Series:
Scene of the Crime (Book 6)
BURIED ALIVE
FBI agent Seth Hawkins was on a mission to catch a serial killer. Yet
his only lead-a mysterious azure-eyed beauty found buried alive in the
local sand dunes-had no memory of how she'd been abducted. Or anything
else about her identity.
The only thing Tamara Jennings knew for sure was the undeniable
attraction she felt for the strong, handsome man who saved her life. It
wasn't long before their passion flared out of control. But as memories
of her forgotten past returned, would they lead her to the killer-and to
a life she could share with Seth?
Serial killer stories are among the creepiest and this one was well done. I was hooked from the beginning. Seth was on vacation, visiting his sister and niece, out riding his motorbike on the dunes when he stumbled on a woman nearly buried alive in the sand. He gets her out but she has no idea of how she got there, or even who she is. The local sheriff asks for his help in solving the mystery and Seth is glad to do it. Without any memory of what happened and very few clues it is a frustrating endeavor. It doesn't help that they are attracted to each other and have to fight it. When the killer tries to fix his mistake Seth and Tamara are in a race to recover her memory before it is silenced forever.
Tamara's first memory is of Seth pulling her out of the sand. She can't remember her name or how she got there just a sense of terror. It took her a full day just to be able to talk again. Seth was the only person who made her feel safe and she was relieved when Seth's sister invited her to stay with them during the investigation. I liked seeing the way that she was determined to get her memory back so they could catch the killer before he strikes again. I loved seeing her happiness as bits and pieces started to come back. She was also attracted to Seth even though she knew it was a bad idea. There was anything that could come of it but she wanted to feel normal. It was interesting to see what she did with the various memories that did come and how they showed her that there were things that she didn't want to remember. I liked the time that she and Seth spent together and how much they had in common. She knew that she was falling in love with him and was probably going to get hurt but she embraced the feeling anyway. When the final confrontation with the killer came her biggest regret was not telling Seth how she felt. I liked the fact she was brave enough to tell him later, even as he was pulling away. I loved seeing her face all her memories and deal with them as she tried to move on with her life.
Seth was on a rare vacation when he found Tamara. There was something about her that immediately grabbed him and he didn't want to let go. Even if he hadn't been recruited to help solve the crime, there was no way he wasn't going to get involved. I loved seeing the tenderness and care he treated her with. She was very different than any woman he had ever been attracted to before. He knew it was wrong and was sure that any feelings she had were just because of her loss of memory. Seth has never planned to be married since he has seen very few cases of happy marriages. The more time he spent with Tamara the more he could picture her in his life and that made him very nervous. When an attempt is made on her life by the killer Seth decides that he won't let her out of his sight. That only makes controlling his feelings even harder. His terror when she disappeared showed him that he had fallen in love with her. It was so hard to see him pull away from her feeling that what she felt was only gratitude. I loved the ending and the way he went to her.
The whole serial killer theme was very well done. There were a few brief glimpses into his mind, but never enough to give away who he was. There were enough possibilities that it really kept the suspense going. I didn't figure it out until near the end, thanks to one little clue. I'm looking forward to the next book.
Series:
HQ: Texas (Book 3)
It's been ten years since soldier Shep Lewis laid
eyes on delinquent-turned-FBI agent Lilly Tanner, and this time they
have an even bigger problem than each other: terrorists. In the center
of a smuggling operation, Shep and Lilly must partner up and protect
each other.
Not even their undercover identities can mask the
mounting attraction between the pair as they struggle to survive in the
merciless Texas borderlands. Can they put the past behind them and focus
on the mission at hand? Or will their partnership reignite the flames
of their untapped passions?
Excellent conclusion to the HQ: Texas trilogy. The team is down to the wire to stop a group of terrorists from coming across the border. They know when, but they still need to know where and they still want the guy in charge. To add insult to injury they are being sent an FBI agent liaison who will make the decision whether to call in the National Guard. The last time Shep saw this particular agent she was eighteen and he was her parole officer. He lost track of her after she stole his car and accidentally set his house on fire. Now they have to work together and try to ignore the attraction sparking between them.
