Series:
Sisters of Bell River Ranch (Book 3)
Who knows where a kiss will lead!
For one year, Penny Wright is doing whatever she wants. She's returned
to her hometown in Colorado -- but not the family ranch -- to cross
items off her risk-it list. To her surprise, she's braver than she
thinks, because when she spies a hot newcomer doing something sweet for
his daughter, Penny can't resist kissing him on the spot. Unfortunately,
he turns out to be Max Thorpe. Her new tenant!
Luckily, they both agree to be just friends. But with the sizzling
attraction between them, "just friends" is hard. Maybe it's time for
Penny to add a new item to her list -- a family with Max.
Very good book. Penny is the youngest of the Wright sisters and the last to return to Colorado. She was eleven when her father killed her mother and she was sent to live with an aunt in California. Now that aunt has passed and Penny is free to live her life. But she doesn't want to go to the family ranch and get mothered by her sisters, so she buys a duplex and rents out the other half to Max and his daughter. Her introduction to Max came when she impulsively kissed him before she knew who he was. Neither is looking for a relationship so they agree to be friends. That turns out to be harder than they expected.
Penny was terrific. She is finally able to take control of her life after being stuck caring for an elderly aunt who was pretty uptight. Penny had been the bright and creative sister and all of that was squashed by her aunt's conservatism. When Penny headed to Colorado she had a list of things she wanted to try. I loved seeing her watch Max when he came in the ice cream parlor with Ellen and be so great with her even when Ellen was being a brat. She was so impressed that she kissed him then disappeared, thinking she'd never see him again. She wasn't really happy to find out he was her tenant, as that could put a strain their business relationship. She was relieved when he agreed that they should just be friends. Penny has plans for the next year, to have a chance to get to know herself without depending on anyone else. She discovers that the attraction she felt for Max doesn't go away. I loved the way that Penny stood up for what she wanted in the face of her sisters' desire to protect her. She also made a good start at the wishes on her list, giving her the confidence she needed to move on. I loved her joy in her art and the bridge it created to get to know Max's daughter Ellen and help her deal with her mother's death. Penny had so many struggles to try to overcome the memories of her life on the ranch. I loved seeing her overcome so many of them. Penny also discovered that getting to know Max meant taking the biggest risk of all - risking her heart. I also enjoyed seeing her get to know and love Ellen. She also loved them so much she pulled back in order to give Max the chance to concentrate all his energy on Ellen. The ending was so emotional that it required a good supply of tissues.
Max had brought Ellen to Colorado to get her away from some bad influences back in Chicago. With the death of his wife, Max realized that it was his responsibility and he had no clue how to do it. Max and his wife had been on the verge of divorce when she died. I loved seeing the way he decided that he had to step up in a way that he'd been avoiding before. Ellen was now going to be his sole focus. He didn't expect a young and beautiful landlady who he was attracted to. I loved seeing how Max tried to be what Elle needed and his frustration when he felt like he was failing. Penny's insights gave him a shot at making things right. Max was also still fighting the trauma of having been kidnapped and held for ransom. He resists his growing feelings for Penny but ultimately realized that being with her helped to heal him. I loved his goal to help Penny fulfill all the things on her list.
I really liked seeing Penny's sisters and their families and getting a bit more of their complicated relationships. It was great to see how much they cared for each other and how they wanted to take care of Penny. I loved seeing her stand up to them and how they ultimately saw things from her point of view. I loved Max's daughter Ellen and how she was portrayed to well. Her issues with her dad and the memories of her mother were beautifully done. I got a kick out of her developing friendship with Alec and the trouble they got into. The changes she went through were so great as she learned to trust her father's love for her. She also had to deal with her feelings about Penny and her growing role in their lives.
Series:
Sisters of Bell River Ranch (Book 2)
No resisting this cowboy!
Brianna Wright has ventured to the Bell River Ranch to make peace with
her sister. With enough time here in Colorado, Bree might accomplish
that goal and forget the mess of her business back in Boston. Of course,
none of that will happen if she lets herself get distracted by a
certain gorgeous and charming cowboy -- Grayson Harper. Really,
resisting a guy as carefree as he is should be easy for someone as
responsible as Bree.
But it's clear Gray has his sights set on her, and his determination is
stronger than Bree thought! As they work together on the ranch, she
realizes there's more to Gray than his footloose facade suggests. If
that's true, he just might win her over!
Very good book with a great deal of emotional turmoil as Bree faces her past. After a humiliating end to her engagement and business in Boston, Bree has come home to recover and make peace with her sister Rowena (Wild For the Sheriff). As the ranch gets closer to its opening as a guest ranch Bree finds herself involved in setting up the social programs. Gray has been hired as her temporary assistant and has become quite the distraction.
