens and living by the Holliday farm. When Mike and Dusty first reunite, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine. Mike is misinformed about some things and takes his frustrations out on Dusty. With time, he sees the errors of his ways and starts to trust her. Dusty has loved Mike a long time. Now that he’s back in her life, she knows she is safe with him.

This couple didn’t have the easiest go of it. There were a lot of things standing in the way of their happiness. Ex wives, ex boyfriends, real estate moguls, and bitch sisters. But through it all, they had each other. Games of the Heart wasn’t just Mike and Dusty’s story. It was also the love story of Dusty’s nephew Fin, and Mike’s daughter, Rees. I loved the bond a relationship Dusty developed with Rees. Not being close to her mother, it was exactly what Rees needed.
Mike and Dusty’s story was great… but I have to say there were moments when Fin and Rees stole the show. I adored these two characters. They gave this book something special. And the fact that the story jumped between all four of their perspectives was amazing!

Another thing I really loved about this story was seeing Mike as a father. You just fall in love quicker with a guy who is great with their kids. He was 100% loving and devoted to his children. Their relationship was wonderful and the kids relationship with Dusty was great too.

Dusty is a fabulous heroine. She is my favorite woman from the Burg for sure. She’s sweet, kind, loving and giving, but also a little feisty and fun. She was always honest and open with her feelings. She loved Mike, had for a long time and had no problem expressing that. She’s loyal and devoted to her family and nephews.

As I said before, Mike was one of those KA alpha’s I wasn’t too excited to read about, but I’m so happy I read this book because I absolutely adored him. Mike has that alpha male protective streak. He’s a good dad, a good cop, and a good man. In the beginning, he made some mistakes, but he owned up to them. He’s a man that knows what is important in life, and thats Dusty and his kids. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to make them work.

I felt like this story had less drama and mystery than the other ‘Burg books, and that was fine with me. I loved all the main characters in this book, and it was great to catch up with the other characters in the Burg. Lots of Joe Cal, Ryker, Colt, etc.

Kristen Ashely has this ability to write stories you just get lost in. Sure they’re usually on the long side, but it doesn’t feel that way. Every time I read one of her books I want to jump on a plane and go to Colorado or Indiana. I want one of these alpha’s for myself and want to be best friends with the heroines. Games of the Heart was first and foremost a beautiful romance. It focused on family. There were plenty of steamy and swoony moments too! And the epilogue… no one does an epilogue like KA. A great addition to The ‘Burg, a series I’d highly recommend!

Book 4 in the Burg series is Mike Haines story, he has been a part of several books we know he is divorced with 2 kids looking for love that he didn't have with his wife. Mike is a cop and his backyard faces his high school girlfriend's family farm. He loves to look out over the farm and think about his future. Dusty Holliday is the little sister of Mike's high school girlfriend he hasn't seen her in years, now she is back for her brother's funeral. Lots of secrets and misunderstandings have kept the Holliday family at odds, but Dusty loves her family and the family farm. Dusty comes back home to help save the family farm and her two nephews whose mom has lost it when her husband Dusty's brother died. I love the crazy sparks and love between Dusty and Mike. I love the children written into the story all teens and Dusty's nephew and Mike's daughter become significant couple in this story. There is mystery, suspense, tears and romance I couldn't stop reading once I opened this book. Again another AMAZING Epilogue to Mike and Dusty's story that cannot be beat. I finished satisfied.

Games of the Heart begins with Dusty being back home for her brothers funeral. It's been years since she spoke with her sister's ex-boyfriend Mike Haines. And she never expected him to show up at her hotel room to ream her butt because she's causing trouble with the family.
When Mike gets to Dusty's hotel room he never expected to do what he did, and never should have showed up there giving her crap about stuff he didn't know anything about. But when Mike and Dusty take a huge plunge to start a relationship. Mike keeps making assumptions about Dusty that aren't correct. And in doing so he might just lose her if he doesn't get his head out of his butt.. During this journey these two find themselves battling ex's, and family members to find what they have. Not only that though Mike's daughter Reesee and Dusty's nephew Fin are also having a romance. One that every one knows they will one day get married if something doesn't go bad first.

