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Trespass
"He opened his home. She stole his heart and his money. "
Many would envy veterinarian Russ Gray s life in rural Montana s wide-open spaces. Russ calls it lonely. In a country with more cattle than eligible females, he doesn t envision his seven years as a widower ending anytime soon. Until a mysterious woman lands at his door in the dead of night, riddled with buckshot.
Sarah Novak hates lying to such a kind, handsome man, but if an upstanding citizen like Russ finds out why she s been three weeks on the run, he d surely turn her in. Yet she can t refuse his offer to let her stay until she heals, no questions asked.
From the start they fall into an easy companionship, then teasing flirtation flares into an unexpected intimate connection. But no matter how right it feels in his arms, guilt tugs at Sarah s heart. Russ doesn t deserve what she must do next.
When Russ wakes up with an empty bed and an empty wallet his first instinct isn t to call the cops it s to catch her and find out why his urge to protect her overshadows all reason. Because he s had a taste of real passion, and he s not letting it slip away without a fight. "
Many would envy veterinarian Russ Gray s life in rural Montana s wide-open spaces. Russ calls it lonely. In a country with more cattle than eligible females, he doesn t envision his seven years as a widower ending anytime soon. Until a mysterious woman lands at his door in the dead of night, riddled with buckshot.
Sarah Novak hates lying to such a kind, handsome man, but if an upstanding citizen like Russ finds out why she s been three weeks on the run, he d surely turn her in. Yet she can t refuse his offer to let her stay until she heals, no questions asked.
From the start they fall into an easy companionship, then teasing flirtation flares into an unexpected intimate connection. But no matter how right it feels in his arms, guilt tugs at Sarah s heart. Russ doesn t deserve what she must do next.
When Russ wakes up with an empty bed and an empty wallet his first instinct isn t to call the cops it s to catch her and find out why his urge to protect her overshadows all reason. Because he s had a taste of real passion, and he s not letting it slip away without a fight. "
256 pages, ebook
First published July 26, 2011
About the author
Meg Maguire
32 books266 followersSince she began writing in 2008, Meg Maguire has published nearly forty romances and erotic novels with a variety of publishers, sometimes under the pen names Cara McKenna and C.M. McKenna. Her stories have been acclaimed for their smart, modern voice and defiance of convention. She was a 2015 RITA Award finalist, a 2014 RT Reviewers’ Choice Award winner, a 2012 and 2011 RT Reviewers’ Choice Award nominee, and a 2010 Golden Heart Award finalist. She lives with her husband and baby son in the Pacific Northwest, though she’ll always be a Boston girl at heart.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
August 2, 2011
I think this book is a "put up, or shut up" for anyone who's called for flawed characters, physical imperfection or morally ambiguous heroines. It defies a whole host of genre conventions in a way I found refreshing, but anyone looking for a placeholder heroine to indulge in female fantasy would be completely put off. It's not a perfect book, but Maguire is taking romance somewhere new with her books, and I'm totally on board with this.
After a driver held a knife to her throat and a territorial property owner sprayed her with buckshot, being frozen on a rural driveway by two protective German Shepherds is hardly the worst thing that's happened to Sarah Novak. Clutching her bloody side and tired from running from the law for the past two weeks, she's at the mercy of a shotgun-wielding man standing before her in his boxers at one in the morning. Luckily for her, Russ Grey is a veterinarian willing to pick the buckshot out of her side and give her a place to stay, no questions asked. Unluckily for him, she plans to leave just as soon as she can, with whatever cash she can find in his house.
Widowed seven long years ago, Russ is a lonely, kind man. So eager for company and starved for excitement, he can't resist the urge to let this mysterious woman stay with him. She reacquaints him with things he thought he buried with his wife--easy companionship, shared work around his property and simple sexual desire. When she surprises him one night by preempting him and making the first move, he thinks he's hit the lottery. When the woman he thinks he's falling for drugs his dogs and runs off with his money, his anger is intensified by his hurt.
