Kristie J’s review of Whiskey River Rescue (Whiskey River, Book 1) by Justine Davis
Contemporary Romance published by Tule River Publishing 9 Mar 17
I loved Justine Davis/Dare back in the day. She wrote some of my favourite books. But then she seemed to be writing nothing but RS for Harlequin, and, while I tried a couple, I didn’t care to keep reading. And then she went off my radar. When older paperbacks started coming out as ebooks, I picked up some of her older books, the Hawk Trilogy, the Trinity West series published by Harlequin, and Lord of the Storm and Sky Pirate, a couple of (at the time they were called) Futuristics, But having got those, I kind of lost track again.
But I got an email about her latest release and realized she was publishing books other than Harlequin RS, so I thought I’d try her again and see if she had the same old magic I loved about her books in the ’90s. And I’m so excited that it’s back!!! Yes, yes, happy dance, happy dance.
Kelsey Blaine rents a small portion of a large piece of land where she runs a horse rescue operation with plans to expand into using the horses to help disabled children. She’s dismayed when the owner of the property is forced to sell it off and now she’s wondering how to save her horses. She wants to find the new owner to try to work something out and finally discovers he’s the town’s hermit, mystery man, more commonly known as Crazy Joe. She’s more than upset when she returns after an outing to find all her belongings packed up and people tearing down the house she’s living in. She’s livid and heads over to confront the new owner. It’s not so much as herself she’s worried about – it’s the horses.
After a series of misunderstandings, she sees that things aren’t what they seem, and, rather than losing the horse rescue operation, there are opposite plans afoot.
I can’t say too much about the plot of this one so I don’t spoil things, because there are lots of layers. I could see them coming, but, still, I don’t want to risk anything.
Joe is a hero who breaks your heart. He’s had it so bad in his life and he really does need someone exactly like Kelsey to balance and heal him. There is a lot more to him then first we think.
Kelsey is such a warm, compassionate, patient heroine – exactly the right person for Joe. I said above there were misunderstandings, but they were short lived and quickly resolved. So if you’re a reader who doesn’t like the big misunderstanding like I am, that’s not the case at all. I just didn’t’ want to give anything away. I’d only read a short bit before I knew I wanted to continue with the series and I already have them on my IPad just waiting for me. Justine Davis, I’m so glad you are back in my reading world.
Grade: B+
Summary:
Still reeling from the unexpected sale of the land she and her horses live on, horse rescuer Kelsey Blaine is frantic when she comes home to find her possessions already boxed up and her house being bulldozed without any notice. Normally calm and kind, Kelsey becomes furious and impulsively cuts a privacy fence to confront the culprit–her mysterious neighbor, Joe.
Joe Kilcoyne is in a desperate place. He guards his secrets and hides from the world for a reason. He’s the hottest topic of speculation around Whiskey River, but no one has ever dared to get close to him. That is, until fiery Kelsey comes barging straight into his life.
The last thing Joe needs is for Kelsey to breach his defenses and make him confront his past. But when her sunny, open, and determined personality collide with a haunted man with no idea how to reconnect with the world, the sparks that ignite shock them both.
No excerpt available.
Other books in this series:
