Sandy M’s review of Colorado Dawn (Runaway Brides, Book 2) by Kaki Warner
Historical Western Romance published by Berkley Trade 3 Jan 12

I love it when an author adds humor to her romances. When it’s the hero with the sense of humor, it makes him that much more irresistible. Angus Wallace is now one of my favorite heroes, and that’s saying something when he’s in the company of Drustan and Daegus MacKeltar and Jamie Fraser.

And the fact that Angus has come to America in search of his wife, thinking only to take her home to Scotland where she can deliver a few heirs for him but instead falls in love with Maddie and the magnificent Colorado wilderness, well, that’s a man after my own heart. You see the change in Angus – now Lord Ashby, one of the reasons he now needs his wife – slowly take place as he watches his wife enjoy her passion of photography, revel in the new, deep-seated friendships she’s found, and, lastly, comes to realize she’d give all of that up just for him. He knows what he’s got, what he almost lost, and he plans to keep her by his side forever this time.

Maddie’s life takes huge turns when she meets career soldier Angus Wallace. She marries him and then loses him to his military service almost instantaneously. She receives very little contact from him in the years she’s in Scotland. So when she has word that her parents have been killed, Maddie heads home to England. There she talks herself into a new life and goes after it with guns blazing. Her interest in photography takes her to the American wild west, where she finally settles in Colorado, happy in that new life.

Angus’ life also goes through some unexpected turns. He’s seriously wounded in battle and his military days are over. He returns home to find his wife gone and his life changed further with the death of his older brother. It’s through her photographs that Ash, along with his loyal friend, Tricks, an Irish wolfhound, is able to trace Maddie across the American continent, locating her at last on her way home to Heartbreak Creek after a successful photographic mission -, with only Wall-eyed Willy as protection, much to Ash’s consternation. Thus begins their dance of reacquainting themselves with each other, their feelings, their love, their duty, their lives – all so different than before.

Unknown sadness on both sides is revealed, making each of them look at their anger and perceptions differently from what they’ve known before, hence making them realize more care of the other should have been taken so they wouldn’t end up where they are today. But life has taken them on this journey, and now one of them must sacrifice all for the other. Will Maddie be able to leave her new, hard-won life behind, never to take another picture again, something a noble woman would never do? Can Ash turn his back on his duty, say no to the one thing he never thought would be his anyway? Does he even have that choice?

These are two very multi-layered characters, both charming and flawed. It takes everything Maddie’s got to strike out on her own, away from the familiarity of home. Just when she finds her place, the one and only thing that can endanger that happiness is the person she never thought to see again. Ash is as honest and honorable as the day is long, he takes his duty seriously, whether to Maddie or his family – and he comes to realize that’s the same thing in his heart. No matter how hard life is, now or then, these two exemplify what it is to sustain a relationship after mucking it up the first time around. Granted, they have matured a few years and have gone through so much to get to that place, but when they do, it’s wonderful to see.

We also get to catch up with all the characters from the previous book. I especially had fun with the scene between Ash and Declan when the sheriff tries to ascertain why Ash is looking for Maddie. More humor, but family looking out for family, no matter how you look at it.

I love Kaki Warner’s writing, her characters, her storylines, everything about her books. You go through every emotion imaginable and then some. She portrays the American west vividly and accurately. You need to pick any of her books up and start reading, if you haven’t so far. Believe me, you’re missing out if you’ve never read a Kaki Warner book.

Grade: A+

Summary:

After only three letters and one visit during her six-year marriage to a Scottish Cavalry Officer, Maddie Wallace decides to build a life without him. Accepting an assignment from a London periodical to photograph the West from a female perspective, she sails from England, determined to build a new life as an independent woman.

After injury ends his military career, Angus Wallace returns homes to find his wife gone, his family decimated by fever, and himself next in line to an earldom. His new mission is clear – find his wife and sire heirs. His search takes him across an ocean and half a continent, but he finally tracks her to Heartbreak Creek There his biggest challenge awaits – to challenge his headstrong wife to return home as his viscountess.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Cowboy Casanova (Rough Riders, Book 12) by Lorelei James
Contemporary Western  Erotic Romance published by Samhain 6 Dec 11

Oh. My. God. Is it hot in here or is it just me?? You’ll know exactly what I mean once you get immersed in this sexy, hot, sweaty, erotic, down ‘n dirty ride, the lastest in Lorelei James’ Rough Riders series. Ben McKay is a man you don’t mess with. Well, unless you want to be dominated. And like his heroine, Ainsley, I wouldn’t mind that one bit.

Ainsley is finally bucking up to find out what it is she needs in the bedroom. Her ex-husband didn’t like the way she wanted to spice up their very vanilla sex life, so after a few hurled insults and shitty behavior on his part, she got rid of him. So here she is at the Rawhide Club, an exclusive niche where Doms and subs come for privacy and to quench their thirst for a lifestyle most folks wouldn’t understand. Her jerk of an ex-husband sure didn’t, and she’s at least curious and willing to learn.

Getting out of Sundance to keep his sexual appetites private, Ben McKay is a founding member of the club, where his dominant side can be free without fear of discovery, criticism, or reprisal. When he spies Ainsley, Ben knows without a doubt the woman is not a Domme. She’s a submissive through and through, and he’s determined to prove it to her.

Spending two nights introducing new sexual delights to Ainsley is not enough for Ben, however. He wants more and extracts a promise from her to join him again the next weekend. But imagine his surprise when he runs into her in Sundance. At the local bank. Where she’s the president. There’s not much that gets Ben hotter than the dichotomy of seeing Ainsley in her pinstripe suit and business-like heels and then having her spread before him to give her pleasure in ways she’s never known. Instead of a weekend, they work out an arrangement for Ainsley to be Ben’s sub for the next thirty days.

And what a month it is. They go from deep lust with a bite of pain and passionate pleasure to misunderstandings that push Ben to show Ainsley how wrong she is in her assumptions when it comes to the relationship they’ve carved out for themselves, from laughter and smiles and kisses to lessons of sweet torture, all which frees Ainsley when she gives up control to Ben. It’s been the time of their lives.

Suddenly, however, things being to go wrong for them. Ben needs cash to buy the land next to his property he and his family have wanted for years. Thinking to keep it a secret so the deal doesn’t go south, he goes to Ainsley for a loan instead of his own bank. Ainsley is every inch the businesswoman, though, and puts down new rules for them: she files his loan application, their relationship is over. Ben has yet to acknowledge to himself what Ainsley truly means to him, so he goes through with the deal and watches her walk away, knowing they’re both sunk if anyone finds out about any aspect of their time together, including what she’s done for him at the bank.

So Ben heads back to the Rawhide club to continue his life, but the place doesn’t hold the same appeal without Ainsley. Participating only at the request of other members, his cousin Dalton sees it all and is horrified watching Ben in his element. Now Ben will have to live through his family knowing about this side of him, stand by while they’re embarrassed and disgusted by how he’s chosen to live.

Now, I have to say that there’s been very few Dom/sub books I’ve liked over the years. And because most don’t work for me, I haven’t read that many in a while. Yes, I know it’s predominantly because I don’t “get” the appeal, the need to give up control, to be submissive. But where all those other authors have miserably failed in this genre, Lorelei James thoroughly succeeds. Because she creates characters who are so extremely likeable and vulnerable, sexy, fun-loving, and real, and because she pulls me into their lives before introducing their sex life, because sex in her books is not in any way gratuitous, what they do behind closed doors works for me. I like Ainsley. She’s open and honest and fun, and she pushes Ben’s buttons. Of course, as with most of James’ heroes, I love Ben. He’s a cowboy to die for, a man of few words, and, without a doubt, uber dominant. So when he introduces Ainsley to his toys, when he disciplines her, punishes her, ultimately pleasures her as well as himself, I don’t roll my eyes or blurt out “You’ve got to be kidding!” or any number of other things as I’ve done in the past with other books. I enjoy both of these characters immensely, in and out of the bedroom.

I also like the fact that Ms. James gives a clear understanding to the reader why Ainsley likes giving up control. This has always been a sticking point in those previous books. “Just because” doesn’t cut it. At least not for me. For most authors that’s just a ploy just to write sex, sex, sex, but I want a story to go along with all that sex, and there’s very few authors who can do that and also give you a balanced and enjoyable book. Lorelei James has done just that and then some in Cowboy Casaova.

It doesn’t matter one bit what topic she chooses to write for her characters. Her books are always well-though out; entertaining, even despite that topic; loads of fun; steamy as hell; and full of honest, sexy characters who embody family and love and romance.

Grade: A

Summary:

His rough touch makes her lose control…

In Sundance, Wyoming, you can’t throw a boot without hitting a McKay cowboy, so Ben McKay is used to fading into the background. Except on weekends, when he’s Bennett, imposing Dom at The Rawhide Club, surrounded by a bevy of female subs eager for the attention of his long…whip.

As for the curvy brunette eying him from across the room? He’ll eat his Stetson if she’s the experienced Domme she claims to be. Bennett offers her a deal—he’ll let her call the shots for one night. But the next night he gets to prove to her how freeing it’ll be when he takes the reins.

Ainsley Hamilton is amazed by how well Bennett read her every secret yearning during that one explosive weekend—and she’s stunned when they come face to face in their everyday lives as rancher and new bank president. Now Ben’s urging her to explore her submissive side outside the club, and there’s something in his commanding gaze that makes it too easy to let him take control—of her desires and her pleasure.

Can Ben help Ainsley overcome her fear that a relationship built on dark sexual appetites won’t survive the light of day?

Read an excerpt. (click excerpt tab)

Other books in this series:

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Snowflakes and Stetsons by Jillian Hart, Carol Finch & Cheryl St. John
Historical Western Romance anthology published by Harlequin Historical 20 Sep 11

There are certain universal truths when it comes to my romance reading: 1) I love category romance 2) I love westerns 3) I love Christmas-themed stories and 4) I love Harlequin Historical.  So naturally, the diabolical minds at Harlequin have taken it upon themselves to produce an annual Christmas-themed western anthology for the past several years.  I’m one of Pavlov’s dogs and somewhere in the bowels of the Harlequin offices someone is ringing a damn bell.

The Cowboy’s Christmas Miracle by Jillian Hart

Fresh out of prison for a crime he didn’t commit (naturally), Caleb McGraw is looking for the sweetheart he left behind, only to discover she’s passed away. When he learns she left behind a son, he knows that child is his. So he tracks down the tyke living with Caroline Dreyer, a widow still mourning the loss of her husband and child.  She adores Thomas, but can’t seem to reach the boy, who takes to starring out the window, waiting for something or someone.

Hart is what I call an “angst writer” and she really slathers it on with this story.  Both Caleb and Caroline are haunted by their pasts, and even young Thomas walks with a shadow following his every move.  What I like here is that we have a secret baby plot that actually seems quite plausible, and that none of these characters is prone to hysterics.  It’s a real emotional heart-tugger of a read, with a healthy dollop of holiday spirit on the side.

Grade: B

Christmas at Cahill Crossing by Carol Finch

Rosalie Greer owns a dress shop in Cahill Crossing and is on her way back to town with Christmas supplies when a blizzard stops her cold. She comes close to freezing to death when Lucas Burnett’s dog (named “Dog” – seriously) uncovers her in a snowdrift. Lucas is a Loner with a capital L, but can’t very well leave the delectable Rosa to die – so he carts her back to his ranch.

What follows is Rosa thawing out, challenging Lucas at every turn, and dragging him out into society by his nose. Finch tends to spoon on a healthy layer of humor in her stories, which doesn’t always work for me. For the most part, it does here. Some of the dialogue didn’t ring true to me (Lucas actually says “mixed heritage” in regards to his half-Comanche, half-Mexican blood – which sounded a little too “PC” to my ears for 1880s Texas), and the fact the couple likes to jump to conclusions about each other did get tiresome. However, it is a fairly enjoyable story, and it’s a nice taste of the upcoming Cahill Cowboys continuity series.

Grade: B-

A Magical Gift at Christmas by Cheryl St. John

U.S. Marshal Jonah Cavanaugh is on a train guarding a gold shipment when he spies a notorious outlaw on board. Suspecting danger is up ahead in the form of an outlaw gang, he unhooks the the mail car from the train, which is carrying the shipment. When he does that, he also unhooks a well-appointed Pullman car, carrying railroad heiress Meredith Abbott. However, that’s not his only concern. Stowing away in the mail car? Two young orphans heading to Denver to find their long-lost Daddy. Now Jonah has a woman and two children to keep safe, with a band of outlaws sure to be paying them a visit once they hold up the train and find the mail car missing.

What I enjoy about St. John’s stories is that her characters are always practical thinking people. They’re never prone to hysterics or overly dramatic. Meredith might be an heiress, but she’s level-headed, can handle a weapon, and doesn’t waste time senselessly bickering with our hero. The author also crams in a ton of story here and gives readers a nice action-adventure style plot that is a nice change of pace from the other two offerings. The only real missteps here are that one of the orphans (the little girl, naturally) speaks with a lisp (blessedly she doesn’t talk too much!), and I feel the ending is a bit rushed. But it’s still a solid offering, featuring a page-turning plot and interesting characters.

Grade: B

This is a solid, cozy anthology that delivers a warm, fuzzy Christmas vibe. It’s the kind of book that should be read Christmas Eve, with a mug of hot cocoa, by a crackling fire place, after the kids have gone to bed. For that matter, it’s the kind of anthology that can be kept and reread every year right around the holiday season. This one is as-advertised.

Overall Grade: B

Summary:

The Cowboy’s Christmas Miracle by Jillian Hart

Wrongly imprisoned, Caleb McGraw is finally free—but the bitterness he holds still makes him feel trapped. Until he sees the beautiful Caroline holding a little boy with eyes just like his own. Discovering his long-lost son is just the start of Caleb’s Christmas miracles!

Christmas at Cahill Crossing by Carol Finch

One Christmas night, outcast Lucas Burnett finds a silver-haired angel buried in the snow. But Rosalie Greer is no pale spirit—she’s a fiery, independent woman, as wild as the mustangs Lucas breeds. Can she be the one to finally thaw Lucas’s frozen heart?

A Magical Gift at Christmas by Cheryl St.John

Meredith has always dreamed of a grand life but, stranded on a train in heavy snowfall with two young stowaways, she unexpectedly finds she has everything she needs with just one strong man to protect her….

Read an excerpt (Hart story only)

Sandy M’s review of Wrangled and Tangled (Blacktop Cowboys, Book 3) by Lorelei James
Contemporary Western Erotic Romance published by NAL Trade 1 Nov 11

After reading Lorelei James’ Rough Riders series and now this new Blacktop Cowboys series, you’d think I wouldn’t be surprised anymore at how Ms. James is able to, book after book, turn out characters who worm their way into my heart, make me laugh, make me burn, and just give me a good time from page to page. I keep thinking there’s going to be that first time one of her books isn’t going to work for me for one reason or another – I mean, it happens all the time. Right? Well, it hasn’t happened yet in all the James books I’ve read, and at this point? I don’t think it’s ever going to happen.

In this book we actually get two romances for the price of one, and Ms. James doesn’t skimp on either of them. We know from the previous book that Janie, Abe’s ex-wife, is back in Muddy Gap, working on the Split Rock Ranch project for Renner Jackson. As we pick up here with these two, sparks and barbs have been flying ever since Abe has discovered she’s back. With a lot of lust and love thrown in, though neither one will admit the love part right now, this couple has a lot to work through and has to look at each other differently from before. Abe has done a lot changing since Janie left years ago, things he couldn’t see when they’d argue about them. It takes an attempt on Janie’s life to get her back on the ranch and eventually in Abe’s bed. Just for sex, mind you. But little by little Janie sees those differences in Abe, especially those that have filled out the man, in more ways than one, and made him more irresistible than ever.