I really liked Lilly. She had a rough start in life ending up in foster care and rebelling from there. By the time she was seventeen she had a juvenile record and Shep was her parole officer. She developed quite a crush on him as he was young, good looking and actually nice to her. She felt bad about taking off the way she did but felt she would do better on her own. Eventually she got an education, became a cop and then entered the FBI, her troubled youth giving her an edge in some cases. When she gets assigned to Shep's team she doesn't know what to expect, so she puts on a tough front and wades in. Lilly is surprised by the way that he still makes her feel but is determined that it won't affect her work. She sees a chance to get in undercover and takes it. She has a quick mind and her early experiences enable her to make some snap decisions. She didn't expect Shep to set himself up as her boyfriend as a way to protect her. That put him a little too close for her comfort especially with that passion burning between them. She was a bit on the independent side and took some chances that didn't work out well a couple times. She also got really frustrated with his protectiveness and called him on it several times though she is glad of his backup later on. I loved seeing the way that she and Shep worked so well together. I really enjoyed the last chapter and the discussion of their future plans.
Shep has been as frustrated as the rest of the team with their inability to catch the man behind the threat. None of them are happy to find out they are going to have FBI oversight. He's even less happy to discover that it's Lilly. She'd still been a kid the last time he saw her but not anymore. She starts right out getting involved with his investigations. He goes into protective mode immediately when they get shot at, before he realizes that she knows what she's doing. He tries to keep her out of his investigation of the bar only to discover that she got there ahead of him and managed to set herself up in an undercover identity. I loved seeing him get all bent out of shape over the people hitting on her until he made it look like she was his girlfriend. It takes him some time but he goes from completely resenting her presence to appreciating the woman she has become and how good she is at what she does. They start to work together very well which really ends up paying off for the team. He also admits that he loves her when he realizes the danger she is in and he could lose her.
I really enjoyed the resolution of the terrorist plot. Seeing the way all the clues build on each other over the three books really shows how involved an investigation like that is. I liked the way this team works together and each has their particular strengths. The intensity that built as the deadline got closer really kept me turning the pages. By the time the final showdown came I couldn't read fast enough to get to the end.
I have to say that I found the title and cover a bit misleading. Shep is not a cowboy and admits that he isn't even much of a rider, Lilly taking the lead when the have to ride double on a horse. In fact, riding only happens once and not even for that long.
Series:
Willow Creek Texas (Book 2)
A Texas-size secret…
Nine years ago, Jena Brooks fled Willow Creek, Texas, as a frightened
teenager. Now she's finally found the courage to come home, and this
time she's not leaving without her baby. Memories of Asa Corbett
stealing her newborn child still haunt Jena to this day. Unfortunately,
her best chance at finding her baby is Asa's eldest son, local cop
Carson Corbett.
Trusting a Corbett again isn't easy, but they'll need to rely on each
other completely to face their pasts and discover the truth. Together,
Jena and Carson have a chance to heal old wounds and unite their
families for good…if the truth doesn't first tear them apart.
Wow, so much pain in this book, but with so much love to give at the end. Jena had finally gotten the courage to return to her hometown and try to find out what had happened to the baby stolen from her so long ago. The best person to help her is also the son on the man who had done the stealing and the brother of her baby's father. He doesn't believe her at first, but the details she has are too good to be made up. In order to get at the truth they are going to have to work together.
Jena had been terrified by Asa's threats against her and her family when she fled Willow Creek nine years ago. She's older and stronger now, and when she hears that Asa has been ill she knows she has to get the truth from him before he dies. I loved the guts that she showed facing down Carson and securing his assistance. Thanks to the trauma of what Asa had done to her, she tends to be quick to take offense at almost anything Carson has to say to her. Eventually they come to an agreement to leave the attitudes behind in order to get the answers they need. Jena is also fighting an attraction to Carson, knowing that nothing can come of a relationship with Asa's son. I really liked seeing the way that they worked together. When they could leave their issues behind they liked each other and made a very good team. Jena also got to know Carson's kids and enjoyed spending time with them. There were a couple of fun scenes with her and the kids, dealing with hair braids and fishing. There were also some really heartbreaking scenes as Jena confronted Asa face to face and saw just how evil he was. Jena also had to confront gossip in their small town dealing with her disappearance. She couldn't say the things she wanted to say because she was trying to protect the feelings of her sister and her mother. I liked her relationship with her sister and her patience with her mother was very moving. There were some revelations at the end dealing with her mother that I never saw coming. When all the information came out about her boyfriend's murder, the murder of her father and the whereabouts of her child she had a lot to deal with, including whether there was any chance of a future for her and Carson.
Carson is the constable for their town. It's a fairly easy job until Jena comes to town and confronts him about his father's part in the disappearance of her baby. When he takes the information she gives him and confronts his father he is stunned and horrified to find out that it's all true. What's worse is the fact that his father flat out refuses to tell what he did with the baby. He feels terrible that he had believed all the lies that his father told about Jena and tells her that he will do everything he can to discover the truth. I enjoyed seeing his protectiveness come out around her, and also the way she refused to be babied by him. He was also trying to fight his attraction to her and was losing the battle. Once Carson had agreed t help Jena he discovered that there were many irregularities from the investigation done into the two murders. When dealing with his father was a dead end, he and Jena started looking into trying to get at the truth about them. The more information they found the worse it looked for his father. Carson was having to deal with the idea that his father was going to be arrested and trying to figure out how to pursue justice and still protect his family. Carson is especially worried about how it will affect his children, who love their grandfather. The solving of the mystery creates a rift between Carson and Jena that ends up being mended by the actions of a child. I loved the ending but I was exhausted by the time I was done reading.
Series:
The Gingerbread Girls (Book 1)
The secret to mend their marriage
With an aching heart, Emily Watson knows her marriage is in trouble. She
wants it to work more than anything in the world, so walking away from
Cole is the hardest thing she'll ever do. But one last night together is
set to change her life and her marriage forever….
Needing time to think, Emily returns to the one place that always feels
like home: the Gingerbread Inn. It is the perfect setting to work out
what to do with her little secret.
And when Cole finds her, and her growing bump, he realizes that this Christmas, some things are worth fighting for….
What an emotional book. Emily and Cole have been married for ten years and Emily has had enough. She understood Cole's long hours and dedication when he was just starting his business. But business is still his number one priority and nothing she says will get him to lighten his load and spend time with her, except for one night. Now she's pregnant and looking for answers for what to do about her future. Cole tracks her down and tries his best to get her to come back home, but he's having trouble understanding why she left in the first place.
Emily feels that she has no choice but to give up on her marriage. For years she has been trying to get Cole to spend less time at the office and more time on their marriage. Whenever she thinks she's making a little headway he goes right back to his workaholic ways. Six months ago she asked for a separation and began to think about what she wants for herself. The problem is that Cole keeps showing up trying to stay part of her life. She gave in once to her hope that he would change and ended up pregnant. She has wanted a baby for a long time but Cole kept putting her off saying the time wasn't right. She can't handle his frequent appearances as she is trying to make some decisions, so she heads for the Gingerbread Inn, a place with a lot of happy memories for her. She is dismayed to find it in poor repair and up for sale. The innkeeper has just not been able to keep up with things but welcomes Emily back and gives her a place to regroup. Emily plans to take the time to pursue her dream of writing while she decides her future. I loved seeing the way that she really got into her writing and how happy it was making her. She's surprised when Cole tracks her down and continues his campaign to bring her home. She's even more surprised when he stays around to make repairs on the inn. She doesn't know what to do about his presence. She has had her hopes dashed so often that she just can't handle trying again. I really ached for Emily. She has tried to tell Cole how she felt but he never seemed to actually listen to her. She sees him there at the Inn, making the repairs, but wonders how long he's going to stay before he gives in to the lure of his business again. She still loves him but feels she has to do what is best for herself and the baby. The longer he stays the more she begins to hope, until she tells him about the baby. His reaction breaks her heart and she feels there is no longer any hope at all for them. I liked the fact that at the end she admitted that not all of the fault was his.
