|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
my rating |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1460379837
| 9781460379837
| B00OYBCRT8
| 3.82
| 57
| Apr 01, 2015
| Apr 01, 2015
|
it was ok
|
His pulse raced. Trace had been hoping she'd let him feel the baby again. He hadn't dared touch her since the night he'd wanted to go on kissing her s
His pulse raced. Trace had been hoping she'd let him feel the baby again. He hadn't dared touch her since the night he'd wanted to go on kissing her senseless. That seemed like a century ago. After she'd left his arms to go to bed, he'd forced himself to put his desire for her in cold storage. pg. 201 Perfectly mediocre book by Rebecca Winters. There's nothing objectionable in it, but neither is it interesting. Trace is a former Air Force pilot who comes back to his Montana ranch. Living on his ranch is Cassie, a pregnant widow. This book is a bit unique in that even though Trace comes back to Montana, he's left a beautiful, spoiled, socialite fiancée behind in Italy. They are engaged and still saying 'I love you' and kissing until about page 132. Now. There's no PHYSICAL cheating here in the book, but people who care about this stuff should know. Trace is having romantic/sexual feelings for a woman who is not his fiancée. If this bothers you, avoid this book. Cheating - sexual, physical, romantic, emotional - doesn't always bother me in fiction and I have a higher tolerance to it than most romance readers IMO depending on the circumstances, situation, characters etc. Winters deserves credit for not making Trace's Italian fiancée a bad person. She may be a pampered socialite, but she loves Trace and they apparently have a lot of good sexual chemistry. She's not evil. Likewise, Cassie's dead husband is not bad, either. Cassie loved him, he was a good man. Kudos to Winters for not falling into the 'every romantic partner but you was a piece of shit,' which is common in romance and lazy, IMO. There's also a (relatively minor) plot about Cassie's psychotic, evil brother Ned. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? There is an off-page sex scene at the very end of the book. So I have no idea. TL;DR Mild book in which a hero who is described as 'depressed' but doesn't act depressed at all and has no symptoms for depression returns home to Montana and falls in love with a pregnant widow with a psycho brother. This sounds a lot more exciting than the book actually is. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance STEM Heroine - Her degree is in Wildlife Conservation; but in this book she is working as a housekeeper. Non-Virgin Heroine Cheating - Non-physical cheating Widow Heroine Pregnant Heroine He's a Rancher, She's a Housekeeper Takes Place in Montana, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Trace m 28 Sam m Ellen f Logan m Cassie f 27 Clive m Liz f Connor m Avery f Jarod m Zane m Buttercup – horse Masala – horse Nicoletta f nn Nicci Prince – horse Reva f Ned m Sadie f Kip – dog Owen m Ralph m Tyson m Benito m Mandy f Cole m Ryan m Charlo m Grant m Paul m Lindsey f Lulu – wolf Annie – wolf Giselle – fox Polly – horse Sunflower – horse Daniel m Silas m Pete m Eileen f Tim m Russ m Millie f Mac m Marsha f Bud m Lamont m 47 Mildred f Rose f Bianca f Dex – dog Dusty – dog Grace f (hide spoiler)] Merged review: His pulse raced. Trace had been hoping she'd let him feel the baby again. He hadn't dared touch her since the night he'd wanted to go on kissing her senseless. That seemed like a century ago. After she'd left his arms to go to bed, he'd forced himself to put his desire for her in cold storage. pg. 201 Perfectly mediocre book by Rebecca Winters. There's nothing objectionable in it, but neither is it interesting. Trace is a former Air Force pilot who comes back to his Montana ranch. Living on his ranch is Cassie, a pregnant widow. This book is a bit unique in that even though Trace comes back to Montana, he's left a beautiful, spoiled, socialite fiancée behind in Italy. They are engaged and still saying 'I love you' and kissing until about page 132. Now. There's no PHYSICAL cheating here in the book, but people who care about this stuff should know. Trace is having romantic/sexual feelings for a woman who is not his fiancée. If this bothers you, avoid this book. Cheating - sexual, physical, romantic, emotional - doesn't always bother me in fiction and I have a higher tolerance to it than most romance readers IMO depending on the circumstances, situation, characters etc. Winters deserves credit for not making Trace's Italian fiancée a bad person. She may be a pampered socialite, but she loves Trace and they apparently have a lot of good sexual chemistry. She's not evil. Likewise, Cassie's dead husband is not bad, either. Cassie loved him, he was a good man. Kudos to Winters for not falling into the 'every romantic partner but you was a piece of shit,' which is common in romance and lazy, IMO. There's also a (relatively minor) plot about Cassie's psychotic, evil brother Ned. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? There is an off-page sex scene at the very end of the book. So I have no idea. TL;DR Mild book in which a hero who is described as 'depressed' but doesn't act depressed at all and has no symptoms for depression returns home to Montana and falls in love with a pregnant widow with a psycho brother. This sounds a lot more exciting than the book actually is. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance STEM Heroine - Her degree is in Wildlife Conservation; but in this book she is working as a housekeeper. Non-Virgin Heroine Cheating - Non-physical cheating Widow Heroine Pregnant Heroine He's a Rancher, She's a Housekeeper Takes Place in Montana, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Trace m 28 Sam m Ellen f Logan m Cassie f 27 Clive m Liz f Connor m Avery f Jarod m Zane m Buttercup – horse Masala – horse Nicoletta f nn Nicci Prince – horse Reva f Ned m Sadie f Kip – dog Owen m Ralph m Tyson m Benito m Mandy f Cole m Ryan m Charlo m Grant m Paul m Lindsey f Lulu – wolf Annie – wolf Giselle – fox Polly – horse Sunflower – horse Daniel m Silas m Pete m Eileen f Tim m Russ m Millie f Mac m Marsha f Bud m Lamont m 47 Mildred f Rose f Bianca f Dex – dog Dusty – dog Grace f (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
2
|
May 04, 2020
not set
|
May 11, 2020
not set
|
Nov 18, 2023
|
Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||||
0373755937
| 9780373755936
| 0373755937
| 4.08
| 51
| Nov 01, 2015
| Nov 03, 2015
|
really liked it
|
She paid attention to everything Alonso said, because she cared about him. pg. 134 There's a subgenre of romance called 'medical romance' or 'doctor ro She paid attention to everything Alonso said, because she cared about him. pg. 134 There's a subgenre of romance called 'medical romance' or 'doctor romance' and there's a subgenre of romance called 'surprise baby' and in my opinion there should be a sub-sub-genre of romance called 'I'm a medical professional yet I have unprotected sex and then act surprised when I/she gets pregnant.' Surprisingly, this isn't rare in romances. You'd think medical professionals would have good enough sense to wrap it up, but apparently not. ANYWAY, this book starts out with Hannah almost running Alonso over. He's on walkabout through New Mexico. He's a trauma surgeon in the ER and he served as an Army doctor in Afghanistan. He's depressed, full of doom and gloom due to his life experiences. He thinks there is not much good in the world, that people are evil, that his saving lives amounts to nothing, etc. etc. Growing up poor and then serving in the Army and then working in the ER has given him a negative outlook on life. Hannah is twenty-six and the legal guardian of her sixteen-year-old brother. Her brother is a little shit who is getting involved in crime, talks back to her, refuses to do chores on the ranch, etc. etc. (view spoiler)[Worse than that he does crime against his own sister, against FAMILY, and causes trouble and pain deliberately on his own FAMILY, which where I come from is even more shameful than engaging in criminal activity in the first place. (hide spoiler)] Add this to the growing pile of romance novels in which a child (under the age of eighteen) is a little shit - even doing criminal activities - and no adults enforce punishment or discipline and everything is just brushed aside as if this weren't a serious, serious problem. I can sort of understand it in this novel - she's his older sister, it's harder to enforce discipline on a sibling than on your offspring, but still. It's really, really rare that I read a HAR in which any good parenting occurs. Luke, the little shit, offers Alonso a ride. Hannah is more leery. Alonso thought Hannah should be suspicious of him. Not only didn't she know much about him, but he carried a handgun in his duffel bag. pg. 19 When they get back to the ranch, Luke refuses to do his chores and Alonso volunteers for hard labor. He's a hard worker and Hannah doesn't have a ranch hand. She invites him to spend the night in the barn. She brings him water while he works shirtless and etc. (common in Thomas novels). They end up having sex. Condomless sex. Alonso steps seamlessly into her life filling not only her need for a male in her bed and by her side, but also filling her need for manual labor around the ranch. I was hoping he'd fill a third role - actually parenting Luke and curbing him, but no such luck. Oh, well, two out of three ain't bad. I liked Alonso. I liked his willingness to step up and work the ranch, not only crawl into Hannah's bed. I liked how he dances with her. I liked how he acted when Hannah's scumbag ex-fiancé showed up. He is great at showing he's with Hannah and great at confronting the guy. He's not afraid to mix it up, and I like how Thomas shows him getting into it with the ex, even getting physical with him without making it seem like Alonso has an anger problem or is too aggressive. He's just the right amount of aggressive IMO. Alonso also struggles a bit with PTSD, but it isn't focused on in the book much. The crux of the novel is Hannah's pregnancy. Alonso does not want to be a father. (He should have fucking thought of that before having condomless sex, the fucking moron.) Since he sees the world as an evil, violent, painful place, he is morally opposed to bringing a child into the world. He keeps hoping Hannah will decide to have an abortion, but this is a HAR. No one is getting abortions in HARs. To her credit, Hannah is wonderful to this guy. Much kinder to him than most would be. She doesn't nag him, shame him, guilt him, try to get him to stay. She says, "Go, I'll raise the child myself," and she truly means it. I feel really sorry for Hannah because everything always falls on her shoulders. Her mother left her as a child, her father died in a drunken accident, she had to raise her kid brother. Her kid brother is an ungrateful little shit who (view spoiler)[does criminal damage to the ranch (hide spoiler)], doesn't pull his weight, and doesn't obey her. She's carrying the whole financial and work burden of the ranch by herself, plus worrying constantly about her little brother's criminal tendencies. When Alonso shows up, it seems like maybe she's finally caught a break. Here's a man who is not only interested in her sexually, but is interested in her as a person and steps in to act like a boyfriend, offering emotional support. He also does free labor on the ranch, hard labor, and so he's lifting her burden in more than one way. But then he impregnates her, and it's like she's being punished all over again. He's staunchly against being a father, he's leaving her to go back to Albuquerque, and while he's willing to send her a check once a month, the whole burden of actual day-to-day parenting is going to fall on her shoulders. In addition to the ranch, the poverty, AND her shitty brother. To her credit, she remains strong and deals with all this exceptionally calmly and well. She's resolute in keeping the baby. She never gets angry at Alonso or begs him to stay or tries to talk him into being a father to his baby. It's admirable, but very sad. Alonso also has to wrestle with his choice, which is pretty realistic and seems hard for him. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Even though these two fuck like rabbits, seriously going at it at every single opportunity, none of it is on-page, none of it is described. I can only assume he's good in bed due to the fact that she keeps allowing him to fuck her, but in reality who knows? Romance heroines can be crazy and accepting of things I'd never accept in a million years, so who knows what is really going on in her bedroom. TL;DR Not a bad book. Thomas's strength is the reality of her writing. She writes about people with problems and she doesn't sugarcoat things. It's what I like about her books. The people seem real, and their problems seem real. It's not fake like a lot of romance novels where everything is sugary and easy and fluffy. I liked both the hero and the heroine. NOTE: Similar plot to Doc Hollywood. ROMANCE CATEGORIES: Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Holiday/Christmas Romance Military Romance - He served as an Army doctor Multicultural/Interracial Romance - He's latino; She's white. Non-Virgin Heroine Pregnant Heroine Doctor Romance - He's a Trauma Surgeon in the ER He's a former Army Doctor, a Trauma Surgeon in the ER, and temporary Ranch Hand; She's a Rancher. Takes Place in: New Mexico, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Luke m 16 5'10” Hannah f 26 Connor m Ruth f Stan m Roger m Joe m Melissa f Ben m Seth m Alonso m 6' Lea f Maria f Cruz m Victor m Vic Juan m Riley m Sara f Carla f Betsy f Rico m Sandy f Kenny m T.J. M Matt m Buster horse Dani f Joey m Mona f Benson m Ricky m Mel m Harriet f Joseph m Elsa f Marlene f Edward m José m Michael m Tony m Midnight Express – horse Sweet Pete m Lickety-Split – horse Todd m Nelson m Rambo – dog Bertha – truck Gertrude f Gertie 81 Bob m Billy m Earl m Avalanche – horse Maryellen f Caroline f Gladys f Kevin m (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Dec 18, 2020
|
Dec 19, 2020
|
Dec 18, 2020
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
0373755929
| 9780373755929
| 0373755929
| 3.89
| 37
| Nov 01, 2015
| Nov 03, 2015
|
it was ok
|
"I promise not to bite," he said, tracking her every step. Bite? Her throat suddenly felt dry as she imagined his teeth tugging playfully on her neck o "I promise not to bite," he said, tracking her every step. Bite? Her throat suddenly felt dry as she imagined his teeth tugging playfully on her neck or on the inside of her arm. pg. 79 Reese has come back to Mustang Valley six months ago after a twelve-year absence. The book opens with her trying to drag her gelding out of a sinkhole. Gabriel jumps off his horse and gives her a hand. When they succeed, "Thank you," she said, clinging to him, her face buried in his coat. He stared at the top of her head, momentarily stunned. He'd touched Reese just one other time in their entire lives. They'd been in high school, at their senior prom. He'd cradled her while she cried and begged him not to tell anyone she was pregnant. pg. 15 He is a man of his word. He never tells anyone that Reese is pregnant. Her own father doesn't know, she took 'a year off' before college to go to her cousin's, have the baby, which her older cousin is raising as her own. Reese is a bit of an anomaly in American Romance, she 'went after' a friend (college-aged to her high-school age) who was engaged. The baby is a result of that. The father wants nothing to do with it. I suppose a reader could be angry with Reese, or see her as a bad person, but hey - it was 12 years ago and I'm not into judging people for the things they did when they were seventeen. The fact that Blake (the engaged man who fucked her) gets away with all of this scot-free pisses me off, though. She is giving her cousin money on the regular to raise her child and she also stays in contact with the child. Meanwhile, Blake married his fiancée, never has to deal with the results of his infidelity - his wife doesn't even have a clue. ANYWAY. Gabe's father has just died from cancer and Reese is struggling with her father's worsening Parkinson's, which he is trying to keep a secret. Gabe's father and Reese's father were 'rival ranchers' of sorts, so it's muddied between them whether it's 'ok' to be sexually interested in each other. Gabe is also a bastard - that is, an illegitimate son. Because his father's will is being read, his father's two legitimate sons (Josh and Cole) are coming into town. They are full-white, Gabriel is half-white, half-latino because his father cheated on his wife with Gabriel's mother, Raquel. So Gabriel has grown up being called a bastard by the other children and hearing his mom called some choice words as well. His father's wife scooped up the kids and moved to Northern California and poisoned Josh and Cole against Raquel and Gabe, so they haven't known each other as adults MY TWO MAIN PROBLEMS WITH THE BOOK NUMBER ONE: Gabe's temper. Listen, I'm not attracted to men who have a temper. Actually, I try to avoid any person with a temper if I can help it, but especially when you are going to be romantically and sexually involved with a person it's important that they can control their temper. Gabriel does not have a good grip on his temper. He's not a BAD person. He kept Reese's secret for twelve years, no matter how frustrated he gets with her in this book he never betrays that trust. He's not going to hit her or be verbally abusive. But. He's immature. He snaps when things aren't going his way. Not only does he lose his temper, but he engages in childish behavior when angry (like refusing to let Reese charge her dead phone), he acts petty. I find this unattractive. Having a temper already makes me think you are weak and unattractive, being petty and petulant while angry just makes my already low opinion go lower. I admire people who are calm, level-headed, patient. I see it as strong. Whether you naturally have a laid-back, unflappable personality (hot) or do have a bit of a temper but know how to tamp it down, I see you as strong and attractive. Gabe doesn't have this kind of self-control and apparently doesn't have much of an interest in learning it, either. Not sure if this is supposed to be seen as 'macho' or 'alpha' but to me it's a turn-off. NUMBER TWO: Business mess, legal mess. I do not like romance novels focused on legal problems and business problems. They are both boring and make me anxious. I do not see legal problems as a great basis for a romance to start. Gabe's father dies and splits the ranch between the three brothers. He knows this is going to cause major problems. He appoints Reese as trustee. It's horrible. It makes the dynamic between Gabe and Reese both artificial (they can't be themselves with each other because she's basically got a stranglehold on the ranch, which he resents her for) and adds unnecessary tension. I didn't like how it made Gabe resentful and angry with Reese all the time (like I said, temper) and I didn't like how it made Reese in charge of a ranch that wasn't hers and all the brothers had to go to her to ask for permission to do anything. The act of putting her in this position already makes her seem cold and imperious even if she's not. So. Not a very romantic set up in which I'm ready for two people to fall in love with each other. It's the same reason I try to avoid lawyer-romances. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? No sex. TL;DR At the beginning, you might think this has a potential to be a great romance. He helps her drag her horse out of the ditch. We learn that he honored her wishes and kept her pregnancy a secret for twelve years. But as soon as she walks into his dad's office and says she's trustee of the ranch, everything goes downhill. The legal mess, her having to be in working capacity with him all the time, and then his temper - which he does not handle well - being pricked by her work position all the time just makes me cringe while reading this. It doesn't seem very romantic at all to me. I'm kind of surprised they ended up together, actually. ROMANCE CATEGORIES: Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Holiday/Christmas Romance Multicultural/Interracial Romance - She's white, He's half-white half-latino Non-Virgin Heroine Secret Baby - I guess Reese has a secret baby. But it's not HIS secret baby. And the baby is 11? And being raised by her older cousin - Reese certainly isn't going for custody. He's a Rancher; She's Assistant Manager of Southern Arizona Bank. Takes Place in Arizona, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK: (view spoiler)[ Gabriel m Gabe 30 August m Theo m Bonita – horse Reese f Cara f General – horse Blake m Enrico m Hector m Raquel f Leena f Josh m Cole m Violet f Walt m Celia f 11 Megan f Louise f Mickey m Leroy m Wynonna f Joey m Prince – mustang Caitlin f Ethan m Lorenzo m Buck m Ray m Alanna f (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Dec 16, 2020
|
Dec 17, 2020
|
Dec 16, 2020
|
Mass Market Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
0373755910
| 9780373755912
| 0373755910
| 4.18
| 94
| Nov 01, 2015
| Nov 03, 2015
|
liked it
|
The soft look in his eyes hardened, and he sat back, taking her by the arms. "Look at me," he said firmly, and she obeyed. "Don't mistake me here. I k
The soft look in his eyes hardened, and he sat back, taking her by the arms. "Look at me," he said firmly, and she obeyed. "Don't mistake me here. I know you want to move slow, and when you say slow down, I slow down. That has nothing - absolutely nothing - to do with what I want." pg. 110 Oof. *Carmen fans herself* The first 75% of this book had me being very hopeful. But I didn't get too excited, and sure enough, the book let me down. Madison is a single mother to twin boys, aged 1 year and 1 month. Her husband is dead. Another woman in town is pregnant with her husband's baby. She is working part-time only and struggling to make ends meet. Although she loves her boys and feels blessed to have them, life is not very easy or happy for her right now. Her husband's mistress is due to give birth any day now. Christmas is around the corner. In steps Cole. I was ready for it. I was ready for a man to step up and start making her life better. This is a popular romance genre, even one some authors specialize in. Woman-has-a-shitty-life-and-man-steps-in-to-take-care-of-her-and-make-her-life-better. Very popular. A sub-genre of this is and-by-the-way,-that-man-is-a-billionaire, but you know me. Ew, billionaires. Gross. Cole isn't a billionaire, he's just a good down-home man with a reputation for being calm and stable and kind. He sees Maddy struggling, juggling her babies and her part-time job. He offers to help. She is offended and turns him down. He then makes himself her secret Santa (doing stuff like putting winter tires on her car (SO HOT! Not sarcasm. Men who maintain cars for their women turn me on - I'll take this over jewelry ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.), buying her a Christmas tree, sending her kids some toys, and sending her little treats like chocolates and tea and pastries. At the same time, he offers her cash to work for him and his younger brother as a temporary part-time housekeeper while his parents are out of town. (He lives on his parents ranch with his brother. They are ranchers.) It's great because it gives her extra cash and she can bring her children to work and so doesn't have to pay for child care, which she can't afford anyway. She starts warming up to him and he asks her out on a date. So, I was wondering where Alward was going with this. Was she going to make Cole a mensch? Was he going to take her to bed and put it down for her so good that she couldn't remember her own name? Sadly, the answer to both these questions is "no" in case you were wondering. The thing about being a mensch is you can't just half-ass it. You have to be a mensch for the WHOLE book. You can't just fizzle out in the middle and say, "To hell with it, being a mensch is too difficult." Then I will not give you credit for being a mensch, you are just a schlub who couldn't cut it. That's the case with Cole. He was doing incredibly well - although not perfectly - but then at about 75% he gets impatient with our heroine and that's when all the ideas of him being a mensch went out the door. They have only been dating about three weeks. WHY can't he be more patient with her? Let her lead. Let her set the pace. He CLAIMS, earlier in the book, that that is just what he's going to do. But he can't keep his word. He starts rushing her and putting demands on her and she predictably balks and gets upset. I was angry with him. Slow and steady wins the race, bub. I thought you could handle it. There are other problems I had with the book. Not huge ones, but ones that need to mentioned. ONE: Hiring her as a housekeeper. This came off as a bit skeevy to me. Offering to pay the woman you are attracted to cash to keep house for you seems a bit opportunistic and controlling. Not to mention he's doing it out of pity, basically. This could work if a.) they didn't know each other. He hires a housekeeper, she shows up, he sees her plight and is also attracted to her (I would actually really enjoy a plot like this if done right) and/or b.) Alward admits it's a bit skeevy and leans into the skeeviness. I would much rather an author lean into the skeeviness than try to pretend what's going on isn't skeevy. TWO: Basically, Cole has a hero complex. There's a difference between BEING a hero and having a hero complex, and unfortunately Cole falls into category #2. He likes 'rescuing women.' It makes him feel special and important. This is a warning sign. I want him to love and be attracted to Madison for who she is - not because she's a pitiful character who is going through a hard time right now. And I felt that the second reason WAS the reason he was interested in her. Not good. Could have still worked out if Alward had played it right - she didn't. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Sigh. I was hoping everything would work out. I was hoping Cole would end up being a mensch and I was also hoping he'd fuck Madison's brains out with great skill, but too bad for me. Neither of those things happened. There's one off-page sex scene at the very end of the book. But of course, by then, I was disappointed in our hero anyway. So. TL;DR It was ALMOST THERE. So close. I thought Alward was actually going to make it to the end. But no. The hero flaked out on me. After he flaked out on me, I had to admit the red flags in the book. And I wasn't even treated to a decent sex scene. I'm not upset Cole and Madison end up together. It's fine. But neither am I overjoyed. If you are going to do the Woman-has-a-shitty-life-and-man-steps-in-to-take-care-of-her-and-make-her-life-better trope, I want to hear angels singing when the hero and heroine get together at the end. I want to feel like she got justice. That she got a wonderful man, the man she deserved, a man who is going to take care of her and her children for the rest of his life and also deliver many, many orgasms. Cole was not that man. He's a man. He's fine. But he's not the mensch I was hoping for, the mensch I felt would take care of Madison the way I wanted. Still three stars. Not a bad book at all. Just not as good as I was hoping for. ROMANCE CATEGORIES: Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Holiday/Christmas Romance Non-Virgin Heroine Widow Heroine He's a Rancher; She's a Part-Time Librarian. Takes Place in Montana, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK: (view spoiler)[ Madison f Maddy 31 Gavin m Pauline f Liam m 1 year 1 month old Lucas m 1 year 1 month old Luke Cole m 6' 33 Lacey f Quinn m Laura f Ellen f Tanner m 25 Roni f Stephanie f Mike m Shirley f Gilda f Ron m Duke m Amber f Rylan m Kailey f Eloise f Darcy f Nathan m Bobby m Dillon m Gary m Gertrude f John m Sam m Brittany f Will m Jimmy m Spence m Rowan f (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Dec 16, 2020
|
Dec 16, 2020
|
Dec 16, 2020
|
Mass Market Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
0373755902
| 9780373755905
| 0373755902
| 4.02
| 58
| Nov 01, 2015
| Nov 03, 2015
|
really liked it
|
"On you, that perfectionist streak is kind of cute." Just as on him... She really needed to get back to cooking. "I think the chocolate is cool enough." "On you, that perfectionist streak is kind of cute." Just as on him... She really needed to get back to cooking. "I think the chocolate is cool enough." Together, they worked to slowly add the chocolate to the mixing bowl. When it was fully incorporated, they added the dry ingredients to the wet. He stood next to her, watching. "Nice." This WAS nice, she thought wistfully. Making Christmas cookies together. "Now for the sticky part," she cautioned. "Sounds... interesting." He flashed a wicked smile. She flushed - as he meant her to. "Pay attention, Lieutenant," she said sternly. "Yes, ma'am." He gave her a salute. Her pulse racing, she showed him how to take a teaspoonful in the center of his palm and roll it into a ball. And from there, dip it in confectioner's sugar and place it on the baking sheet. He studied his handiwork. "That's it?" "That's it one hundred and forty-three more times." His lips quirked ruefully. "And how did you talk me into this?" She wiped a smudge of confectioner's sugar from his jaw. "You volunteered." "Which is what usually gets me into trouble," he growled. They worked together for several more minutes until they had a dozen cookies on a sheet, ready to put in the oven. Poppy paused to wash her hands. "Trace?" He joined her at the sink and washed his palms, too. "Hmm?" She lounged against the counter, pivoting to face him. "Do you regret saying yes to me... about getting married?" Hands braced on her hips, he brought her against him. "What do you think?" Think or hope? Poppy swallowed around the sudden dryness in her throat. "That you're as excited about starting a family as I am." He bent his head and kissed her, showing her just how much. pg. 117 This is one of those romances where you just say, "What's the problem here?" There was no real conflict or problem, despite the heroine trying her hardest to create one. The basic premise of the book is flawed. Poppy and Trace have been having sex (tons of sex) regularly for 16 years. They might have been each others' firsts, it's never mentioned. They are loyal to each other, neither has slept with another person in sixteen years. But it isn't just hook-ups. They consider each other their 'best friend' and talk to each other every single day, or as often as is possible for Trace when he's stationed in the Middle East. THEY ARE A COUPLE. I don't care if they refer to each other as 'best friend' or refuse to call each other 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' or whatever, whether they have a signed legal contract saying they are husband and wife or not.... THEY ARE A COUPLE. If you are intimate with a person for SIXTEEN YEARS, neither of you ever have sexual contact with anyone else, you talk all the time about everything and see each other at every single opportunity... Guess what? You are boyfriend/girlfriend even if you don't LABEL it boyfriend/girlfriend. The book opens with Trace agreeing to MARRY Poppy because she needs to be married in order to adopt twins that a teenage mother is giving up. He has no qualms about this. Actually, he agreed to raise children with her years and years ago. Willing to marry her? Openly, easily planning to raise children with her for years? Trying to conceive with her for years? Fathering her children, and as an actual loving father, not a sperm donor? The man is HER BOYFRIEND. So the constant handwringing by the heroine about 'Does he love me?' and 'He just sees me as a friend.' was RIDICULOUS. Of course he loves you, I don't care whether he said the l-word or not. He fucking agreed to marry you and raise your children!!!! He's been sexually loyal to you for SIXTEEN YEARS! He's obviously CRAZY about you? Hello? Also, Trace is a mensch. Yes, we have a bona fide mensch here, and you know I don't use the m-word on romance heroes unless I really and truly mean it. A hero really has to work hard and prove himself to me in order to get that designation from me. He's calm, he's patient. He's very caring about Poppy, her needs, and her wellbeing. He's always looking out for her. He does what she asks of him without complaint. He doesn't let her neuroticism bother him. He's great at reading her moods and providing her with whatever she might need in the moment, whether it's a cuppa or a hug. He has a sense of humor. He doesn't get sore when she tells him she won't have sex with him (she REFUSES to have sex with him on their wedding night, for reasons beyond MY understanding). He good-naturedly sleeps in an armchair. Gillen Thacker makes him a strong man, a 'manly man' as she is wont to do, she's always been a little old-fashioned in the gender role department, but with this mensch-level it didn't even bother me. He also has a sense of humor, which I appreciate. Sense of humor is SO important in a man. I really liked him, you guys. I liked the heroine, too. I was a little baffled by her insecurity... but she was a good person and I thought her and Trace were a good match. I'm glad they ended up together. I was annoyed that Gillen Thacker made (view spoiler)[Poppy become pregnant with twins. She ends up backing out on adopting the seventeen-year-old's twins at the last minute. I always see this as a cop-out on the author's part. Especially when they make it seem as if the heroine is infertile and then she magically gets pregnant. UGH. (hide spoiler)] There's also a kind of... consumerist/gender thing to the book that kind of grated on me. I was talking earlier about Trace's mild macho tendencies (they are very mild), but this also comes out in other aspects. For instance, when Poppy throws a party for Trace's Air Force buddies, the wives at the party basically corner her and demand she follow Trace around wherever he was stationed, which was not the couple's plan. When she tells them she's not going to do that, they tell her to her face she's a bad military wife and that Trace deserves better. I thought that was a.) none of their fucking business and b.) very rude to do to someone in her own house at a party she threw for these couples. o.O WTF. Another gender-role disaster comes when Trace goes to pick up his wedding ring and his heavily pressured by the saleswoman to buy a 'push present' for Poppy. I'm going to offend some people: I find this idea revolting. The very term 'push present' makes me gag a little. The idea that a man 'pays' a woman for going through labor by giving her jewelry is repulsive to me. There's an even more disgusting term called 'slice surprise' which is jewelry given to women for getting a C-section. That term actually makes me vomit a little, it's so gross. ANYWAY, if you love the idea, fine. I find it skeevy. Also, I want to point out that Poppy is not 'pushing' anything, she's ADOPTING, so this saleswoman is just trying to trick the poor sap into spending more money. So yeah, the general trade-off with Gillen Thacker is that you get amazing heroes who usually are quite skilled in bed, but you have to also deal with 'Texas gentleman,' '*grunt* I am a man!' stuff and 'little lady' stuff etc. Which brings me to the sex. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? I'm going to be honest, I expect more from Gillen Thacker than I do from other American Romance authors. I hold her to higher standards. This is because she is one of the FEW, FEW authors from this line who I know is capable of writing good sex AND she is not afraid to write described sex AND she is not afraid to have the hero and heroine have many, many sex scenes instead of the one measly vague one we usually get in this line. Are you saying Trace is bad in bed? No, I'm not saying Trace is bad in bed. He could use a bit of an upgrade, though. Some fine-tuning, but that involves Poppy speaking up and obviously Poppy is not going to speak up. I'm sure Trace would be open to doing anything she might ask of him, he doesn't seem to have any kind of chip on his shoulder when it comes to sex. Men are generally eager to please you, don't hesitate to give them direction or ask for more foreplay. Usually they are more than happy to comply. Of the three on-page sex scenes in this book, only one of them was really something I was interested in, and I was disappointed that Gillen Thacker made it so vague and muddied. The other two are fine, I guess, but they just involve PinV sex. So I wasn't too delighted. They have TONS of sex in this book, but most of it is off-page. We get a generous three on-page sex scenes in this novel. I'm nitpicking, you guys. Trace is a wonderful guy and seems competent in bed, I'm lucky Gillen Thacker is in the writing business so that I didn't have to suffer through another American Romance book with disappointing sex. Please take my mild complaining with a grain of salt. I want every romance book to be sexually exciting, so that's what I'm always looking for and hoping for. ALSO, this is yet another American Romance where the hero teasingly calls the heroine 'ma'am' but doesn't carry this over to bed. I loved the everyday scenes between the two of them where she teasingly calls him 'Lieutenant' and he teasingly calls her 'ma'am' and implies he'll take orders from her. How ADORABLE and fun would this be in bed? So adorable and fun! Why not take the obvious step and create a fun bedroom scene where this kind of dynamic takes place? I'm sure readers would really enjoy it, I know I would. :p But this NEVER happens in this line. So frustrating because it would be SO easy and natural. TL;DR And there you have it, folks. I'm not sure this book would appeal to you. On one hand, it's a fun, kind book where the hero and heroine are great people, meant to be together, and it's full of love and Christmas and etc. On the other hand, if you want an actual CONFLICT or PLOT or something, this is going to seem completely pointless. Pointless fluff. So, depending on what you like in romance, this could be pleasing to you or not. I would have appreciated an actual problem for the MCs to deal with, but if Gillen Thacker had made the sex more exquisite I would have granted it five stars. Without hesitation. Unfortunately, while the sex was good, it could have been better in my opinion. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Holiday/Christmas Romance Military Romance - He's a lieutenant in the Air Force Non-Virgin Heroine Marriage of Convenience Infertile Heroine (view spoiler)[Not really! Surprise! Trace gets her pregnant with twins. What a cop-out. Pisses me off. (hide spoiler)] (view spoiler)[Pregnant Heroine (hide spoiler)] He's an Air Force Pilot. She's an Interior Decorator. Takes Place in Texas, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK: (view spoiler)[ Poppy Elizabeth f 5'7” 35 Trace m 35 6'4” Anne Marie f 17 Jackson m Lacey f Callie f Maggie f Lily f Gannon m Rose f Clint m Violet f Gavin m Liz f Bitsy f Calvin m 6'2” Donald m Mitzy f Will m Ava f Beau m Paige f Tamara f Bobby m Meg f Louann f Jack m Hallie f Fran f Cara f Linda f Dawn f Paul m Jack m Randy m Tucker m Ella f Emma f (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Dec 15, 2020
|
Dec 15, 2020
|
Dec 15, 2020
|
Mass Market Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
1460388429
| 9781460388426
| B00U6VVEX0
| 4.35
| 34
| Oct 01, 2015
| Oct 01, 2015
|
liked it
|
(view spoiler)[ "Give it to Dirk." Nola squeezed past him. "Because I quit." "What?" Pete followed her out of the office. "Nola, come on. I know he was (view spoiler)[ "Give it to Dirk." Nola squeezed past him. "Because I quit." "What?" Pete followed her out of the office. "Nola, come on. I know he was your boyfriend and all, but you can't mix love and war. The news is war." Nola spun on Pete, stopping inches from his face. "Don't you dare talk to me about war. I've been there. While you were sitting here in your cushy air-conditioned office, I was trying to escape enemy shellfire. You don't know anything." pg. 193 (hide spoiler)] This book started out pretty bland. But you need to give it time. On page 154 things started to catch fire and then after that things started exploding. It's a slow-burn drama. Not a slow-burn romance, but a slow-burn drama. Chase is a rodeo rider but he also runs a rodeo school with his brother on a ranch. Nola is a reporter who has been reporting on Chase for two years. They have always been attracted to each other, but never made a move because each thinks he/she is not good enough for the other person. They don't make a good first impression - Chase seems immature and pouty, Nola seems like a conniving, manipulative reporter. However, as the book goes on and you get to know each of them better, your perceptions of them change. Nola served in the Army for seven years. This is different. I don't think I've ever read a romance novel where the woman is military and the man isn't. Even though Nola is only in her mid-twenties, she seems older, due to her military service and her Tragic Past. I liked her, especially her chutzpah. She stands up to Chase. I love heroines who are strong enough to stand up to the hero (emotionally). Nola is not a whiner, she's someone who fights back and I admire that. She did some tough and brave (emotionally) things in this book. Chase's introduction scene makes him seem immature and bratty. But he turns into an affectionate man. I thought he was stunningly affectionate with Nola and she really needed affection, so it was sweet to see her soak it all up and it was nice to see a man who was openly affectionate. And this wasn't a sexual thing. I mean hugging her, putting his arm around her, bringing her roses, saying 'I'm sorry,' etc. Nola has a Tragic Past in which (view spoiler)[she was drunk and driving and went through the windshield of her car. The woman she hit lost a leg. Nola lost her pregnancy (she was at three months) and her uterus. Let's look at this stunning scene. It's the second time Chase and Nola have sex. And the first time they've had sex in the light. Chase is shocked to see Nola's scars across her chest and abdomen. They have sex. Then he asks her about the scars. She tells him what happened. It's brave. He gets rigid and quiet after she tells him all this. Here we go: "I'm just trying to process it all. I wish you had told me sooner." "It's not something you blurt out in the middle of a conversation." Nola stood and pulled on her clothes, desperate to feel covered again. "I had no idea where this relationship was going or... It doesn't matter. It's obvious now. I can talk until I'm blue in the face and it won't change the way you feel." "That's not fair. You don't know how I feel. I don't even know how I feel." Chase's tone softened as he tugged on his clothes. "I respect how personal this is for you, and I totally understand why you didn't tell me right away. Honey, I do. But why didn't you at least say you didn't want kids? You could have left out the details. You heard me going on this afternoon about how I want children. I want a house full of them, and you're telling me it's not possible with you. I'm trying to make sense of that. I wish you'd given me some idea so I could have made an informed decision before this went too far." As soon as the words were out of Chase's mouth, he wished he could take them back. "You think we went too far?" Nola spun on him. "You stand there all high and mighty, giving me a load of crap, telling me you'll never hurt me. Here's a newsflash for you - you can't hurt me. No one can, ever again. Hurt is living with what I did. I ended my baby's life! I lost any chance of conceiving. Don't you get it? I don't deserve to be a mother. A woman lost her leg because of me. And do you know what she did? She asked the court for leniency on my behalf." Nola squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. "You once thanked me for my service in the Army, but the only reason I was there was because I had a brilliant attorney.... I deserved jail. I didn't even deserve the plastic surgery I had on my face, which is why I chose not to have any more. I killed my child. I maimed another human being. That's hurt. YOU can't hurt me." pg. 169 Chase wants biological children. And he doesn't soften on this until literally LITERALLY the last page of the novel. This is a stark contrast to the book I read previously in which the hero accepts that the heroine is sterile with very little drama, telling her that he loves her and that her sterility doesn't matter. Not so here. Chase is absolutely convinced for the last 59 pages of the book that they cannot be together because he's hellbent on having 'natural' children. (hide spoiler)] I felt terrible for Nola and admired the way she soldiered on after this. No pun intended. She makes some tough choices in this book and I admired how emotionally brave and persistent she was. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? UGH. First he says he's going to take his time with her and enjoy it, then he's like, “Fuck it” and just has sex with her fast and with no foreplay. WHY does this always happen?!?!!? What is WRONG with romance authors?!!?! And he offers to go down on her and she says no. UGH. SO FRUSTRATING. When am I going to find a romance author who writes about GOOD FUCKING?!!?!?!? Probably not in the American Romance line of Harlequin. Fuck. Two sex scenes and they are a total waste of time, believe me. He doesn't slow down or get any better in bed the second time they fuck. TL;DR I thought this book was going to be bland. Even on page 87 I was like, "This book is just so ho-hum." But things eventually heat up, drama wise, and it ends up being quite the little drama. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed that the heroine was military, that she had such a backbone, that she exhibited a lot of bravery in this novel. I liked the drama. However, the sex is severely lacking and you may be annoyed with Chase's pigheadedness. I definitely wouldn't recommend this to everyone. It's not for everyone. ROMANCE CATEGORIES: Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Holiday/Christmas Romance Military Romance - and this time the HEROINE is in the Army!!!! Millionaire/Billionaire Romance - Chase is rich. Not sure if he's a millionaire, but he's loaded. Non-Virgin Heroine (view spoiler)[Infertile Heroine (hide spoiler)] He's a Rodeo Rider and Rancher. She's in the Army (inactive duty during this book), and she's a Reporter. Takes Place in Texas, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK: (view spoiler)[ Chase m 30 Nola f 25 George m Shane m Jesse m Miranda f Jackson m Slade m Ever f Hunter m Kyle m Kay f Pete m Kylie f 27 Betty f Barney – dog, black standard poodle Dirk m Tess f Cole m Lexi f Pete m Joe m Ella f Nicolino m London m Jean f Dan m Scott m Bocephus – horse Evelyn f Aaron m Vicki f Randi Lynn f Jon m Juanita f Kenny m Nate m Clay m Tommy m August m Abby f Bridgett f Adam m Flash – cat Jennifer f (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Dec 14, 2020
|
Dec 14, 2020
|
Dec 14, 2020
|
Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||||
0373755880
| 9780373755882
| 0373755880
| 4.02
| 40
| Oct 01, 2015
| Oct 06, 2015
|
really liked it
|
"I'm telling you because I love you. I want you to have the truth about me." "Dylan - " Her heart thundered in her chest. "You can't fall in love in fo "I'm telling you because I love you. I want you to have the truth about me." "Dylan - " Her heart thundered in her chest. "You can't fall in love in four days." pg. 183 I actually enjoyed this novel, more than the first book: A Wife in Wyoming. Jess comes out to interview sculptor and rancher Dylan Marshall. Ha ha, like Marshal Dillon, get it? LOL Very cute, Ms. Kent. ANYWAY, he left the fast-paced ritzy art scene two years ago and no one knows why. He's still sculpting, though, and a gallery wants to show his work and has hired this journalist to write a piece about him. Dylan wants to hide the secret reason he abandoned the art scene. Jess wants a salacious and evocative story. She is living on the ranch for four days. The ranch - which is a working ranch - also holds a program for juvenile delinquents over the summer. So there is a cast of seven surly teenagers to contend with, as well. They make for a lot of side-plots. THE HIGHLIGHTS: - Dylan is a good guy. Calm. Hard-working. I liked him. - Jess also has a good head on her shoulders. She doesn't do drama. She doesn't get worked up about stuff. She's level. Even her big reveal of (view spoiler)[the fact that she's sterile due to a hysterectomy she got at age 25 (hide spoiler)] is just presented and dealt with matter-of-factly, with no hand-wringing or agitation. - The book is rather calm and low-key. I've rarely seen a romance novel with such little drama between the MCs. They handle everything remarkably well. Even when (view spoiler)[Jess leaves back for NYC (hide spoiler)], it's pretty low-key and chill. Even though Dylan was (view spoiler)[hoping she'd stay, he's not doing anything rash or stupid nor is he filled with rage or hurt. Here's an excerpt: ...the first he'd heard from her since the summer. He'd thought about calling, emailing, even writing a letter... but he didn't intend to stalk her. They'd had a summer affair, and now it was over. If he was still in love, that was just too bad for him. pg. 224 (hide spoiler)] This was super-refreshing. - There's also a side plot about his three brothers learning to appreciate his sculpting as 'real work' and him (at the very end) asserting himself enough to get space and time to work on his sculpting, which up until then had been treated as a 'hobby' by his brothers. - Oh, and Jess is 35 and Dylan is 27. They don't have drama about that, either. Yay! HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Vague. Undescribed. And therefore disappointing. :( TL;DR Surprisingly low-drama romance with level-headed MCs. (Except for maybe the fact that they 'fall in love' so quickly, but that's something I usually forgive in romance novels unless it's quite egregious.) If you like a low-drama romance book about ranching, cowboys, cattle drives, art, and reforming juvenile delinquents... this will be for you. Don't read it if you need drama in your romance. Don't read it if you want exciting, described sex. ROMANCE CATEGORIES: Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Non-Virgin Heroine (view spoiler)[Infertile Heroine (hide spoiler)] He's a Sculptor and a Rancher; She's a Journalist. Takes Place in: Wyoming, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Dylan m 27 Jess f 35 Wyatt m Honey – golden retreiver Ford m Garrett m Patricia f Thomas m Marcos m Lena f Caroline f Mark m Susannah f Amber f Lizzie f Becky f Justino m Nate m Henry m Cash – horse age 20 Leo – horse Jemima f Constance f Amabel f Olivia f Noelle f Trini f Kip m Gretchen f Marla f Bobbie Jean f Terri f Caitlin f Merle f Kate f Cindi f Dan m Sophia f Nugget – horse Allie – horse Major – pony Wade m Jimmy m Roberto m (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Dec 13, 2020
|
Dec 14, 2020
|
Dec 13, 2020
|
Mass Market Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
0263251799
| 9780263251791
| 0263251799
| 4.13
| 106
| Oct 01, 2015
| Oct 02, 2015
|
really liked it
|
Was there anything he could say to her? Any way to convince her that their love was worth the trouble? pg. 163 An emotional, gut-wrenching book. If you Was there anything he could say to her? Any way to convince her that their love was worth the trouble? pg. 163 An emotional, gut-wrenching book. If you like some drama and anxiety in your romance, this is the ticket. Sasha Summers is a good author - the book is well-written, the characters have sexual tension, and there's the requisite heart-bruising to make things exquisitely painful. Josie comes back into town. There she runs into her old boyfriend, Hunter. She's under the impression that Hunter is still married to the woman he cheated on her with - Amy. But he's not, they are divorced and Hunter is acting as a single dad to his son with Amy, the 10-year-old Eli. Hunter is highly interested in getting back together with Josie, and sparks fly, but Eli hates Josie. I mean, HATES HER. This puts a real damper on things. The evil, manipulative, conniving and even criminal Amy also shows up, pouring gasoline on the fire and making everything worse. My only real problem with the book is (view spoiler)[Eli. He's a little shit, IMO. Not liking Josie, fine. Hating her, not as fine, something that has to be dealt with. Acting snotty and horrible to her, bad - but salvageable. But when he lies to his dad about Josie, telling his dad that Josie 'kidnapped' him and also drove drunk with him, I was DONE. There is nothing Hunter could do or say to make me stay in a relationship at that point. I don't care if he licked vulva like a god (and there's no evidence of that, by the way) or walked on water, or was her One True Love or whatever the fuck - I'm not going to marry a guy who a.) has a son who hates me so much and has so little morals that he would trick and manipulate adults into doing something and then blatantly lie about an adult committing crimes in order to punish her and push her out of his life. That's worse than problematic, ok. That's seriously fucked-up. and b.) has a completely psycho, deranged ex-wife who is not above committing crimes, throwing public screaming fits, lying, manipulating, conniving, scheming, and other horrible things. (hide spoiler)] When you marry someone, you are also marrying their family. (view spoiler)[And in this case, his ex-wife and child are HUGE red flags for me. (hide spoiler)] I want to end a romance book being happy for the heroine, thinking that she ended up with the person she loved, and will go on to enjoy a happy life filled with love and joy. Instead, my stomach was twisted up in knots thinking about her having to (view spoiler)[parent this child and deal with her husband's HORRIFIC ex-wife for the rest of her life. Even though Eli eventually confesses and 'wants to apologize' to Josie... I mean... that's not enough for me. Maybe I'm a cold woman, but NO. There's no man alive I would marry in these circumstances. I wanted to tell her to run away, and run away fast. (hide spoiler)] That being said, it was a good book. Fast-paced, well-written and enjoyable - especially if you enjoy dramatic books that fuck with your emotions. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Disappointing. The sexual tension between these two was off-the-charts. I couldn't wait for them to go to bed together. I was expecting Hunter to lay it down for her. Unfortunately, Summers does the old, common, very frequent author trope of the hero saying or thinking I-was-planning-on-being-great-in-bed,-but-I'm-just-going-to-quickly-fuck-her-because-I-am-too-impatient. SUPER common in romances. VERY annoying. I wonder if authors put this in here JUST to make short sex scenes they don't have to put any thought or effort in. This is the literal quote: With a growl, every last bit of resistance left him. He'd wanted to be gentle, to love her tenderly, to take time to savor every inch of her. Maybe next time. pg. 134 This always makes me gnash my teeth in rage! SUCH a cop-out. I thought you were better than this, Hunter. TL;DR Very enjoyable book, especially if you like drama in your romance. Summers is no slouch as an author. I actually want to read more of her books, which is a huge compliment. Can't get a five-star from me not only due to letting me down in the sex-department, but (view spoiler)[making me worried and afraid for the heroine when she says yes to Hunter's proposal at the end of the book. IMO dealing with his son and his ex-wife would not be worth it. (hide spoiler)] ROMANCE CATEGORIES Animal Lovers' Romance Contemporary Romance Holiday/Christmas Romance Second-Chance Romance Non-Virgin Heroine Cheating - There is no on-page cheating in this book, but Hunter IS a cheater who slept with Amy while being in a relationship with the heroine. If you are very bothered by that, avoid this book. He's a Veterinarian; She's a Children's Book Author and Illustrator Takes Place in Texas, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Hunter m Josie f 29 Joselyn Marie Sprinkles – dog Winnie f Carl m Eli m 10 Amy f Fisher m Dara f Annabeth f Bob – steer Mars – dog Archer m Ryder m Tommy m Renata f Greg m Cody m Lola f Teddy m Tripod – cat Jason m Larry – emu Hanna f Nate m Tut – pharaoh hound Janette f George m Tyler m James m Theodore m Teddy Henry m Marco m Rogan m Gabriel m Carol f Wes m Frank m Jester - dog Clarence m Mario m Lance m Ray m Floppy – rabbit Jack – rabbit Kelsey f Maximus – dog Jarvis m (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Nov 23, 2020
|
Dec 09, 2020
|
Nov 23, 2020
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
unknown
| 3.67
| 21
| 2005
| 2005
|
it was ok
|
Short Christmas romance story that involves a man 'taking care of' his friend's widow. Whether you find that creepy or not is your choice, I found it
Short Christmas romance story that involves a man 'taking care of' his friend's widow. Whether you find that creepy or not is your choice, I found it a little creepy. His dead buddy talked a lot and But because of Wes's ever-flapping mouth, whether he'd wanted to or not, Chance knew everything about Rachel from her favorite songs to what turned her on. Which I personally find disgusting. Is this story catering to a specific kink? Usually Harlequin avoids that. They don't 'date' until 18 months after her husband's death, if that makes you feel any better. Another creepy aspect is that (view spoiler)[a letter surfaces in which her dead husband encourages her to get romantically involved with his buddy. (hide spoiler)] Doesn't that seem a bit suspect to you? Would someone really put something like that in a 'in case I'm dead' letter? (view spoiler)[Passing your wife along to your buddy as if she's inheritable property? (hide spoiler)] What is this, the Old Testament? Anyway, based on your personal ideas of 'romantic' vs. 'creepy' you will either enjoy this story as 'cute' or think it's weird. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? No sex. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Holiday/Christmas Romance Non-Virgin Heroine Widow Heroine Police Romance - He's a deputy U.S. marshal He's a Deputy U.S. Marshal; She Did Some Bookkeeping and Took A Business Course at Night School Takes Place in: Denver, Colorado and Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Rachel f Chance m 6'3” Wes m 5'11” Sarah f 19 Wesley m 10-month-old Jenny f Helen f (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Nov 22, 2020
|
Nov 22, 2020
|
Nov 22, 2020
|
ebook
| |||||||||||||||||
0373755864
| 9780373755868
| 0373755864
| 3.97
| 31
| Oct 01, 2015
| Oct 06, 2015
|
really liked it
|
His friend didn't understand. Beautiful or not. Animal lover or not. Smart or not. Colt wasn't the relationship type. Never had been, never would be.
His friend didn't understand. Beautiful or not. Animal lover or not. Smart or not. Colt wasn't the relationship type. Never had been, never would be. His past was just too... messy. Military. Crazy dad. It all left a mark. Things never worked out, and that was okay. He didn't need anybody or anything. Just his horses. pg. 15 Romantic book, I enjoyed it. Colton was an Army Ranger but now he is a horse trainer. He's grumpy, laconic and stoic. Natalie was a horse-jumping champion. She was brilliant, but a terrible horse-accident ended her career. She still wants to be involved in horse-riding somehow, so she asks Colton to help her learn to ride in a different style. She has crippling terror and also balance/inner-ear problems, so this might not be possible. (view spoiler)[Also, her huge secret is that her doctors ordered her never to ride again, another fall could mean death. (hide spoiler)] She is as expressive and open as Colt is blank and closed-off. Not only has the military scarred Colton inside and out, but his abusive father also fucked him up badly. He thinks of himself as damaged goods, and plans never to be in a relationship. OK, so for one thing Britton is a pretty competent writer. She's better than most HAR (Harlequin American Romance) novelists. She's especially good at capturing people's feelings and their emotional turmoil. Another place Britton really shines (and I've said this in other reviews) is the way she writes about horses. If you want to read cowboy/western romances that are horse-heavy, she's a great choice for you. Her horses are realistic and leap off the page. This book wasn't funny, but in other books she often has funny scenes with horses that will make you laugh. Horses are not just props in her books, she actually knows what she is talking about. Whether you like this book will depend on if you like this plot. Grumpy, black-clad hero learns to open his heart to love. That type of plot. Not that Natalie is without her issues. She's also scarred and struggling and, in a way, disabled because of her traumatic brain injury. (view spoiler)[Although Britton is fond of 'curing' her heroes and heroines of the 'disabilities' she gives them. I wish she would resist, but it seems she can't help herself. (hide spoiler)] Colt can act cold and often ghosts the heroine - sometimes going months without contacting her. This is not good behavior and may piss off some readers, but Britton is trying to illustrate his mental anguish. I'm not a fan of how he handles it, but that's the direction she goes with it. Natalie is remarkably patient and forgiving IMO. Another thing I want to bring up is that (view spoiler)[Natalie kisses her platonic guy friend on the mouth in front of Colton to make him jealous. Not sure if this will be a dealbreaker for some people, or shunt this book into the 'cheating' category. Although, to be fair, Colton hasn't contacted Natalie in months and the guy she kisses is in a romantic relationship with another woman. (hide spoiler)] There's a child with cancer in this book. If you don't want to read about a child with cancer and all that entails, please do yourself a favor and skip this novel. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? There's no sex in this book. It's a huge drawback. I wish the MCs had sex. It's not like Britton to write a sexless romance. There is a scene where they drink beer and then make-out and then Colton fingers her to climax (although it's not detailed and I admit I was a bit confused when I first read this scene). But the couple never has PinV sex. This fingering occurrence is the only sexual activity that happens in this book. Sadly. That's taking points off of this rating, IMO. Sex is an important part of any romance novel and a book cannot achieve a five-star rating with me without some sex scenes, and they'd better be impressive sex scenes. TL;DR Actually a good romance novel. Britton is a good writer. You feel true emotions for the MCs. I was rooting for them to get together. She is good at stirring up emotions. She excels at writing horses - giving her novels an authentic Cowboy/Western feel. However, this book does have flaws. The lack of sex is a big one. Colton also comes off as a jerk sometimes, not because he says cruel things or treats the heroine roughly, but because he ghosts her, sometimes for months at a time. The book could also be filed under 'cheating' (see my spoiler tag in the above review for more details) although I guess that could be debated. I would recommend it, even with these caveats, although please see my shelf 'five-star-romance' for actual five-star romance novels that knock it out of the park. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Animal Lovers' Romance - horses and dogs Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Military Romance - he used to be an Army Ranger Non-Virgin Heroine Rape/Abuse Survivor - Colton had an abusive father Disabled Heroine He's a Horse Trainer; She's a Horse Trainer. Takes Place in California, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Natalie f 5'8” Colton m 30 Jillian f Wes m Teddy – horse Zach m Mariah f Playboy – horse Lola – truck Laney f Kate f Samantha f Sam Roger – horse Claire f Adam m 5 Marcus m Chance m Buddy – horse Hank m Abigail f Zero – dog Samson – dog Juno – dog Rand m Randy Jason m Christine f Laura f Antwar – horse (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Nov 22, 2020
|
Nov 22, 2020
|
Nov 22, 2020
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
0373755856
| 9780373755851
| 0373755856
| 3.74
| 23
| Sep 01, 2015
| Sep 01, 2015
|
it was ok
|
If she couldn't have a sex life of her own, perhaps she could invent one in a novel. pg. 103 Cori and Gage meet at a Zane Grey conference. They are imm If she couldn't have a sex life of her own, perhaps she could invent one in a novel. pg. 103 Cori and Gage meet at a Zane Grey conference. They are immediately attracted to each other. Cori's grandmother hates Gage's grandfather and vice-versa. The conflict for our couple arises when Cori discovers Gage is a dry alcoholic. Her husband was killed by a drunk driver, and she doesn't know if she can emotionally handle a relationship with an alcoholic. The hero and heroine are pretty dumb. That's a drawback. It's harder for me to get into a romance when the MCs are not that bright. Cori pissed me off because she decides (after LITERALLY running away from Gage when he tells her he's a recovering alcoholic, LITERALLY) to have an affair with Gage but decides it has to be secret - no one can know about it, not his grandfather, not her grandmother, and not her nine-year-old daughter. I find this horrendous. I wanted to shout at him. "NEVER agree to be someone's dirty secret! You'll regret it!" The two main characters are very lucky in a way - they have a living grandparent even though they are in their thirties. Hailey (Cori's daughter) is nine and has a great grandmother in her mid-seventies. What a young great-grandmother! Getting to enjoy your grandparents while you are in your thirties, having a child get to know and spend time with great-grandparents is very special. Instead of being a typical romance novel and focusing heavily on babies and toddlers, this book focuses on grandparents, great-grandparents and the elderly as side characters. Kind of a unique twist. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? This is Cori's proposal to have a secret affair: "I've given this some thought, and if you agree, I think it might be beneficial to us both," Cori explained and she and Gage slowly made their way over to the hotel. pg. 118 About as romantic as a dental exam. o.O And Gage, the poor sap, agrees to this. Then every single time they are about to have sex, something interrupts them. It becomes a running gag in the book. I was starting to think Leo was going to make this a sexless book. But they eventually get to have sex. I didn't enjoy the sex scene, it turned me off. And after they have sex, she starts dressing and leaving. It's very cold, and Gage is very upset. He convinces her to have sex with him again, but I feel so bad for this poor guy. He should never have agreed to be her dirty secret (no one should) and he's crying. It's terrible, I felt so bad for him. Too bad he's so dumb. It makes it worse, because it seems extra cruel that she's doing this to him. There's only one Leo-ism I found in this, I was a tad surprised. I thought there'd be more. Here it is: He knew how stubborn his grandfather was, and trying to convince him not to sell now that he had obviously made up his mind was about as useful as trying to train a hound dog not to howl. pg. 158 TL;DR Sadly, both the hero and heroine of this book are pretty dumb. It makes the book worse, because you just kind of feel sorry for them. The sex was IMO pretty horrible, I didn't enjoy the sex scenes at all nor did I really feel like Gage and Cori had chemistry. I liked the inclusion of senior citizens in this book - Leo uses them to replace the cutesy babies and toddlers that are usually in books of this kind. But reading about adults is SO MUCH BETTER, I really appreciated this reprieve from Babymania. SOUNDTRACK "I Fall to Pieces" by Patsy Cline https://youtu.be/HG-8uZg2uV0 ROMANCE CATEGORIES: Former Alcoholic Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Millionaire/Billionaire Romance - I don't know if Gage is one of these, but he's pretty rich. STEM Heroine Romance - She's an ER Physician Non-Virgin Heroine Widow Heroine Doctor Romance - She's an ER Physician He's a Wall Street Trader turned Rancher; She's a Doctor. Takes Place in Durango, Colorado and Idaho in the United States of America. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Gage m 32 Buck m Tricia f Smokey – horse Cori f black hair and grey eyes Corina May 30/3 May f 75 Steve m Hailey f 9 Rose f Susan f Jeremy m Tonto – stallion Betsy f Ruth f Fred m Daniel m Audrey f 19 Helen f Scout f Gavin m Joey m Buddy m Colt m Loran f Dodge m Dark Night – horse Jessie f Zane – golden retriever (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Nov 21, 2020
|
Nov 21, 2020
|
Nov 21, 2020
|
Mass Market Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
037375583X
| 9780373755837
| 037375583X
| 4.04
| 53
| Sep 01, 2015
| Sep 01, 2015
|
did not like it
|