Renner, in the meantime, is having a heck of a time with his financial person, Tierney Pratt, daughter of the man he’s had to borrow money from to get Split Rock up and running. The woman is constantly giving him hell at every turn, but how he loves turning the tables on her and riling her up. But Tierney does her own share of riling Renner up too. This couple is just plain old fun from the moment they’re together on the page, walking that fine line between business associates at each other’s throats to lovers who burn up the sheets something fierce. It does take them a bit to hit those sheets, though. See, Tierney has a secret, one she’s not sure Renner’s going to like all that much. Oh, she couldn’t be more wrong.

Abe and Janie have to learn each other all over again, even in the bedroom. Afraid his sexual appetites would have made her leave him anyway, he’s now happy to hear she wants to delve into the unknown with him. I like how it’s Abe this time around who forces issues between them, questioning and taking nothing for granted as he did before. Janie is the one who is off balance this time, not sure if she should walk back into her old life. But she has no choice when Abe forces her to stay with him until the mystery surrounding her accident is solved. Even when it is, she still can’t walk away.

I have to say Renner and Tierney have an edge over Abe and Janie for me. I love their bedplay, even though Abe and Janie are smokin’ up those aformentioned sheets. When Tierney finally learns how to please Renner in bed, in her office, wherever the cowboy demands, their lovemaking is definitely intense, but it also has a sweetness about it. Maybe it’s Tierney’s inability to keep her thoughts to herself, blurting out what it is she wants to know from Renner. She’s unabashedly ecstatic to be loving and a loved by a man like this sexy cowboy. And Renner is damn sexy. And he’s humbled that someone like Tierney could love him.

Each couple has their moment when things don’t work out as they’d hoped. Having two couples like this, you wonder if perhaps one of them may not make it to the end of the book. Will Abe and Janie come to the resolution that eluded them the first time? Can Renner and Tierney overcome being on opposite sides in business to have a life together?

There’s returning secondary characters from the local salon who are a hoot to read. Especially when Tierney is among them for the first time. I have to say I laughed out loud quite a number of times during this book. Ms. James does a sensational job of balancing the fun and funny with the erotic and romantic, something a lot of erotic authors have a difficult time doing. One secondary character we will all love to hate is Tierney’s father. Arrogant SOB. Thank goodness Tierney has learned some great lessons on this journey of self-experimentation in life and love where that man is concerned.

As erotic romance readers have come to expect from one of the industry’s best, Lorelei James once again gives us characters who tug at the heart, get us overwhelmingly hot and bothered, give us a few chuckles, and just generally make us happy. What more can you ask for?

Grade: A+

Summary:

Wrangling a sweet-talkin’ cowboy can be dangerous business…

The West was not so wild for Janie Fitzhugh. Living with her rancher husband, Abe Lawson, in rural Wyoming nearly broke her spirit, so she left. But eight years later, she returns to Muddy Gap to take a job at a new resort. When an unexpected danger arises, Abe seizes the chance to protect Janie and prove he’s a changed man.

Janie’s employer at the Split Rock Ranch and Resort, Renner Jackson, has gotten himself tangled up in a devil’s bargain trying to finish the construction. His new partner’s daughter, Tierney Pratt, is a spoiled daddy’s girl and off-limits–no matter how drop-dead gorgeous she is. But Tierney’s got her own secret reasons for keeping the rough-and-tumble cowboy at a distance.

When things get down and dirty at the resort, Abe and Renner must saddle up and fight to rope in the women they can’t imagine living without…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Texas Twilight (McCutcheon Family Series, Book 2) by Caroline Fyffe
Historical Western Romance published by Caroline Fyffe 2 Oct 11

Once again Caroline Fyffe has given readers a touching and romantic, as well as mysterious and dangerous, historical western read. Her writing has a soft lilt, even for the often harsh old west, that snags your attention every time. Characters both strong and caring delve deep into your soul, making you pray that everything turns out the way it should be for them. After retrieving her rights from Dorchester, after all the drama that took place there, I’m so glad Ms. Fyffe went the distance and published this book herself, because readers need books like this and the ones before it.

This story starts off with a bang. A bunch of them, in fact, when John and Lily’s stagecoach is attacked by Comancheros on its way to Rio Wells, Texas, where John is to become the town doc and Lily and her aunt will be opening a seamstress shop. The ensuing scenes are fast paced and exciting. We get to meet John and Lily under high-pressure circumstances, seeing how well they work together. But, unfortunately, John is engaged to be married. Starting a life in Rio Wells, a place to bring his fiance and to raise a family, is his dream. Suddenly, however, life has taken on a totally different slant from what he’s been envisioning lately. John does try his best to keep his focus on the plans he’s made, but seeing Lily every day doesn’t help.

What John doesn’t know, and Lily either to some extent, is she and her Aunt Harriett are on the run. Lily knows something is wrong, but it’s the what and the why that her aunt hasn’t told her. When she discovers a rare gem in Harriett’s belongings, some of the puzzle pieces begin to fit. She doesn’t want to run again; what she’s found in Rio Wells, even if she can’t grab hold of a portion of it, is the closest to home she’s felt since leaving Germany. But then the bottom totally falls out of her plans when she learns the shop they are to lease has been given to someone else and that evil banker will not honor her previous agreement with the prior landowner. It’s John who comes to her aid, making solutions to the problems seem so easy. The townsfolk too chip right in to help Lily and her aunt become part of the community. Their shop is finally up and running. Being near John is enough for now. Life is good.

As happens in the wild, wild west, though, life takes another sharp turn when someone comes looking for the stolen gem. Danger lurks all around, not knowing who to turn to when it’s discovered even the law can’t be trusted. And in the midst of everything, the day that Lily has dreaded comes. John’s fiance decides to make the trip to Rio Wells before John is ready for her. Lily’s heart will never be the same.

I do enjoy these two, and we know something will happen that will allow them to be together. I like the way Ms. Fyffe handles that, straightforward and honest, no machinations for hurt feelings and misunderstandings. There’s a little holding back between John and Lily later in the book, and I know it’s there for conflict, but I don’t want that for them. It does work out, of course, perhaps making them stronger, so my humble opinion of it all may not work for some of you.

The secondary characters are fun and there’s a couple of evils ones amid them all. I like the side story we get with Charity, John’s sister who pays him a surprise visit, and Brandon, her questionable beau from back home. Charity is a strong woman. She grew up with brothers and she learned a lot from them, shooting, riding, you name it. She and Brandon have one of those push-pull relationships, and when he finds out what’s she done, he’s right on her tail, which doesn’t make her happy at all. But they sure are fun and quite emotional near the end. Enjoyed them a lot, and hope they get their own book down the road.

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating – if you’re an historical western fan, you must read Caroline Fyffe’s books. They’re true to the period, they’re romantic, they’re fun, and they’re written beautifully. So don’t delay picking them up!

Grade: B+

Summary:

Fresh out of medical school, John McCutcheon finds his stagecoach under attack by brutal outlaws.  With the help of a feisty acquaintance, Lily Anthony, he manages to fend off the assault. Lily is attracted to the charming cowboy-doctor, with his chiseled good looks and teasing ways, then heartbroken to learn he’s engaged to be married.

Once settled in Rio Wells, Texas, John tries to ignore the fact that his cousin has taken a shine to Lily.  When a bounty hunter shows up looking for a priceless jewel that Lily has found stashed away in her aunt’s belongings, Lily fears her dreams of owning her own shop–and of finding true love–are about to go up in flames…or, could that just be the glow of a beautiful … Texas Twilight?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Going Cowboy Crazy (Deep in the Heart of Texas, Book 1) by Katie Lane
Contemporary Western Romance published by Forever 1 May 11

What a fun read this is. It’s been a long drought since the last really good cowboy book I’ve read, so I’m very pleasantly surprised with this one. I love the humor, which is something quite difficult for a lot of authors to get down pat. But Katie Lane has no problem at all in that area. She also gives readers a bit of a different storyline involving twins and one sexy cowboy. At least it’s different for this reader.

Faith Aldridge has just found out at her mother’s deathbed that Faith is a twin. What the hell is up with that? So she takes care of the funeral, mourns amid the chaotic thoughts now rushing through her head, and then takes off for parts unknown in Texas to find her sister, the only family she truly has now. What makes this trek so much fun for the reader is that Faith has never been anywhere near anything country. She’s probably never even heard a country song on the radio. And now she’s hip deep in everything those songs talk about – monster trucks with waving, flapping flags, small-town mentality, and the sexiest cowboy she’s ever seen. Probably the only one too.

Football coach Slade Calhoun is trying his best to bring his team up to snuff to win the championship. If they lose again for the umpteenth time, Slade is likely out of a job. So his plan is to keep his nose to the grindstone, but those plans grind to a halt when he comes face to face with Hope, his best friend who ran off to Hollywood and has barely kept in touch. But something isn’t quite right with Hope. She’s never been one to sit back and keep her mouth shut at the townsfolks’ teasing or a perceived slight. This Hope also dresses very differently than before. A body can’t change that much in California, can it?

But when Hope’s secret is revealed, Slade realizes he never got anywhere close to the truth in his imaginings. Hope has a twin sister? Wonder what her parents have to say about that, when they find out Faith is in town. And how is it he looks at her and feels about her much more than he ever did for his childhood friend? Doesn’t matter. All that does is kissing her and making love to her, if she’ll let him. And this is where I had to laugh at Slade. He’s a man’s man, wants in Faith’s pants every minute of every day, and he freely admits it. No subterfuge or lies coming from this cowboy. His antics are funny, but they’re also sweet, especially when he backs down because Faith isn’t ready to move so fast.

Then when the town gets involved in the relationship, they begin to plan a wedding – between Slade and Hope, even after it’s explained that Faith isn’t Hope. These people hear, see, and believe exactly what they want and there’s no talking them out of it. Small town to the core. So you can imagine the hilarity going on page after page with these folks running around half-cocked. And Faith’s ignorance of anything western keeps you laughing too. Even dogs are a conundrum to her, and Slade’s poor pooch bears the brunt of that. I’m giggling now remembering what she does to the creature! That’s what being raised as an only child of big-city, staid parents will do for you.

Eventually Faith finds out her biological parents still live in Bramble. She’s shocked, confused, angry. As well as Ms. Lane gives readers laughs, she’s just as good at those emotions too. You feel for Faith, the one given up, the one who never knew, the one who’s life is different from what it could have been. Then there’s acceptance, understanding, and longing. Faith goes through it all. And then guess what??? Hope comes home! Now all hell is really about to break loose. At least Hope’s as blindsided by Faith as much as Faith has been blindsided by practically everything since she set foot in Bramble.

In and around all of this, Slade and Faith steam up the pages of this book quite fiercely. They both have their demons to overcome, neither wanting a long-term relationship at first, and it’s Faith, the woman in her, who begins to think twice about that. With a little help from her new friends in town. All of whom are hilarious in their own right. Slade is forced to look at how he interacts with his team, making him realize the reason for so many losing seasons. Faith has to come to grips with a large family, some of whom aren’t that happy she’s around, and her growing love for Slade. When it all falls apart, she reverts to the old Faith, the one who runs from confrontation and hurt. And Slade lets her go.

I’m glad to have found Katie Lane. There’s not enough westerns out there, light-hearted or not, so she’s a wonderful discovery. I’m hoping to get my hands on the second book, Make Mine a Bad Boy, after getting set up for it in a terrific way at the end of this book, and anticipate Catch Me a Cowboy in the spring of next year.

Come to Bramble, where the cowboys are sexy and fun!

Grade: B+

Summary:

Faith Aldridge wants answers. Bramble, Texas, is the only place she can find them . . . as well as Hope, the identical twin sister she never knew she had. But the townsfolk reckon that shy city-girl Faith is really her long-lost sister Hope, back in Bramble at last. And they’re fixin’ to do whatever it takes to heat things up between her and Hope’s long-time flame, Slate Calhoun. If that means rustling her car, spreading rumors like wildfire, and reining in some explosive secrets, well, there’s no way like the Lone Star way . . .

But Slate’s no fool. The woman in his truck may look like Hope, yet the way she feels in his arms is altogether new. He’s determined to keep this twin in his bed and out of his heart. Trouble is, the real Hope is headed home, and she’s got her own designs on Slate. If Faith wants to avoid heartbreak, she’ll have to show a certain ruggedly handsome cowboy that this crazy-impossible love is worth fighting for.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Red’s Hot Cowboy (Spikes & Spurs, Book 2 ) by Carolyn Brown
Contemporary Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 1 Aug 11

Carolyn Brown and I have done a back-and-forth dance through her books that can rival the Cotton-Eyed Joe. I usually enjoy her characters. Her humor is down-home. The storyline concepts she envisions are fun. But after reading five or six of Ms. Brown’s books, they’re starting to sound the same. Red’s Hot Cowboy hits each of these points straight on, no deviation at all.

While Pearl, aka Red, a name she despises, is feisty and pretty much knows her own mind and does what she wants, she’s also a little too pushy, too brash-y when it comes right down to it. This is all conveyed through dialogue versus actions, especially when these characters carry on conversations. I just can’t get past the fact that folks just don’t speak to each other the way these characters do a good portion of the time. There’s always a tone of antagonism, irritation, anger much more than there is of teasing or laughter. Which is sad, because Ms. Brown has a great sense of humor. I do find myself chuckling here and there at something her characters say or do. But all of that is negated when you have a heroine you don’t like very much.

Pearl has left her banking job when she inherits the motel her beloved aunt owned for years, a place at which Pearl visited during her younger years and still holds special memories of it in her heart. She’s been wanting to do something different with her life, so she jumps at this opportunity. And she flourishes from the moment the first customer walks through her doors. It’s now Christmas Eve and she’s not expecting much business, but when the electricity goes out all over Henrietta, Texas, her rooms on the outskirts of town fill up fast, lights and heat still working. One of those seeking comfort is Wil Marshall, a sexy cowboy who is going to be nothing but trouble.

The man and his dog are minding their own business, after a delightful repartee with the red-headed motel owner, when the police arrest Wil for murder. Thank goodness Red is willing to be his alibi, even despite threatening him within an inch of his life if he ever calls her that silly nickname again. She’s not willing, however, to be anything more than that, and he thinks she really wouldn’t want to be saddled to just one man. But that doesn’t deter this cowboy. And I’m not sure why. From moment one Pearl is rather mean when dealing with Wil. She’s mouthy and rude, so for the life of me I can’t understand why he comes back for more. I enjoyed Wil a lot, so much more than Pearl. He’s lately been thinking about the future, a family, things a man knows he’ll eventually need and want in his life. He’s a gentleman. He’s fun. Ripped and sexy too. What’s not to like? Pearl does acknowledge these things here and there, in between erroneously believing he’s a bad boy. I never could figure out why she thought that. Wil goes out of his way to get close to Pearl, and I have to say I like his romanticism. He had my heart from the beginning.

And that’s usually how it goes with me when reading Ms. Brown’s stories. I always like the hero, but the heroine very rarely works for me. I know the author is trying to make her spunky and independent, but she never reads that way most of the time. That’s part of my assertion that her books are starting to sound the same. The same mold is used for heroine after heroine. I know Ms. Brown can write women outside of this mold, I’ve read two of her books that feature women so very different from the Brown heroine norm. Those types of heroines need to happen more often. And the dialogue needs to change. A beginning point would be to use contractions. Characters are too stiff and awkward without this little bit of punctuation, and it’s also difficult to read, pulling you out of the story way to often. But all characters sound the same, have the same voice. There’s nothing distinct about them when they speak. I have a feeling they all sound like Ms. Brown herself or perhaps someone very close to her. Head-hopping is also a big problem, which I’ve mentioned in reviews before, so I won’t say any more than that on this particular subject.

