Review: The Marriage Pact

The Marriage Pact (Hqn)

About the Book:

The women of Bliss County are ready to meet the men of their dreams! See how it all begins in this enthralling new series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller 

Ten years ago, Hadleigh Stevens was eighteen and this close to saying "I do," when Tripp Galloway interrupted her walk down the aisle. Now that she's recovered from her youthful mistake and Tripp's interference, Hadleigh and her single friends form a marriage pact. She doesn't expect Tripp to meddle with her new plan to find Mr. Right—or to discover that she's more attracted to him than ever! 

Divorced and eager to reconnect with his cowboy roots, Tripp returns to Bliss County to save his ailing father's ranch. He's not looking for another wife—certainly not his best friend's little sister. But he's never been able to forget Hadleigh. And this time, if she ends up in his arms, he won't be walking away!

My Comments:

Hero:  Handsome cowboy who looks great in jeans and loves his family.  Check

Heroine:  Beautiful independent woman who for some reason has never found Mr. Right.  Check

Setting:  Out West, on a ranch near a small town where everyone knows your name. Check

Action:  Includes at least one steamy bedroom scene.  Check.

Ending:  (I don't need to spell it out do I?)  Check. 

Supporting characters:  Lifelong friends, loyal dogs and horses that love their owners.  Check.  

Yes, it is a Linda Lael Miller book.  Yes, it is like all the rest of them.  If you like them,  you should like this one.  Grade:  B-

Christmas in September: Review of A Lawman's Christmas

A Lawman's Christmas (McKettricks, Book 14)

About the Book:

Love comes home for the holidays in a brand-new McKettrick tale from #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Linda Lael Miller.

The sudden death of the town marshal leaves Blue River, Texas, without a lawman…and twenty-five-year-old Dara Rose Nolan without a husband. As winter approaches and her meager seamstress income dwindles, she has three options. Yet she won’t give up her two young daughters, refuses to join the fallen women of the Bitter Gulch Saloon and can’t fathom condemning herself to another loveless marriage. Unfortunately she must

decide—soon—because there’s a new marshal in town, and she’s living under his roof.

With the heart of a cowboy, Clay McKettrick plans to start a ranch and finally settle down. He isn’t interested in uprooting Dara Rose and her children, but he is interested in giving her protection, friendship—and passion.

And when they say “I do” to a marriage of convenience, the temporary lawman’s Christmas wish is to make Dara Rose his permanent wife…

My Comments:

I think you either like Linda Lael Miller's books, or you don't.  They are all pretty much  alike--a rugged, handsome and sensitive  Western man (generally a rancher) meets a pretty woman.  Not very deep, no socially relevant subplots, just happily ever after with a little steam thrown in.  In this case, all the steam is in the last chapter, so if you are looking for a clean Christmas romance, just skip that chapter.  This is shorter than most of her books by about 150 pages, so keep that in mind if ordering it sight-unseen.  All that being said, the book was exactly what I expected, and I enjoyed reading it.  Grade:  B.

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  I was not obligated to provide a positive review.

Quick Review: McKettricks of Texas: Austin

McKettricks of Texas: Austin (Hqn)

About the Book:

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

Paige has lost count of how many times Austin has tried to fire her. She's not going anywhere till he's healed—body and heart.

And by then her place in his life just might become permanent….

My Comments:

Like I don't have enough books to read, right?  I was at the drugstore waiting to have a prescription filled, my Kindle wasn't in my purse and this was on the book rack.

They were high school sweethearts.  She wanted happily ever after, it scared him, he bolted.  They've never gotten over each other but she's scared of trusting him with her heart again.  

For side interest, her sisters are marrying his brothers and they keep discussing her bridesmaid dress.  There is a bad guy and guess what happens in the end?  

I got exactly what I expected when I picked up this book.  There are plenty of intimate scenes between unmarried folks and I'd  classify them as moderately descriptive.  Grade:  B-

Review: The Creed Legacy

The Creed Legacy (Creed Cowboys)

About the Book:

Rough-and-tumble rodeo cowboy Brody Creed likes life on the move. Until a chance encounter with his long-estranged twin brother brings him "home" for the first time in years. Suddenly Brody is in Creed territory—at thirty-three, he's a restless bad boy among family with deep ties to the land and each other. And a secret past haunts him as he tries to make plans for his future.

Carolyn Simmons is looking for Mr. Right in Lonesome Bend, as the ticktock of her biological clock gets ever louder. Then she falls for gorgeous Brody Creed, the opposite of everything she wants. Until lassoing his wild heart becomes everything both of them need.

My Comments:

Two good-hearted people who love their family and friends but who deep down don't believe they themselves are lovable.  A guy so romantic (and rich) that he refurbishes part of an old drive-in movie to create the perfect date for a woman he hurt so many years ago--and then shows a movie featuring an actor who REALLY hurt her.  Horses, artists, friends, family--what more could you want?

Yes, they are intimate before marriage and yes, we watch a little, but bedroom scenes aren't the main part of the book.    Grade:  B.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley.

Book Review: Creed's Honor

Creed's Honor (The Creed Cowboys)

About the Book:

Conner Creed knows exactly who he is: a hardworking rancher carrying on his uncle's legacy in Lonesome Bend, Colorado. Maybe a small-town cowboy's life isn't his dream, but he owes the man who took him in as a kid. Until the identical twin brother he's been estranged from for years reenters his life.

Conner struggles with identity issues as he gets to know his wilder brother. And then he meets Tricia McCall, a beautiful woman who knows a thing or two about living someone else's dreams. Together, they just might find their own dreams right here in Lonesome Bend…

My Comments:

This was a fun romance.  Tricia's grandmother is playing matchmaker.  Tricia is the daughter of divorced parents, and like her mother, has always kept most people at arms length.  Conner is an orphan raised, along with his twin brother and cousin, but his uncle and aunt.  The cousin's story was told in A Creed in Stone Creek (my review) and in this book we learn why the twins won't speak to each other.  Tricia realizes that she likes life in a small town and connections with people.  Conner dares to bare his heart.  I'd tell you the ending but I wouldn't want to spoil it for you.  Yes, it is mass-market romance, and yes that means it has its steamy parts, though for the most part they are filled with language that is more flowery than actually descriptive of what they are doing -- but there is one scene from which you could discern the mechanics.  Grade:  B+

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.

A Creed in Stone Creek: My Review

A Creed in Stone Creek (Hqn)

About the Book:  

When single attorney Steven Creed becomes guardian of an orphaned five-year-old boy, he trades his big-city law firm for a ranch near his McKettrick kin in the close-knit community of Stone Creek, Arizona. Taking care of little Matt and fixing up his run-down ranch house with its old barn loosens something tightly wound inside him. But when Steven takes on the pro bono defense of a local teen, he meets his match in the opposing counsel—beautiful, by-the-book county prosecutor Melissa O'Ballivan. It'll take one grieving little boy, a sweet adopted dog and a woman who never expected to win any man's heart to make this Creed in Stone Creek know he's truly found home.

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this romance between two lawyers.  I thought making Steven a single dad, by adoption, was an interesting element, and I liked the way both Steven and Melissa were members of large extended families.  The plot itself was pretty predictable, but you don't pick up romance novels when in the mood for a complex plot or unpredictable ending.  This is mass-market romance with several steamy intimate scenes, which happen before marriage.  The characters seem to fall in lust before love.  There is a subplot about Steven's extended family that isn't really resolved, and really doesn't seem to have much to do with the rest of the story, so I suspect we'll see another book about the Creed family.  

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B.