I do so enjoy this series. It's almost as good as Robyn Carr's "Virgin River" series, which is the all-time best contemporary romance series I've read.

Series Note:
8th full length book in Mallery's "Fool's Gold" series which is set in the fiction town of Fool's Gold, California, where women outnumber men and then to rule the roost.

Summary:
Shane Stryker is ready to settle down in his hometown of Fool's Gold, California. He's bought land for a ranch and is having a house built. And just maybe, he'll be able to find the right woman for him...something who is calmer and won't cheat like his ex-wife. So when he first sees local librarian Annabelle Weiss dancing on a bar, he knows she's a woman to stay away from.

But Annabelle isn't at all like what he thought. As he spends time with her, teaching to ride a horse, he can't help but want her. For Annabelle, Shane's desire for her is a revelation. But she's bothered by how often he compares her to his ex-wife. She knows they have a chance for a future if only Shane could learn to let go of old hurts.

Review:
I've really enjoyed reading this series by Susan Mallery. It's chock full of great characters, sweet, sexy romances, and amusing, well-written situations that have you coming back for more whenever you put the book down.

Annabelle and Shane are both interesting characters. Annabelle's a library with sexy, fun side and Shane is yummy cowboy with some battle scars from a bad relationship...he acts like a jerk a few times but you can't help but forgive him. I enjoyed reading about them both. And they had some great chemistry together with some sexy scenes between them.

The storyline revolves around Annabelle learning to ride a horse for a town festival and Shane adjusting to life in Fool's Gold with his mother's odd menagerie of animals. I really loved the whole thing involving Khatar (a horse) and Annabelle. That was a really great addition to the story. And we can't forget the lonely elephant. Plus I enjoyed Shane getting suckered into giving riding lessons and being schmoozed by a dangerous deadly pony ;) All around it was just a great story set up that had me smiling, laughing and sighing. It was just the kind of storyline that I enjoy from a contemporary romance.

And of course there were parts involving the other characters from the series, which are great to read since you get to see what everyone is up to. I enjoyed the interactions with Annabelle and her friends. It was also interesting to learn more about Charlie, the tough-girl firefighter. I'm really looking forward to the next book that will feature her and the third Stryker brother, Clay (a movie butt-double and male model). Should be a really interesting story!

Just another winner from Mallery in this series, though. A fun, sexy, easy read that I highly enjoyed.