Another nitpick I have is the heavy-handedness in the use of description. Where it should take only a paragraph for non-essential things to be described, Ms. Brown uses two or more to get her point across. Ninety-nine percent of the time, readers don’t care about whatever is being described, so it needs to be toned down. A lot. Here’s an example from Chapter 17 when Wil takes Pearl to meet his family and they’re at the dinner table:

There’s the dinner bell,” Jessie said. He took his place at the head of the table. Martha Jane sat on his right with Amelia and then her husband next. Carleen’s husband took the other end of the table with Carleen to his right. Wil pulled out a chair beside his sister and seated Pearl before taking his customary place to his father’s left.

After Martha Jane delivered a very brief grace, Jessie picked up the platter of chicken and passed it to Wil. He took a leg and passed it on to Pearl who forked a leg and sent it on to Carleen who took a piece of white meat and handed it over her shoulder to one of the grandchildren. That kid took a piece and sent it on to the next kid who did the same and gave it back to Carleen’s husband.

I. Don’t. Care. I can’t imagine any reader caring who sits where and who takes what piece of chicken at the table. All of that could have been said in a line or two. Without nameless kids. Or it could have been left out entirely, because the very next paragraph after this is all that’s needed. And this book is full of examples such as this about a multitude of pointless things.  That’s when a reader starts skimming a book, and no author wants that. I know Ms. Brown is quite capable of getting to her point very succinctly.

There are a few nice moments in this book. The first is the introduction of Lucy Fontaine. She’s just escaped from her abusive husband, and a friend of Pearl’s recommends she hire Lucy to help out at the motel. Lucy is so appreciative of the offer of help and she’s not afraid of hard work. This is where Pearl becomes the type of heroine who a reader can like and enjoy. She feels for Lucy, as any woman would. They come up with the idea of making the motel an underground sanctuary for abused women who have finally had enough, taking their children and running. Pearl gives those helping these women discounts on the rooms, fills the refrigerators with food, the rooms stocked with clothes and other amenities the rest of us not in such dire circumstances take for granted. There’s even a point in the story where the bus driver for these escapees tells them about his sister, and that actually brought tears to my eyes.

I also like that Wil and Pearl get to the point where they talk on the phone at night before going to bed, waiting to consummate their relationship until they know one another better, even though lust courses through them when they’re together. Wil sends Pearl a text, “I miss you.” How sweet is that? He romances Pearl just as sweetly, my favorite scene is in the hayloft with a tray of food and other romantic thoughts from this man.

So I know Ms. Brown can put together a story that does and will hold a reader’s interest more than a few chapters at a time. Tightening the writing, not writing dialogue the way you personally speak, and toning down your heroines (and even secondary characters) in deed but most especially in speech would be a terrific beginning. Keep the humor and change your heroes only very slightly.

Otherwise, skimming can very easily become  a way of life for any reader of these light-hearted westerns.

Grade: C-

Summary:

He wasn’t looking for trouble…

But when the cops are knocking on your door, trouble’s definitely found you. And this is where Wil Marshall finds himself after checking in to the Longhorn Inn. It could all be a big mistake, but Wil’s not getting much sleep. Then the motel owner—who is drop dead gorgeous and feisty to boot—saves him from an even worse night behind bars. Now he owes her one, big time…

But Trouble comes in all shapes and sizes…

Pearl never wanted that run-down motel, but her aunt didn’t leave her much choice. And then this steaming hot cowboy shows up looking for a place to rest. Next thing she knows, she wants to offer him more than just room service.

But if he calls her Red one more time, he won’t be the only one accused of murder…

Sparks are definitely flying and before long, the Do Not Disturb sign might be swinging from the door…

Read an excerpt. (click excerpt tab)

Other books in this series:

One Hot Cowboy Wedding – April 2012

Gen’s Review of Heartbreak Creek (Runaway Brides, Book 1) by Kaki Warner
Historical Western Romance published by Berkley Trade 5 Jul 11

I absolutely love Kaki Warner’s Heartbreak Creek, the first book in her Runaway Brides series. But as all romance readers know, you’re supposed to show, not tell.  So let me show you how much I love Heartbreak Creek instead: Once I finished, I went and bought Kaki Warner’s Blood Rose trilogy.  And preordered Colorado Dawn, the next Runaway Brides title.  Kaki Warner is now an auto buy for me.

After the ruin of the Civil War, Edwina knows there’s nothing left for her in Louisiana.  When the bank takes her family home, she heads out to the wilds of Colorado to be a mail order bride to one Declan Brodie, dragging her half-sister, Pru, along.  Declan doesn’t want love or even companionship in this marriage.  All he wants is a strong farm wife who’ll cook his meals, clean his house, and keep his kids in line.

The problem is, Ed’s a Southern belle who doesn’t know the first thing about housekeeping.  All she knows is how to flirt and sew.  And sarcasm.  She definitely knows sarcasm.  To make matters worse, the Arapaho responsible for the death of Declan’s first wife is now threatening his entire family.

At its heart this a story about relationships, specifically Ed’s developing relationship with Declan, and her evolving relationship with Pru.  And I have to say how much I adore Pru, the result of a relationship between Ed’s father and one of his slaves.  Writing about race needs to straddle that fine line between being authentic to the period, while also making your characters sympathetic, and Ms. Warner does an exceptional job here.  Ed’s and Pru’s characters and relationship ring so true to me, yet they are also firmly rooted in their time and place.  (Pru’s last name is a perfect example of this.)  I do wish there were some scenes from Pru’s point of view, but I’m guessing (and fervently hoping) that we’ll have Pru’s book as well.  Watching Ed grow into her role as a wife, mother, and frontierswoman is a treat, and her painful but necessary disaffection with Pru saddened me as well.

Declan is a great hero for Ed, a strong, silent type who’s secretly a teddy bear underneath it all.  His struggle to do right by his family, both of his wives, and pretty much everyone in the book really touched me.  I also love the twin themes of his phobia and the villian’s phobia.  The objects of their fears are such simple things, but in the end prove to be serious Achilles’ heels for both.

But perhaps the best parts of the book are the humor and the sincere love of the West and the frontier that are threaded thorough out the story.  I like that the ravages that mining could inflict on a place and the necessity of the railroad for the survival of small towns in the West are touched on but not belabored. Ms. Warner’s unique voice really shines through, and I enjoyed every page.  I’m looking forward to the  rest of the Runaway Brides.  Especially Pru!

Grade: A+

See Sandy M’s review here.

Summary:

Honest, hard-working widower, age thirty-
three, seeks sturdy English-speaking
woman to help with mountain ranch and
four children.  Drinkers, whores, and
gamblers need not apply.

Not very romantic, but after one disastrous marriage, widowed Edwina Ladoux isn’t looking for romance.  What she wants is safety for herself and her
half-sister, and a way out of the war torn South, even if she has to offer herself up as a mail order bride to a stranger a thousand miles away in the Colorado Rockies.  But she hadn’t reckoned on Declan Brodie.

Declan’s first wife ran off with a gambler and was later killed by Indians.  He has no desire to saddle himself with another—and her mulatto “traveling companion”.  But his children need a mother, and he needs help to keep his mountain ranch running, and the proxy papers are already signed.  But there’s something odd about those two.  A connection he doesn’t quite understand.  But at least the companion can cook.

What starts as a marriage of convenience between a southern princess and an overworked rancher-sometimes-sheriff, soon becomes a battle of wills, then a grudging respect, and finally a side-by-side struggle to rebuild the ranch after a vicious Indian attack.  But just as things are starting to looking up again, and Declan and Ed begin to explore their feelings for each other, Declan’s first wife returns and an old enemy out for revenge threatens to destroy the family.  It all comes to a head high atop an abandoned mine platform, where Edwina fights as she never has before, and Declan faces his greatest fear in order to save his
daughter and the woman he has grown to love.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Heartbreak Creek (Runaway Brides, Book 1) by Kaki Warner
Historical Western Romance published by Berkley Trade 5 Jul 11

With this book, Kaki Warner becomes an auto-buy for me when I’m looking for historical westerns to read. Her characters burrow their way into your heart and never let go. Even when the blackest moment in their lives hits, you know them so well by that time, their triumph may seem non-existent, but you have faith in both the characters and their writer that all will be well. The stories are wonderfully written and heartwarming. I am smitten with Ms. Warner’s work all the way around.

Edwina is the typical southern belle in Louisiana. She’d been sheltered all her life, attending balls, a very active social life and all that goes with being from a wealthy family. But then lives are torn apart by the war, and Edwina has lost everything, just as so many others in her beloved South. Having her home taken to pay back taxes is the last affront in a line of disheartening events against her and her sister. So she decides it’s time for something drastic to make sure they survive intact in more ways than one. Pru thinks Edwina has lost her mind when they make their way across the country for Edwinda to marry a Colorado rancher.

Needing a new mother for his four children so he can focus on his thousands-acre dream ranch, Declan Brodie is trying marriage one more time with a mail-order bride. Taking Edwina Ladoux at face value, it will be good to have a strong, farm-bred woman around to take care of the house and the children so he won’t have to worry about those things anymore. Needless to say, Declan is in for a huge surprise when he comes face to face with Edwina.

Both have their doubts about the other. Declan is a big man and intimidates Edwina at first. And his children are another matter all together. Though Edwina has been married before, she’s made sure consummation is to occur down the road when she signed the marriage contract. The woman can’t cook, doesn’t know how to keep house, and the kids will run all over her, and that’s only the beginning, as far as Declan is concerned. Making a deal with Edwina’s traveling companion, Pru, to teach her all she needs to know, if Edwina doesn’t come up to snuff over the next so many weeks, she’s history. Of course, Edwinda is ready to go now. Haven’t they both bitten off more than they can chew? And enjoy?

But then something very subtle begins to happen between Declan and Edwina. They each begin to look beyond first impressions and outer appearances to see the true person they are underneath all the stress, the turmoil, the vulnerability. In the midst of all this is the threat of Lone Tree, the Native American who spent a horrendous five days in Declan’s jail while he was the local sheriff, the same Indian who killed Declan’s first wife. Revenge is never so sweet when you’re on the other side of it, and Declan is determined to keep his Ed and the children safe from that lunatic. But even moving into Heartbreak Creek and taking all foreseen precautions isn’t enough to keep everyone safe. When Pru is taken, Edwina’s world begins to fall apart, and Declan knows the only thing he can do is go after Ed’s sister himself. In the middle of negotiations with Lone Tree’s chief, a stunning turn of events so unexpected puts a whole new spin on Declan and Edwina’s life, that neither know if they’ll be able to recover, despite the love they’ve found when they’d only hoped the other would reciprocate their feelings.

Ms. Warner has given readers a beautiful story of strong, independent characters coming together through a need for each other, but they grow even stronger when they open themselves up to a life they didn’t dare think about, let alone try to live. They prevail over the most frightening odds, both physical and mental. I love their banter once they become more attuned to one another, very playful and showing Declan’s humorous side, much to Edwina’s relief.  We also meet the ladies who will have future books and they are a riot, on their own in a world that didn’t look well upon women gallivanting about.

I usually don’t read excerpts given at the end of most books, only because I end up wanting more when I’ve finished, but I made an exception this time for the next addition to this series. I’m on pins and needles, of course, because again, in just a few pages, Ms. Warner has hooked me and I can’t wait for Angus in all his Scottish glory!

Grade: A+

Summary:

Honest, hard-working widower, age thirty-
three, seeks sturdy English-speaking
woman to help with mountain ranch and
four children.  Drinkers, whores, and
gamblers need not apply.

Not very romantic, but after one disastrous marriage, widowed Edwina Ladoux isn’t looking for romance.  What she wants is safety for herself and her half-sister, and a way out of the war torn South, even if she has to offer herself up as a mail order bride to a stranger a thousand miles away in the Colorado Rockies.  But she hadn’t reckoned on Declan Brodie.

Declan’s first wife ran off with a gambler and was later killed by Indians.  He has no desire to saddle himself with another—and her mulatto “traveling companion”.  But his children need a mother, and he needs help to keep his mountain ranch running, and the proxy papers are already signed.  But there’s something odd about those two.  A connection he doesn’t quite understand.  But at least the companion can cook.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Colorado Dawn – 2012

Sandy M’s review of Chasin’ Eight (Rough Riders, Book 11) by Lorelei James
Contemporary Western Romance erotic ebook published by Samhain 28 Jun 11

Dammit! I went and did it again! I read this latest addition to Lorelei James’ Rough Riders series too fast. Way, way too fast. I wanted to make it last, but since it hasn’t happened so far, I have a feeling it will never happen whenever I read about those McKay boys.

I always mention the emotion that Ms. James writes in her books, it’s what draws me back each time to read her next, along with her charming and intriguing characters. Well, and the lovin’ too. While I’ve chuckled here and there over the time of reading this series, I don’t recall laughing out loud like I do with Chase and Ava. I thoroughly enjoyed this couple, from the moment they meet through their getting to know one another and then working through the changes they need to go through to come out on the other side of the new life they find for themselves, whole and intact.

Both Chase and Ava are going through their own scandals in their very different worlds. Chase is a bull rider. He’s been on the circuit for years and has gotten a tad complacent, he’s falling in the standings, not performing his best, and now has been suspended from his rodeo association after pissing off a main and very generous sponsor. Swearing off women, which has gotten him into more than enough trouble lately, and determined to get back to basics to figure out why his riding is off, Chase heads home, staying in his cousin Kane’s trailer, not wanting the rest of the family to know what he’s up to just yet.

Ava is an actress from Los Angeles and has had moderate success. Enough that she’s plenty recognizable by the masses. She’s been blindsided by the latest paparazzi report her boyfriend is gay, his picture with his new boyfriend plastered all over news rags throughout the country. She needs to get away from the City of Angels to regroup and figure out what she really wants to do now. So she contacts her friend Ginger, who recently married Kane McKay. And guess where she’ll be staying while visiting the newlyweds? I love that scene when Chase and Ava first meet in the McKay secret love nest.

Chase has been driving for hours, so he’s exhausted when he finally makes it to Kane’s. He’s so wiped out, all he does is wash the travel grime from his face and then he heads to bed. But sleep eludes him as he suddenly comes into contact with a soft and moving someone, who also reacts by jumping out of the bed quicker than lightning. Ava strikes a martial arts pose and threatens her intruder, and with the ensuing dialogue, which is hilarious, the fun with these two begins.

I especially love the truth or lie scenes. OMG, I laughed till I cried. And then I kept laughing. And while the later Twinkie scene is sexy as all get-out, I had a huge, huge grin on my face the entire time. I’m getting ahead of myself here, but this couple is just plain old fun and good times. And you ain’t read anything till you come to the mechanical bull. Oh. My. Heavens. Whew! Now let’s get back on track…

After they work their living arrangements out, Ava agrees to tag along with Chase when he starts his riding “lessons” with Cash Big Crow and Chase’s cousin Colby and then accompanies Chase for his objective of getting on as many bulls as possible from rodeo to rodeo until he finds out his fate concerning his current predicament. Ava begins to videotape Chase’s rides and before too long, his problem is pinpointed and their rodeo adventure begins. This journey throws a few eye-openers out to both Chase and Ava concerning their future and each other.