So all in all this was a wonderful book. With two beautiful romances in it. I loved Dusty and Mike they are awesome together. Even though Mike messed up several times I still loved them. And Dusty is an awesome character. She's not afraid to say what she means, and just let it all hang out. I loved her. And I loved all of the stuff that happened in this book even if it made me want to slap a few people around. Namely Mike and one time Fin. But they learned from their mistakes and this book had a beautiful epilogue. Probably one of the best I've read from KA! Now again I'm super excited for Benny's book. :)

More reviews at Shooting Stars Reviews, [...]

I think every time I start a review on one of Kristen Ashley's book, I always rave about the book, her writing, how much I love her, and how much I love the characters in the book. This review will be no different. I LOVE Kristen Ashley!!!! I love her writing, I loved this book, and I would marry the characters in this book.

Ever since Vi's book, I have loved Mike. I loved Vi and Joe so much together that I was okay with Mike getting his heart broken because I knew KA would make it right later. And she did! His relationship with Dusty is perfect, sexy, sweet, super hot, and all that it should be. Like every KA couple, they are meant to be.

In most KA books, there is always some threat of violence looming over the couple's head (a drama that I do love) but this book was mild compared to the others. Yes, drama happened, but it was a different kind of drama that sucked me in.

Also, the romance between Mike and Dusty was unreal but on the side is a romance happening between a very young Rees and Fin. The heated romance between the adults and the simple, starting romance between the teenagers kept me in a love realm and I could not complain. Fin is like a mini Mike; alpha male, protective, sweet but also a manly man. Both relationships were amazing to read about.

I loved that Mike had kids and how he treated them. They are the absolute world to him and how KA wrote that love made me fall in love with Mike even more.

There were some things that I would have like KA to expand on. I would have liked to read how Finn took the news about learning that there was a break in and I would have loved, LOVED a whole book just on Rees and Finn by themselves when they were older. I know we got a small taste in the epilogue but I really need more. Now I am just left with imagining their lives and I don't have as good as an imagination as KA has. That is why I rely on her to do great writing while I do the great reading. ~BookWhisperer Reviewer MC~

Games of the Heart
Reviewed by Suzanne & posted at Under the Covers Book Blog

Oh my goodness! This is now my favourite book in the series, I loved absolutely everything about it. In fact I am too excited to right a proper review with full sentences so instead here's a list of three main three things I loved about Games of the Heart:

Marvelous Mike: I wasn't sure what to expect from Mike, he is such a nice guy in all the other books, I was half expecting him to be a little boring. Bah! What a fool I was! He was all good boy on the surface, but his alpha male was fully unleashed in the bedroom where he was demanding and dirty. He reminded me a little of Hank Nightingale from the Rock Chick series actually, another one of my favourite KA heroes.

Delightful Dusty: Loved her! She was a little different from a usual KA heroine in that she seemed to have more confidence and she was the one to make the first move on Mike. But she was also sweet and funny and protective of those she loves so despite her stealing my man Mike, I couldn't help but like her.

The Cute & Adorable Teen Tale: Fin and Rees, what a couple, I loved their romance so much that it almost eclipsed the main couple, Mike and Dusty. I loved how she described Clarisse (although whenever I heard her name in my head I was thinking Silence of the Lambs!) that uncertainty about herself and her talents reminded me so much teenagerdom when you are so full of hormones you don't know what the hell is going on. And Fin, wow, I don't think I have ever met a 17 year old like him, it feels wrong but I was a little in love with him myself.

I have loved this series so far and I can't wait for the next book to come out, once again Kristen Ashley has penned a winner.

Games of the Heart, 4th in The Burg series..my favorite KA series!!!!
I have loved Mike since 'At Peace', Stealth Mike, and I could not wait for this book!!