Cole was so clueless about what was happening. No matter what Emily tried to tell him it never seemed to make an impression on him until she left. Cole is a man who doesn't like to lose or quit at anything and he is determined to get Emily to come home. I liked the way that he found himself doing repairs at the Inn himself rather than just hiring someone to do it. He was surprised at how good it made him feel to do it himself. I liked the way that he knew he still loved Emily and wanted to repair their marriage. He just had no idea what he was doing wrong. Every time he felt that he was making some progress with her, something would happen to send her off again. He didn't seem to be able to see that always putting business ahead of her was at the root of the problem. Because he had had a father who expected perfection, all he knew was to treat his business that way. Plus, they had been so poor at the beginning of their marriage that he equated his love to being able to provide more and more for Emily in the way of material goods. He never really heard her pleas for his attention. Emily's requests for them to start their family also fell on deaf ears, mostly because the idea scared him. He was afraid that he would turn out to be the type of father he had. The more time he spent with Emily and away from his business the more he liked it, but breaking habits like that were very hard. I really loved the way that both his friend and his secretary also told Cole the same thing about needing to put Emily first. Emily's ending up in the hospital was a real eye opener and it took him awhile to process what it really meant for him. I liked seeing him open up to Emily about why he is the way he is. It was hard to see him so fearful about his abilities as a father. I loved the ending and how he was finally convinced of the possibility of a future for them. I hope to see more of them in the next two books and see how things are going for them.
Maybe this Christmas…?
It has been seven long years since Kara Jameson last saw Jason Greene.
Returning home as a wounded war hero, Jason looks a shell of the man she
once knew. Yet her heart still skips a beat as if it was yesterday….
Stepping back into civilian life, Jason looks to Kara for help. But
there's too much water under the bridge -- not to mention too much
lingering attraction.
But it seems that the mountain weather has other ideas, and when Kara
and Jason end up snowbound together they are forced to confront the
ghosts of Christmas past.
Very good book about second chances. Jason has returned to Pleasant Valley as the new owner of the resort, which he has purchased from his father, who he has not spoken to in seven years. He also hasn't seen Kara in seven years, ever since he broke their engagement and left town. Now he needs her help getting the resort back up and running. He would also like to clear the air between them and tell her why he left the way he did. There's still a strong attraction between them and Jason would like to start over, but he has to show her he can be trusted first.
I liked Kara. She is a great mom, devoted to making sure her daughter Sam has the best life she can give her. She has worked hard keeping the resort running under difficult circumstances. She has also been a friend to her ex-fiance's father, especially since he has been so ill. When she hears that the resort has been sold, she is worried about her job. When she discovers that Jason is the new owner she is sure that he won't want to keep her on, especially when he asks her to stay on "through the opening". They get caught in a blizzard and have to spend the time together until they can get out. She realizes that she is still attracted to him even though she doesn't want to be. As they work together on getting the resort up and running again, Kara realizes that she never stopped loving him. She slowly starts letting him back in her life. His easy relationship with her daughter softens her toward him even more. There are also some things that she needs to tell him about the past that she's afraid will make him look at her differently. I loved her support of him when he finally told her why he had left her all those years ago. I also liked the way she kept trying to get him to talk to his father before it was too late. After all her support of him it was heartbreaking to see his initial reaction to her revelations. When he came to his senses she could have made it a lot harder on him than she did.
Jason had run from Kara and Pleasant Valley after finding out some disturbing things from his father, things that made him feel that he wasn't safe to be around people like Kara. It also caused him to avoid any contact with his father. When he was wounded during the war and discharged he made the decision to purchase the resort and get it back the way it was during his grandfather's time. In order to do it right he needs Kara's help. He also wants to mend his fences with her and see if they can start over. Rather than come right out and tell her he wants her to stay on permanently at the resort, he decides to keep from pushing her and only asks her to stay for awhile. When they get snowed in at his house he wants to explain what had happened in the past but she didn't want to hear it. She also was trying to understand the new Jason, who doesn't celebrate Christmas and is very closed off emotionally. He starts to open up some when he meets Kara's daughter who he assumes is his. He really takes a shine to her and becomes more like the Jason she used to know. When their attraction really starts to heat up he knows he has to tell her his secret. It worries him because he's sure that she won't want anything to do with him afterwards. I loved his astonishment when it made no difference to her. That made his attitude toward her news that much harder to bear. I was glad to see him realize what an idiot he'd been. I loved his "go big" moment.