Doing her best to convince Chase to break his vow of no women for a month, Ava flirts and cajoles, all to no avail. After a few hot kisses Chase always backs off, leaving them both frustrated. Until Ava goes too far one night, bringing in another man to make Chase jealous. Our cowboy may be a mite sensitive when it comes to his non-McKay height of five-seven, but never piss him off. And he does get pissed off, just as Ava wants, and she finally gets more than she could ever imagine. And then some. Chase takes his brother’s advice about loving a woman, and if you think this cowboy was sexy before, he’s off the charts now.

Chase is like all those McKay men when makin’ love. Intense, playful, demanding, slow, fast and furious, and now generous. He thought he’s always been generous in bed, but Ava makes all the difference in the world. And once they get a true taste of one another, there’s no stopping them. They burn up the sheets any and every chance they get, which is a lot, I’m happy to tell you.

Of course, this journey can’t be all hearts and flowers and gettin’ nekkid. Tragedy strikes and Chase takes a blow that he more than likely would have sloughed off before, let alone allow it to affect him as it does now. It changes him, just as most of this introspective trek has changed him and how he looks at his life in and out of the rodeo. Ava also has her share of introspection and realizations as to how she’s lived and interacted with others, mostly because of the new project she’s working on through her photography and videography of their trip. Even as they come out on the other side of such tragic events, there’s more seeming betrayal close at hand, and our fun-loving couple end up on the skids with their hearts broken.

What I love about Chase and Ava is their lightheartedness, their banter and laughter as they get to know each other. Even then they talk to one another. They don’t let things fester and infect the relationship. This continues once they become intimate and even on through their sadness and later their anger. It goes without saying, of course, that the sex scenes are smokin’ hot and will leave you hot and bothered, due to the fact those scenes are vintage Lorelei James. No one does it better. ‘Cept maybe a McKay.

And Chapter 29! Oh my gosh, Chapter 29. Out-of-the-blue twist that had me gasping out loud. I cannot wait to see what happens next!

I have no idea how many more books are going to be in this series. I’m hoping a few more at least. I’ll never tire of these McKay boys.

Grade: A

Summary:

She wants it. He’s got it. And the chase is on.

Bull rider Chase McKay has finally landed in a pile too big to charm his way out of. Caught with his pants down, he finds himself bucked right off the PBR tour until he can get his act together.

Hollywood actress Ava Cooper became the tabloids’ favorite target when her longtime boyfriend was outed as gay. She needs a place to lay low and a chance to prove to herself that she can satisfy a red-blooded man between the sheets. The sexy, rugged cowboy she finds holed up in her Wyoming hideaway seems like the answer to her every fantasy.

But Chase has sworn off women. Forever. Or at least a month. Whichever comes first.

When they take to the road to get Chase more hands-on bull riding experience, they have every intention of keeping their hands off each other. But the two headstrong stars quickly end up riding a hot and heady rodeo circuit all their own—until the press gets wind of their affair. When the dust clears and the lights of the paparazzi fade, are they ready to give up chasing the dream for a chance of finding forever?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Chasing the Sun (Blood Rose Trilogy, Book 2) by Kaki Warner
Historical Western Romance published by Berkley 4 Jan 11

I hate it when time gets away from and I don’t get to those books I wanted to months ago. Chasing the Sun is one of those, after I read and reviewed Open Country in Kaki Warner’s Blood Rose trilogy. She gave readers a unique look into life back when our wild west was at its best, especially when it comes to women of the time.  Those women are the backbone of who we are today, and Ms. Warner weaves their stories with an exquisite touch.

Though this series is basically about the Wilkins brothers and their want and need to keep their ranch, to make it profitable and a home for their families, it’s the women behind them who have a strength men may not totally understand, but they sure admire it. Chasing the Sun is Jack’s story, the youngest of the brothers. When he left the ranch three years ago, Jack had hopes of a bright future with the woman he loved, but when she finds a different calling, he moves on to seeing the world and all the adventures it holds. Coming home at last, he finds both the woman who left him and another whom he barely recalls from his drunken days and nights of gambling before taking off to Australia and other parts unknown to try to heal his broken heart.

Daisy’s dream is to be a singer on a real stage some day. All she’s been able to find so far is singing for drunks and cardsharps in a San Francisco saloon, which pays her just enough for her and her daughter to live on. But when life throws Daisy into a dangerous situation and gives her the opportunity for her lifelong dream at the same time, her only option is to make the trip to RosaRoja and Jack’s family for help. She never expects to see Jack again and is quite surprised and frightened when she discovers he’s home.

Jack has always been the charmer of the family, women falling at his feet whenever he feels the need for company. So you can imagine his bafflement when Daisy is the one who refuses him at every turn. I had to chuckle at times when these Wilkins brothers just don’t get women, especially their wives. But I guess that’s how most heroes are in romance until they understand it’s love that pushes them. Jack is typical male. He doesn’t understand why Daisy would rather be on her than married to him when he can’t tell her he loves her, that he’d rather be with her than anyone else, and all those usual things women need to hear from their men.

In the meantime, Jack knows something more is going on with Daisy and he’s on a mission to win her, her trust, and her love. Their picnic scenes as a family are some of the best in the book, even when one ends in near disaster. And that leads to more great scenes when the brothers search for Jack and his ladies during a violent storm. There’s a lot of emotion for all involved during suspense-filled days. I like seeing the brothers show their emotions, though they stop short of showing those feelings to others. I had hoped maybe this time we would see more between them, but the boys stayed boys, and I love them anyway.

I still have yet to read the first book in the series, but I hope to remedy that soon. So far I have enjoyed Open Country just a tad more than Chasing the Sun, only because of the circumstances Molly and Hank meet and the danger they must survive. But Jack has that way of worming into your heart just as he does into Daisy’s, especially when playing with his daughter. His siblings need to wake up a little sooner when looking at their little brother. He’s become a man they’d be very proud of.

Grade: A

Summary:

Daisy Etheridge always dreamed of singing on a real stage, rather than in a smoky San Francisco saloon.  But along the way she fell in love, had her heart broken, and bore a child to a man who loved another.  Now she has a second chance to develop her singing talent. With no other way to get the money she needs to support herself and her child during her training, she and her daughter travel to New Mexico Territory to seek help from the wealthy family of the man who abandoned her.

Jack Wilkins, a carefree adventurer, has always wanted to travel the world, rather than stay home to work the family ranch with his brothers. He thought he’d escaped three years ago when he followed his childhood love to San Francisco, only to find that his devotion wasn’t enough to keep her. Now, he’s back, trying one last time to win her – when out of the blue a woman from his past shows up with a baby who has eyes like his.

Caught between his feelings for his old flame, his attraction to Daisy, and his new role as a father, Jack does the honorable thing and offers marriage. But Daisy refuses. Although she has never stopped loving Jack, she’s unwilling to risk her dream for a man who might still love another, or who would rather chase the sun west than settle down with her.

But Jack won’t give up. As spring drifts into summer, tensions build, and the Wilkins family is strained to the breaking point when old enemies and financial ruin threaten the ranch. Then a violent storm brings everything to a head, forcing Daisy and Jack to make hard choices about which dreams are worth fighting for, and what they want out of their lives-and out of each other.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Cowboy Fever by Joanne Kennedy
Contemporary Western Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 1 Apr 11

I’m glad I decided to give Joanne Kennedy a second-chance read. While I enjoyed some things about Cowboy Trouble, the first book of hers I read, there were others that didn’t work for me. But this time around, she’s given readers a nice story through and through with only slight blips. There’s more emotion in this book that gives the hero and heroine more depth.

Jodie Brand (not Bryce as it says in the summary), in a fit of guilt, has come home to help her mother in her western boutique. She’s left her rodeo queen days behind her and is also going to open a therapy riding clinic for handicapped children. Of course, as soon as she hits town, gossip begins and then she comes face to face with Teague Treadwell, her old crush from their school days. Teague was the town bad boy, and though he’s tried to gussy himself up, he still exudes that badass aura that the women go for, even Jodie herself. Surviving the first meeting with him, she goes on her way to get things up and running at the old homestead. All with Teague on her mind.

He’s tried so hard to live past his reputation he inherited from his father, but folks still look at Teague as the boy with a temper from the wrong side of the tracks. He’s taken care of Troy, his older Down’s Syndrome brother, since their parents died, he’s built them a new home to leave behind the memories of beatings that occurred in their mobile home, all with eye toward bettering himself for the day Jodie returns. When she finally blows into his life again, he hopes she sees the new man he is now and that that will make a difference to her to perhaps pick up where they left off years before. But when he remembers how he pushed her away, Teague isn’t so sure Jodie has forgiven him, even though his rebuff was for her own good.

I like both of these characters. They were friends before their one-night stand years ago, and I like that their new relationship is not terribly awkward when they’re together now. It doesn’t take long before they hit the sheets again, and this time it’s a man and a woman loving each other instead of the boy and girl they used to be. Which also means they do talk things out instead of letting things come between them. Well, most things anyway. There’s the usual jealousy issues that each think about but don’t voice until it’s nearly too late. It’s Troy who is the common denominator and brings them together. And I love Troy. He’s as sweet as can be, a man in a child’s body wanting to be on his own, do things on his own without little brother hovering anymore. He’s a wonderful character.

One thing I don’t like is how Jodie doubts Teague throughout the book. When she finally tells him she does trust him and believes in him, she’s known that all along but lets fear and doubt rule her, even after they make love a few times. This happens too often in romance and I’m just tired of reading it. I realize we want our heroes to be kind and generous whenever possible, but Teague takes this to a new level when it comes to Courtney, a newcomer to town who’s decided she wants the cowboy and will have him. The woman is a nuisance and I wanted to shake the man when he’s nice to her one too many times after her many shenanigans. The mystery surrounding a neighbor’s death gets a little convoluted, but for all intents and purposes, it works despite all the elements involved.

Overall, characters and storyline are much better than the previous book. We’re not thrown off on a tangent, given ideas that don’t work with the entire story. And at first I thought the books are related in some way since the covers are similar, including One Fine Cowboy, the release just before CF. Usually when you see covers this similar, it’s a series or trilogy or they’re at least in some way related, but these books are all different characters with no relation whatsoever. I’m a series hound, so I would have picked them up based on the covers alone and would have been sorely disappointed. Yeah, okay, read the back cover. I know, but sometimes you get a tad excited when discovering a new series, and considering these are cowboys, I know I would have purchased and asked questions later.

But all that aside, with this book Ms. Kennedy has upped my entertainment level and I’ll definitely try more of her future reads.

Grade: B-

Summary:

Miss Rodeo Wyoming Jodie Bryce is back from the big city to find that her childhood friend Teague Treadwell’s rugged cowboy charm never looked better. But Teague thinks Jodie’s success lifted her out of his reach, and now he’s got to shed his bad boy image to be worthy of the girl next door.

No excerpt available.

Dinca’s review of Breaking Brent (Kiel Brothers, Book 2) by Niki Green
Contemporary Western Romance published by Samhain 30 Nov 10

I didn’t get much sleep until I finished this book. It held my interest to the very last page.  Niki Green has me hooked and I will be looking for Book 1 of this series. I am enjoying the little town of Millbrook, Texas and their hot cowboys. You won’t find any shy bones under their skin.

Peyton and her two best friends always hung out together when she was 18. Her first kiss came from Carter and her virginity was lost to Brent, along with her heart. So when Brent broke her heart, Carter slammed into Brent and they came to blows, not only with each other but to their friendship as well.  Peyton was totally heart broken when Brent called it quits after three long years of loving him.  Cater stepped in to relieve the pain and became engaged to Peyton. He was a rodeo rider and away a lot of the time. Okay, most of the time. But at least Peyton had a ring on her finger and the town gossips no longer had a field day with her fragile emotions.

This is the second book in this series. I have not read the first, but I will now go hunt it down because this one is so good. It picks up where the first one left off. It is easy to derive that Brent broke off his relationship with Peyton after watching his brother have his heart ripped to shreds by his lady love. Brent decides he doesn’t ever want to have that happen to him, so he takes control by doing the breaking up first, before it can happen to him. He doesn’t realize that watching his love walk into his best friend’s arms could have the same effect. He now has his heart ripped out and has lost the most important thing in his life, as well as his best friend.

Peyton and Brent have avoided each other for four long years. With Peyton running the only watering hole in town, she has to run into him at some point. Knowing she usually doesn’t work on Friday nights, Bent thought it safe to attend his brother’s bachelor party. Seeing Peyton and being so close to her is Brent’s undoing.  He can’t keep his mind off her, and at his brother’s wedding he stops trying to and backs up his decision with his body.

Peyton and Cater quit pretending months before that they would ever tie the knot. She just hasn’t found a way to break it to her family with the whole town starting the “Bless your heart” syndrome all over again. She hates being the center of gossip.  But when she finds herself in Brent’s arms again, she knows she has to find a way. But does Brent just want her because she’s off limits? Does he only want what he can’t have? If that’s the only way she can have a taste of Brent again, maybe she should take her time about telling him she’s not engaged to Cater.

Well, that is all the juicy tidbits you are getting from me. As far as I am concerned, this is a must read. But start at the beginning if you can. I am hunting down Book 1 for my next read.  Thank you, Niki Green, for a good time in Millbrook, Texas. I am looking forward to my next visit. I now have to go play catch-up with Chase’s story so I can get to Jason’s. Jason’s already tickling my fancy.

Grade: A

Summary:

When the going gets tough, the tough get busy. Real busy.

In Millbrook, Texas, there are cowboys. Then there are the Kiels, every girl’s idea of perfection in tight-fittin’ jeans. Peyton James is no different. Only she doesn’t want to admit it—because three years ago Brent Kiel ripped out her heart and handed it back in teeny little pieces.

In a twist of fate Peyton wound up engaged to Brent’s best friend. The engagement might be off now, but no one needs to know, right? It keeps the questions at bay…and the temptation called Brent Kiel out of reach. Until the night he shows up at her family’s bar.

The only reason Brent agrees to meet his brothers at Big Jack’s is that Peyton never darkens the door on a Friday night. Except tonight. Seeing her is a painful reminder of his mistake and what it cost him—and that no other woman’s lips or body will ever satisfy him like hers.

Nothing—not the past, not her legendary temper, not even the rock on her finger—will keep this cowboy from getting what he wants…

Warning: Seduction served by a brooding and standoffish cowboy who wants nothing more than his ladylove’s heart and soul—her body is just icing on the cake. Hot cowboy sex in a bar, in a barn, in a bed…just about anywhere.

Other books in this series:

Dinca’s review of  The Real Deal (Kiel Brothers, Book 1) by Niki Green
Contemporary Western Romance ebook published by Samhain 5 May 09

In this short story you will find a lot of sex. The characters are either thinking about sex, having sex, or wanting to have sex. Although sex is great, I was looking for a little more story line.

As a belated present to his brother, Nick Kiel borrowed his older brother’s ID and took his younger brother to ‘The Garden Club’, a strip joint two hours away from home. They receive the surprise of their life when one of the strippers turns out to be none other than their older brother’s long lost-love, Willa Tate. They promise Willa they will keep it a secret if she will let them know she’s all right from time to time.

When Willa up and left, Chase could not get her out of his mind or his heart. He still longs for her every day and night. When he borrows his brother’s truck, he finds not only a brochure for The Garden Club with a picture of Willa in the lineup, but a call from her to Kick’s phone laying on the seat.

Willa gets the next shock of her life when Chase waits for her in her dressing room. After the brief encounter Chase kidnapps her and takes her back to the ranch. Has sex and lived happily ever after.

Needless to say this is a short story. Quick and to the point or to sex, as the case may be. If that is what you are looking for, go for it. I’m disappointed after reading Book 2 of the Kiel brothers. There’s little information on why Willa left, and, other than great sex, why Chase would want her back. Book 2 has more information on Chase and Willa than their own story. This could have spun out into a really good tale. I learned nothing about their personalities.  If I had not read Book 2 first, I would not have known how good a tale Niki Green can spin. This is not one of her best offers, but I still look forward to Book 3 of the Kiel Brothers.