GotH is a story of tragedy, grief, love and family. It's beautiful, heart wrenching, funny and very emotional. I defy anyone not to go through copious amounts of tissues like I did!!! At times it reminded me of 'At Peace', my fave KA book...not doing spoilers so all I'll say is, the stealth kisses, the no shoes/coat..you'll know what I mean if you've read it!!! I was totally done for when I read theses scenes!!! Oh and I bloody love the whole 'Burg family that popped in and out!!

Detective Mike Haines is a divorced dad of 2 kids, No and Rees, and a dog, the fabulous heroic Layla, yes I fell in love with a dog!!! Mike is total alpha male, he makes a few mistakes but I got it, I got why...
*sigh*...Mike...Stealth Mike...Dirty Mike....Yummy Amazing Mike...

Dusty, well she is without doubt my favorite KA heroine EVER! There is no messing round with her, she knows what she wants and she goes for it, she plays NO games and she says what she thinks. Pure class!!!

Fin and Reesee well they just made my heart melt into a puddle on the floor, LOVED them, LOVED their story (and is it ok to admit I was crushing on Fin..well the man he was becoming!?!)

GotH is a bit of a slow burner which just sweeps you up and then suddenly throws you a shocker of a moment out of no-where...but the whole journey was BEAUTIFUL!!!

The epilogue....BEST EVER!!! I should know, I read this one...oh about 10 times!!! No one does epilogues like KA totally AMAZING!!!

The last 20% I don't think I came up for air and as I said I went through my whole collection of tissues and had to move onto the kitchen roll which does NOT make for an attractive look hahaha..

I swear Mike Haines has got some deep down and dirty secret on Kristen Ashley's editor and he threatened her with exposure if she took her red pen to him because, boy, can that man talk. I'd get up in the morning, he'd be talking. I'd go make coffee, he'd still be talking. I'd go to work for 10 hours and get home and he'd still be going on. OK - so most of what he said was lovely and gave me the warm and fuzzies but I was desperate for him to talk in speeches of 2 pages or less instead of the long, blusterous soliloquies he gave us.

I had a bit of a problem with him at the beginning of the book. Judgemental, much? Twice he jumped to wrong conclusions about Dusty and the third time, after he found out about a traumatic incident in her past, he decided she just wasn't worth it and dumped her. If it hadn't been for the fact that the book was on my Precious (my Kindle), it would have been hurled across the room. Never have we met a KA Alpha who slithered quite so low to the ground.

He did, of course, redeem himself and then some and I grew to love him but I was shocked at how quickly Dusty forgave him because Dusty must be one of KA's best ever heroines. She's honest, open, engaging, totally without deceit and a strong, feisty woman and I totally, totally loved her. She was prepared to move heaven and earth for those she loved. For a long time, I felt she deserved much better than Mike but I came around, eventually.

There's a beautiful secondary romance here between the teenagers Fin and Reesee and I did feel this totally eclipsed Dusty and Mike as their romance was a done deal before even a third of the book was completed. Fin is a boy/man very much in the Ashley Alpha Mould and I can see why he brings out the latent cougar in so many reviewers here at Goodreads.

So, we have a long rambling story which is probably the hallmark of a KA book and nice cameos from past heroes and heroines of the Burgs. I got fangirl squees every time Cal walked onto a page! Sigh! I do think it would have been better with some stringent editing - it was overly long and it didn't need to be. I worried about all the fade to black sex scenes in the first third too but, thankfully, the steam factor definitely increased in the last half of the book.

So, I'm glad I read it, I won't read it again and it's not KA's finest but I still worship at her altar!

3 stars contemporary romance.

Mike & Dusty have known each other since they were kids. But after Dusty graduates high school she leaves The 'Burg and pretty much never returns. She has always carried a torch for Mike, even when he dated her cow of a sister Debbie, and her brother Darrin secretly hoped they'd get together. So when Darrin dies she finally returns and gets her shot with Mike. But Mike makes a TON of assumptions that may or may not kill their relationship before it ever really begins.