I also liked Kara's daughter Sam. She was a good blend of sweet and sassy. She took to Jason right away and had no problem trying to get her way with him, but not being a brat about it. She could be pouty or grumpy, but was mostly a good kid.
She's saving him from…the kids?
Lucas Finlay is used to calling the shots. But looking after his two
nephews and niece in New Orleans, he's entirely out of his league.
Luckily help is next door. With almost no effort Addy Toussant manages
to make order from the kid chaos. Lucas is beyond grateful…he's also
very attracted to her. Images of an adults-only playdate are soon
dancing in his head.
Yet something in Addy's golden-brown eyes tells him not to rush her. If
this romance is to go anywhere, he needs to let her take the lead. Given
the sizzling potential of what they have together, Lucas is okay with
that.
Good book with both fun and emotional depth. It was a little slow to start for me, but really picked up steam by the middle. Lucas is in New Orleans looking after his niece and two nephews. He had been estranged from his brother and sister-in-law for thirteen years, but when his brother was injured in Afghanistan and his sister-in-law needed to be in Virginia with him, he went. The kids don't know him at all and Lucas has no experience with kids so he is floundering. When one of the boys drives his motorbike through Addy's greenhouse she takes pity on Lucas and offers to help him with the kids. There is an attraction between them, but Lucas sees a great deal of wariness in Addy's eyes, so he is determined to take his time.
Addy is a woman who lives looking over her shoulder. As a teenager she was attacked and nearly raped by a man who is currently in prison. She frequently gets things in the mail that she knows are from him but it can't be proved. He is due up for parole and she fears what will happen when he gets out. She still participates in support groups and feels like she is doing well. She is still very cautious around men, especially large ones and Lucas's sudden appearance makes her nervous at first. Strangely enough for her that nervousness doesn't last and her sympathy for his distress takes over. I really loved seeing her step outside her comfort zone and spend time with Lucas and the kids. His obvious attraction to her, coupled with his patience, went a long way toward making her think that she had a chance at a normal life. But when the threats against her escalated she pulled away, not wanting her problems to create danger for Lucas and his family. Addy's strength really impressed me. In spite of her fears she was living a relatively normal life. She was cautious but had friends and activities that she participated in. I also really enjoyed her willingness to help Lucas. There were some pretty emotional parts where she was able to comfort one of his nephews and also where she was able to give Lucas a different way to look at things. I loved her strength of purpose at the end as she was determined to protect little Charlotte and her aunt.
Lucas had cut off all contact with his brother and sister-in-law years ago. Courtney had been his girlfriend while he was going to school, until she met and fell in love with his brother. He felt betrayed and couldn't forgive them. As a result he didn't know the kids at all when he suddenly showed up to care for them. He is used to living alone and having everything quiet and well ordered. His oldest nephew knows there is something going on with his parents that he hasn't been told about and is taking his anger and resentment out on Lucas. The other two kids just seem to be scared of him most of the time. His sister-in-law left very few instructions for him and he is totally lost about how to deal with all of it. When he met Addy he was instantly attracted to her. As much as he was interested in pursuing that attraction he sensed that it would not be easy to get close to her. He was, however, very appreciative of her offer to help him with the kids. I loved seeing him at the beginning trying to cope with doing Charlotte's hair, keeping Chris from destroying everything, and dealing with Michael's anger. Once Addy joined him he started having a better chance at keeping his sanity. His Saturday trip with Addy and the kids to show them places he and their father had liked as kids was a brilliant idea and marked a turning point with the children. I also liked seeing him start to realize that he didn't want his problems with his brother to continue and to try to figure out how to fix them. He was also trying to deal with his growing feelings for Addy and fighting the idea that it was love, and emotion he'd tried to convince himself didn't exist for him. I did have a problem with the way that he blew off her fears at the end, even though she hadn't told him everything.