Grade: C

Summary:

He held the reins to her heart once—and this time he won’t let go.

A Wild Ride story.

Willa Tate left Millbrook, Texas, years ago—along with her future, her fiancé and her heart. Now, as one of the headlining acts at a hot burlesque club, she looks into the crowd, sees a familiar face staring up at her—and her past comes crashing back.

Chase Kiel has some hard questions for the former love of his life. He spent forever looking for her, and now he wants answers—even if he has to throw her over his shoulder and drag her back to Millbrook to get them.

He’d find it a hell of a lot easier if the chemistry weren’t still there. If they didn’t still fit together like keg of dynamite and fuse. If he didn’t want not only his answers…but her heart.

Chase is still certain he and Willa belong together—and convincing Willa of it will be his pleasure.

Warning: This title contains explicit, powder-keg-hot sex, language that ain’t fit for your mama’s ears, and a hot cowboy with a Texas-sized heart.

No excerpt available.

Other books in this series:

Dinca’s review of Ride (Studs in Spurs, Book 3) by Cat Johnson
Contemporary Western Romance published by Samhain 28 Dec 10

I found reading this tale very entertaining.  Chase is quite an interesting and charming character. He is not only rookie of the year in bull riding, but it appears to be the same in the bedroom too. Until he meets Leesa, a stripper who is a rookie too.

Leesa thinks Chase is a godsend when she hears her boss put a hit out on her life. When she is trying to escape the bad guys, she runs into Chase at an autograph signing and goes up to his room with him for his birthday party.

Chase and Leesa wake up to find a marriage license with their names on it and matching wedding rings. Trying to do the right thing, they take off together and start getting to know each other.  They arrive at his parents’ farm and stay in separate rooms, since they plan on getting a divorce when his uncle, who is a lawyer, gets back into town.

Lessa never confesses anything to Chase about the hit men after her, and I would have liked to have had the hero’s take on this aspect of their relationship. It would also have increased the word count and made the book longer and more interesting. I feel a lot is left unsaid the way the book ends.

I also would have liked to see more in the book on Chase’s little town and how his parents respond to Leesa. Oh, and why even bother mentioning a little sister if all she does is run down the hall and watch television. I feel she needs to be more a part of the story if she’s mentioned.

In the beginning, I felt there are too many rodeo characters by name to keep track of, but once past this the storyline is great. I like the story enough to look up the other books in the series and read them. Because of the fast and, I feel, unfinished ending and the loose characters, I am going to give this one a B.

Grade: B

Summary:

What happens in Vegas…sometimes follows you home.Pro bull rider Chase Reese knew things move faster than an eight-second ride in Las Vegas. He just never expected to be driving home with a national championship under his belt and a wedding band on his left hand with no clue how it got there.

Yet he can’t complain about the stripper bride beside him. From the moment his buddies bought him a lap dance from her, her trembles told him there was more to her than stiletto heels.

Leesa Santiago has met the perfect guy. Her timing couldn’t be worse though. If it was just their explosive sex, she could walk away. But from the moment her lap dance brought her this close to his baby blues, she was hooked. She can’t lie that she couldn’t be happier to bear his name—or guiltier that she’s using it and his Oklahoma farm to hide out from mob hit men.

That’s before Chase’s family gets involved. And his determination to do the right thing pushes her to do the one thing that will keep him safe. Break his heart.

Do cowboy boots mix with stripper heels? And can a love that started out on the wrong foot end up on the right one? That’s the risk you take waking up in Vegas.

Read an excerpt. (Click Excerpt tab)

Other books in this series:

Hooked – 2011

Sandy M’s review of Tyler (The Secret Life of Cowboys, Book 1) by C.H. Admirand
Contemporary Western Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 1 Mar 11

I’m a sucker for a good cowboy story. From the old west to present day, cowboys have this innate gentleness and kindness, thanks to their mamas, as well as being alpha to bring a lady to her knees. So when I had the chance to read a new author who’s writing contemporary westerns, I definitely jumped at it. While this is a good story, it does have some issues keeping it from moving up the scale to one of those “Wow!” stories.

What drew me out of this book more often than anything is the repetitiveness when describing certain things. I don’t know how many times Tyler is described in variations of a dark-eyed cowboy, then a dark-haired cowboy, then a tall, dark and handsome cowboy, then a broad-chested cowboy – over and over, each of those, again and again. Tyler and Emily grabbed each other on the backside every chance they got, which is fine in and of itself, but I wanted a different word, like ass or butt – anything else! – every now and again. It’s not until page 289 that glutes show up. Too late. Irritation at being pulled out of the story much too often had taken over by then. Emily’s cream skin, beautiful and bountiful breasts, as well as the chocolate smear between them in the beginning, and a few other descriptive phrases all get their fair share of being seen too much.

Another thing that didn’t quite  work for me as an element in the story is the fact that Emily is as hot for Tyler as he is for her, she goes for it and has sex with him fairly quickly after they meet, but after all the sheet burnin’, she draws a line at having oral sex. She wants Tyler to wait, not sure she can do something more intimate so soon. Huh? I’d say they were pretty darned intimate at that point and, for me, refusing to go that next logical step further just doesn’t sit well. I realize it’s a trust issue for Emily, seeing how far Tyler is willing to go, willing to wait and all that. I just feel this isn’t the way to do it. Why not hold off on the whole kit and kaboodle all the way around instead of splitting hairs? Makes more sense to me anyway. There’s other ways to instill trust than using sex to do so.

The dialogue at times is also an issue for me. It’s stilted too much throughout the book, isn’t as fluid as it should be. There’s several times where it reads like an info dump instead of conversation between two people. However, the cowboy-speak is pretty good when it comes to Ty and his brothers. Not as good as, say, Lorelei James, who is a master at the cowboy, but good enough to get the charm and gentlemanliness across to the reader.

Something that does work for me is the concept of doing what you have to do to survive, and this hits Ty hard. But he swallows his pride, for both the job he takes on and the consequences that go with it, and does his best despite the fact he’d rather be anywhere but up on a stage baring a good part of himself for bored and horny women to ogle. Ms Admirand handles this idea very well. Tyler even goes so far as to keep his night job from his brothers, not wanting them to worry and also not wanting them to razz him about it. They’re brothers, they razz every chance they get, and being boldly touched and leered at is enough for Ty for the time being. I also like the brothers element in the book works well, though there are a few times their anger with each other goes a tad too far for me. I do like, however, that they react the opposite way Ty thinks they will when he finally gets the gumption to tell them the truth.

I do like Emily, but she had me on the fence a couple of times. Maybe it’s because I never got a sense why these two are attracted to each other, other than smoldering looks and wanting to run their hands all over the other’s body. Because we get more of Tyler due to his being on stage and he does stand by Emily when things go wrong, I feel  more for him than I do Emily. While her no-oral-sex request bothers me, she doesn’t judge Ty when he tells her why he’s doing the stripping and she gets on my good side for that. I like also that she doesn’t cotton to her cousin’s, Jolene, attitude when it comes to the bar; she’s not as hard and unrelenting as Jolene. Saying that, though, I did have fun with Jolene and Jake’s relationship as a side story and wouldn’t mind seeing a book about them after Dylan and Jesse get their turn.

While I may not be that enamored of this first book in this series, I’m still looking forward to Dylan’s book. He and Jesse piqued my interest enough to give them and Ms. Admirand a second chance.

Grade: C-

Summary:

When Tyler Garahan said he’d do anything to save his family’s ranch, he never thought that would include taking a job as a stripper at a local ladies’ club. But the club’s fiery redheaded bookkeeper captures Tyler’s attention, and for her he’ll swallow his pride…

Emily Langley feels for the gorgeous cowboy. It’s obvious that he’s the real deal and wouldn’t be caught dead at a ladies’ revue if he wasn’t in big trouble. And when he looks at her like that, she’ll do anything to help.

Working days on the ranch and nights at the ladies’ club, Tyler would be plumb exhausted if he didn’t suddenly discover that the club is in the same boat as his ranch, and his beautiful boss needs him as much as he needs her…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Dylan – Fall 2011

Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Her Midnight Cowboy by Lauri Robinson
Historical Western Romance short story ebook published by Harlequin Historical Undone 01 Nov 10

My recent reading has been a bit on the lackluster side, and they all happened to be contemporaries.  So I figured, why not read something historical and short?  Oooooh, and a western!  Surely that will kick-start my flagging mojo!  Yeah, not so much.  Bugger.

Angel Clayton is a pampered Daddy’s princess that knows what she wants – and what she wants is none other than Rowdy McGuire.  The problem is, that no matter what she tries – Rowdy just won’t catch a clue.

Oh, Rowdy has gotten the message.  Loud and clear.  However, he’s staying as far away as he can because Angel is The Boss’s Daughter.  Rowdy is a drifter and ranch hand, which means no matter how you crunch the numbers, it all adds up to Angel being way out of his league.

Part of the problem with this story is largely my fault.  Generally speaking, I am not a fan of Heroine In Pursuit themes, because the heroine tends to come off as needy and desperate.  Add to the mix that Angel is a Virginal Heroine In Pursuit, and, well, it’s really not my scene.

However, just because something isn’t “my thing,” doesn’t mean it won’t be some other reader’s “thing.”  Ultimately though, this is a hard story for me to recommend because of the historical feel, or lack thereof.  The problem comes in the form of Angel’s Daddy and stepmother.  Self-indulgent parents are a dime a dozen in the genre, but these two take the cake!  Yes, the West was different – but not that different.  Especially when you factor in that Daddy owns a successful ranch and Angel doesn’t want for anything.  Society rules and social mores should have definitely been at play here – and they’re just flat-out ignored.  Dude, I can bend for the sake of fiction, but not that much.

I love the Undone line, but I’m still waiting for a western short that really cooks for me.  I was hoping this would be the one, but alas the answer is still no.

Grade: D

Summary:

Eastern Wyoming, 1884

In Angel Clayton’s opinion, men don’t get any finer than hired hand Rowdy McGuire. The very thought of him makes her ache with need—and the sight of his golden, glistening skin only makes it worse. She knows he feels their bodies’ magical, intense pull towards one another, even if the honorable cowboy refuses to admit that a drifter and a ranch owner’s daughter could ever be together.

But Angel is determined to get what she wants—and she wants Rowdy!

No Excerpt Found.

Sandy M’s review of Saddled and Spurred (Blacktop Cowboys, Book 2) by Lorelei James
Contemporary Western Romance published by NAL Trade 1 Mar 11

I love it when I’m right. I just knew, even though these new Lorelei James book aren’t part of her fan-fave McKay series, that they’d be just as good, just as hot, just as emotional, and I’d get just as immersed in them as I did those previous books. Needless to say, I was right on the money. Of course, that’s not difficult because we are talking about Lorelei James here. She delivers every book, every story, every character as real as life can get every time.

I even like this book more than the first, Corralled. And that’s saying something, because Corralled is a damned good book. Ms. James is one of the best at writing emotion, especially from the male point of view. You have to meet Bran Turner. He’s a smoldering, sexy, and somewhat vulnerable cowboy who captures your heart right away. He’s blindsided by Harper when she shows up on her doorstep after a mutual friend recommends the perfect person to temporarily take over his injured hired hand’s position. Having been attracted to Harper when she was just 18, you can imagine what his reaction is like now since she’s grown into a more confident and independent woman – all of which came to her much too early when her mother left her and her younger sister behind for a man, with no thought to her daughters. But Bran is in desperate need for the help and Harper is in desperate need for the money, so he reluctantly hires her, knowing it’s probably the biggest mistake he’s made in a long while.

Harper has given up everything in her life to work two and three jobs at a time to take care of her younger sister, even going so far as wanting to leave Muddy Gap to set up house wherever sis decides to go to college. She’s tired of being compared to her booze-guzzling, man-eating mother, so much so she’s conducted herself in a spotless, very appropriate manner as much as possible, but then even some folks in town still believe the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Thus the reason for her willingness to take on a ranch hand job – even though she knows nothing about the position – the other businesses in town wouldn’t hire her if she’s the only one left standing.

Because Harper is eager to learn and puts 100% into the job, and because she’s as curvy and beautiful as he remembers, Bran softens toward her, they develop a good working relationship, but he also wants more from her. Harper does her best to keep her feelings under control, but eventually they’re both lost to the lust and chemistry that zings between them. They attribute their hunger for one another to the fact that Harper will be leaving town in a number of weeks. Of course, the closer that time nears, the more they realize they don’t want to be without each other, but they leave that particular communication out of the relationship until it’s nearly too late. Up until that time, however, they have fun together and the loving between them spirals into intense, unadulterated passion that knows no bounds.

Everyday life and jealousies do interfere here and there and they confront those issues head-on, until Bran’s old hired hand recuperates enough to re-enter the picture. He stirs up a hornet’s nest every chance he gets. And Bran lets that get to him, his vulnerabilities coming to the fore with a vengeance, letting Harper get away from him and going crazy with anger at himself for being such a fool and worries over her, not knowing where she is and what she’s doing. What Harper’s done in the meantime to get over her exasperating, sexy man is finally take care of herself and not everyone else first. It’s a long time in coming, but it feels oh-so-good when she finally embraces that freedom.

We also get to catch up with the characters we first met in Corralled, and we get a closer look at Celia and Kyle, who, if my guess is correct, will be featured in the next book in the series. I sure hope I’m right on that score, because these two will be explosive together. But there’s also Abe and his ex-wife, Janie, so I may be off the track a bit and they might be next. There’s so much to still happen in this Blacktop Cowboys series!

Grade: A+

Summary:

Cattleman Bran Turner is left shorthanded during busy calving season when a bull tramples his hired hand. Rural Wyoming isn’t exactly a hotbed of qualified candidates, and the only applicant for the position is the pampered town beauty, Harper Masterson. The curvy cowgirl gets under Bran’s skin at every turn, but with no other options, he reluctantly hires her.

When sexual sparks ignite, down-on-her-luck Harper enjoys convincing Bran that not only is she capable of pulling calves, feeding live-stock, and handling backbreaking ranch chores, but she doesn’t mind getting down and dirty, either. Harper also discovers the hotbodied cowboy isn’t all work and no horseplay…and he’s got more than a few tricks up his sleeve. Bran will learn quickly that Harper is no country mouse—and that she might just have what it takes to stick around for the long haul.

No excerpt found.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Open Country (Blood Rose Trilogy, Book 2) by Kaki Warner
Western Historical Romance published by Berkley Trade 1 Jun 10

I’ve once again found a new author whom I’m going to enjoy immensely with every book I read. Ms. Warner has given readers characters who are real, charming, desperate, and oh-so-human, living in a time when they did what they had to to survive. From page one I was very invested in the lives of Molly and her family, even her good-for-nothing brother-in-law. Then when Hank comes along, injured and unconscious, barely alive, well, needless to say I was a goner and couldn’t put this book down.

When her sister finally succumbs to lung fever and not being taken care of her by her downright vicious husband, Molly flees with her niece and nephew, hoping against hope she can stay one step ahead of the man when he discovers his children missing. Moving again, always moving, their train derails and Molly finds herself out of money and nowhere to go if she had any. Learning the railroad will pay a huge amount to grieving widows, she decides to take on the role of wife of a man who isn’t expected to make it through the night. God help her, but there’s nothing else she can do.

The only problem Molly runs into once her decision is made is that Hank doesn’t die. Most of it has to do with his constitution and will to live and a little has to do with Molly’s doctoring, which she learned from her father, doing anything and everything just to get that approval all offspring want from their parents. Fortunately for Molly, Hank doesn’t remember the train wreck nor the time right before, so she continues on with her ruse, not knowing what will happen now but praying that all with work out as it should.