Games of the Heart was a GREAT story. There was tons of drama from an ex-wife, ex-sister/girlfriend, sleazy developer and angry teenagers. But it wasn't over the top drama and that made all the difference. There's a side romance with Fin & Reesee which is absolutely adorable and breathtaking. I haven't read the other books in The Burg series but I'm going to....so curious to find out Ryker's story!

Games of the Heart was a solid, really good read. The H/h (Mike & Dusty) didn't grab me the way Cal & Vi did in At Peace (#2 in the 'Burg series) but their story was rich in family detail, such as the relationship between Mike's kids (the oddly nicknamed 'No'/Jonas and Reesee/Clarisse) and Dusty's nephews (Fin/Finley and Kirby). Kristen Ashley often uses a broad cast of characters to set up dramatic tension and she did so here, including Dusty's sister, Debbie, the town bullies, developer Bernie McGrath & his goons or Dusty's fading-away sister, Rhonda. All meld together in a solid, re-readable story. Hero Mike is a typical alpha and Dusty is a strong, independent woman. They have history (as did Colt & Feb, Tanner & Rocky) and they have great chemistry but I think the formula got a little stale here, which is why I took a star off. If I'd read Games of the Heart first, I may have given it the full 5 stars. As with all of KA's books, it's far better than average and edited very well for a self pub - it's just not knock-my-socks-off great. I'll probably reread this and can't wait for Benny & Frankie's story in #5.

This is the 4th Book in the 'Burg Series so if you find yourself up to this book then you are as smittened with all things 'Burg as I am.

You probably would die to have a Holligoss Donut, coffee at Mimis, a beer at J & J, a fancy dinner at Costa's. Aside from all the local places in the 'Burg are the incredible people who live there.

Finishing this fourth book I found that I have accumulated a ton of favorite characters through this series and with each book our bond has grown stronger. Joe Callahan, Colt, Tanner, Mike, Ryker, Devon, Rivera, Morry, Fin, Feb, Vi, Dusty, Cheryl, Rocky, Reese basically the whole gang... I love each and everyone of them from the alpha men to the quirky gals!!!!

Games of the Heart...well I could quote the whole book it was that good. I laughed, I cried and as always want more!!

Mike Haines is wary after losing out to Joe Callahan with Violet. So when Dusty Holliday comes back to the Burg for her brother's funeral, a woman he hasn't seen in years. Plus he used to date her older sister Debbie in highschool. Mike moves cautiously.
But he manages to ruin their burgeoning relationship, with what Dusty refers to as "his tests". Angry and saddened she returns to Texas. But then fate intervenes in the shape of his daughter Clarissa and Dusty's nephew Fin.

Loved this story, it's a really romantic read. Mike and Dusty are really wonderful characters, and I was willing them on throughout the book. Once again KA's younger characters are real scene stealers, brilliantly written. Loved the sub-plot between Mike's daughter and Dusty's nephew. We also get to see other characters from the previous books and see how their lives are going.
Such a romantic and emotional story, a real page turner. Highly recommend.

Great book. I was a bit hesitant since this is Mike's story and he didn't strike me as very alpha or interesting guy. What a mistake that was!!! He is a great father, hesitant in the beginning go his relationship with Dusty, and for good reasons but once he is set on something, he goes all out and some!!! Loved it! Loved his kid, specially Rees and Fin matchmaking plans, so cute and I absolutely loved Dusty. She is so honest and opened, very loving but so fierce in protecting what and who she loves. The 2 of them are explosive together and some scenes were way hot, you need a fan :)
Can't wait to read what comes next with Benny and Frankie. Lucky for me I begun this serie days before its release :)

Mike Haines can see the Holliday farm from his balcony. But what he sees is his ex-girlfriends little sister Dusty Holliday. She was sweet, funny, and they had a special bond until Dusty went off the rails and left town immediately after graduation never to see each other again. Then when tragedy strikes Dusty comes back to town continuing to be the thoughtless selfish girl she was back then. Only Mike can't be further from the truth and Dusty constantly proves him wrong. Only to strike out with Dusty time and time again trying to protect himself and his kids. He needs to fix things and fast.