So, like I've said, this is an object lesson in realistic heroes and heroines. The characters look and act like normal people, fucking up and making bad decisions along the way. This premise isn't groundbreaking in of itself, but the heroine actually following through? Amazing. And when you think of it, her behavior makes a hell of a lot of sense. The hero's doing the conventional romance thing in unquestionably helping a pretty woman and falling for her, but who the hell would do that in real life? Now, a fugitive putting herself first and seizing every advantage, that's more like it.
If you've ever wanted imperfect characters behaving believably, this book has them. Like real life, it isn't always pretty. They don't follow the rules. Russ isn't an alpha or a beta, or gamma, or any of those. He's Russ. He's nice, but not a pushover, handsome, but with a little paunch, lonely, a little desperate, but far from pathetic. Sarah's selfish, but regrets hurting people, afraid, but gutsy, pretty, but hates how scrawny she is. They are average people with an even mix of awesome and bonehead. Along the way they make idiot decisions I'd never make, but they're screw ups they come by honestly. Since these decisions are rooted in their personalities they ring true, rather than come across as cheap plot vehicles.
Unlike most romances, this isn't really a journey so much as a snapshot. Much of the emotional turmoil centers on her fugitive status. It was a great story of trust gained, lost and regained and of two wildly different people discovering in each other all sorts of things they didn't know they wanted. Buffalo native Sarah, raised by a drug-addicted single mother and living her whole life in a hard neighborhood, is enthralled with Russ' seemingly endless goodness. Good, kind, straitlaced Russ is drawn to the lawless, exotic, ballsy Sarah. It's a look at a couple going through it's most tumultuous, emotional period rather than a chronicling of the evolution of a romance and the growth of its protagonists. I think that's the best way to describe it, anyway.
While I enjoyed the story, and found it more consistent in pace and plotting than The Reluctant Nude, it wasn't quite as emotional a story as I expect from this author. I think I wanted a little bit more time with them and a few more insights into who they were. As much as they were unique characters, they didn't really stick with me the way her characters usually do. The external conflict of her fugitive status overwhelmed the characters a bit more than I liked. And, frankly, her reason for running wasn't quite water-tight:
In the end, this was a different sort of romance, and I liked that about it. This author has a lot of potential, I think, and once she nails a balance of prose, voice, emotion and plot, that book's gonna be amazing. She's my new auto-buy author, I think.
After a driver held a knife to her throat and a territorial property owner sprayed her with buckshot, being frozen on a rural driveway by two protective German Shepherds is hardly the worst thing that's happened to Sarah Novak. Clutching her bloody side and tired from running from the law for the past two weeks, she's at the mercy of a shotgun-wielding man standing before her in his boxers at one in the morning. Luckily for her, Russ Grey is a veterinarian willing to pick the buckshot out of her side and give her a place to stay, no questions asked. Unluckily for him, she plans to leave just as soon as she can, with whatever cash she can find in his house.
Widowed seven long years ago, Russ is a lonely, kind man. So eager for company and starved for excitement, he can't resist the urge to let this mysterious woman stay with him. She reacquaints him with things he thought he buried with his wife--easy companionship, shared work around his property and simple sexual desire. When she surprises him one night by preempting him and making the first move, he thinks he's hit the lottery. When the woman he thinks he's falling for drugs his dogs and runs off with his money, his anger is intensified by his hurt.
So, like I've said, this is an object lesson in realistic heroes and heroines. The characters look and act like normal people, fucking up and making bad decisions along the way. This premise isn't groundbreaking in of itself, but the heroine actually following through? Amazing. And when you think of it, her behavior makes a hell of a lot of sense. The hero's doing the conventional romance thing in unquestionably helping a pretty woman and falling for her, but who the hell would do that in real life? Now, a fugitive putting herself first and seizing every advantage, that's more like it.
If you've ever wanted imperfect characters behaving believably, this book has them. Like real life, it isn't always pretty. They don't follow the rules. Russ isn't an alpha or a beta, or gamma, or any of those. He's Russ. He's nice, but not a pushover, handsome, but with a little paunch, lonely, a little desperate, but far from pathetic. Sarah's selfish, but regrets hurting people, afraid, but gutsy, pretty, but hates how scrawny she is. They are average people with an even mix of awesome and bonehead. Along the way they make idiot decisions I'd never make, but they're screw ups they come by honestly. Since these decisions are rooted in their personalities they ring true, rather than come across as cheap plot vehicles.