Hank is a man of his word, so if he gave his vow to Molly for better or worse, he’s going to stick by it. Even if he can’t recall a thing about their wedding, let alone the woman herself. Taking her home to his family ranch, he begins to learn about Molly and what he discovers, he likes. She seems to understand him as no one ever has before and that means almost as much as telling the truth and never deceiving those who mean something to you.

Which is now Molly’s dilemma. She’s wanted to own up and tell Hank what really happened and how they came together, but she’s finally gotten in her life all that she’s always wanted – family and love – and she’s afraid she’ll lose it all when Hank finds out what she’s done. He definitely knows something doesn’t add up, once his memory returns, but he’s waiting for her to make the first move and make things right between them.

This is one of those heart-warming books that don’t come around very often. While there is love and happiness in this story, Ms. Warner also keeps the way of life in the old west very real, tempering that happiness with heartache and betrayal. A man wears his gun to protect those who belong to him and he wears his pride right there on his sleeve, allowing his heart to make an appearance only when he’s sure he won’t be made a fool of. Hank does have to do some deep soul searching, looking for a forgiveness that anyone else would never receive. But his heart now belongs to Molly.

The emotion throughout this book will strike straight at your heart, just as it does at Hank’s and Molly’s. Especially when Hank has to take up fathering to Molly’s young nephew, a boy who’s holding a secret close to the vest and needs fathering up one side and down the other. Those scenes between man and boy, now father and son, are simply full of warmth, even when discipline is imminent. There’s another scene between Hank and Molly that when he learns more of the truth from her, he hides behind that hardness a cowboy of that day and age wore as easy as he did his gun. I wanted to hate the man for his sudden turnaround, but I couldn’t. I could feel the depth of his despair, the waves of helplessness and hopelessness of betrayal running through him, and I love him all the more for that vulnerability just as much as I did for his forgiving nature later.

This is the second book in this series about the Wilkins brothers, and I’m on a hunt to find the first one, Pieces of Sky. I want so much more of these brothers, as well as Ms. Warner’s beautiful writing.

Grade: A+

Summary:

Molly McFarlane is as desperate as a woman can get–even one alone on the frontier. Forced to flee with her late sister’s children, she must provide for her wards while outrunning the relentless tracker the children’s vicious stepfather has set on their trail. Out of money and with no other options, she marries a man badly injured in a train derailment, assuming when he dies, his insurance settlement will provide the money they need to keep moving West.  But there is one small problem.  The man doesn’t die.

Hank Wilkins doesn’t remember the accident he barely survived-and he certainly doesn’t remember marrying Molly. Confused and hoping his memory will soon return, he takes her home to his ranch, where Molly and the children are quickly caught up in the boisterous Wilkins family. Molly might be a gifted healer, but she knows little about caring for children, and even less about caring for a healthy man–especially a silent, brooding type like Hank. As Molly and Hank begin to discover each other, the threat of the past seems distant and the idea of a real marriage takes hold…until Hank’s memory returns and he realizes he’s been betrayed by his own brother and the woman he thought was his wife, and that fragile trust is shattered.  Then the tracker follows Molly to the ranch, and as Hank struggles to open his wounded mind and battered heart to forgiveness, Molly rides out into a blizzard to face down a killer in a frantic attempt to protect the man and family she has grown to love.

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Dinca’s review of Diablo (The Texans Series, Book 1) by Georgina Gentry
Historical Western Romance  published by Zebra 1 Feb 10

To read or not to read… that is the question. Here I find an above average hero and a wimpy heroine  with a disgusting villain and a whole ranch of spineless followers.

Diablo aka “He Not Worthy of a Name” was a Santee Sioux slave after his father was hanged. His mother was a white woman raped during an Indian raid. The young boy who had been disfigured, spent a tortured deprived life until Trace Durango found him starving and he and his wife took him in and nursed him back to health. They also schooled him and taught him to use a gun.

After a time he left the Durango Ranch and turned into Diablo the feared gunfighter. On the pretense of returning to Wyoming 15 years later as a hired gun for the range war, he sets his long-awaited revenge in motion.

Sunny is an obedient, beautiful daughter without a thought in her head that is not put there by someone else. I have a hard time with heroines like this. She has turned 18 and her father wants to send her back east to school? I found this a little late and unlikely. It is also unlikely to live near someone all your life and not know he has a volatile temper. Sunny did finally grow into a woman with a mind of her own, but it’s a long time in coming.  When she is held captive and having no clue where she is, she manages to escape, and after she gets back she manages to make a pharmacy run when Diablo gets hurts. Hello, the men hunting her get hurt trying to navigate the trail and she gets away and returns? I find this lame.

I also find the story long and drawn out with a lot of dry spells. The antagonist/villain, Hurd Kruger, is so obnoxious I would have done him in before the next chapter. As the story goes on, I find so much that needs to be said could have been left out. I started to put the book down at that point. I must say, I got a lot done on my “to do” list because of that, including my tax prep. That in itself does not say a lot for the book. Ah, back to Hurd the villain. Throughout the story everyone commented on his dying his mustache and hair. No one mentioned his gray should have been showing during his crazy loco obsession with getting Sunny back. Another character is Swen, Sunny’s father. No wonder she is a spineless shadow with her wimpy father as an example to follow.

At the end of the book is a list of references and notes about the Wyoming Ranch Association and the Sioux Indian rebellion. I wish these facts are embellished within the story. I’m not sure I’ll be reading anything else in the series after this.

Grade: C

Summary: Diablo
They call him “Devil,” and with good reason. The half-breed Santee Sioux bears the twisted scars that made him the fastest, deadliest gunfighter in Texas. Diablo will never forget the kind cattleman who once took him in, but it is his torturer who haunts his every thought. And when some powerful Wyoming ranchers come looking to hire ruthless men for a wicked job, Diablo seizes the opportunity to settle a score…

Her name is Sunny, and she more than lives up to it. She’s a dazzling ray of light—and the bride-to-be of Hurd Kruger, the man who scarred Diablo. What better way to destroy Kruger than to capture, dishonor, and dump his greatest prize? It’s a perfect plan, except for the one thing Diablo never counted on…the only thing that could turn him away from the dark side, the angel who could save his bedeviled soul…

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Dinca’s review of Honky Tonk Christmas (Honky Tonk Series, Book 4) by Carolyn Brown
Contemporary Western Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 1 Oct 10

Honky Tonk Christmas by Carolyn Brown is part of the Honky Tonk Series, a Contemporary Western romance. I have not had the opportunity to read I Love This Bar, Hell Yeah or My Give a Damn’s Busted. After reading Honky Tonk Christmas I don’t feel I need to read the previous books to make sense of the individual storylines. The heroine talks about what happens in the other books more than I feel is necessary and the characters show up quite a bit in this book. The hero and heroine are strong individuals and I really enjoyed getting acquainted with them through their personal stories. I especially like the fact that this book has very little whine in it, considering the hero has two small children.

Sharlene Waverley is a diverse character. She is an Army veteran sniper, which is a role not normal for a woman. She still has nightmares from her two tours in Iraq. She is also a romance writer who has her first book hitting the stands in November. From what I gather the romance novel is about the previous books in the series. She has inherited a bar and is determined to make a go of it. She has customers dancing in the parking lot, so she decides to expand the building to accommodate more customers at one time. She hires Holt Jackson, a building contractor who is raising his niece and nephew. Since Sharlene lives in the apartment attached to the bar, she rents them her house in town. The children come to the job site after school and Sharlene falls in love with them.

Holt Jackson did not plan on losing his sister and having to raise her two children, twins Judd and Waylon. With his job he has to relocate as the job site changes. Building the extension on the Honky Tonk turns out to be an ideal project since the owner has a house for him to rent and doesn’t mind the kids on the job site after school. He is really concerned about providing stability in the kids’ lives and setting a good example. He feels that his friendship with Sharlene can never turn into anything more regardless of the sexual tension between them because he doesn’t feel a bartender/honky-tonk owner is a good example for the kids.

When Sharlene is asked to return home to small town Corn, Oklahoma, she invites Holt and the children to come along to keep her matchmaking mama at bay. Sharlene swears she will never go back to living in Corn. Holt sees a lot of work available and stability for the children if he were to move there. A lot is riding on everyone’s decision. Sharlene has to decide what she loves more – Holt and the kids or the Honky Tonk. A lot is also riding on the kids’ first Christmas with Holt. Does he stay firm in his decision or does he try to give the kids the one thing they’ve asked Santa for?

Carolyn Brown has a great sense of humor and it shows up on a regular basis throughout the book. She’s come up with a bunch of great one-liners. Several times I had to go back and reread where the editors didn’t catch the discrepancies such as a spotter being called a shooter and so on. Her characters do get a little winded in the dialogue. I find that a bit irritating and just want the next character to butt in. I would have liked a little more one-on-one with Sharlene and Holt. For two people so hot for each other and having fallen asleep together three different times, you would think there would be a little more than a few sizzling kisses. I know I was looking for more sexual content between them. The humor and the strong characters put this book above average and I recommend it as a good read.

Grade: B

Read Sandy M’s Review

Summary: She Means business…

Sharlene Waverly is determined to have the “new and improved” Honky Tonk up and running before the holiday. For that, she’ll need Holt Jackson, the best darn carpenter in the state. But his warm, whisky-colored eyes make her insides melt, and before she knows it, she’s sharing her darkest secrets and talking about the nightmares…

He’s determined to keep things professional…

Holt Jackson needs the job at the Honky Tonk, but is completely unprepared to handle the beautiful new bar owner he’s working for.

Sharlene and Holt try like crazy to deny the sparks flying between them, but their love may just be the best Christmas present either one of them ever got.

Read an excerpt.

Sandy M’s review of Cowboy Trouble by Joanne Kennedy
Contemporary Western Romance published by Sourcebooks Casablanca 1 Mar 10

This is my first Joanne Kennedy book. I love a good cowboy story, and I do like the hero, Luke, along with the heroine, Libby. There’s some good humor throughout. The storyline starts out nice and easy, fun, then evolves into a mystery while keeping the humor strong and amusing. But something happens later in the book that takes too much away from what’s gone before.

Libby has had it with men and city living. Her boyfriend has taken up with her boss, leaving her vulnerable and pissed off. She hightails it to Wyoming with the hopes of making a go at a chicken farm, the realization of a childhood dream. Before she gets settled the neighboring cowboy drops in to say howdy. At first Libby can’t believe Luke is truly a cowboy. His dress, his speech, his chivalry is foreign to her, but she learns very quickly he’s the real thing.

Every time Luke comes in contact with Libby — which is as often as he can wrangle it — his admiration for her increases. As does his attraction to her. Not many women, especially those from the big city, would be able to take on anything close to what the woman’s done on her ranch. And up to this point I enjoyed this storyline. Luke has a great sense of humor I just love. He knows how to laugh, how to work hard, and he knows what he wants. Libby also laughs though she tries to hide it from Luke when he’s teasing, sort of a don’t egg him on type of thing. After all of this, though, things go off in a direction that are only okay for me. The story that takes over doesn’t seem to go with what’s happened so far.

Though Libby is in Wyoming to start her farm, she’s also an investigative journalist. She’s set on working for the local newspaper, which is one of those small-town four-page papers with nothing exciting to report. So when she finds out about the disappearance of a local young girl that is still unsolved, this is her way of shaking up the folks in town. Thus, the book from this point on is more about the past mystery than anything else.

Another character who comes along in the midst of this mystery is the local sheriff. He’s a nice-looking man, but something about Cash doesn’t sit right with Libby. But the woman still goes along with things he says and does. I can see the first time or two since she doesn’t know him well, but when she keeps it up, it gets irritating, especially when she admits to herself she’s wary of him.

I also don’t care for the doubt of Luke that Libby goes through — after she realizes she loves him. Even after she tells him she loves him. Luke also has a moment or two where he doubts Libby. After going through so much with these two, I feel let down that they would doubt each other like this. Especially Luke. It seems out of character for him to do that.

The mystery, of course, is solved. Luke and Libby finally wholly embrace each other, but the way they get there just takes a couple of unnecessary turns. After a promising start, Cowboy Trouble stutters a tad too much for me.

Grade: C

Summary:

A cowboy like that could break your heart…

Fleeing her latest love-life disaster, big city journalist Libby Brown’s transition to rural living isn’t going exactly as planned. Her childhood dream has always been to own a farm-but without the constant help of her charming, sexy cowboy neighbor, she’d never make it through her first Wyoming season.

But he could sure keep you warm at night, too…

Handsome rancher Luke Rawlins is impressed by this sassy, independent city girl. But he yearns to do more than help Libby out with her ranch. He’s ready for love, and he wants to go the distance…
Then the two get embroiled in their tiny town’s one and only crime story, and Libby discovers that their sizzling hot attraction is going to complicate her life in every way possible…

No excerpt available.

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Sandy M’s review of Cowgirls Don’t Cry (Rough Riders, Book 10) by Lorelei James
Contemporary Western Romance published by Samhain 9 Nov 10

Besides sexy, alpha cowboys, the thing I love about this series by Lorelei James is she keeps it real. And it’s not always pretty or nice. We all have those one or two in our family who make things difficult and ugly for other members. So does the McKay family. It’s the heroine, Jessie, who gets the brunt of that ugliness, but there’s plenty of others who have to deal with it too.

Jessie met Luke and Brandt McKay the same night years before. Luke showed interest, Jessie ended up pregnant, they got married. Though he tried to do the right thing, Luke still played around, stomping all over Jessie and her heart. In Shoulda Been a Cowboy, Luke dies, leaving Jessie on her own literally when his father kicks her out of their home. It’s Brandt who stays by her side, helping out when he can.

That’s because Brandt has wanted Jessie since that first night when his brother horned in after Brandt pointed out the woman he was drawn to. So he’s always been in the background, watching Luke turn a strong, vibrant woman into a shadow of herself. Brandt finally has enough of being at Jess’ beck and call after Luke’s death, lets her know how he feels about her and gets shut down for his effort. The only decision he can make at that point is stay away, as much as that will hurt.

Months go by and Brandt now has a small problem. He’s discovered Luke has a child as a result of one of his affairs. The boy’s mother is young and headed to jail, and she has no one to look after her son. So she contacts Brandt to be Landon’s guardian until mom is back on her feet and able to care for him. Knowing it will crush Jessie all over again, he has no choice but to ask her to help him take of her dead husband’s son.

This is where some of the ugliness comes in. Casper McKay, Brandt’s father, is one mean and ornery bastard and has been that way for years. His wife, his sons, his brothers, anyone he comes in contact with gets a taste of his hatred for anything and everything. He’s the one who kicked Jessie out when Luke died, never believing she was good enough for his son. Now with a grandson in the mix, Brandt knows his father will play down and dirty to get his hands on the boy. He’s not about to let that happen, despite knowing his father will take potshots at both him and Jessie along the way. And the man does, big time. Someone needs to put him out of his misery.

So Brandt and Landon move in with Jessie on Jessie’s terms, and you can’t blame her for putting down some rules for herself in such a situation. She’s trying to defend herself, of course, against an innocent child, no matter who’s he is. She knows Landon has the ability to bury himself so deep into her heart she’ll never let him go, and she’s not willing to allow that. It’s very emotional to watch her grow into a mother as Landon grows and learns at her knee.