Bree is an interesting character. When she and her sisters were split up, Bree went to a family friend in Boston. She was well cared for but expressions of emotion were not encouraged, so she grew up learning to suppress them. She also had tendency to be judgmental though she was trying to overcome that. When she arrived at the ranch she wasn't sure that Rowena would accept her presence. They got off to a bit of a rocky start, but things started to improve between them. Gray's arrival at the ranch tested her control. She was very attracted to him but resistant to a relationship after the disaster of her engagement. I loved the way that they ended up working together and became friends while doing so. She had a couple great scenes with Gray's grandfather where she really blasted him. Bree had some issues from her past that made intimacy a problem for her. Being with Gray even with her issues went a long way toward breaking down the walls around her emotions. She had quite a breakthrough at the end which really opened up her heart. All she had to do then was wait for Gray to catch up. I love the way that Bree really got into the work she was doing at the ranch. She really started to feel like she belonged there especially after she and Rowena were able to work out some more of their problems.
I loved Gray. He returned to Silverdell to have it out with his grandfather. He was intent on getting his grandfather to admit to some financial shenanigans that affected Gray's father right before his death. Gray had been raised by his grandfather after his parents died and had resented his grandfather's super controlling attitude. After being as rebellious as he could as a teen, he escaped when he went to college. His grandfather now bets Gray that he can't hold a manual labor type of job for four weeks. He says he will put Gray in his will if he succeeds. So Gray takes the job at Bell River Ranch, determined to beat his grandfather. He is immediately attracted to Bree and plans to get her into a temporary relationship while he's there. It isn't long before he finds that there is more to his desire than just wanting to sleep with her. I loved the way he came to her rescue when her ex-fiance showed up and how that event showed him the insecure woman behind the cool facade. I loved the way that he worked so well with Bree and how their abilities complemented each other. His care for her after their first night together was sweet and I loved what he did later. It was fun seeing the way that the carefree cowboy was suddenly feeling emotions that he didn't know how to deal with. I also had gotten the feeling that Gray hadn't quite been truthful about his employment history with his grandfather or with the sisters. I loved his reappearance after his disappearing act and the way he resolved their problems.
Series:
Sisters of Bell River Ranch (Book 1)
When temptation calls
Sheriff Dallas Garwood has followed the straight and narrow all his
life. The one exception? When he tangled with Rowena Wright. The
experience had lasting consequences he'd rather not repeat.
That may be easier said than done. Rowena is back, set on restoring her
family's ranch to sell it. Is this Colorado town big enough for the two
of them? Not the way his nine-year-old son keeps sneaking onto her land,
forcing Dallas into her company. Every one of those encounters sparks
an urge in him to tangle with her again. This time he'll call the
shots-and be the one to leave. But he doesn't expect all these powerful
emotions...and he's not sure he can walk away.
Very good book. Rowena has returned to Bell River Ranch after sixteen years away. Her plans are to fix it up to sell it. Having had the reputation of a wild child she doesn't expect to be welcomed back by the people of the town. Neither does she expect to be welcomed by Dallas, who her father shot when he found them together. I really liked both Dallas and Rowena. Rowena has some serious issues to deal with. The ranch is the place where their father murdered their mother, then she and her sisters were sent to live with relatives. Her feelings have kept her from settling anywhere for long which has also caused tension between her and her sisters. I loved the way she settled in at the ranch so quickly. She also made friends with Bonnie, a young woman looking for a job and a place to stay, recognizing that Bonnie had secrets of her own. She also made friends with Alec, Dallas's nine year old son who loves hanging out at the ranch. I loved seeing her start to put down some roots, even though she kept insisting she was going to leave. I also loved the dreams that she started to have about the future of the ranch and the way she started to go after them. She also discovered some information that really shook her up and almost wrecked her dreams.
I loved Dallas and his calm temperament. He was dealing with raising his son as a single parent after his wife walked out on them. He was also dealing with his younger brother, who he saw as rather irresponsible, and trying to get him to taking charge of his own life. I really liked seeing the way that he dealt with the various problems as sheriff and how he could see the humor in some of the situation. He was also trying to do the best he could with Alec, who didn't always make things very easy for him. Dallas had never forgotten Rowena and when she came back the attraction flared back to life. I also really liked the way that he was able to see under the outer shell she showed everyone and saw the scared woman underneath. He did a great job of being there when she needed him. I loved seeing Rowena come to terms with her past and be able to make a grab for her future.
The secondary characters were all well done also. I'm looking forward to Bree's story in hopes that she can redeem herself a bit. I really didn't care for her at all with her attitude toward Rowena. I also hope that there will be more about Bonnie and Mitch, because I'm really curious about her story. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
