Review: To Tame a Texas Cowboy (Wishing, Texas Book 3) by Julie Benson

They want different things, but they just might need each other

Barrel racer Cheyenne Whitten returns to Wishing, Texas, after an injury, determined to recuperate and return to the rodeo circuit. But living with her over-protective mother only adds to Cheyenne’s problems. Desperate to move out and reclaim her independence, Cheyenne believes a service dog is the answer. That is, until she learns the waiting list for one is up to five years.

Having lost his fiancée two years ago, Cooper Abbott wants to run his veterinarian clinic and rebuild his life. A calm, stable, uneventful life. Then Cheyenne shows up asking for help getting a service dog, and Cooper finds he can’t refuse the feisty redhead.

Cheyenne and Cooper insist a relationship is the last thing they want. Cheyenne is focused on her health and returning to the rodeo. Cooper’s heart is still raw from loss. But it could be they’re exactly what each other needs.

My Review:

This was a sweet story.  Each of the characters had something the other needed. 

Cheyenne Whitten suffered from seizures and she was tired of her mother and sister always watching over her like she was a baby.  She needed some freedom.  She needed a service dog.  When Cheyenne’s best friend suggests they take a road trip to see Cooper Abbott, a veterinarian and has connections to organizations with service dogs, Cheyenne decided it would be worth it. 

Cooper was still struggling with the loss of his girlfriend who passed away two years ago.  He wanted to keep Olivia’s dream invention, the SeizureReader, alive but he needed someone to test it on.  Cheyenne showed up at just the right time.  Cooper needed to keep an eye on Cheyenne to make sure everything was working properly, so they moved in together.  As they spend time together, they realize how much they liked each other and started a relationship.  But, when Cheyenne needs a second opinion on surgery and Cooper refuses to ask his father, who is a brain surgeon, for help, it just might be the end of them.  Now it’s up to Cooper to swallow his pride, for the women he loves, and talk to his father. 

This book was really good.  I liked how the author gave good backgrounds on the main characters and their friends without it getting confusing.  Sometimes when I read a book that has a lot of characters, I have trouble keeping them straight.  I also learned something about service dogs and how they help people.  The story flowed along nicely and kept my interest the entire time.   

 

Review: Vegas Vows, Texas Nights by Charlene Sands

They went from completely off-limits

to husband and wife…overnight!

Waking up next to a very virile—and very naked—Luke Boone is shocking enough. But for Katie Rodgers to learn that her sister’s ex-fiancé is now her husband? Unforgivable. Katie needs an annulment of her marriage to Texas’s wealthiest power broker—now! But when their sizzling chemistry survives the trip back to Texas, are the newlyweds really ready to untie the knot?

My Review:

Of all the men in the world, why did she have to fall for her sisters ex?

When Katie Rodgers went to Las Vegas for her best friend’s bachelorette party, she never expected to end up so drunk that she would marry her sister's ex, Luke Boone.  The next morning when Katie woke up and found out what happened, all she wanted was a divorce and for their marriage to remain a secret.  But Katie would soon to find out, their night together would have other consequences.  Something that she wouldn’t be able to hide for very long.

Luke had been in love with Katie for a long time, but he knew better than to act on it.  He knew Katie and her family still held him responsible for breaking Katie's sister's heart when he called off their wedding.  But Luke knew he couldn't marry one sister while secretly in love with the other.  Now that Luke and Katie were married, he needed to convince her that they were meant to be together.

This was a fun story.  I haven’t read too many books where the characters got drunk and had a quickie Vegas wedding.  But with Katie and Luke’s situation, it was even more uncommon.  It was interesting to see how they kept their secret even though they ended up not being able to resist each other.  I really enjoyed seeing Katie and Luke get their happily ever after. 

 

Review: What Holds Us Together by Sandi Ward

From the author of The Astonishing Thing and Something Worth Saving comes a tender, wise, and insightful novel of a family cat, a second chance, and the love that persists through the deepest heartache . . .

They say that cats don't like change. But Luna, an imaginative tabby, understands that sometimes it's necessary. When her owner, Annika, moved back to her small New England hometown six months ago along with her sixteen-year-old twins, Luna knew it was for the best. Ever since Annika's husband, Peter, died suddenly, the family has been floundering. Luna, too, is guilt-ridden, sure she could have done more to save her favorite person. Luna also knows something the others don't know. Peter's spirit is still with them, and Luna believes there is something he needs her help to do . . .

Annika has been struggling to move on. It doesn't help that her son, Donovan, blames her for his father's death. Peter always told Annika that they had the best love story going, yet the fact is that much of their story has been hidden away, even from their children. When Annika's first love, Sam, arrives to plow them out during an intensifying storm, the truth begins to emerge at last. And Luna--watchful and unwavering in her affection--may be her family's best hope of learning how to forgive and to heal . . . 

My Review: 

If you have read any of Sandi Ward’s books in the past, you don’t want to miss this one.  As the others, it features a beautiful cat on the cover and a heartfelt family story. 

After Annika’s husband, Peter, suddenly dies in his sleep, she moves back to her family home with her twin teenagers and their cat, Luna.  Only Luna knows Peter is still with them.  She can see and communicate his ghost.  While trapped at home during a snow storm, along with Annika’s high school boyfriend and his brother, Luna helps her family heal from their loss.  Annika also learns to trust in love again.  

This was an enjoyable, and emotional, book and I liked how it was told from different points of views, including Luna’s.  The story switches from the present to the past, telling Annika’s story about her life with Peter, Sam and the troubled relationship with her sister, Lisa.  The author fully uses her imagination to weave a tale that is unexpected and highly memorable.  I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next. 

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.      

 

Review: Christmas Contract for His Cinderella by Jane Porter

December in the brooding Sicilian’s castle…

Spending the holidays with the man who broke her heart is Monet’s worst nightmare. But when commanding Marcu’s children urgently need a nanny, she can’t refuse. Landing back in his aristocratic world, where free-spirited Monet never belonged, is bittersweet torture…

Marcu doesn’t anticipate his overly ordered life being disrupted by the enchanting woman Monet’s become. Duty has always dictated his actions, making Monet, with her infamous family history, strictly forbidden. But when their long-simmering passion burns intensely enough to melt the snow, will Marcu finally claim his Christmas Cinderella…?

My Review:

A magical Christmas romance.

Monet Wilde spent her teenage years in the Uberto palazzo in Palermo where she fell in love with Marcu Uberto only to end up with a broken heart.  With a loan and a plane ticket to London, Monet put the Uberto family way in the back of her mind.  She worked hard for her new life managing the bridal department at a department store.

The last thing Monet wanted to do was to leave her job at the peak of the busy Christmas season.  But she owed Marcu a favor and when he asked Monet to repay it, he wouldn’t take no for an answer.  He needed her as a temporary nanny to his three children while he set off on a Christmas holiday to propose to his girlfriend.  But when old memories and feeling return, anything can happen.

I got totally swept away in this book.  Everything from the characters to the setting, in the Italian Alps, was just right.  I couldn’t ask for more.  There were a lot of memorable scenes.  Of course this is a romance book and I was glad to see Monet and Marcu get their happily ever after, but the children are such a big part of the story too.  I couldn’t help but fall for them just like Monet did.  I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a feel-good Christmas romance.