Brandt is that typical McKay man, very sexual with a loving and giving nature. He’s hoping Jessie will want something more with him and also with Landon, if and when that time comes, even despite her assurance at the end it’s all over and everyone will go their own way. Jess really has a one-two punch when it comes to loving these two McKays currently in her life. As you can imagine, she doesn’t stand a chance. Especially when it comes to the lovin’ Brandt can’t hold back any longer. Whoo-whee, I love me a sexier-than-hell cowboy in bed. Oh, and Jessie does too.

Things get worse before they get better for all concerned. Brandt has issues he needs to get over due to his similarities to his father. Jessie has to come to grips with love all over again, fearful it may turn out just like the last time. It’s a good thing they’ve finally come together. They need each other and they’ll see that before it’s all over with.

Grade: A

Summary:

Jessie McKay has accepted her marriage to Luke McKay wasn’t perfect. After two years of widowhood, she’s ready to kick up her bootheels—until Luke’s younger brother shows up to spoil her fun. But if Brandt thinks she’ll ever take orders from another McKay male, he’s got manure for brains.

Brandt McKay has avoided his sweet, sexy sister-in-law ever since the night he confessed his feelings for her weren’t the brotherly type. Unexpectedly faced with proof of Luke’s infidelity, Brandt is forced to ask for Jessie’s help in taking care of Luke’s young son. Jessie agrees on one condition—she wants Brandt’s boots exclusively under her bed for the duration.

The sexual heat that’s always simmered between them ignites. Brandt is determined to make the temporary situation permanent, proving to Jessie he’s a one-woman man. And Jessie is shaken by feelings she’s sworn never to have again for any man…especially not a McKay.

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Sandy M’s review of by Slow Ride (Rough Riders, Book 9.5) by Lorelei James
Contemporary Western Romance short story ebook published by Samhain 9 Nov 10

Hardly anyone can tease her characters or her readers better than Lorelei James. Of course, depending on where the teasing is going on depends on the reaction you’ll get. We met Jack and Keely in their book, All Jacked Up, earlier this year, and I had been anticipating Keely’s book for a while. She’s the only female in a horde of brothers, all of whom are very dominant, alpha, sexy, the whole nine yards. She was also a wild child character when she showed up in the previous books in this series. So you can imagine the curiosity about Keely when she meets her match, finally, in Jack. That was a fun, fevered, and sensual ride. This time Jack has in mind a long, slow ride for his new wife, but he’s in for a surprise of his own.

It’s just like Keely to be impatient to get on with living, and wanting her own wedding reception to be over with so she can toss off her boots and rumple the sheets with Jack is so Keely. She even tries to make things easier for them in the long run by divesting herself of as many wedding clothes as possible, but instead she runs into Cord and AJ going at it like rabbits, which doesn’t help her overanxious self in its current situation.

And her new husband isn’t helping either. He’s made all the honeymoon plans and hasn’t told her one dadgum thing he has in mind. The man thinks he’s being romantic, but he’s already forgotten one of the most important things he loves about his wife. No secrets, no calling the shots without her. They’re in this life together and he’d be better off remembering that.

As much as Jack has enjoyed, reveled, and just plain old had a good time in all of their sexual encounters before their marriage, he wants their first time as husband and wife to be perfect. Hence his strategy in secretly planning their two weeks alone. But after two days of traveling and keeping his horny Keely at bay – which is killing him just as much – Jack gets a surprise when things don’t go as planned once they have ocean, beach, and sunsets before them for the taking.

The teasing thus far for both Jack and Keely, doesn’t end as you’d expect, and the reader gets some teasing all their own at the resolution these two come up with in the end. It’s actually a perfect ending for this newly married couple.

Even in so few pages, Ms. James still pull a variety of emotions out of you. I will never get tired of reading about this family, whether in fun and laughter, anger, or tragedy, or whether they’re workin’ up a sweat and gettin’ me all hot and bothered, these McKays are lodged in my heart and are there to stay.

Oh! Slow Ride is a free ebook right now, so be sure to get your copy soon!

Grade: A

Summary:

Keely McKay Donohue is enduring the longest wedding reception of her life: her own.

The only saving grace is that Jack Donohue is finally hers. Usually her hunky man gives her everything she wants, so why is her groom denying her the one thing she wants right now?

Jack thought his secretive wait-for-the-honeymoon plan was romantic, until he realizes he’s only put Keely in a fighting mood. If he wants to get back on his temperamental bride’s good side, he’d better find a way to sweep his cowgirl off her boots…fast.

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Sandy M’s review of Shoulda Been a Cowboy (Rough Riders, Book 7) by Lorelei James
Contemporary Western Erotic Romance published by Samhain 1 Jun 10

Jeez, I can’t believe I forgot to write this review back when Shoulda Been a Cowboy released in June. Sigh. Don’t ask me what happened, couldn’t tell ya. What I can tell ya is it’s not because I didn’t enjoy the book or it’s not good or anything along those lines. Far from it. As usual, Lorelei James kept me going from one emotion to another, hot and bothered pretty much in every darned chapter, and yearning for more, more, more when I closed the book. It would’ve been nice to make some noise for Ms. James back in June, but I’ll have to settle for doing that now, because any time talking about these Rough Riders is a good time.

Along with Kane’s book, this is the one I’ve been waiting for. Cam is the only McKay brother who chose not to follow the family footsteps into ranching. He went into the military and that’s where he stayed until injured, losing a leg and the life as he’s always known. Once home, he’s wanted nothing but solitude, keeping the family at bay from his peaceful, uncluttered abode, all with the help of sister Keeley, who also made sure everything medical concerning his doctors, treatment, and whatever else was needed to get her brother settled went like clockwork. Cam is now a local police officer and has been content, considering his circumstances.

I was curious which way Ms. James would go with Cam, either turning to his family for help and support or trying to go it alone. Family is one of the things that keeps me coming back to this series, but this time she went with that McKay pride, Cam not wanting anyone to think him weak or useless, which is what he feels most of the time when faced with those tasks that are now difficult for him. His family does leave him alone, hoping it’s the right thing to do.

But Cam is in for a surprise when he finally gives in to Domini, the woman he’s tried to stay away from so she wouldn’t be saddled with half a man. She’s a strong woman. She’s had to be to get through the hell she lived in the Ukraine before coming to the United States. They’re both scarred, physically and mentally, in the aftermath of their individual adversity. What Domini wants is to give up control, to be dominated, and to receive pleasure at the hands of a man she trusts. Cam.

And when Cam realizes this and gives Domini what she needs, the pages sizzle and burn when these two come together. In true Lorelei James fashion, the lovemaking is hot, intense, pleasurable, and very emotional. However, Domini does put her foot down when it becomes clear Cam has no intention of getting as good as he’s been giving in the bedroom. When necessary, her control is in place and she’s got the steel spine to back it up.

Cam and Domini are thrown a curve when faced with personal tragedies, one leaving a young boy orphaned, Domini the only “family” he has left. Cam steps up to help out in the most magnanimous way, because he’s not about to give Domini the opportunity to walk out of his life. Things in their new life get dicey for a while, but once they truly open up to each other, life can only get better for them.

The McKays finally put their foot down too when it comes to Cam and his desire to hide his disability from them. I love the scene between him and his brothers late in the book when he finally realizes how he’s hurt his family in keeping them out of his life. Mama McKay gets in on it too, and you don’t want to mess with Mama.

I’m very impressed with Ms. James’ consistency and high quality of writing even after seven books in this series. She keeps it fresh, fun, emotional, and burning up no matter which McKay she’s writing about.

If you’ve not read any of these Rough Rider books, well, frankly, you’re missing loads of fun with some sexy, sexy cowboys who know how to love a lady. Ain’t ya curious about what you’ve missed so far?

Grade: A

Summary:

Soldier Cameron McKay has found his niche, and it ain’t ropin’ steers and wearin’ spurs. His deputy sheriff job, plus battle injuries that ended his military career, keep him right where he wants to be: Off the ranch and away from his family’s pity. His darkest war memories are on lockdown, leaving him skeptical he’ll ever find a woman who wants a man who’s less than whole.

Domini Katzinski has had to control every aspect of her life since age eleven, when she was orphaned in the Ukraine. Watching others’ relationships crumble has convinced her to focus on the short-term and find a take-charge man to whom she can relinquish total sexual control. Cam fits the bill: gorgeous, with a brooding vulnerability no one else seems to see. Plus, he has his own handcuffs.

Once Cam gets over his surprise that sweet, shy Domini wants to be dominated, he is back to issuing orders. Their passion is as hot as a rocket-propelled grenade—and if Domini has her way, it’s a one-shot deal. Cam wants more, and launches a full-out sensual assault…until tragedy strikes, forcing him to change tactics as he tries to keep past demons from blowing their future together all to hell…

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Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s DDS Review of The McKettricks of Texas by Linda Lael Miller
Historical Western Romance published by HQN Jan, May, Jun 10

Darn that Sybil. You can’t argue with her. And she forces you to look at things differently than usual. I’m a very within-the-box type of reader. I go with what an author gives me, very rarely thinking outside that box. Sometimes I have to look outside, however, when something is too silly, too dark, too lame, too whatever even for me. So when we discussed this trilogy, she pointed out a couple of things that never occurred to me during my reading. While I still maintain my enjoyment of the books versus her dislike of them, I do see her point here and there. But not enough for me not to like this new generation of McKettricks.

Tate
26 Jan 10

Tate and Libby were high school sweethearts, on their way to a happily ever after until one liquored-up night Tate strays, finds out he’s going to be a father, tries to do the right thing and breaks Libby’s heart in the process. Of course, the marriage doesn’t last and Tate has joint custody of his twin girls, which reduces him to pieces each time he sends his children back to their mother.

He and Libby have seen each other over the years, there’s no totally avoiding seeing or interacting with the other in such a small town, but little by little they begin to talk and then when Tate gives her an opening, she hesitantly takes it, and then feelings and wishes begin to happen again for them both. Libby is afraid he’ll go back to his ex-wife if only for the kids. Tate fears she hasn’t forgiven him for leaving as he did six years before.

I like both of these characters. They have their vulnerabilities, but when push comes to shove, they do what they need to. Syb didn’t like the fact there’s not enough groveling and/or apologizing on Tate’s part for the way he treated Libby. I felt he showed that in deed rather than the spoken word. And, hell, he’s a McKettrick. They do their own thing, including their own brand of apologizing and whatnot. I know that won’t satisfy a reader like Sybil, but for me it works. It never entered my mind that Tate didn’t explain to Libby why he did what he did until my talk with Syb. Maybe it should have. I don’t know. I do know it still doesn’t lessen my enjoyment of the story.

There’s mystery surrounding cattle rustling that spreads out over the three books, a come-home again mother whose efforts are too little too late, and death that affects them all. I enjoyed the interaction between the brothers, the teasing, competitiveness, and fighting but having each other’s back when need be. The same goes for the sisters, they’re just as fearsome when it comes each other. The children are also a hoot, though a lot can be said for the fact that children don’t speak the way these do. But they were fun, so it didn’t really bother me.

A good start to the trilogy for me. It made me want to pick up the next one.

Grade: B

Summary:

For divorced dad Tate McKettrick, there are barely enough hours each day to run the Silver Spur ranch, do the suit-and-tie thing for his business and run herd on his beloved six-year-old daughters. But time stands still at the sight of Libby Remington. When they were high school sweethearts, the wealthy McKettrick made a mistake that cost him the love of his life. But now they’re both back in Blue River, Texas. And cattle rustlers, a manipulative ex-wife and a killer stallion can’t keep Tate from trying to win Libby again.

Libby has her hands full caring for her mother and running the Perk Up Coffee Shop. Caffeine she needs. Tate McKettrick—with his blazing blue eyes and black hair. No way! Oh, heck—yes! But can Tate and Libby really hope for a second chance?

Read an excerpt.

Garrett
25 May 10

I think Garrett is my favorite of the three books. He’s the brother who’s left Blue River with aspirations of one day becoming President of the United States. He’s the top gun for a senator, who’s married to Garrett’s mother’s best friend, and Garrett has defended the man at every turn. However, the senator’s latest debacle is too much even for Garrett and his eyes are finally wide open.

So he heads home to regroup. There he runs into Julie Remington. He’s known her for years but now takes another look at her and likes what he sees. Her son even burrows into Garrett’s heart, a boy who is starved for a man’s attention. I love those scenes between man and boy throughout the book, especially when the biological father resurfaces.

Julie is a hometown teacher, goes to bat for her students, is afraid her ex-husband will try to take her son, and is beginning to have feelings for a man she’s been friends with for years. She and Garrett are thrown together while she’s living in the McKettrick home due to the huge termite balloon currently covering her own home, as well as the fact her sister is marrying his brother.

Trying to fend off the repercussions of a political scandal is not that easy and Garrett finds himself grudgingly pulled back in the fray before too long. That’s when he realizes how much home means to him. His brothers, the ranch, and especially Julie are where his home is. Julie has to learn to let go of some things she just can’t completely control and let a certain cowboy into her heart for good.

The rustling mystery continues in this book, escalating more and more so that the sisters are afraid for their men, who go galloping into the danger head on to protect what’s theirs. Again, the camaraderie among the brothers, as well as the sisters, is a fun part of the story. But it’s Garrett learning to be a father that won me over for this edition to the trilogy to be my fave.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Fast track up the political ladder, fast cars, fast women—that’s Garrett McKettrick. Make that was. A scandal has brought him home to Blue River, a place where a man can slow down, take stock and plan his next move. Which doesn’t include staying at the family ranch with his brothers. A city boy for a long time now, Garrett doesn’t think he has the land in his blood anymore. But Blue River has other attractions, like his former high school nemesis, Julie Remington.

Now a striking woman and much-respected teacher, Julie comes complete with a precocious four-year-old cowboy, a three-legged beagle and deep ties to the community. Good thing they have nothing in common—except their undeniable attraction and a future brighter than the Texas sun.
Read an excerpt.

Austin
29 Jun 10

Austin almost trumped Garrett in the favorite category. He’s the rodeo bull rider who was quite seriously injured in Tate, and he’s determined to again ride the bull that bested him. It turns out it wasn’t the best idea he’s had when he ends up with a hernia that knocks him off his feet for a bit. With his devil-may-care attitude and endless restlessness, he finds being nursed by the youngest Remington sister both heaven and hell, especially because they had something going a while back and he messed it up big time.

Paige wants to avoid Austin as much as possible, but since they’re going to be family now, that’s a little difficult to do. Then his older brothers ask her be the man’s nurse after his bull-riding incident. Austin doesn’t know when to or like to ask for help, so she’s not keen on being his babysitter. But then again, maybe it will be worth it to rub the man the wrong way as much as she can, the way he’s done her for years now. Thus, the balance of being off balance in each other’s company equals out. Until they tumble into bed again.

His brothers are constantly trying to shield him in every aspect of his life just because he’s the baby of the family. But Austin’s had enough. Of course, he’s just like them, so he runs headlong into danger and ends up injured again when the cattle rustling part of the story escalates even more. It’s his relationship with Paige he’s determined to keep them out of any which way he can. And what a relationship it is. Their love scenes are the hottest of the trilogy for me. Enjoyed every one of them.

Learning he can give up the rodeo and make a life on the Silver Spur, Austin opens himself to his love for Paige, telling her his reasons for his behavior ten years in their past and hoping for true forgiveness to have a life with the woman he never stopped loving. Paige, however, is now able to leave at any time after receiving an unexpected financial boon. Maybe leaving is the easy way out, though. Does she have what it takes to stay to face the feelings she never lost for Austin.

Grade: B

Summary:

World champion rodeo star Austin McKettrick finally got bested by an angry bull. His career over, his love life a mess, the lone maverick has nowhere to go when the hospital releases him. Except back home to Blue River and the Silver Spur ranch. But his overachieving brothers won’t allow this cowboy to brood in peace. They’ve even hired a nurse to speed along his recovery. Paige Remington’s bossy brand of TLC is driving him crazy. As is her beautiful face, sexy figure and silky black hair.