Unlike most romances, this isn't really a journey so much as a snapshot. Much of the emotional turmoil centers on her fugitive status. It was a great story of trust gained, lost and regained and of two wildly different people discovering in each other all sorts of things they didn't know they wanted. Buffalo native Sarah, raised by a drug-addicted single mother and living her whole life in a hard neighborhood, is enthralled with Russ' seemingly endless goodness. Good, kind, straitlaced Russ is drawn to the lawless, exotic, ballsy Sarah. It's a look at a couple going through it's most tumultuous, emotional period rather than a chronicling of the evolution of a romance and the growth of its protagonists. I think that's the best way to describe it, anyway.
While I enjoyed the story, and found it more consistent in pace and plotting than The Reluctant Nude, it wasn't quite as emotional a story as I expect from this author. I think I wanted a little bit more time with them and a few more insights into who they were. As much as they were unique characters, they didn't really stick with me the way her characters usually do. The external conflict of her fugitive status overwhelmed the characters a bit more than I liked. And, frankly, her reason for running wasn't quite water-tight:
In the end, this was a different sort of romance, and I liked that about it. This author has a lot of potential, I think, and once she nails a balance of prose, voice, emotion and plot, that book's gonna be amazing. She's my new auto-buy author, I think.
September 10, 2011
★★★★½ stars! After I switched gears and realized it was an erotic novel, I loved it. Not you standard “hook-up” and nothing too kinky for me. Just lots of smoking words that burned up the screen on my computer. This one had an intriguing premise and a story with some punch when I least expected it. Favorite line:
She was the lump of chocolate and Russ was a warm radiator.Man-oh-man! Juliana and Jill you've done it again. First time I’ve read anything by this author and it definitely won't be my last. I've heard The Reluctant Nude supposed to be even better.
June 22, 2016
There were two issues that kind of triggered my dislike of the story line and I couldn’t bring myself to root for this couple.
1. Insta-love: The hero fell half in love with the heroine in two days. Not to mention she stole his money and drugged his dogs.
2. His wife died years ago, but he still kept her belongings untouched in one of his bedrooms. Then he let this woman whom he just met in such a short time clean out the room. This is something I can’t comprehend. Sorry.
The story in here just didn’t work for me. Still, I like the author’s style of writing and may try her books again.
1. Insta-love: The hero fell half in love with the heroine in two days. Not to mention she stole his money and drugged his dogs.
2. His wife died years ago, but he still kept her belongings untouched in one of his bedrooms. Then he let this woman whom he just met in such a short time clean out the room. This is something I can’t comprehend. Sorry.
The story in here just didn’t work for me. Still, I like the author’s style of writing and may try her books again.
July 26, 2011
After reading The Reluctant Nude earlier this year, I became very excited to try something else by Meg Maguire. Trespass didn’t quite live up to my expectations, but it still offers quite a different story, which I’ve come to expect from Meg Maguire aka Cara McKenna.
Sarah is on the run. From Buffalo, New York you know she is running from something serious she was involved in, but as the reader you don’t know exactly what. After hitchhiking west, she finds herself in Montana, hungry and injured. One hitchhiker put a knife to her throat. Another time she was shot with a buckshot after she trespassed on property. That is how she finds herself on a farm, hoping to bunk down in a barn. But before she can get there, dogs start charging at her, and she finds herself face to face with a man in boxers holding a gun.
Russ is a vet, and owns this farm that Sarah has wandered onto in the middle of the night. He sees her holding her side and invites her in to take a look at her injuries. After assessing that nothing is life threatening, he patches her up, offers her food and a shower. She refuses to tell him how she ended up hurt in his front yard. Russ has been widowed for seven years, and hasn’t come across any type of woman like Sarah in all this time. Sarah comes from a bad neighborhood in Buffalo and the sight of a “cowboy” is new to her as well.
Even though Russ doesn’t know what crime she committed, he lets her stay in his house. She offers to help out with farm and household chores for food and shelter. They quickly develop friendly banter, and find it very cozy to eat dinner by the fire at night. But Sarah soon feels the urge to flee again, but getting away from Russ is going to be harder than she thought.