The secondary characters were very well done. All three kids acted just like kids of that age would, especially under the stress they were under. I really enjoyed Michael and his teenage attitudes toward his little brother, especially when that little brother was so good at tormenting him. I also loved Addy's Aunt Flora. Her struggles with coping with the beginnings of her Alzheimer's were just heartbreaking. On the other hand her joy in experiencing so much of life was wonderful to see. I especially liked her coming to the rescue at the end - she was a hoot! The conflict with his brother and the possible resolution was believable, as was his brother's attitude when they talked.
Series:
Montana Mavericks: Rust Creek Cowboys (Book 4)
Rust Creek Ramblings
It seems as if all we've been hearing about these days in Rust Creek
Falls is folks falling in love and getting engaged. But this latest one
tops them all. Dr. Brooks Smith, our favorite veterinarian, the most
confirmed bachelor in all of Montana, is taking himself a bride!
The fact that he has chosen Jasmine "Jazzy" Cates, his new assistant, a
visitor from Thunder Canyon, is only fueling speculation. Rumors are
this "love match" is really just a business proposition, but sweet
Jazzy may have something more in mind. Can she turn her convenient
husband's wedding fever into a lifelong condition?
Very good book. Brooks has been trying to get his father to slow down. Both are veterinarians but Brooks's dad won't make him part of his practice until Brooks has settled down and gotten married. He is adamant on the subject and Brooks is just as determined to stay single. He first tries setting up his own practice to take some of the workload off his dad. He needs an assistant to help run the new office and settles on Jazzy. After just a week he realizes she is perfect for the job. There is also a simmering attraction between the two of them that they fight in order to keep a good business relationship. When his dad ends up in the hospital with heart problems Brooks decides that entering into a marriage of convenience is the best way to take care of his dad. He asks Jazzy to do that for him, offering her something she really wants in exchange. I loved the chemistry between the two of them and also the way that they were so compatible with each other outside that chemistry.
Jazzy is one of a group of volunteers from Thunder Canyon who have come to help with the flood relief. She was happy to get out of Thunder Canyon for a while. She recently broke off a relationship with a man when she realized she was only with him because her family approved of him. There was no real passion between them. She has realized that she is a "pleaser" who tends to want to do things that make other people happy, sometimes at a cost to her own wishes. By coming to Rust Creek Falls she is able to be away from their influence and decide what she really wants. She meets Brooks in the local saloon and they hit it off. He asks her if she would be interested in working for him as his assistant as he sets up his vet practice. Jazzy feels an instant attraction to him but tries to ignore it in favor of taking what sounds like an interesting job. I loved the way that she took to the job right away. She has great ideas and is able to implement them easily because Brooks actually listens to what she says. The spend a lot of time together over the next week and get pretty close. They have a lot of things in common. Jazzy realizes that she is falling for him, but also that he has no interest in a relationship because of his past. By the time he asks her to participate in the marriage she is fully in love with him. She knows she is risking a broken heart but says yes anyway. I loved the way that she takes care of both Brooks and his father, giving them a kind of care that neither had had in a long time if ever. The way that she stood up to her family when they tried to talk her out of the wedding was great to see - she was finally to the point where she was willing to stand up for her own wishes. I liked her sense of honor when she talked to Brooks' dad later on.
Brooks has been worrying about his father. The man is a workaholic and doesn't take very good care of himself. He has asked to join with his dad in the vet practice but his dad insists that Brooks has to be married first. Brooks was engaged once but the woman broke it off because she didn't like the idea of living in a small town and having a husband with such crazy hours. She wasn't faithful to him either. Now Brooks has no intention of getting married, blaming himself and his job for the breakup. He decides to set up his own practice in hopes of drawing enough business from his dad that he'll be forced to slow down. When he meets Jazzy at the saloon he is drawn to her but also senses that she would make a great assistant for his new practice. He offers her the job and as they set it up he is more and more attracted to her. He fights it because of his past and because he doesn't want to lose her. When things go really bad with his dad he asks Jazzy for the fake marriage thinking that it will solve the problem. He doesn't expect the attraction to grow and also to start feeling things he never expected to feel. It was fun watching him fight those feelings so hard and seeing that it just wasn't working. When he finally gave in to the attraction he panicked, feeling that he was being unfair to Jazzy because he broke his word. I loved seeing the way it was his father who straightened him out on what was really happening to him.