Mike Haines is probably the most frustrating, warm, sweet, infuriating man Kristen Ashley created! I know he is just trying to protect himself but dang....How much does a woman need to prove herself for a man. Games of the Heart is full of family drama that it makes other families look like the Brady Bunch! Mike has drama coming from all angles; his ex-wife, ex-girlfriend, his daughter, new girlfriends ex boyfriend. Sheesh how much can one man take! Something Kristen Ashley never fails to do is make the reader fall hard for her characters, become deeply invested with the story and makes them feel like they are there.

Mike isn't my favorite KA hero, but this story rocked! I absolutely loved the multi-POV's in this book. I have been reading KA's books in order of publication after having read a few randomly. She has experimented with multi-POV's here and there, but nothing like this one. It was so fun watching the romance bloom between Reesee and Fin and experiencing Mike's reaction. Also, KA surprises with the suspense in this one and it is not at all predictable. Fun read.

Wow....I am speechless! I loved this story. Every freaking word of it got better and better. I fell in love with Mike in At Peace and his story was just that, ten times better. In my opinion, this one is the best in The Burg series.

The story has drama, hot sex, young love, great friends and an epilogue to die for.

Dusty is an awesome heroine, you just don't get better then her and Mike....oh my god, let's get started on Mike. Hottess alpha male that you cannot help but fall in love with. He's one of my romance boyfriends.

This story is going on my keeper shelf and will be in my top 10 favourites contemporaries. I've read quite a few KA stories, but this one tops them all.

I highly recommend it.

I must admit I loved Mike in At Peace and I couldn't wait to read his book but it wasn't all that I expected in fact the highlight of this book for me was Fin, Reesee and No I loved these kids. Mike wasn't quite the same and I know Dusty was cool and everything but I out so sick of little dusty, like N Howe said in her review the sex scenes are repetitive and it doesn't do to read too many Kristen books too close together, I also felt the crime aspect was lacking, it was good to touch base with past characters but for me this wasn't one of her best.

Let me just state first up that I love Kristen I think that her work is amazing and the fact that she writes so quickly,and comes up with these rich stories filled with complex and loveable characters makes her some kind if genius. I love her use of language and her ability to create a world from thin air and juggle all the pieces with out letting any of them drop is truly wondrous. In Games of the heart she has given us a fantastic story with a truly kick ass leading lady ( Dusty) and a true alpha male ( Mike)loves his job and his kids and manages both so well. The story is fabulous and the side story of Fin and Clarisse is just icing on the cake.

However I have one major problem with this story and that is the conversations and exchanges that the characters have. Every single one them is so bloody heart felt! It seems they can't even have a discussion about cake with it turning into some sort of love in.The overuse of deep and meaningfuls in this book actually make the true exchanges of love commitment seem slightly trivial. it bothered me so much that I was actually skipping chunks of dialogue to get to the next point. I'm not sure why Kristen seems to have gone overboard in this book with these exchanges, maybe she saw that readers responded well to these in her other books ( and let me tell you when she uses theses correctly her words can pack a literary punch the likes of which you rarely get to read let alone see in every single item of an authors body of work) so she decided that if a little was good then a lot would be great? I spent alot of the book thinking to myself No one talks like this! And i don't mean the slang, in fact people very ,much do talk in slang,it was the content of what the character were saying, Now I'm the first to admit that I am no writer ( in case you can't tell from this poorly worded and grammatically challenged review) so I hope I am getting my point across which is that the story is fabulous, the characters engaging and the setting very well set it is just this,one thing that made this difficult for me to truly get into it, if you can get through the dialog then you will find as usual another stunning story by Ms Ashley
For any other author this book would be a 4.5 stars it's only because I hold Ms Ashley in such high regard that i have given only three stars compared to her other work this is just slightly below par.

This was a brilliant story about two people who love each other throughout triumph and tragedy, good and bad, evil and joy. The many characters in this book were so well described that they became friends the reader roots for and laughs and crys for. I love the hero and heroine-perfect for each other, of course with the mega chemistry and great sex. I truly loved the ending where we see seven years into the future-I so often wonder after I finish a book, THEN what happens? This author often supplies the answer and I love that. Great book, great love story, great writing, great fun.

Another great story by Kristen Ashley, but than again, they are all great. I have to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to reading about Mike after Violet dumped him for Cal, but somehow I fell in love with him. KA has a way of doing that, yeah. I love everything KA writes. This was an interesting story with engaging characters and as always, I love the epilogue. My only complaint, it's hard to read another author, because no one else comes close to Kristen Ashley's writing style.

This was so beautiful and heartbreaking but also a fairy tale come true Dusty and Mike's love is endless Debbie was really disappointing i could never understand how you can do that to a family member all in all great movie.

In the Rock Chick Series, I wasn't sure who would be my man. But in the Burg series, I know, MIKE would be him!!! This book is just STELLAR!!! If I could give more stars I would. Mike and Dusty. Fin and Reese. No. Kirby. Ryker!! Cal and Vi. Colt and Feb. Rivero and Jerra. Plus more. The characters in this book are great! Ashley did this book awesome justice. I love all the books in the series, but this was my TOP FAV!!!! I plan on re-reading over and over!

There's many layers to this story. I loved Mike and Dusty but also enjoyed Reese and Finn's side story as well. Mother characters are so likable, you get sucked into their world. Yes the bossy badass-ness can be a bit much, but the relationship is set. Definitely a favorite. Just enough tension and a few tearful moments along with a fantastic HEA and afterward.

As always, a great, amazing read! I loved Dusty and Mike's story. Though, I possibly loved Fin and Reesee's story more! This book maybe Dusty and Mike's but Fin and Reesee kind of stole the show. Awesomeness abounds!

I loved this story, mostly because of Dusty. I liked that she was who she was and didn't play games, even inadvertently. She is one of my favorite leading ladies because of her honesty and her passion for life. This book made me cry towards the end, and bawl like a baby during the epilogue when they discuss Layla. I also loved the secondary story of Fin and Rees.

This author is freaking awesome. Each and every one of her books totally ROCK!!! Highly recommend anything written by this author. All of her books are sexy, fun, and totally enjoyable. Each series is well worth the read!!!

I liked Mike and am glad that he got his book; his story is worth the read. I had a hard time connecting with Dusty though. I didnt dislike her but I just didnt connect. I really loved the Finley and Reese side story - aww young love! As with most of KA's epilouges - this one will leave a smile on your face!

Another great story by Ms. KA. She never disappoints. Mike and Dusty's story is great and you will not be disappointed. Loved all the characters of this book. I'm hoping that there will be a book about Fin and Reesee.

This book fell flat for me after Golden Trail. Games of the Heart was a heartwarming read, but I was hoping for the same level of mystery and excitement as in GT. this book was all about Fin for me, and I wish there was more of him and Reece. I would love a novella about them for the time GT ends and the epilogue.

This was a good book but long. There were some boring spells for me personally but I am still glad I read this. I just found it to be incredibly overly predictable. I don't think this is a book I'd recommend but that being said no kristen Ashley book truly is bad.

Kristen Ashley definitely has a style. I've read a few of her other books (Knight, At Peace) and enjoyed them. This one, however, is not her best. Does anyone in the Midwest actually speak like this? The lack of pronouns really got to me this time, as did the lingo she uses in each book that gets a bit old ("tagging," "marking"). In the past the story has made up for it but not this time. Pass.