Sandy M’s review of Spun Out (Blacktop Cowboys, Book 10) by Lorelei James
Erotic Contemporary Western Romance published by Berkley 5 Nov 19
I’m always a bit worried the longer a series goes on, especially by a favorite author. I anticipate the time will come when a story just doesn’t work for me after ninety-two books. A little exaggeration, but you have to admit that most authors get gummed up in one way or another when a series seems to go on forever. But I have to admit I no longer think those things when it comes to Lorelei James. Not once has there been a story that hasn’t worked for me, no matter which of her series I’m reading. I have a feeling it’s going to be that way for some time to come.
Bailey has come home to help in her sister’s boutique while Tierney adjusts to the newest addition to their household. Of course, there’s more to the story, but Bailey is silent on the current state of her military career and what her future plans are – mostly because she’s not sure about that herself. When she meets Streeter Hale, things don’t start off all that great between them. It’s his young daughter Bailey catches ripping off items from the store.
With his own silence about his past, this single dad isn’t looking for a date, a lover, or anything that doesn’t include Olivia. He’s finally made a good life for them and keeping an eye on her is a full-time job on top of his full-time job. Olivia has abandonment issues, the result of a mother with postpartum depression, who never touched or loved her daughter before she died. Her father is the only one she wants anything, emotional or physical, from.
Despite the issues cropping up between them, there’s a strong attraction between Streeter and Bailey, and they eventually agree to a no-strings fling, especially because Bailey will be moving on in a few months. I so enjoyed the way Bailey makes Streeter come alive, in the bedroom and out of it. His reawakening sexuality is glorious to see, his confidence soaring every time he and Bailey hit the sheets, leaving them sizzling and steaming.
Then there’s the change in Olivia as she goes through the kids boot camp Bailey has begun at all the children’s parents’ urging. These kids are little hellions in need of some big-time help, and Bailey does a stand-up job of it. Near the end, though, things come to a head and fall apart when Streeter finally discovers what Bailey’s silence is all about. I understand her reasoning for keeping it all secret, but I’m more with Streeter that she should have told him straight up. Especially when she realizes he’s the one for her.
In the usual Lorelei James style, emotions take a wallop during this story, from laugh-out-loud chuckling to shedding a few tears when all is said and done. Nothing is ever easy in her books, and that’s what makes the entire journey so worth the time you spend with her characters.
Grade: A
Summary:
Years in the Army equipped Bailey Masterson for many things: target shooting, rappelling off cliffs, dodging grenades. She’s lived through horrors that still give her nightmares. But nothing in Bailey’s life-or-death training prepared her for caring for the tiny terror that is five-year-old Olivia Hale. Or how to control her raging attraction to Olivia’s father, Streeter, the rugged, green-eyed cattle rancher who undermines her every move even when he stars in her dreams.
Streeter Hale has room for only two things in his life: his daughter and his job. He doesn’t date. He doesn’t get attached. Not anymore. So not only is Streeter stunned by Olivia’s improved behavior after just a few days with Bailey, he’s downright floored by his immediate attraction to the woman. But with secrets in her eyes and a body that doesn’t quit, Streeter begins to worry that Bailey Masterson might just be the one woman to heal his fractured family and broken heart.
One thing’s for sure–these two wrecked souls are spinning out of control as they desperately try not to fall in love…
No excerpt available.
Other books in this series:
