Sandy M’s review of Love at First Sight (Cupid, Texas, Book 1) by Lori Wilde
Contemporary Romance published by Avon 28 May 13
I realize in a way I’m not being fair to Ms. Wilde when I review her books now. I’ve read only her Texas series books, with The Cowboy Takes a Bride in the Jubilee, Texas series being my favorite. So each book I read now I compare to that one. No other has beat out Joe Daniels as he sits, drinking and exchanging barbs with Mariah Callahan, in a gold-plated horse trough. I just can’t help tossing every hero, along with his situation, up next to Joe, as much as I try not to. So where does ex-SEAL Dade Vega rate in this first book of a new series?
Not as low as another who didn’t measure up, but he still doesn’t come that close to Joe. But with that in mind, I do like Dade. He has issues that a good woman can take care of, if he’d only take a chance. He comes from a horrible background, tried to get back on track by joining the military, which helped tremendously, but then that feeling of betrayal and disloyalty reared its ugly head and he’s been adrift ever since. Dade’s one and only friend, Red, also an ex-SEAL, is in trouble and Dade has come to Cupid, Texas to locate the man and figure out what’s wrong.
Parked in a roadside parking lot working on his motorcycle, he spies a lovely vision happily moving along on her bicycle. When their eyes meet, BAM! Something lodges itself deep inside and Dade has no idea what has hit him. However, Natalie McCleary knows exactly what hit her straight in the heart, but she tries to deny it just as much as she wants to talk herself into it. See, Cupid has that name for a reason. In a cavern just outside of town is a large stalagmite in the shape of Cupid with his bow and arrow. Growing up in this town, where a long line of ancestors have also lived, Natalie always believed in love at first sight, even as a child. But then her world fell apart when her parents died and her dreams went by the wayside. She now runs Cupid Rest B&B, looks after her younger sister the best she can, carefully limps her way through life due to a terrible accident, buys shoes she loves and can never wear, and no longer believes in Cupid’s arrows.
Even as she gets to know Dade, who is now staying in Red’s old room at the B&B and keeping his identity close to the vest, Natalie still resists the powerful pull to the man. And he resists the same pull to Natalie. In fact, they both resist a little too long for me. Natalie even goes so far to think sleeping with a tourist, a stranger, would solve the problem of wanting Dade. Dade’s a stranger too, so just go with the flow, hun. Thank heavens she shot that idea out of her head nearly as soon as it appeared. Dade only wants to find his friend and get the hell out Dodge, away from the temptation of this quaint town and its nice and friendly residents – and away from Natalie. But then he decides to trust Natalie with the truth; he needs help in locating Red.
And this is where the book really takes off for me. Their love scene is quite nice. So nice that I didn’t even realize it goes on for a number of pages, I was having that much fun with them. Then the mystery of Red’s disappearance begins to unravel, picking up the pace and making the story more interesting. Both Dade and Natalie have to come to grips with their issues during this time, of course, not sure if they’re going to survive the nastiness that has invaded Cupid.
All in all, this is an enjoyable book. The secondary characters are fun, just like small-town American folks really are. There’s a couple of things some readers will have suspend belief on, which I suggest. We’re talking Cupid here, so take it in the spirit for which it’s intended. As happy as I am for Dade when he finds a true home, I still love my Joe Daniels. It’s going to take a much more larger-than-life hero to topple him from my pedestal.
Grade: B-
Summary:
“When it hits, you just know . . .”
Natalie McCleary couldn’t believe her eyes—a lean-muscled, darkly tanned, nearly naked man stood in her path . . . and then it hit her: love. Everyone always told her it would hit like a thunderbolt, and she never believed them. But now she knew: practical, sensible Natalie was head over heels in love—with a stranger.
But ex-Navy SEAL Dade Vega wasn’t about to be a stranger for long. He’d ridden into Cupid on his motorcycle, vowing to keep a promise he’d made to a military buddy. But a single glimpse of Natalie—soaking wet and unexpectedly tempting—changed his life forever.
But how can he offer her his love, when he can’t even promise to stay in one place for longer than a week?
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
