Play it Safe by Kristen Ashley

Blurb...

No connections. Play it safe. These were the rules Ivey lived her life by.

Until she hit Mustang, Colorado, a perfectly imperfect town where the citizens were welcoming and one of them included the tall, beautiful, macho man rancher cowboy, Grayson Cody.

On the run for a decade, Ivey knew she was supposed to play it safe. But she was tired of being on the run. She wanted a normal. She wanted real. She wanted a home.

And she wanted Grayson Cody.

And Grayson Cody wanted Ivey.

No one who looked at them couldn’t see they belonged together. There was one man in this world for Ivey and one woman in this world for Grayson Cody.

So they fell in love.

But just as quickly as they fell together, they were betrayed and torn apart. Separated for years, Ivey was certain her life would not include her rancher cowboy. Until the town of Mustang reached out to her when Gray was in trouble. Even though she thought he broke her heart, she charged in to help. Then Gray and Ivey discovered they were betrayed and, not only that, Gray had an enemy who would stop at nothing to defeat him.

Okay, I love cowboys, and I love Kristen Ashley’s books, so a Kristen Ashley book with a cowboy hero?? Yeeeehaw!!!!!!!!!! Hell yeah, I loved it!

Play it Safe is heartwarming, heartbreaking, funny, exciting, burn up the pages hot and even though it’s about fifty thousand pages long… it was still too short. There’s a fantastic supporting cast of characters who need their own stories told, but most definitely, both Lash and Freddie. Those guys are all kinds of awesome!

I know I sound like a broken record, but I just can NOT get enough of Kristen Ashley’s writing because even though the writing isn’t perfect, the stories are! And I don’t know about you, but when I sit down with a book, looking for a chance to escape real life, I’m not looking to find it through perfect grammar and punctuation. I’m looking for that escape through characters and story lines that grab hold and don’t let go, and KA delivers. Every. Single. Time!

Click here to purchase Play It Safe at Amaon

All Out of Love (Cupid, Texas #2) by Lori Wilde

For years, a small group of women in Cupid, TX, led by Millie Greenway, have taken it upon themselves to keep the Cupid legend alive. Now Millie has roped her four disbelieving granddaughters into joining the cause.

Lace Bettingfield knows for a fact that the Cupid legend is bogus. As a shy sixteen-year-old, she left a letter at the statue and got nothing in return but heaps of embarrassment when her letter ended up printed in the school newspaper. But now the boy she longed for is back in town and Lace can't help wondering...what if?

*****

"Love just plain hurts sometimes, but we can't let that stop us from loving. Love is the only thing in the world that really matters. " - Sandra

This is such a fun book! The second in Lori Wilde's Cupid, Texas series, it's even more fun, more passionate, and more engaging than the first.

I fell in love with our hero, Pierce Hollister, in spite of - or maybe because of - his cocky-jock attitude. You know what they say...the bigger they are, the harder they fall...and this Dallas Cowboys Quarterback falls hard, in more ways than one. A potentially career ending injury knocks his ego down a peg or two, and then add to the mix Lace Bettingfield's sassy mouth and sexy body wanting nothing to do with him and you've got a hero who's used to snapping his fingers and getting whatever - or whoever- he wants, doubting his cocky-jock-studliness and not knowing what to do next!

I enjoyed Lace, a lot. She's smart, determined, devoted to her friends and family, and fun in a quirky geek kind of way. My heart broke for her high school humiliation, and while I understood where she was coming from, I think she went a bit overboard with her denial of the attraction she had for Pierce, and what was developing between them. Then again, living in a small town that can't seem to forget the past can do a lot of damage to a girl's self esteem.

Lori Wilde writes great small-town stories. She's got a real gift for capturing the comfortable feel that goes along with knowing the people around you, and loving them despite their flaws. This world Ms. Wilde has created has such a warmth about it. The relationships are solid, the romances sweet and sexy, and all this makes me want to find Cupid, Texas and make it my home.

My thanks to Avon Books for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure!

Saved by the Rancher by Jennifer Ryan

 

THE AVON AFFAIR IS A 14-DAY AVON BOOKS REVIEW EVENT
ORGANIZED AND HOSTED BY CURRENT AND ALUMNI MEMBERS OF
THE AVON ADDICTS.

Today I'm reviewing: 

Saved by the Rancher by Jennifer Ryan

Saved by the Rancher is the first book in Jennifer Ryan’s The Hunted series, and my first read of this author. The story starts out with a horrific scene of physical abuse, and Jenna Caldwell Merrick running for her life. This scene is definitely not pretty to read due to the viciousness of the attack, but this is Jenna's life and it's on the line.

The story:

David Merrick is one of the wealthiest men alive and is used to getting what he wants, so when Jenna gets tired of the abuse and leaves him, he takes great pleasure in hunting her, and doing whatever he has to do to get her back. Intimidation, fear, abuse... he'll stop at nothing, but when those things don’t work, he’s more than willing to kill her. David is a sick SOB and loves seeing Jenna's fear, knowing he has the physical strength and the money to make her suffer.

We’re introduced to Jenna at the lowest point in her life. She’s come close to death too many times at David’s hands, but she won’t let him scare her into going back. She’ll run until she’s free or dead, but she won’t give up. Jenna has several safety nets in place to help her avoid being found, but time after time, he somehow tracks her down. With the help of her attorney, Jenna finally finds a place to hide, a place to rest, with people who are willing to protect her.

Jack Turner gets a call from an old college friend, as it turns out, to help hide a client. Jack doesn’t know this upfront, but it quickly becomes clear that this pretty lady who’s obviously been abused needs his help. Jack hasn’t been interested in a relationship in years because the women he's dated are always more into his wallet than they are into him. But there’s something about Jenna that draws him to her, and he can’t fight the attraction, and neither can she. But can Jack really keep Jenna safe and convince her to settle down with him when all she wants to do is run? He’s not sure of the answer to that, but he’s not willing to give up without a fight.

My thoughts:

Saved by the Rancher is an entertaining story and, with a little more attention to editing, flow and pacing, could have been a 4 or 5 star read. What really kept the story from reaching that level is, considering all the abuse Jenna has endured, how long she’s run, how often she’s nearly died, I felt that her relationship development with Jack was rushed. We were told how afraid she was, how untrusting of men and not willing to settle down, and yet, we didn't see that in the story because it was no time at all before she was having sexual feelings for Jack. It’s a full length novel so there was plenty of time to flesh it out, to allow that attraction to grow, and that would have made the story and the romance much more enjoyable.

I would probably label this a romantic suspense/thriller, given the brutality and abuse Jenna suffers at David’s hands, as well as the psychological game of cat and mouse he enjoys playing. This is an intense read, nothing light and fluffy about it because of that constant fear of Jenna being discovered in the back of your mind. The plot is exciting, fast paced, and steamy, and there times I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out what might happen next.

The Hunted series has the potential to be amazing, and I’m looking forward to reading more by Ms. Ryan.

My thanks to Avon Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Books in the series so far:

One Night With a Cowboy by Cat Johnson

 One Sweet Ride…

Oh yeah. A single look at the leggy blonde in the stands and Tucker Jenkins is ready to buck all night long. It’s time to forget all about his cheating ex and his usual hands off policy.

One Hot Night…

Becca Hart is an East Coast professor. Not a buckle bunny. But no degree can prepare her for the moves of the sexy bull rider she hooks up with at her first rodeo … Or the shock of finding him at her first Oklahoma State University staff meeting.

One Happy Ending…Tuck knows it’s all about holding on, no matter how wild the ride. Now he just has to convince Becca that a rough start out of the chute doesn’t mean they aren’t a smokin’ combination.

 *******

What do you get when a university English Professor meets an Oklahoma Cowboy, who's also a military man? Well, in Cat Johnson’s One Night With a Cowboy, you get romance, passion, excitement, humor, and burn up the pages lovin’! 

Going in, I knew this would be a sexy story, which is great because to enjoy the books I read I need a solid romance with a healthy dose of steam. But to really enjoy them, I need characters I can care about and stories I can get into. I also need a happily ever after I can believe in, and Ms. Johnson delivered it all. What started out as a light, 'lust at first sight' tale turned out to be a dramatic story and I am so looking forward to reading the next books in the series, a novella titled Fish Out of Water, and the next full length novel, Two Times as Hot.

The bottom line: Cat Johnson is a name I’ve seen around quite a bit, most often connected to stories with heroes who are not just sexy, but incredibly sweet. Tucker Jenkins is definitely that, and if he and Becca Hart are any indication of the couples to come, the Oklahoma Nights series is one you won't want to miss.

My thanks to Kensington/Brava and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this story for review. It's been a pleasure!

Texas Glory by Lorraine Heath

Texas Glory is the second book in Lorraine Heath’s Texas Trilogy and to be honest, I wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy it because the first book, Texas Destiny was such an amazing read that I didn’t see how this one could possibly compare. Well, I’m glad to say my fears were for naught. This was, quite simply put, an incredibly emotional story. I liked Dallas in the first book, but I love him now!

In Texas Destiny, Dallas Leigh stood and watched - not without putting up a fight, though - as his own mail-order bride fell in love with his younger brother, Houston, and his dream of having a son to pass his legacy onto slip through his fingers. Now, while his dream might have been temporarily waylaid, it was not forgotten! His all consuming desire for a son has Dallas taking advantage of a water rights feud with Angus McQueen, a neighboring rancher, and offering to marry his daughter, Cordelia, in exchange for the right to use water on Dallas’ land. It certainly isn’t a love match, and rumor has it that not only is Cordelia homely, she also lost her nose in a tragic accident. But the way Dallas sees it – as long as she gives him a son, he doesn’t care what she looks like!

I’m not going to go into the plot other than to say it’s pretty brutal sometimes. Gunfights, robbery, murder, and attempted murder… this book has everything we've come to expect from the Wild West, including a child abuse of the most heartbreaking kind. We're introduced to Rawley Cooper, a young boy whose story broke my heart, and I sobbed for what that child was forced to live through. Thank God for Dallas and his kindness, compassion and his sense of justice, and Cordelia for her unconditional love.

Texas Glory, like Texas Destiny, is a wonderful story. Heartwarming tales of the trials of frontier living, the love of family, and the joy of finding your happily ever after in the most unlikely of ways.

5 of 5 stars