I finished Trespass and stared at the Goodreads rating for awhile unable to decide what to rate it. And I think my confusion all comes down to Russ. He is more of a beta hero. Quiet, not really demanding, (although in bed – he knows what he wants.). Although his wife has been dead for seven years, and he has moved on, her ghost still weighs him down at times. At least I think she does – as this is part of the problem. How much is he actually affected by his dead wife? He is just plain lonely, so when Sarah shows up, he clings to her. At times, I felt he clings to her in a very desperate, almost creepy way. He has no idea what kind of criminal she is, but he just lets her into his house. Why? Why does he fall for her so hard? Is it just loneliness and a warm body? He really doesn’t know anything about her so I struggled with his hard and fast feelings for her. I will admit in real life not believing in love at first sight. I don’t think these two experience this, but I think Russ must have had deeper feelings for Sarah than what is shown.
What I did like, is that after a very short amount of time, Sarah gets nervous and tries to run off. Russ catches up to her quick. He is so hurt that she tried to leave. That she had given him a false name. Although they didn’t have intercourse, they pretty much had sex before she ran off. Then the doubts start to form in Russ’s mind- did she use me for sex? Is she not who he thought she was?
On Sarah’s end – Russ is nice to her. He offers her protection and comfort. His lifestyle of living in very small, rural town is completely foreign to her. It offers her a chance to stop and catch her breath. She is definitely physically attracted to him, but his demeanor appeals to her as well. Deep down she is a good person, and her trying to run from him really has nothing to do with him. If anything, she wants to protect him from the possibility of helping a fugitive out. After she comes back to his house, I like how he has lost all trust in her. It takes awhile for their friendship to return. Again, I questioned why Russ wants her to stay with him. He gets so nervous at the thought of her leaving again, but getting past that, I like that their relationship is not an easy one.
But like I said, I like their new foundation for a relationship and then when the big reveal comes as to why she is running, that presents an entire new set of problems for them. I was very satisfied by the ending, although this book only takes place within about a span of a week.
So yes, I had a few problems, but I also like how different these characters are. Russ is not your typical hero – he is just an average dude and on the surface nothing super grand stands out about him, but Meg Maguire writes him so he is not boring. He really intrigued me although baffled me too. And Sarah has this secret, and comes from a hard life. I love how that part of her integrates into this new, calm, “easy” life on the farm with Russ.
Rating: B-
Sarah is on the run. From Buffalo, New York you know she is running from something serious she was involved in, but as the reader you don’t know exactly what. After hitchhiking west, she finds herself in Montana, hungry and injured. One hitchhiker put a knife to her throat. Another time she was shot with a buckshot after she trespassed on property. That is how she finds herself on a farm, hoping to bunk down in a barn. But before she can get there, dogs start charging at her, and she finds herself face to face with a man in boxers holding a gun.
Russ is a vet, and owns this farm that Sarah has wandered onto in the middle of the night. He sees her holding her side and invites her in to take a look at her injuries. After assessing that nothing is life threatening, he patches her up, offers her food and a shower. She refuses to tell him how she ended up hurt in his front yard. Russ has been widowed for seven years, and hasn’t come across any type of woman like Sarah in all this time. Sarah comes from a bad neighborhood in Buffalo and the sight of a “cowboy” is new to her as well.
Even though Russ doesn’t know what crime she committed, he lets her stay in his house. She offers to help out with farm and household chores for food and shelter. They quickly develop friendly banter, and find it very cozy to eat dinner by the fire at night. But Sarah soon feels the urge to flee again, but getting away from Russ is going to be harder than she thought.