Paige has lost count of the times Austin has tried to fire her, but this determined nurse is not going anywhere until he’s healed, body and heart.

Austin’s brothers are laying bets that Paige’s place in his life just might become permanent.

Read an excerpt.

Okay, Sybil, these books aren’t perfect. But even with a few faux pas, they’re light and easy to read, have engaging characters, especially the sexy men and the precocious children, and I still had fun with them. I don’t mind that real-life things get overlooked, that’s not part of why I read anyway. Entertain me and I’m happy. Yeah, sometimes I’m a darned easy but happy reader.

Overall Grade: B

Sandy M’s review of Raising Kane (Rough Riders, Book 9) by Lorelei James
Contemporary Western Romance ebook published by Samhain 23 Jun 10

I think like a lot of fans of this series, I’ve anxiously awaited Kane’s story. He’s a bad boy for sure, he’s had his moments of excesses, fights, plenty of women, and any number of other things, but he’s the hero who’s also chivalrous, take-charge and in control when needed, loves his family and his dog, and has a soft spot for kids. And he’s sexier than hell. He’s a man any woman would give anything for to rub herself all over, up one side and down the other every day of the week. And then do it all over again. Twice. On Sundays. Just as his heroine discovers.

Ginger is an attorney, taking over business from her father, who is now wheelchair-bound and living with her and her son, Hayden. Falling down icy stairs puts her in the hospital instead of behind her desk, and the doc won’t release her unless she’s got someone to take care of her. She’s a little riled at this, since she’s the one who’s always in control and takes care of everyone else. And she can still do that, injured or not.

That’s what she thinks. Kane McKay is about to take that control from her. As much as he’d like that control to include the bedroom, the rules of the Little Brothers program prohibits becoming involved with Hayden’s mother. But the woman needs help and she’s going to get it, whether or not she asks for it. From cooking to cleaning, laundry, helping her invalid father and other surprises, Kane is everywhere he’s needed while Ginger recuperates.

Their attraction grows and finally ignites once Ginger is on her feet again, which is not long with Kane around. These two combust loud and long and over and over again. Sizzling hot love scenes is only one of many erotic and romantic things Ms. James is superb at in her writing. Her heroes are always a man’s man and her heroines a woman’s woman, especially in bed. Ginger is an intelligent, strong, and independent woman, but with Kane her submission is complete and voluntary, knowing he will give her everything she needs behind closed doors.

You also have to love a man who cries when he finds his dog curled up in the snow, the animal knowing it was his time to head to doggy heaven. Then even though they’ve been on the outs lately, Kane’s twin brother Kane offers support, taking care of the emotional task of burying Shep. This family sticks together more than they fight, but now Kane is looking to throw a few punches and finds it with cousin Colt over a bit of ranch business, but all is forgiven later when Kane’s sad news trickles through the family. For the McKays, it doesn’t matter what happens as long as the family stays together, and Ms. James makes sure her fans get a lot of familial love in each book.

I have to go a bit further with the Shep issue, because it involves another of my favorite scenes – Hayden crawls into Kane’s lap when he hears the news to offer comfort. Talk about wrenching your heart out. Simply a wonderful scene.

This latest installment of the series has it all, everything you could want in an erotic romance and everything you could want in a simple, lovely romance. Ms. James makes you shiver in ecstatic, steamy delight on one page and then become misty-eyed with emotion on the next. She makes you hanker for a good old knock-down drag-out one moment and then soothes you with gentleness and kindness within minutes.

I just recommended this series to a friend. She’s reading the books back to back and having a time of it. If you haven’t started on these Lorelei James books yet, don’t fret. Once you start, you won’t stop and it will seem like only moments until you’re caught up. Just try it if you don’t believe me.

Grade: A+

Summary:

She surrendered the reins. Now he’s raising the stakes.

When a patch of ice sends attorney Ginger Paulson head-over-high-heels down a flight of stairs, she has no one to care for her young son and her invalid father—until lethally sexy Kane McKay shows up at the hospital, determined to prove his cowboy chivalry. Past experience has inoculated her against take-charge men, but even Ginger isn’t immune to Kane’s invasive charm and Built Ford Tough body.

For two years rancher Kane McKay has followed the Little Buddies mentoring program’s cardinal rule—hands off his Little Buddy Hayden’s mama. But one look at Ginger’s bruised body and Kane is through watching the stubborn woman take care of everyone but herself. The feisty, curvy redhead needs his help, and he’ll give her the hands-on type whether she likes it or not.

After Kane throws out doctor’s orders and issues his own demands—her full sexual submission—Ginger realizes Kane’s caring nature extends beyond just fulfilling her physical needs.

Can the former hell-raiser convince the gun-shy single mom to look beyond his past…toward a shared future?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Montana Dawn by Caroline Fyffe
Historical Western Romance published by Leisure Books 27 Jul 10

I said in my review of Ms. Fyffe’s debut book, Where the Wind Blows, that she’s an author to keep an eye on. With Montana Dawn, she solidifies that opinion for me. Her books are heart-warming, optimistic, and life-affirming stories.

Her characters are people you like to know. They’re everyday folks just trying to live life the best they can, especially when life throws them curves that hurt and devastate. They keep going on, however, just to get through to the other side where peace and contentment and love and happiness can be found.

Luke comes from a close-knit ranching family. He’s in the middle of his first cattle drive, his chance to prove to his father he’s capable of more responsibility. Scouting for strays in a storm, Luke happens upon a wagon mired in mud. Checking it out, he’s startled to discover a woman in labor. Nervous and not sure what to do, he first begins to head back to camp to get help, but then guilt sits and he can’t leave her in her current condition. So Luke mans up and soon there is a new baby girl who steals his heart at first sight.

At first the stranger scared Faith when he loomed over her in their broken-down wagon. But with the next contraction, she knows she needs help. Hoping against hope the man isn’t a criminal of some kind, she succumbs to nature taking its course with the assistance of a handsome cowboy. Finally with her new daughter in her arms, a new protector to keep her safe for a while, she’s on the road to a new life, though still on the run from the people who only want to hurt her and her son.

I really like the cattle drive portion of this story. The men take to Faith and her kids, especially newborn Dawn, and it’s Luke who keeps his distance. Ms. Fyffe does a terrific job of describing what a long and arduous journey a drive must be; including danger during a river crossing with churning waters, anxious animals, and near tragedy.

Once safe and sound at the family ranch, Faith wishes she could be part of a family like Luke’s, something she misses terribly, especially since once she married she never got the hearth and home she expected. Luke’s family also takes to Faith right away, and her guilt kicks in because she knows she can’t stay and put these good people in danger.

Their romance grows slowly and surely as they get to know each other, but it’s Faith’s lack of trust in Luke that sets him on a trip to find out what it is Faith is running from. Not knowing where Luke is going, Faith decides to take the opportunity of his absence to move on, not wanting to say a goodbye that will hurt her heart. When it’s nearly too late, when she’s about to lose all, that’s when her trust in the man she loves finally thrusts through her defenses, but all will be for naught if Luke can’t get to her and the kids in time.

There’s so many lovely scenes throughout this book that will stick with you. Luke being beaned by a frying pan (one of those nice heavy-duty, old-fashioned cast iron ones too), the daring river rescue, Luke sharing his book from the Bible with Faith, Luke learning to be a father to a young boy whose trust in men has been damaged are just a few of my favorites.

Ms. Fyffe’s books are how I picture what it was like in the West’s early days, when family meant everything, life could change in an instant due to death or weather but most especially new life, living was hard but satisfying, and love was for as long as God decreed.

If you’re a western romance fan, you’ll enjoy this latest by Ms. Fyffe’s. It will make you feel good, simple as that.

Grade: B+

Summary:

Luke McCutcheon found Faith Brown unprotected and about to give birth, crouched in the corner of her dilapidated wagon. Though his family’s cattle drive was no place for a widow and a newborn, neither was the open trail. Honor demanded he bring them along.

Delivering her child was only Luke’s first kind act. Honest and wholesome, handsome and strong, the cowboy seemed a knight from some long-ago tale. Faith could tell they longed for the same things. But, fleeing the past, trust was a luxury she could little afford. It lay at the end of the road like a warm hearth and home, like a loving family, like a bright Montana Dawn.

Read an excerpt.

Sandy M’s review of Audrey and the Maverick by Elaine Levine
Historical Western Romance published by Zebra 1 Feb 10

I was in the mood for a western romance lately, so I picked up this book. For the most part, it works. But it has a couple of issues that don’t make sense. Even when those issues have to do with the characters, Ms. Levine still does a credible job of giving readers a nice read chockful of cowboys, danger, and love western style.

Audrey Sheridan is under the Defiance sheriff’s thumb. He’s threatening the orphaned children who now make up her family. Either she does as he says or the children will get hurt. Having no choice, Audrey steals Julian McCaid’s pouch of money just after he steps off the train, putting herself right in his path and calling his attention to her.

Julian is in Defiance on his way to his sheep ranch, determined to get it in order before he heads back east where he’ll begin to court a short list of ladies, one eventually becoming his wife. He has his future all thought out, and no one will ever be able to shame him again because of his past.

Punishment for stealing his money, Audrey will spend the next month at Hell’s Gulch as the new cook, until she works off the total amount. She leaves her children in her brother Malcolm’s care, promising to return when the kids’ abandonment issues rise to the fore again.

Audrey has spunk. She’s had to survive not only for her and her brother but also the orphans, so she’s good at making ends meet. But once she’s been on the ranch with Julian for a bit, I never understood why she just didn’t tell him the truth and ask him to pack up the children and bring them to ranch. Problem solved. At least as far as the children are concerned. The sheriff would have to find another way to threaten Julian to leave the area if that happened. Her trust in Julian comes much, much later and that’s a little disappointing.

Julian also has a couple of inconsistencies that don’t make sense. He has a very small amount of Negro ancestry in his blood, so he’s vowed to never marry, and he knows if anyone ever found out, his business would go south and any would-be wife would be shamed. But he’s contemplating that short list of potential wives I mentioned earlier.Well, make up your mind, Julian, one way or the other.

On his ranch he’s building a large, very beautiful house. Audrey falls in love with it and begins to decorate it for him. But as soon as all of his affairs are straightened out, he’s back on the train headed east. Why bother with furniture and curtains and beds and all that goes into making it a home if he’s not going to live in it? Of course, there is a use for it later on, but that doesn’t come out until near the end of the book, so all the decorating seemed pointless for the longest time.

What I especially like about Julian, however, is when he begins to unconsciously fall for Audrey, he accepts her children with qualms at all. And he’s just wonderful with all of them, even the youngest. There are a couple of scenes with Julian and those youngens that will make you quite misty-eyed.

Overall, I like this book. I’m able to get past those few issues because I truly do like these characters. Ms. Levine has a terrific voice for this genre and she paints a really pretty picture of the old west, danger and all. She’s also intrigued me with the characters who will be featured in the next book, Leah and the Avenger. Now I just have to find the first book to get totally caught up with those characters who also have a part in this book.

If you’re a western fan, try this one. Keep an open mind and I think you’ll enjoy it too.

Grade: B-

Summary:

Virginia financier Julian McCaid has put his troubled past behind him. His plans for the future don’t include Audrey Sheridan, the extraordinary frontier woman he met just once, but it’s because of her that he’s come to the Dakota Territory to investigate problems at his ranch. And it’s all the more surprising when he discovers she isn’t the innocent he believed. Now nothing but her complete surrender will purge her from his soul.

If it weren’t for the children she cares for in her makeshift orphanage, Audrey would have left Defiance long ago. Now the sheriff is blackmailing her to distract the man who might derail his corrupt schemes—a man who can offer Audrey not just protection, but a passion bold enough to make them claim their place in this harsh and beautiful land…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of All Jacked Up (Rough Riders, Book Eight) by Lorelei James
Contemporary Western Romance ebook published by Samhain 3 Nov 09

I normally don’t wait months to read this series by Lorelei James. It’s been a favorite since I read the first book in 2008. I won’t be waiting this long again to read any future McKay family books. I have the best time with these characters. I laugh. I cry. I roll my eyes. I snort. I definitely get hot and bothered. And I keep coming back for more.

While I love those McKay boys, their sister Keely finally gets her own book. Being the only girl in a family of a million guys (okay, that’s an exaggeration, but not by much), she’s learned anything and everything she’s ever wanted, something different from each of her brothers and cousins. She’s the female counterpart to each one of them, only better with all that femininity.

Keely is her own woman. A wild child in her early years, she’s settled down some while still having a good time with friends drinkin’ and dancin’, playin’ darts, and she holds her own with all that familial testosterone. Cowboy boots and beer are two of her favorite things. Keely knows what she wants and she goes for it.

Thus her dream of opening a physical therapy center in Sundance is finally coming true. She’s found the perfect building. Even though it’s considered an historical site, she calls in an expert to make sure the remodel is done properly so both she and the local historical society are happy. She couldn’t be more shocked and surprised when Jack Donohue, a man she’s despised the last few years, turns out to be the owner of the company she contacts — and the owner of the building she lives in.

Jack has no love for Keely any more than she has for him, but he’s trying to get his business back on an even keel, so he uses what he’s got — a beautiful woman who needs his expertise to get her dream up and running. Jack proposes Keely be his pretend fiance for a month, accompany him while he makes his pitch to another historical committee, and he’ll make sure her building is ready to go as fast as possible. Not liking the idea all that much, Keely can’t really say no. Too much is riding on the outcome. So Jack and Keely become engaged and all hell breaks loose.

The best parts of this book are Jack and Keely’s fighting. Neither of them can be in the same room with each other without throwing insults and snappy comebacks, no matter the issue. I laughed out loud I don’t know how many times at their banter. The other best part is when they make love. These two are beyond hot. Beyond steamy. Beyond sizzle. You need a cold glass of water, a fan, and the air conditioning on when you read these two.

It’s a good thing Jack is strong and dominant just like Keely’s brothers when it comes to handling this woman. She definitely needs a man like that. All other men before Jack ended up milquetoast when she was done with them.  Jack is great at possession and dominance, and Keely loves every minute of it.

During their fake engagement, their feelings turn from hate to love, but they’re each afraid to let the other in on that, knowing that either can walk away once the month is up. They each go through a very vulnerable period during this time and Ms. James always amazes me at the emotion she wrings out of her characters.

I’m glad to see on her website that Ms. James has two more books in this series on her Coming Soon page. All of her fans know this series will end some day, but for now we have a reprieve for a while. Thank goodness.

Grade: A

Summary:

Keely McKay knows Jack—and Jack Donohue is a certified pain in her Wranglers. The lone girl in the prolific McKay family, Keely needs another man giving her orders like she needs a hole in her boot. What she does need is a restoration specialist so she can open her physical therapy clinic—and prove she’s left her wild-child days behind. That means dealing with buttoned-down, uptight Jack.

Jack is this close to securing a career make-or-break project, until he learns his lack of marital status puts him out of contention. When the notoriously hot-tempered and hot-bodied Keely begs him for help, he proposes a crazy idea. He’ll oversee her project—if she acts the part of his loving fiancée.

Their sizzling lust makes it all too easy to go from butting heads to knocking boots—but outside the bedroom they’re as mismatched as ever. The McKays remind Jack of the humble upbringing he left behind, and cowgirl Keely feels she doesn’t measure up to Jack’s big-city lifestyle.

When the dust settles, Jack and Keely must face the fact they’re not fooling anyone but themselves—or they’ll risk losing the real deal.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: