Review: Last Dance with the Texas Bull Rider (The Stars of Texas Book 3) by Rebecca Crowley

 

She was always the ‘perfect’ Star—until she fell…

Jessa Star danced her way to the perfect ballet career, and when injury cut it short, she returned to Last Stand, Texas to open a dance studio—the perfect back-up plan. She’s convinced everyone she’s perfectly happy and perfectly fulfilled, and she’s confident the secret that could blow up her life is perfectly concealed—until her wildly imperfect bull-rider husband careens into town.

Happy-go-lucky Caleb “Calamity” Ross may not be a top-tier rodeo cowboy, but he doesn’t mind. His life on the road is fun, free, and fast enough to outrun his toxic upbringing. But when a bad wreck at the Last Stand Rodeo puts him in the hospital, he wakes to find his runaway bride by his side—the one woman who might matter enough to stop him in his rambling tracks.

Their marriage was a joke, but there’s nothing funny about their connection, or the threats they pose to each other’s futures. The clock is ticking on their wedding bells, and they’ll have to decide whether to say ‘I do’ again—or say goodbye.

 

My Review:

A big secret is about to be revealed.

Marrying Caleb “Calamity” Ross was a mistake Jessa Star made when she was in a dark place in her life.  She kept it a secret since then.  Two years later, they are reunited when Caleb is injured during the rodeo and Jessa agrees to let Caleb recuperate at her house.  This might be a big mistake, or it just might be what they both need to reevaluate their relationship. 

Lots of emotions run through this book and I enjoyed every one of them.  I enjoyed seeing Jessa and Caleb finally give their marriage the chance it deserved, even if it did take most of the book for them to realize they belong together. 

Review: The Cowboy’s Claim (The Coyote Cowboys of Montana, #5) by Sinclair Jayne

 

“No strings,” he said….

Ex-special forces soldier and military dog handler Calhoun Miller is lucky to be alive. He wouldn’t even be in Marietta but for a vow he made to his fallen team leader to solve a mystery that spans decades. Spending a sexy, magical night with a beautiful woman isn’t part of the plan, but he’s never felt more compelled to seize the moment. And then a freak accident hospitalizes him, risking his mission to honor his friend.

As if returning to her hometown of Marietta isn’t awkward enough, hospitalist Dr. Jory Quinn is blindsided when her sexy, anonymous hookup becomes her patient, possibly derailing her career. She begs him to keep their secret, but when Calhoun reveals he’s in town to solve the long ago disappearance of her father and brother, keeping her distance, hands, and secrets to herself is beyond challenging.

Not to mention she might be…pregnant?

 

My Review:

Finding love when you least expect it.

This book is a great addition to the Coyote Cowboys of Montana series.  I enjoyed seeing Calhoun and Jory fall in love when neither of them expected it.  Calhoun was just in Marietta to fulfill the wishes of his army special forces team leader who was killed in action.  Jory was temporarily back in her home town working at the hospital.  Love wasn’t part of the plan when neither of them planned to stay in Marietta.  But fate had something else in mind for them.

 

Review: She Brings Beauty To Me (The Medicine Man Book 4) by Karen Kay

 A woman deserted. A troubled warrior. A passion denied.

1855. When eighteen-year-old Czanna Fehér is forced to flee her home in Hungary, she journeys with her younger siblings and her father's manservant to Montana in search of her cousin. Mourning for her recently deceased parents, she sings a prayer to the grand, Montana mountains. From the first moment Stands Strong hears Czanna singing, he is transfixed. When he meets her, he is captivated as much by her dark beauty as he is by her voice.

But, after the family's hired guide steals their money and runs, her father's servant leaves Czanna to go and serve justice to the man, leaving Czanna desolate and in charge. Being of the gentry class in Hungary, Czanna knows she and her siblings cannot survive in this land without help. When Stands Strong comes to her aid, she realizes she must trust this man.

Lakota born, though raised by the Blackfeet, Stands Strong descends from a long line of medicine men, but this legacy seems to have skipped over him. Accepting this, he has become an expert scout. But, when Czanna attempts to hire Stands Strong as their guide, offering him the "evil gold rock" as payment, he suggests marriage to him instead. Czanna refuses him, even though the flame of love is burning heatedly in her heart.

Can two people from incompatible cultures ever come together? Or are their star-guided paths meant only to briefly cross?

 

My Review:

A beautifully written romance.

A beautiful story about Czanna and her siblings, who flee their homeland of Hungary, after the Hungarian Revolution, to the unknown Northwest Indian Country in America.  Along the way she meets Stands Strong, a Pikuni scout, who helps Czanna and her family make their way to her cousin’s camp. Along the way they fall in love.  This is a sweet and touching story.  As with every other book that I have read by Karen Kay, I found myself fully immersed in the story.  This book is well written, entertaining and vividly detailed.