I don't have an opening quote for this - bad sign. Jackson White Eagle, a half-Native-American half-white man with blue eyes (of course. Of course he h I don't have an opening quote for this - bad sign. Jackson White Eagle, a half-Native-American half-white man with blue eyes (of course. Of course he has blue eyes) runs a ranch for the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents. Debi is at the end of her rope with her little brother, age 15, who was caught in a stolen vehicle. HERE ARE THE MAIN PROBLEMS WITH THE BOOK NUMBER ONE: The heroine. She's bland. She has basically no personality. Also, she's dumb. A nice, sweet lady, but dumb. Which brings us to our biggest problem, problem Number Two. NUMBER TWO: The hero. The hero is this obnoxious guy who runs a ranch where he gets teenage boys who have gotten in trouble with the law to act like decent citizens again. But Jackson has some major personality flaws. He likes to be the Big Man. Since he's not the Big Man organically, he orchestrates a life for himself where he can be the Big Man. He constructs it. It's not natural. For instance, he surrounds himself with teenaged boys that he can dominate. Am I supposed to be impressed? Take this scene, for instance, when he faces off against a 15-year-old. "Don't think you can get me up, 'cause I got ways to hurt you." This is from the fifteen-year-old. Laughable, but rather expected. "I'm not about to drag you out of bed," Jackson told the teenager. "Although I could if I wanted to," he informed him in a steely, unemotional voice. Letting him know the way things could be. pg. 103 Oh, yeah. You're a Big Man, aren't you? LOL And he sees Debi as basically God's gift to him, because she's dumb. Because she's dumb, he can relish in explaining everything to her, and leading her around by the hand, and being in control and powerful. It's all fake, of course. No woman of reasonable intelligence would tolerate his shit, but because Debi is dumb, he gets to have free rein. He gets to be a blowhard while knowing she will never call him out on his shit or tell him to shut the fuck up. It's like heaven for him. Let me give you examples of how annoying this hero is. "Was that a compliment?" Debi asked, rather stunned if it was... "'That' was a bunch of words, signifying a thought and forming a conclusion," he answered. "If you feel it was a compliment, then fine, it was a compliment. But it wasn't intended as one. Make of it what you will." pg. 68 ... "You mean like finding God?" "God doesn't have to be found. He's not lost," Jackson replied in a voice so mild she found it both soothing and maddening at the same time. pg. 74 ... The best way to find to find out, she decided, was just to ask. "We're stopping?" She put the question to Jackson as he turned off the ignition and pocketed the key. "Sure looks that way," he replied, an easy, laid-back drawl curling itself around each word. Jackson couldn't really explain why, but the way she seemed to be puzzled by the simplest things amused him - in a good way. pg. 77 I would fucking throttle this guy. ... She appeared to be looking at the diner uncertainly. "The doctors practice out of a diner?" Debi asked incredulously. He thought of the time that Lady Doc, Alisha - the newest addition to the medical clinic - had treated Nathan McLane, the saloon's best customer, for a ruptured appendix. She'd examined the man on the floor of Murphy's, where he had collapsed. "The docs practice wherever they're needed," he responded vaguely. pg. 78 Deliberately avoiding answering the question. Being unnecessarily vague and misleading. Fucking with her, and she's already dumb, so this is pretty cruel. ... "And you're sure that this doesn't have anything to do with Ryan?" she asked, watching him carefully. "Well, you wouldn't be here in Forever if it wasn't because of Ryan, so in a way it IS related to Ryan - but only in the loosest sense of the meaning." pg. 115 Is unnecessarily super-technical about everything. ... Then there's this part where he pays for her dinner, and I was like, "Aw, at least he paid for her dinner. That was nice." BUT NO, then we have this conversation: "How much do I owe you?" He took a moment before he answered. "I'll settle for a smile." pg. 140 And he's serious. He makes her do it. Her makes her smile at him to pay off her dinner. Am I supposed to find this charming?!!?!? It's gross. So, basically, obnoxious Jackson is blessed when a dumb woman who seems attracted to him comes his way. He can't date any women of average intelligence, because they wouldn't put up with this shit, but Debi doesn't even SEE his annoying, blowhard traits. And because she's dumb, he can feel EVEN MORE like a Big Man, because he can 'guide' her and 'help' her and 'explain things to her' and be patronizing and condescending and SHE WON'T EVEN REALIZE IT. It's like a match made in hell. Or heaven? Does the fact that she thinks he's hung the stars and moon but really is a man who can't get a date with a woman of average intelligence because he's such an annoying dickwad a good thing? Should I feel sorry for her? He's not annoying her because she's not smart enough to be annoyed. He's not A BAD PERSON. I don't feel like he's going to hurt her - physically or emotionally - but he's one of those guys who has horrible personality traits and instead of letting himself get them beaten (educated?) out of him by society and a normal dating pool, he's chosen to isolate himself on a ranch (with his brother) where he can continue to believe his internal fantasy that he's the Big Man because he naturally is stronger than the teenagers around him. And then he doesn't even have to learn to curb his obnoxious behavior to get a date, because he meets a woman who is dumb, and can't recognize that he's obnoxious, patronizing, condescending, and has an overwhelming need to be seen as a Big Man. It's fine, I guess. Not my idea of a romance, though. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? It's fine. He goes down on her before having PinV sex with her, so I guess I should be grateful for small favors. I feel like he does this as a point of pride in being able to 'control himself' - one more way he can comfort himself at night with how Big a Man he is... but it's pretty clear her ex-husband was shit in bed, so I'll take whatever I can get at this point. Not detailed sex, and full of flowery weird euphemisms. He doesn't take sexual advantage of her, he's not that kind of guy. Another blessing. TL;DR I suppose I should be happy that this dumb woman and this blowhard found happiness in each other, but really I just feel kind of sick. She's not smart enough to see how fucking annoying and delusional Jackson is. He's thanking his lucky stars he found a dumb woman he can lead around by the hand and explain everything in life to, to his heart's content. And she'll never tell him to shut the fuck up. She'll actually be grateful. So maybe this is a true romance. Everyone finds the partner that is right for them, but don't expect this reader to be happy about it. It doesn't make him any less obnoxious. I didn't enjoy reading about him. There's also some sloppy editing in this book, e.g. Ryan is 6'2" on page 30 and 5'10" on page 170. Someone should have caught that. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Multicultural/Interracial Romance - He's half-Navajo. STEM Heroine Romance - She's a Surgical Nurse Non-Virgin Heroine Rape/Abuse Survivor - He had an abusive childhood He's a Rancher/Runs a Reform School; She's a Surgical Nurse. Takes Place in Texas, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ John m high school basketball coach Deborah f Debi Ryan m 15 6'2” Jackson White Eagle m Ben m Sylvia f Garrett m 6'1” Sam m Casey m Sheila f Joan f Wildfire – horse Daniel m Alisha f Holly f Nathan m Ray m Ralph m Alice f Brett m Connie f Angel f Henry m Rhonda f Alan m Jericho – horse Jim m Gabe m Nathan m Jerry m Annette – horse (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Nov 13, 2020
|
Nov 16, 2020
|
Nov 13, 2020
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
1460385403
| 9781460385401
| B00SFS2BWE
| 4.15
| 48
| Aug 27, 2015
| Sep 01, 2015
|
really liked it
|
"Mommy!" All three heads popped out. "Aunt Violet's got a prince sleeping in her bed!" It wasn't the first time he had been called a prince, Gavin thou "Mommy!" All three heads popped out. "Aunt Violet's got a prince sleeping in her bed!" It wasn't the first time he had been called a prince, Gavin thought as he struggled to blink himself awake. However, it was the first time he had been designated one in quite that way. pg. 79 I wasn't sure what to expect from this baby-centered and doctor-centered book. I'm not a huge fan of romance novels that focus on babies, nor romance novels that focus on doctors. I don't find doctors attractive, dating a doctor holds no appeal to me. Violet and Gavin are both doctors. Gavin has been angling to date Violet for years, but she never quite got over losing her fiancé to cancer. When a baby is arbitrarily left to these two unmarried doctors, they come closer together while caring for the infant. The premise is ridiculous - I'm no expert on adoption law, okay, but can you just leave your baby to two people you barely know, who are not together as a couple, because 'you like them?' I'm not sure this would fly. The dying woman had both Gavin and Violet as doctors, and leaves her baby to them to raise. BIZARRE. Violet and Gavin don't want the child to end up in foster care, so they agree to take care of her until a suitable adoptive family can be found. Of course, being a Harlequin American Romance, you can guess what happens at the end of the book. Violet's parents are unusually involved her her romantic life, which annoyed me. I kept expecting her to tell them to butt out. It's absolutely none of their business whom she is fucking, whom she is falling in love with, and the idea of them telling her to stay away from Gavin, and her father 'having a talk' with Gavin because he suspects his daughter and Gavin might be involved is HIGHLY INSULTING. She's a grown-ass woman in her thirties, who is an oncologist. I kept waiting for her to tell them to mind their own fucking business. I couldn't understand why she didn't lose it with their interference and nosiness. I respect having a close relationship with your parents, but there should be boundaries. Also, there's nothing 'bad' or 'threatening' about Gavin. He's a perfectly nice guy, a fellow physician, respectable, not a bad-boy of any type. I was confused as to what their concerns were, exactly, regarding him dating their daughter. Most parents would be thrilled. The book is fine. It's enjoyable. The only bad things I would say about it are that it's baby-focused (not everyone's cup of tea) and that Gillen Thacker's writing can be a bit cheesy at times. I don't mind it, especially since she excels in other areas, but the cheesiness might annoy some people. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Well. Imagine my shock when Gavin convinces Violet to have sex with him and the first thing he decides to do is get on his knees and eat her vulva. Then he proceeds to turn in what counts as an incredibly impressive performance for a Harlequin American Romance novel. I was happily stunned. Even more stunned when the sex scenes in the book just kept on coming and coming and coming. "Wow, this book has a lot of sex scenes for a HAR," I was thinking. "And Gavin seems surprisingly skilled and competent in bed for a HAR hero." Then I flipped the book over and looked at the author. It was Cathy Gillen Thacker. Everything began to make sense. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, this book is by CATHY GILLEN THACKER," I thought to myself. "No wonder the sex is so surprisingly good in here." Say what you want about Gillen Thacker, but she goes above and beyond in the sex scenes she turns in to Harlequin. You may think all other HAR authors are half-assing it after you've read her. You may think Harlequin has strict rules about how vague and bland sex scenes have to be in American Romances until you read her. And then you just lose respect for other HAR authors, because if Gillen Thacker can bring it, why can't they?!? If you want to read Harlequins that center on Family, Babies, Home, and Hearth but still believe in good fucking, Gillen Thacker is really your only bet in this Harlequin line. Nothing else will even interest you, I can't tell you how bland and vague these scenes usually are and how disappointing the heroes usually are in bed. Not like this is EROTICA or something that's going to blow you out of the water, but compared to other HAR authors Gillen Thacker is a head-and-shoulders above the rest. He's also diligent about condom use, extra points. TL;DR This wouldn't be as good if Gillen Thacker hadn't penned it, her sex scenes kick things up a notch. The appeal of Gavin is definitely increased by his bedroom skillz. Perhaps she should get her parents to back off by telling them Gavin is great in bed. Although he's perfectly fine even outside that, I found him patient, generally sweet, and he had a good head on his shoulders. Nothing objectionable. The storyline is predictable and not terribly exciting, but it's fine. Very baby-focused, so if babymania is not your thing, avoid this. Ava is not overly cutesy IMO but she is a HUGE part of this novel. There's also that weird thing I find gross where the heroine often fantasizes about the hero holding her and touching her like he does the baby. I think this is supposed to be sweet - it's featured in a lot of HARs - but I find it creepy. Babies and women are not the same thing and I would HOPE you don't want your man treating you like he does his baby. o.O Supposed to be touching, I find it revolting. But oh well. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance STEM Heroine Romance - She's an Oncologist Non-Virgin Heroine Doctor Romance - Both hero and heroine are doctors He's a Physician; She's an Oncologist Takes Place in: Texas, United States of America NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Violet f Gavin m 6'3” 32 Sterling m dead age 25 Tara f John m Lilah f Mitzy f Tammy f Jared m Ava f Penelope f Lacey f Meg f Carlson m 82 Wanda f Bridgette f Bess f Nicholas m Erin f Callie f Poppy f Trace m Rose f Stephen m Sophia f 4 Scarlet f 4 Clint m 4 Bart m Lily f Sheryl f Helen f Norah f Mac m Barry m (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Nov 05, 2020
|
Nov 12, 2020
|
Nov 05, 2020
|
Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||||
0373755813
| 9780373755813
| 0373755813
| 3.78
| 37
| Aug 01, 2015
| Aug 04, 2015
|
did not like it
|
Like a horse who'd been ridden too long and hard, his head hung down, swaying from side to side, dazed, stunned, exhausted but wanting to go on. The s
Like a horse who'd been ridden too long and hard, his head hung down, swaying from side to side, dazed, stunned, exhausted but wanting to go on. The stallion protecting his herd and keeping them safe. pg. 195 This is an example of the atrocious (and ludicrously-focused on gender roles) writing in this book. I didn't enjoy this book. The writing wasn't good - not unreadable, like Tina Leonard, but still bad - and the characters were annoying. Especially the 'hero,' who was quite unlikeable as well as being dumb. Spencer is a lawyer. This is brought up about 10,000 times even though he doesn't do any lawyering in this book, because Hormel seems to fetishize the professions of her heroes. She tries to work in Spencer's profession whenever she talks about him. 'His lawyer brain,' 'his sharky lawyer brain,' 'his lawyer mouth' etc. etc. are often thrown into whatever scene Hormel is setting up. It's laughable, but also dumb. She did this in her last book, too, which featured a surgeon and she never stopped going on about his 'surgeon hands' and 'nimble surgeon fingers' and other crap. And may I point out, that for a lawyer he's pretty fucking dumb and also unable to keep his mouth shut. Honestly. Spencer convinces Olympia - who he had a one-night-stand with in the past - to marry him. In Vegas. He wants to get married so he can wrest full custody of his son from his 'evil' ex-wife. Olympia agrees to it because she needs Spencer's money. She doesn't want to be a wife and DEFINITELY doesn't want to be a mother. Unfortunately for her, fate has thrown a wrench in her plans. She finds out she is pregnant from the ONS she had with Spencer. There are lots of problems in this book, mostly revolving around the hero, who is a piece of shit. For one thing, he makes up a hundred-page contract dictating their marriage. He puts in a 'morality clause' which forbids her from swearing, cheating on him, or drinking alcohol. (This was drawn up before she was pregnant.) He's a complete control freak throughout the book. I'm also supposed to believe she signed this thing without reading it. Oh, and also, later in the book a seven-year-old reads it. A legal contract. A seven-year-old reads a hundred-page legal contract. He wants her to mother his son (from a previous marriage) but he doesn't want her and the son forming a bond. He doesn't want them to discuss things without his input and control. His control over his son is also pretty iron-fisted. He leaves for a month, then gets back and is upset to see Olympia and Calvin have bonded and also discussed important stuff with each other. He hovers over her, freaks out about her pregnancy every seven minutes. Then he leaves for a month, and when she calls him, he wants to ignore her calls and acts all aggravated she's trying to contact him. Make up your damn mind. He also acts like a petulant child occasionally, which is really weird. He has these little hissy fits, one of which included complaining to her about how much she was 'costing' him (financially). WHAT THE FUCK. YOU pressured her into marrying you. YOU got her pregnant, you fucking jerk. YOU insisted she keep the baby, forbidding her from giving it up for adoption (abortion is never even considered in these Harlequin American Romances). YOUR end of the bargain was to support her financially so she could send her younger sister to college. Now YOU have the gall to complain about it?!!? FUCK YOU, SPENCER. Olympia does not want to be a mother and is vehemently against it. Until she gets pregnant. Then she starts fantasizing about being a wife-n-mother and getting strong pressure from other women to give up her dreams and become a wife-n-mother. She's 'naturally' 'amazing' with children and blah blah blah. Typical romance novel shit. I hate to see it, though. It's super-rare for a romance heroine to not want to have biological children and actually stick with it. I can only recall ONE, Aiming for the Cowboy by Mary Leo. Another things I dislike about the book is the way the heroine talks about herself. She refers to herself as 'trailer trash' on more than one occasion. I hate when people talk this way about themselves. The world is going to judge you and insult you - no reason to do it FOR them. Also, it's incredibly sad that she sees herself this way. She also constantly describes pregnancy as being 'fat.' She constantly refers to herself as derogatory terms for fat people while pregnant. I think this is terrible. I despise books that seem to think being pregnant and being a fat person is the same thing. IT'S NOT. And the rabid hatred of fat people is disgusting and only amplified when one refers to themselves negatively like this while pregnant. ASSAULT She hits him in the throat when he implies that he may not be the father of her baby. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Awful. Even worse when they talk during it, and include scintillating dialogue such as: "You're a cowgirl, right? Prove it. Ride a cowboy. Save a horse." "You got that right, cowboy." pg. 63 *Carmen pinches the bridge of her nose* Make it stop. He also refers to his penis (jokingly?) as his 'pleasure machine.' Which I do not believe is accurate. He showed no signs of being good in bed, and seemingly only had one single way of fucking: 'hard and fast.' Poor Olympia. Honestly, these two in bed make me a little nauseous. And that's without the fact that he's an asshole. Even if he wasn't an asshole, the sex scenes in here are atrocious. TL;DR Badly written. He used his aw-shucks-ma'am smile, which hid his sharky lawyer brain. ... The marriage had been contracted, signed, sealed and delivered. No lovin'. No touchin'. No squeezin'. pg. 7 "If you need me to stop for a pee-pee break, just holler." pg. 8 - This is how he talks TO HIS WIFE. His hand, with its smooth - but not girlie - palm, rested... pg. 33 OMG. This reiterates how touchy this book is with gender. "I AM A MAN!" *grunts* Lots of 'man' shit, being a 'real man,' being 'head of the household,' blah blah blah. Also, the hero is a jerk. The heroine is no prize, either. The child (age 7) flip-flops between being a normal seven-year-old and then suddenly acting like an adult for no reason. I can't really recommend this. I'm racking my brain to find anybody I'd consider the ideal audience for this. Even if you love Harlequin American Romance and cowgirls who hook up with lawyers (who like to pretend they are cowboys), I still think you can do better than this. It's not GODAWFUL, I didn't DNF it, but it's pretty bad. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western ROmance Non-Virgin Heroine Marriage of Convenience Pregnant Heroine Lawyer Romance He's a Lawyer; She's a Cowgirl-Turned-Housewife. Takes Place in: Arizona, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Olympia f Spencer David m Jessie f Payson m Calvin m 7 Missy f Rickie f Eugenia f Stuart m Molly – pony Muffin – horse Don m Lavonda f Petunia – peccary Audie Sage f Jolene f Bull – horse Danny m Max – dog (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Oct 25, 2020
|
Nov 04, 2020
|
Oct 25, 2020
|
Mass Market Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
0373755791
| 9780373755790
| 0373755791
| 3.89
| 73
| Aug 01, 2015
| Aug 04, 2015
|
really liked it
|
She recalled what he'd told her last time he'd been here, that he was a patient man. It was a seductive quality. Not only did Kate appreciate his cont
She recalled what he'd told her last time he'd been here, that he was a patient man. It was a seductive quality. Not only did Kate appreciate his control, it was heady that he considered her worth waiting for. Yet she couldn't in good conscience encourage him. Potentially wicked dreams aside, she couldn't say when, if ever, she might be ready to be more than his friend. pg. 118 Cute novel about a woman with a delinquent son. In a panic about his increasingly frequent criminal tendencies, she uproots her life to move in with her grandmother in Cupid's Bow, Texas. Cole is the town sheriff and his first encounter with the family is not pleasant, he catches Luke slipping a candy bar into his five-year-old daughter's purse. THINGS I LIKED - Mildly funny. Not as funny as some of Michaels' other books... this one didn't make me laugh out loud but she has some slightly funny moments. You might smile a few times. - Usually I'm very annoyed when romance novels offer the perspective of a child. But Luke's narration in this book isn't bad and it didn't annoy me. That's very rare. Perhaps this is because of Luke's age, he's 13. The younger children are the less I want to hear their narrative in a romance novel. It's a romance novel, I want to hear from fucking adults. - Cole is a patient man, that's a turn-on. Also, he is pretty calm and even-tempered. I was afraid a lawman paired with a woman who has a delinquent son would be a disaster. But he's pretty even-keeled and he stays out of things for the most part and lets Kate handle her business. I was glad they didn't play this for drama. I also am glad they gave Cole the characteristics I find most attractive in men: patience, an even temper, the ability to be calm, and he even takes parenting advice from Kate - something that might rankle most people. - I also think Michaels does a reasonable job of covering the fear, pain, and embarrassment of having a kid you've tried to raise right doing stuff like shoplifting and etc. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? No sex in this book. Usually this would annoy me. Greatly. However, I understood why Michaels did not have Kate and Cole have sex. Kate's husband was a Houston cop who was shot to death, dating another LEO is really difficult for her. She also hasn't had sex since her husband was killed, and she's got some hangups about it. She'd be making love with a man. Who wasn't her husband. It was like a macabre sort of virginity; there could only be one first time. Eyes burning with conflicting emotions, she rolled back, putting nearly a foot between them and trying to gulp in air. Damn it. pg. 186 Not to mention her son is having a very hard time dealing with the fact that she's dating again. If this was a longer book, I'd expect sex, but since they are only dating a few weeks when the book ends, it made sense to me that they didn't have sex. YMMV. TL;DR A sweet book. Slightly funny. I enjoyed it. It wouldn't go on my favorites list, but it was cute. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Non-Virgin Heroine Widow Heroine Police Romance He's the Sheriff; She Used to Teach Elementary School Music, but Now She Gives Private Music Lessons. Takes Place in: Texas, the U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Kate f Katie Katherine Luke m 13 Damon m Bobby m Cole m Mandy f 5/6 Amanda Alyssa f 5/6 Aly Gayle f Larry m Jace m William m Joan f Becca f Patch – dog Jim m James m Crystal f Rick m Harvey m Jarrett m Greg m Vicki f Brody m Jasmine f Jazz Arnold m Sarah f Amy f Susan f Marc-Paul m Tasha f Tiffani f Monica f Noah m Elliot m (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Sep 21, 2020
|
Sep 22, 2020
|
Sep 21, 2020
|
Mass Market Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
0373755775
| 9780373755776
| 0373755775
| 3.88
| 42
| Jul 01, 2015
| Jul 07, 2015
|
did not like it
|
"I'm just a good ol' cowboy, a rancher at home on the range. Anyhow, what's wrong with good, old-fashioned cowboy values?" pg. 47 Ugh. *eye roll* I didn "I'm just a good ol' cowboy, a rancher at home on the range. Anyhow, what's wrong with good, old-fashioned cowboy values?" pg. 47 Ugh. *eye roll* I didn't enjoy this book. The main reason is because this book suffers from the problems Her Perfect Cowboy by Trish Milburn suffered from. Different authors, different books, but focusing on the same basic premise: man hates his absent ex-wife and stifles his daughter because he's terrified she's going to turn out like her mother, and hates women on some level because his wife left him and abandoned her child(ren). Pete is raising his five-year-old Rachel and his two-year-old Eric on his own, after his wife left him and the children for a successful modeling career. Well, not really 'alone,' I guess, since he's rich enough to employ a full-time nanny. o.O Jane is a photojournalist. Pete hates that she looks at her phone all the time, carries a camera with her at all times, takes pictures of his daughter (he sees this as encouraging Rachel to be vain), travels a lot for work. He's a misogynist and thinks women who choose career over family (or having a family) are distasteful. The book tries to convince me that they are attracted to each other, that they come to have feelings for each other, and that they should end up together. I am not convinced. In real life, I think these two would be like oil and water. This is the kind of book where at the end, the heroine (view spoiler)[gives up her career to be a wife and mother (hide spoiler)], and I hate that message. I hate that Pete 'wins' this. I'm also not convinced that they were in love and that she would even do such a thing for him. Even going down to something as basic as sexual attraction, I'm not buying it. In what universe would these two fuck? It seems like a horrible idea, to be honest. Not that Pete is the only problematic person in this book. Jane's no angel. She sticks her nose where it doesn't belong, (view spoiler)[contacting Pete's ex-wife behind his back and asking her to come to town. (hide spoiler)] I have no idea where people get the supreme arrogance to think they can meddle in another family's affairs. Not only is it none of your fucking business, but you have NO idea what is going on in another family and what kind of hornets' nests you might be stirring up. It's a horrible, horrible thing to do and I couldn't respect Jane after she did that. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Off-page. But they do indulge in after-sex ice cream together, ice cream he bought specially for her from the next town over when he came to her place looking for sex. I have to admit that after-sex ice cream is a wonderful idea. Probably the only good idea he had in this whole book. TL;DR Not only didn't I like the hero, but I didn't particularly care for the heroine, either. The misogynistic flavor of this book was disgusting. White Daille didn't convince me that these two were in love, she couldn't even properly convince me that they would go to bed together! ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Non-Virgin Heroine He Works on a Ranch. She is a Photojournalist. Takes Place in: New Mexico, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Paz f Jedediah m Mary f Pete m Rachel f 5 Sharon f Eric m 2 Marina f Tina f Robbie m Bingo – pony Mark m Jane f Andi f Missy f Trey m Cole m Charlie m Starlight – horse Daffodil – horse Ally f Maria f Eddie m Mitch m Tyler m Shay f Alfredo m Layne f Scott m Sugar f (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Sep 18, 2020
|
Sep 20, 2020
|
Sep 18, 2020
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
0373755759
| 9780373755752
| 0373755759
| 3.85
| 74
| Jul 01, 2015
| Jul 07, 2015
|
really liked it
|
"Come on." He pulled her along with him. "Where?" "The Dawn to Dusk Coffee Shop." "I should get to work. I'm scheduled to teach a riding class in an hour "Come on." He pulled her along with him. "Where?" "The Dawn to Dusk Coffee Shop." "I should get to work. I'm scheduled to teach a riding class in an hour." "We have time for a caramel latte to go." When it came to arm twisting, Hoyt had nothing on Shane. He stopped and, cupping her cheek, bent to brush his lips across hers. "The next few hours are going to be rough. Coffee will help." Her mouth dissolved into a smile. "Is this your idea of a bribe?" He flashed her that sexy grin she'd grown to love. "It's my idea of what a boyfriend does for his girlfriend." pg. 183 Surprisingly cute book. I enjoyed it. I wasn't sure I was going to. McDavid's Reckless, Arizona series has been intense. Full of family drama. That's not usually my thing. But it ended up being a good trilogy. Not a five-star trilogy, but an enjoyable one. Cassidy is a difficult woman. Let's tackle the first and most egregious thing: her secret child. She's never told her ex, Hoyt, that he has a son. I think this is immoral and unethical. It's one thing to hide the existence of a child from a rapist or an abusive man, but Hoyt is neither of those things. By hiding Benjie from Hoyt, I found Cassidy to be in the moral wrong, and acting selfishly. It wasn't just Hoyt's nomadic lifestyle and partying ways, which had been one of the reasons for their breakup. Cassidy couldn't take the chance of him fighting for, and possibly winning, joint custody of Benjie. pg. 18. Hoyt is settled down and married now, and he's trying to get his wife pregnant. Cassidy has successfully hid Benjie for six years, but then her father hires Shane (Hoyt's brother) to work on the ranch/rodeo. Shane's not an idiot, he's going to piece together that Benjie is his nephew. Shane has his own daughter: Bria. He didn't know about her until she was four, his ex hid her from him much as Cassidy is hiding her own son. Cassidy also has a younger sister who was raised not to know who her father is, so... McDavid's laying it on pretty thick here. The chances of this happening three times is pretty strange. The two main focuses of this book are Cassidy and Shane's love story and Cassidy having to come to terms with allowing Benjie's father into his life. It's emotional. Cassidy, as I said earlier, is difficult. She is hard, stubborn, muleheaded, selfish (in keeping her son from his father, stopping him from knowing a father's love, not allowing Hoyt to enjoy having a son), she doesn't trust easily and she's good at holding a grudge. Hoyt, her ex, is not much better. He's also strongly emotional, determined to 'win,' to be right, he's also stubborn and muleheaded. It's probably why Cassidy and Hoyt didn't work out. Shane is a much better pairing for her. He's a relatively easygoing man, levelheaded, patient, doesn't get riled. This is the counterbalance Cassidy needs in a relationship to be happy. It's a good pairing. When the book began, I wasn't sure I was going to like Shane. I could understand Cassidy's terror of sharing her son - even though I think what she's doing is unethical - and I knew Shane was going to force her to come out with the truth. This was such a huge mess. I didn't understand how these two were going to make it work. Also, we have this scene: "You always had a big ego." "Matched only by my..." He let the sentence drop. "Shane!" "Confidence," he finished with a chuckle. pg. 35 I find telling women or implying to women that you have a big cock to be distasteful. I was going to say, that in my personal experience, men with big cocks stay quiet about them. However, that's not scientifically accurate: since men telling me about their big penii turns me off, I don't end up having sex with them, therefore never finding out if their claims are true or not. Either way, I find trying to impress women by letting them know you have a big dick to be icky. However, I forgave Shane for this. That's right, he bounced back. And then some. I am impressed. It's not often an author can turn around my opinion of a man like this. Props to McDavid. Shane turned out to be a great guy, I really ended up liking him. He was so patient. And someone like Cassidy needs patience. He was calm, coolheaded. It was a wonderful contrast to his easily agitated and kneejerk heroine. He slowly breaks down Cassidy's defenses, never rushing, always showing patience. "I'm free tomorrow night, too." She hesitated. "Maybe we should take this one step at a time." "Whatever you're comfortable with." pg. 154 He's very good with consent, and allowing Cassidy to set her own pace for the relationship - in and out of the bedroom. Here's a mildly funny scene where Cassidy finally agrees to allow Shane to take her to bed. "Wait!" she blurted. His hand paused on the handle. "Um." Had she lost her senses? "Can we..." Oh, jeez. She was insane. Or a fool. Both, in all likelihood. "What, Cassidy?" She wished she could see his face. Read his expression. Then, she'd know what to say next. But the interior of the truck was too dark. "Can we go to your trailer? Just to talk," she clarified. "For a while. I'm not ready to call it a night." Was this what one beer and a basket of fried shrimp did to her? Turned her into someone who invited themselves inside a man's home? "Unless you're tired." "I'm not tired." He threw the truck into Reverse. As they passed beneath the arena's security light high atop a post, she saw his wide, satisfied grin. Dammit! She'd been played. He wanted her to be the one to ask. Cassidy squared her shoulders, not bemoaning the loss of her pride. Played or not, she wanted to be alone with Shane. pg. 158 Yeah, she has to be the one to ask. He's very patient. He's not going to be the one moving things forward, he's always waiting for her to be ready and move things forward on her own. I find this very appealing. Good man. Good choices on his part. But Shane also has to accept that Cassidy is difficult, and fucking her and being in a relationship with her isn't magically going to make her an easy person. "I'd like to see where this leads, too. But I should warn you. I'm not the easiest person to get along with, even on my good days." "Sweetheart, I wouldn't have you any other way." pg. 167 He says this, and it's sweet, but I think he's unprepared for the kind of work he's going to have to put in as Cassidy's man. She's not going to soften up or change into a different person just because he's her boyfriend now. He should wise up and take warning from what had happened with Cassidy today. If every difference of opinion ended up like this one, with the boxing gloves out and her storming off, refusing to speak to him, they didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of making it to next week, much less long term. pg. 191 Man, you knew what you were getting into. YOU KNEW IT. There's really no excuse for whining about how she's not easygoing. You knew she was difficult. Life with her would never be boring. It would also be a challenge, and Shane had begun asking himself if he was up to the task. pg. 193 Thank goodness he is. I would have been annoyed if he put in all that work to get Cassidy to be in a relationship with him, only to toss her aside because she was exactly who she was from the beginning. I don't have a tolerance for people who think they can change someone. You can't change someone, nor should you try. Love her for who she is or get the fuck out. I also have to give McDavid points for avoiding a stupid fight. It looked like Cassidy and Shane were going to get in a stupid drama fight (common in romance novels) but McDavid cleared it up swiftly and avoided them getting into a stupid fight. Nicely done. When they do end up fighting, it's understandable and for better reasons. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Good. Great for a HAR, not going to hold up against more sex-centered romance novels, but for this line I think McDavid did an excellent job. Shane does a lot of neck kissing, which is great. Neck kissing is a sexual weapon and he uses it against Cassidy with great effect. LOL He also says stuff like, "I can kiss you as slow as you want." (pg. 137) and he genuinely means that. He lets Cassidy set the pace sexually, which is hot. Calm, patient men are hot. Men who are willing to have long kissing sessions with you that don't end in sex are absolutely the best. Enjoy kissing. Taking things slow. Just easygoing. Never pushes her. Moves at her pace. This is attractive. When they finally end up in bed together, Shane is taking things slow and Cassidy is encouraging him to go faster and he says, "Going slow has always been overrated." (pg. 163) and I was screaming "Noooooooooooooooo!" If you've been following my reviews at all, you know that the COMPLETE CRAP of women asking men to skip foreplay and just stick their penis in REALLY ANNOYS ME and is SO anger-inducing for me. In romance novels written by and for women, what the fuck, honestly, WHAT THE FUCK is wrong with people?!!?!? Are authors really this fucking lazy?!?!? But I was freaking out for nothing, the sex scene actually was pretty impressive for a HAR (admittedly I have low standards for HAR sex scenes). It's seven pages long, detailed, and McDavid does allow Shane to engage in non-PIV sex. He tries to go down on Cassidy, she won't allow him to. But he does finger her to climax. I'm proud of him. I guess she had never had a man finger her before, sad. :( Luckily now she has Shane. He's great with consent in bed, listens to her, is obedient to her wishes. Extra points. He refuses to fuck her without a condom, extra points. Wanting to protect yourself and your partner is hot. I wasn't turned on by this sex scene - this isn't erotica, and frankly I'm not sure if a HAR could be written with enough detail to be arousing - but I was very happy with what McDavid was doing, the messages she was sending, and how Shane performed in bed. Good job! TL;DR Surprisingly cute conclusion to an emotional roller-coaster of a series by McDavid. I'm not usually one for family drama - I'm still not - but I was impressed by how McDavid pulled all of this off. Usually a book starring a heroine who did something so unethical as hiding her son from his (non-abusive) father would be irredeemable for me... but this was fine. McDavid turned it around. I still think Cassidy was selfish and unethical, but McDavid was able to make an enjoyable and good book anyway. And the further I got into the book, the more I liked Shane, getting over my initial distrust of him. Props to McDavid on numerous fronts. *HAR = Harlequin American Romance ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Non-Virgin Heroine Secret Baby - not in the traditional sense this trope is used He's a Bull Manager; She Works for the Rodeo in Some Capacity. Takes Place in: Arizona, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Shane m Kenny m Wasabi – bull Mercer – m Joe m Guillermo m Sunny f Ryder m Liberty f Cassidy f 35 Hoyt m Bria f 4 Judy f Benjie m 5 / 6 Benjamin Cheryl f Tatum f Deacon m Skittles – horse Rusty – mule Valerie f DeAnna f Sunny f Tom m (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Sep 2020
|
Sep 06, 2020
|
Sep 01, 2020
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
0373755732
| 9780373755738
| 0373755732
| 4.12
| 43
| Jun 01, 2015
| Jun 02, 2015
|
it was ok
|
"It's not your problem, Payson," she barked. She didn't need to have him point out that she was a bad businesswoman. "It certainly is my business. If I "It's not your problem, Payson," she barked. She didn't need to have him point out that she was a bad businesswoman. "It certainly is my business. If I don't take care of you, who will? Huh?" "You don't need to take care of me. You never did." pg. 74 I can't recommend this book for a number of reasons. Jessie retired as a trick-rider from rodeo and now runs a pediatric therapy program that involves horses and riding. (These kind of horse-therapy centers are HUGE in HARs (Harlequin American Romances). So many HARs feature these.) Her ex-husband is a pediatric surgeon, they divorced three years ago but were married for seven years. MY MAIN PROBLEMS: ONE: The hero. I have numerous problems with him, but they all stem from him basically being a guy I would find unattractive in real life. His looks? No. Who gives a fuck what men look like? I mean hisself, his way of being. It's unattractive to me personally. First off, he's a surgeon. Ugh, doctors. I'm not attracted to doctors. Doctors turn me off. I don't understand this fantasizing -about-doctors thing and Hormel's intense insistence in this book that surgeons (and doctors in general) are attractive and hot BECAUSE they are doctors/surgeons. Everything about doctors mildly disgusts me when it comes to sex. No doctor-fantasies on my end. Their soft hands from wearing gloves all the time, their way of looking at human bodies, their clinical nature, their long working hours, and - in the case of certain surgeons - their egos, are all huge turn-offs to me. You could theoretically write a medical professional I'd be sexually attracted to in a romance novel, but only if you shunted his profession to the back burner, and basically ignored it, and didn't talk about it non-stop. THEORETICALLY. But you're already facing a huge obstacle if you're expecting me to enjoy a romance novel with a doctor-hero. Especially if you keep saying stuff like: ...running his strong, lean surgeon's hands expertly over him. pg. 10 "His hand found its way inside her bra and the puckered nipple scraped against his surgeon-sensitive fingertips. ///// ...finally, his hormones were safely corralled by his physician's control. pg. 156 His competent and clever surgeon hands on her waist, her stomach, her breasts - right there on that couch. pg. 175 He put his large, nimble surgeon's fingers on the pony. pg. 189 If you want to turn me off, this is a good way to go about doing it. It's like that time I read that romance novel about a biker, and the book was always like "his big biker cock" and I'm like... ???? The size of his penis has NOTHING to do with him riding a motorcycle. I'm sure men would like it if by simply purchasing a motorcycle their penis grew two inches, but that's not how it works. It's perfectly possible to be a biker and have a small penis. You think this would be obvious, but romance novelists use professions (or in the case of bikers, "professions") as some sort of sexual porn/roleplay fantasy or something, and it does nothing for me. Well, especially with bikers and physicians. LOL ANYWAY. Yeah. Doctors. Ugh. TWO: We have this guy's basic personality, his way of being, which annoys me and turns me off. He irons his jeans. Yeah. He is a neat freak. He vacuums in rows. He tells Jessie how to "best do laundry so it's the most economically viable." He's very detail-oriented, which Hormel tries to convince us makes him good in bed - with little success, more on this later - but in my personal opinion, men who are neat freaks turn me off. A man like this would drive me CRAZY, and not in a good way. THREE: He also is bossy and likes to be in control, which I also hate. Mildly tries to run Jessie's life, which he thinks of as 'helpful' and she (and I) thinks of as 'fucking annoying.' FOUR: His 'intellectual' and 'technical' and 'scientific' obsessions. I like smart men. I find smart men to be a turn on. But this is not the kind of smart I'm attracted to. This is the kind of smart that lectures you for three hours about how the movie you just watched is not accurate because in 1992 U.S. forces left the Philippines, and blah blah blah. He knew intellectually that the therapy program had little or nothing in common with the trick riding that Jessie loved. Still, his gut insisted that the chances for recovery equaled the chances for injury. Not that his gut mattered. Evidence. Scientific evidence was all that was relevant. Jessie might run on gut and feeling, but not him. pg. 12 He even starts to talk about science after they had sex, trying to say that SCIENTIFICALLY, the reason they had sex is blah blah blah blah and I tune him out and Jessie tunes him out and we're both annoyed. It's annoying. FOUR: He reprimands her for swearing. HE SCOLDS HER FOR SWEARING. I would LOSE my SHIT. What the fuck. This is SUCH a turn-off, I can't even tell you. There's nothing more unsexy than a man lecturing you for using a 'bad word.' It's so gross. They play it for comedy in things like the AVENGERS, where Captain America is teased for policing the others on language, and it's the same thing here. Just don't do it. It's gross. Even if you don't like swearing, lecturing another grown-ass adult for his/her swearing is... distasteful. To say the least. I don't ever want to date a man who acts like or thinks he is my "daddy" in some way. Ugh, so gross. Pompous, that's a good word for him. FIVE: Yet another HAR that features a DOCTOR, a MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL, who has condomless sex. Always baffles me. You're a fucking doctor. I'd think you'd be intelligent enough and know enough about sex to WEAR A FUCKING CONDOM. OK.... Now that I've gotten THAT stuff off my chest.... The heroine, Jessie, is no picnic, either. I mean... she's way better than her ex-husband IMO, but she also can be mildly annoying. She refuses to accept help from anyone, she's hardheaded, she doesn't listen to reason sometimes. I can see how she would get on Payson's nerves. There are some things I like about her, though. I relate to her annoyance at Payson and his personality, her caffeine addiction (cute), and her crush on Jean-Luc Picard (good taste!). Which leads me to another big issue: I THINK IT'S OBVIOUS THAT JESSIE AND PAYSON SHOULDN'T BE TOGETHER Let's face it: Payson and Jessie got divorced for a reason. And it's not because Jessie had a miscarriage like the book is trying to convince you. Instead, these two just basically don't get along. They fight like cats and dogs. They are not compatible. This is a main problem a lot of romance novels that focus on "divorced couple is really destined for each other and end up back together" run into. Divorce is not a fun, breezy thing. Usually people are not getting a divorce on a whim. Often, divorce increases negative feelings between two people who ALREADY have negative feelings for each other. Trying to convince me, in a romance novel, that two people who ALREADY got divorced should get married AGAIN, to EACH OTHER, is almost impossible. It's almost impossible. Usually I'm reading it through my fingers, as if I'm watching a train wreck. It's just a bad idea. It's not a romance plot that's going to appeal to me. 99% of the time, I think the couple got divorced for some good reasons and should stay the hell away from each other. Which is the case here. Sure, you see your ex again because he comes to an event or something. Maybe he's still 'hot.' Maybe you still are sexually attracted to him. This is compounded by the knowledge that (in this case) he knows exactly how to turn you on and what you like in bed. It's easy to flash back to what a good kisser he is, or whatever. But you don't fucking MARRY HIM AGAIN. Remember what happened last time!?!!?!?!?!? That's where you lose me. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Sigh. OK, so, Hormel is aiming for hot here. She is trying to paint Payson as attractive and hot in the bedroom due to all the things that drive Jessie (and the reader) crazy (in a bad way) outside of the bedroom. He's very detail oriented - therefore he'll be efficient and take his time making you cum, she tells us. He's slightly controlling - he'll take charge in bed (this is dependent on your own personal preferences in whether this turns you on or not). It's an interesting idea. I've seen authors do this successfully before. There have been romance heroes I dislike personality-wise (of course, not assholes or abusers... just heroes who are annoying or smarmy or something) who take the heroine to bed and suddenly it's like they are a different person. Skilled, sweet, and suddenly leaving the annoying and obnoxious traits outside the bedroom door. I've been surprised in the past. But Hormel isn't pulling it off here. I'm not sure if it's her fault, please understand that Harlequin limits the amount of detail you can put in a bedroom scene in this line. But I wasn't convinced he was a sex god, let's just put it that way. And Hormel uses the old trap of making a woman insist a man move faster or try to convince the readers that she wants to skip foreplay, which angers and frustrates me. It's difficult enough in real life to meet a man who is good at fucking, and then telling me a heroine wastes this by insisting he skip foreplay and just stick his penis inside her infuriates me. INFURIATES ME. And they don't use condoms. STUPID. I thought maybe Hormel was doing this because (view spoiler)[she wanted to get Jessie pregnant as a 'salve' for the baby she miscarried three or four years ago (hide spoiler)], which would have been cheap and awful, but NO, (view spoiler)[surprisingly - and I have to give Hormel points for this - Jessie does NOT get pregnant for having unprotected sex with her ex-husband. (hide spoiler)] No condoms, what a joke. You think these two would know better. Oh, and it's worth noting that both Jessie and Payson have been celibate since the divorce. That's right, neither one has had sex since they divorced three years ago. Rare for a romance to feature a hero who is celibate like this. Usually the heroine is the only one not getting laid. TL;DR I want to make it clear that Hormel is not a bad author. Her writing is fine. The problem for me is the plot she's showcasing here. A hero I dislike, who exhibits a laundry list of turn-offs for me. He's not my cup of tea, and I find him very unattractive. Then the choice to feature a couple who we are supposed to be cheering to end up together - who have already been married and divorced to each other. This is an intensely difficult thing to do, IMO. Convincing me a divorced couple should get married again is almost impossible. And in this book, I was not convinced. I thought Jessie and Payson would have been better off saying 'goodbye' and meeting and marrying new people whom they were more suited to. And that's the opposite of what you want in a romance novel. However, people who like this kind of hero or who think reuniting with your ex-husband is sweet might love this. Hormel is not a bad author. But the book is pretty much the anti-Carmen. "This is my program. I know I contacted you, but just to ask who I should talk to at the hospital. I never asked for you to take over. You always have to be the one in control, don't you? You can't let me do this on my own. It's just like when we were married. You were always trying to improve things - like telling me I should go to college and diagramming the most economical way to do laundry." pg. 28 SONGS "Cotton-Eyed Joe" by Rednex https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOYZa... , https://youtu.be/NK2sbpzF0w0 ROMANCE CATEGORIES Animal Lovers' Romance - obnoxious pony with human-like qualities, heroine runs a horse-therapy program Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance Second-Chance Romance Non-Virgin Heroine He's a Pediatric Surgeon; She's an Ex-Rodeo-Rider and Runs a Horse Physical Therapy Program for Children. Takes Place In: Arizona, the U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK: (view spoiler)[ Jessie f 29 Jezebel Maybelle Leigh Alex m 30 Molly – pony Dickie – gelding Payson Robert m Karin f Candy Cane – horse Helen f Bull – gelding Marquessa f Lavonda f Spence m Danny m Missy f Calvin m Violet f Len m Cassandra f Connor m (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Aug 23, 2020
|
Aug 31, 2020
|
Aug 23, 2020
|
Mass Market Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
0373755724
| 9780373755721
| 0373755724
| 4.29
| 69
| Jun 01, 2015
| Jun 02, 2015
|
really liked it
|
Everyone assumed he was full of rage and anger and that busting broncs would help keep his violent emotions in check. But twelve years was a long time
Everyone assumed he was full of rage and anger and that busting broncs would help keep his violent emotions in check. But twelve years was a long time to hold on to one's anger and any wrath he'd felt when he'd been handed down his sentence had been sucked out of him long ago. He was too tired and too hollow inside to care about getting even or seeking revenge. pg. 58 I enjoyed this book about a felon hero who gets hired by the heroine to make repairs on her FIL's property. Marin Thomas is well-known for her everyday-people romances and her unglamourous romance novels. This appeals to me. You know Thomas: former alcoholics, people living in trailers, poor people in low-paying professions, life is hard. Cruz just got out of prison after serving 12 years for attempted manslaughter. It was really 4 years, but he got kept for another 8 because the warden hated him and sent a rapist after him and Cruz defending himself from rape earned him another 8 years. He's very good at rodeo, that's why the warden wanted to keep him around - to earn the prison money. Sara is a pediatric nurse, but she took some time off to work as a waitress in a small town where her FIL lives. She is trying to convince her FIL, José, to pack up and move to Albuquerque and live there with her and her five-year-old daughter, Dani. THINGS I LIKE EVERYDAY PEOPLE Very down-to-earth, that's Thomas's specialty. Cruz is a felon, he tries valiantly to get back into rodeo, but everyone treats him like shit since he's an ex-con. Sara's husband was shot to death in a gang war, even though he was a medical professional and not a gang-member - leaving her the widowed single mother of Dani. José is stubbornly still running his restaurant, but it gets barely any customers. He's stubborn, cranky, and depressed because of his son's death. Cruz takes a job doing manual labor for Sara on José's property, which José is none too happy about. Cruz sleeps in a trailer with the windows missing. Cruz isn't some macho he-man, he's serious and tired. I appreciate Thomas being more realistic about being an ex-con, not trying to make everything drenched in testosterone (like, say, All Chained Up). Cruz is world-weary and regretful, he can't find gainful employment easily, he feels like he's not good enough for Sara, and José is not giving him a chance. LATINO STORY Surprisingly to me, both the hero and heroine on this book are latino. Usually books featuring TWO POC protagonists in romance get shunted into the Kimani line. You may have a white hero or heroine paired with a POC hero or heroine, but it's super-rare for a non-Kimani line of Harlequin to feature a POC couple. I was pleased. They should do more of this. TOUCHING It wasn't sappy, but I found the basic storyline here pretty touching. Cruz's struggle to re-enter society, his attempts to prove himself to both Sara and José... all culminating in a happy ending where he gets his woman and (view spoiler)[a job (hide spoiler)] and everyone lives happily ever after. And you know, HEA in a Thomas way. No one suddenly becomes rich or anything. Nor is the book overly dramatic, Cruz isn't getting into fights or anything. Thomas's simple, everyday, poor and lower-middle-class specialty shines for me. HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Sex is not Thomas's high point, IMO. How much better would this book be with some hot sex scenes? So much better. It would be great to see Cruz turning Sara out, but Thomas instead goes for off-page sex. So sad. And the second sex scene is not only off-page, but it's in hay which is so uncomfortable and was making me cringe even though it wasn't detailed. I think beds are underrated. Why don't more romance couples fuck in beds? BEDS. TL;DR I was surprised to find this book was about a felon and also featured two latino protagonists. I never get two POC MCs in HAR. I felt like it was my lucky day. If you like Thomas's books, or you enjoy romance about average, hard-working, lower-middle-class people - I would recommend this book with the caveat that the sex is not going to excite you. Bonus points for not making Cruz suffer from testosterone-poisoning or fetishizing his ex-con status or trying to make him some kind of violent, macho kind of guy. Wonderful decision-making on Thomas's part. ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Cowboy/Western Romance STEM Heroine Romace - she's a pediatric nurse Non-Virgin Heroine Widow Heroine (Ex) Convict Hero He's a Rodeo Rider, does Manual Labor, ends up (view spoiler)[Teaching Rodeo and Counseling Troubled Children at a Home for Troubled Children (hide spoiler)]; She's a Pediatric Nurse with a brief stopover Waiting Tables at her FIL's Restaurant. Takes Place in: Arizona, U.S.A. NAMES IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Cruz m 31 Mitchell m High Wire – bronc Larry m Orlando m Riley m Maria f Juan m Shorty m Alonso m Victor m Sara f José m 65 Dani (Daniella) f 5 Antonio (Tony) m Sofia f Tommy m Marissa f Lina f Lolita f Emilio m Salvador m Ed m Charlie m Leroy m 79 Betty f Sheila f Mike m Doug m Jill f Misty – doll T.C. M Nobody's Business – bronco Eloise – sheep Roscoe m Ricky m Mark m Clint m Wes m Sean m Jumpin' Jack – bronco Sassy Sally – bronco Gil m Charity f Tanner m Janet f Bree f Strawberry Fields – horse Linda f Benji m Buddy – dog Sam m Ben m Sergio m Carlos m (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Aug 20, 2020
|
Aug 22, 2020
|
Aug 20, 2020
|
Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
0373755716
| 9780373755714
| 0373755716
| 3.92
| 101
| Jun 01, 2015
| Jun 02, 2015
|
it was ok
|
Since he'd gone, she'd felt as if her life had been lived with the sun filtered. pg. 32 I was frustrated with this book. A twister tears up their home t Since he'd gone, she'd felt as if her life had been lived with the sun filtered. pg. 32 I was frustrated with this book. A twister tears up their home town, Grady comes back and 'has' to bunk with his ex-girlfriend's family. Grady and Jessie were high school sweethearts, but Jessie broke up with Grady (even though they were going to get married) when she found out she had endometriosis. She never tells Grady she's infertile. She just dumps him. They've been apart for eight years, he's now a Navy SEAL and she's a second-grade teacher. Let's get the first issue out of the way: INFERTILITY (AND HOW IT'S DEALT WITH IN ROMANCE NOVELS) This book falls into the old trope of (view spoiler)[she's-infertile-but-the-hero's-magical-penis-impregnates-her. (hide spoiler)] This is very common in romance and I find it super fucking annoying, and also, quite frankly, insulting to infertile women. What really impresses me is the rare, rare occasion when Harlequin publishes a romance novel featuring an infertile heroine who (view spoiler)[actually stays infertile for the whole entire novel and doesn't get magically pregnant when she and the hero have unprotected sex. (hide spoiler)] I think I can count these instances on one hand. Unfortunately. Listen, being infertile is not ideal if you want children, but you can deal with it. There's adoption. There's other ways to cope. Making the (view spoiler)[heroine magically get pregnant after a whole entire novel of inevitable wailing and hand-wringing and come-to-Jesus hard talks between the hero and heroine. (hide spoiler)] It's not only a terrible message IMO (your life isn't complete without biological children) and ignoring the realities of being infertile and the effects it has on your life, but it's lazy writing and a cop-out on the part of the author IMO. Instead of tackling the hard questions, everything is magically wrapped up in a pretty (and unrealistic) bow. On the characters: WHY THE HERO ANNOYED ME: He's low-key a dick. And a touch stupid. He gets pissy, he picks fights, he has no chill. Watching Jessie dote on the infant did crazy things to his insides. All at once, he was furious and sad and filled with resentment. How dare she deny him his own long-held dreams of becoming a dad? pg. 46 She doesn't OWE you CHILDREN, you fucking psycho. He acts like a pissy child a lot. Throws tantrums. Runs away from problems. Says shit like, "I don't understand how a woman as smart as you can sometimes act so freaking dumb." pg. 131 during arguments, which I don't think is the best tactic. Even up to literally the very end of the novel he is saying shit to her that honestly I would NOT tolerate a man saying to me. WHY THE HEROINE ANNOYED ME: She literally and deeply believes that being unable to have biological children makes her 'damaged goods' and unworthy of the hero's time and love. Even when she (view spoiler)[comes clean with Grady about her infertility, and he tells her he's completely fine with it (hide spoiler)] she doesn't believe him and rejects him over and over and over even though he tells her he loves her and (view spoiler)[accepts her for who she is. (hide spoiler)] She was being completely ridiculous. First, we have to deal with this: Tell him about your endrometriosis, and how you'd give ANYTHING to be with him, but can't - for his own good. pg. 97 FoR hiS oWn GooD. Fuck's sake. He's a grown-ass man. Let him make his own decisions. You're acting like a child or a mentally-unstable adult. Goes back and forth and back and forth. Drives Grady crazy by acting like she cares about him and wants to be with him, and then shoving him away and saying they can never be together. Over and over. It drives him nuts. When she finally shows up at his place to tell him (view spoiler)[she's pregnant with his baby, (hide spoiler)] he's not even happy (which is shocking, frankly, for a HAR, he's just so fed up with her shit. And honestly, I am, too. (view spoiler)[ "Sorry to pop up like this. I-I have news." His brain couldn't seem to process her words, let alone the fact that she stood right there in blazing Technicolor on the thin strip of concrete serving as his porch. "This area's nice. I like the palm trees. And it's wild how much cooler it is." Call him crazy, but he wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. "Why in the hell are you here? Pretty sure we've already said all there was to say. How did you even find me?" "Your mom gave me your address, and your dad gave me directions." "Great. But WHY? Because you're the last person on earth I want to see." He hated taking this hard stance with her, but considering the way she'd annihilated him, did he have a choice? Right now, he was all about self-preservation, and escaping her was key. He didn't trust himself not to touch her, kiss her, get punch-drunk and stupid from the sweet strawberry scent of her hair. "I'm sorry you feel that way." With her purse slung over her shoulder, she cupped both hands to her belly. "But I'm hoping what I have to tell you changes everything." "Look, Jess..." Rather than look at her, he focused on a neighbor's cat that'd fallen asleep on a windowsill. "I'm sorry you made the trip out here for nothing, but whatever you're selling, I'm not buying. We're through. I can't put myself -" "Grady, I'm pregnant." She drew her trembling lower lip into her mouth. Had she lost her ever-loving mind? After all they'd been through supposedly because she was incapable of ever having a baby, now she showed up on his doorstep claiming to be having his child?.... "So I suppose now's the time when you want me to welcome you back into my heart and life as if nothing ever happened? But what if - God forbid - for some reason, you lose this baby? Then what? Are we right back where we started with you yet again pushing me away?" "Grady, no. I swear. I love you. No matter what, I want you." He turned his back on her to enter his apartment. pg. 210 (hide spoiler)] This was very shocking. But it's obvious he's had enough with her bullshit. She's jerked him up, down, and all around over and over and over again in this novel. (view spoiler)[Of course they end up together at the end. (hide spoiler)] WHY THE COUPLE ANNOYED ME: They shouldn't be together. It's as simple as that. They are both mildly unlikable people, and they fight all the time. Even when there's no reason to fight, mainly because the heroine likes to start shit and seems to enjoy angst and drama. I know I have a low tolerance for fighting, but IMO this level of discord is not romantic nor does it make for a healthy romantic relationship. I was not rooting for them to end up together, and honestly think they have a pretty miserable future waiting for them. (view spoiler)[Babies are not band-aids that fix all your underlying relationship problems. (hide spoiler)] HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN? Not impressive. I can't say Grady is particularly good in bed. He turns in a better performance the second time they have sex, but it's still nothing to get excited about. I can't understand why the heroine is so gaga about him. If he was amazing in bed, I could maybe kind of understand it. But he's just fine, and he's slightly dumb and also kind of a mild jerk. So. Yeah, it's a mystery. They don't use condoms and it's SO FUCKING STUPID because he's constantly referencing all the women he's fucked. Yeah, she's infertile but there's such as STDs. JFC, these idiots. He obviously doesn't care enough about her to protect her from venereal disease and she's not smart enough to demand he use a condom. TL;DR SIGH. Why are damaging messages like this about infertility so prevalent in romance novels? I know authors probably have the best intentions. Wish-fulfillment fantasies and all that. But I honestly think this kind of super-common narrative surrounding infertility is damaging and insulting. You're not whole or complete unless you can have biological children? Worse is that this is painted as a pro-adoption book - for reasons I won't go into here - but that whole positive message is rendered meaningless when you make (view spoiler)[the infertile heroine suddenly get pregnant by the hero's magical dick (hide spoiler)]. I would much prefer a positive book in which the heroine was (view spoiler)[ACTUALLY INFERTILE, not 'fake infertile' which is the common route (hide spoiler)] and the couple has to deal with it. Like in real life. It can also be sparkly! Adoption can be lovely. You can love and raise adopted children and be their 'real parents.' Just because you didn't give birth to it doesn't mean you're not it's real mom. There's a lot of ways to make a sparkly and loving ending without resorting to (view spoiler)[magical penis tropes. (hide spoiler)] This always disappoints me. Also, I didn't like the hero nor the heroine, the couple just should NOT be together, tbh. They fight a lot. They are both problematic. I don't see a bright and rosy future for them. I think it would be better if they each found other people and made separate lives with someone they were more compatible with. And I just want to add, just because you were together in high school, went to prom together, planned to spend the rest of your lives together as teenagers, DOESN'T MEAN YOU ARE DESTINED TO BE TOGETHER. OK? It was great in high school, but that's over, and you obviously cannot recapture that magic. Stop trying to force it. EXTRAS "Red Solo Cup" by Toby Keith "Remind Me" by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood [image] "Sierra Nevada Morning" by Albert Bierstadt ROMANCE CATEGORIES Contemporary Romance Military Romance Second Chance Romance Non-Virgin Heroine Infertile Heroine (view spoiler)[It's a fake-out (hide spoiler)] He's a Navy SEAL; She's a Second-Grade Teacher Takes Place in: Oklahoma, U.S.A. NAME IN THIS BOOK (view spoiler)[ Grady Lynn m Jessie Anne f Rose f Roger m Billy Sue f Cotton – miniature poodle Paul m Maude f Fred m Opal f Cooper m Allen m Cornelia f Ben m Bobby m Wiley m Rowdy m Marsh m Toby – box turtle Gloria f Becky f Misty – horse Fred – horse Freckles – horse Edith f Millie f Alicia f Felicity f Al Jr. m Chrissy – f Jeremy – m Liz f Dan m Stacy f Nick m Kristi f Carla f Henry m Hannah f Terry m Desiree f Floyd m Lena f Doug m Iris Marie f Idabelle f Mandy f Mason m Hattie f Kenny m (hide spoiler)] ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Aug 18, 2020
|
Aug 19, 2020
|
Aug 18, 2020
|
Mass Market Paperback
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
my rating |
|
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3.82
|
it was ok
|
May 11, 2020
not set
|
Nov 18, 2023
|
||||||
4.08
|
really liked it
|
Dec 19, 2020
|
Dec 18, 2020
|
||||||
3.89
|
it was ok
|
Dec 17, 2020
|
Dec 16, 2020
|
||||||
4.18
|
liked it
|
Dec 16, 2020
|
Dec 16, 2020
|
||||||
4.02
|
really liked it
|
Dec 15, 2020
|
Dec 15, 2020
|
||||||
4.35
|
liked it
|
Dec 14, 2020
|
Dec 14, 2020
|
||||||
4.02
|
really liked it
|
Dec 14, 2020
|
Dec 13, 2020
|
||||||
4.13
|
really liked it
|
Dec 09, 2020
|
Nov 23, 2020
|
||||||
3.67
|
it was ok
|
Nov 22, 2020
|
Nov 22, 2020
|
||||||
3.97
|
really liked it
|
Nov 22, 2020
|
Nov 22, 2020
|
||||||
3.74
|
it was ok
|
Nov 21, 2020
|
Nov 21, 2020
|
||||||
4.04
|
did not like it
|
Nov 16, 2020
|
Nov 13, 2020
|
||||||
4.15
|
really liked it
|
Nov 12, 2020
|
Nov 05, 2020
|
||||||
3.78
|
did not like it
|
Nov 04, 2020
|
Oct 25, 2020
|
||||||
3.89
|
really liked it
|
Sep 22, 2020
|
Sep 21, 2020
|
||||||
3.88
|
did not like it
|
Sep 20, 2020
|
Sep 18, 2020
|
||||||
3.85
|
really liked it
|
Sep 06, 2020
|
Sep 01, 2020
|
||||||
4.12
|
it was ok
|
Aug 31, 2020
|
Aug 23, 2020
|
||||||
4.29
|
really liked it
|
Aug 22, 2020
|
Aug 20, 2020
|
||||||
3.92
|
it was ok
|
Aug 19, 2020
|
Aug 18, 2020
|