I finished Trespass and stared at the Goodreads rating for awhile unable to decide what to rate it. And I think my confusion all comes down to Russ. He is more of a beta hero. Quiet, not really demanding, (although in bed – he knows what he wants.). Although his wife has been dead for seven years, and he has moved on, her ghost still weighs him down at times. At least I think she does – as this is part of the problem. How much is he actually affected by his dead wife? He is just plain lonely, so when Sarah shows up, he clings to her. At times, I felt he clings to her in a very desperate, almost creepy way. He has no idea what kind of criminal she is, but he just lets her into his house. Why? Why does he fall for her so hard? Is it just loneliness and a warm body? He really doesn’t know anything about her so I struggled with his hard and fast feelings for her. I will admit in real life not believing in love at first sight. I don’t think these two experience this, but I think Russ must have had deeper feelings for Sarah than what is shown.
What I did like, is that after a very short amount of time, Sarah gets nervous and tries to run off. Russ catches up to her quick. He is so hurt that she tried to leave. That she had given him a false name. Although they didn’t have intercourse, they pretty much had sex before she ran off. Then the doubts start to form in Russ’s mind- did she use me for sex? Is she not who he thought she was?
On Sarah’s end – Russ is nice to her. He offers her protection and comfort. His lifestyle of living in very small, rural town is completely foreign to her. It offers her a chance to stop and catch her breath. She is definitely physically attracted to him, but his demeanor appeals to her as well. Deep down she is a good person, and her trying to run from him really has nothing to do with him. If anything, she wants to protect him from the possibility of helping a fugitive out. After she comes back to his house, I like how he has lost all trust in her. It takes awhile for their friendship to return. Again, I questioned why Russ wants her to stay with him. He gets so nervous at the thought of her leaving again, but getting past that, I like that their relationship is not an easy one.
But like I said, I like their new foundation for a relationship and then when the big reveal comes as to why she is running, that presents an entire new set of problems for them. I was very satisfied by the ending, although this book only takes place within about a span of a week.
So yes, I had a few problems, but I also like how different these characters are. Russ is not your typical hero – he is just an average dude and on the surface nothing super grand stands out about him, but Meg Maguire writes him so he is not boring. He really intrigued me although baffled me too. And Sarah has this secret, and comes from a hard life. I love how that part of her integrates into this new, calm, “easy” life on the farm with Russ.
Rating: B-
July 27, 2013
Sarah has been on the run for three weeks when she stumbles onto Russ’ property in BFE Montana, hungry and wounded. He invites her to stay for as long as she needs to and doesn’t require any explanation for why she’s in her current predicament. Sure, it seems a little stupid (okay, a lot), but the guy doesn’t have a television or the internet. So there’s the entertainment factor. Also, Russ has been celibate for 7 years (since his wife died) and he’s immediately attracted to Sarah. Second, he’s a vet so he has that whole nurturing thing going on. Third (or fourth? whatever), and most importantly, Russ is THE BEST.
Honestly it just worked for me. Even with the initial lies, the stealing, and the whirlwind romance thing (less than a week, for true?), I just believed. I went with it: “Yep, that’s exactly what a person would do in your predicament!” I would justify. Maybe I was just so tired of reading about 6’3” thick-necked muscle men who growl their words that Russ in all of his beta glory left me dazed? It’s possible. If you couldn’t tell by now, I really dug Russ. He’s just wonderful. He's sensitive without being emo, and he could be jealous and possessive, too, but oddly enough it didn’t bother me.
Sarah, on Russ: So handsome. Not movie-star handsome-the kind of looks that conked a girl over the head-but the sort that if a woman were attracted to the type of man Russ was, she couldn’t help but melt. And he wasn’t Sarah’s type, even, but she melted all the same. She was a lump of chocolate and Russ was a warm radiator.
I love how Sarah makes the first move with Russ, how she reaches out and takes what she wants. I mean, she shouldn’t have taken his watch and his money (. That wasn’t cool. Much like Russ, though, I was a big ole pushover when it came to Sarah.
“I’m gonna say something real stupid now,” Russ announced, going perfectly still.
“Oh. Alright.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you.”
I hope they live happily ever after.
Honestly it just worked for me. Even with the initial lies, the stealing, and the whirlwind romance thing (less than a week, for true?), I just believed. I went with it: “Yep, that’s exactly what a person would do in your predicament!” I would justify. Maybe I was just so tired of reading about 6’3” thick-necked muscle men who growl their words that Russ in all of his beta glory left me dazed? It’s possible. If you couldn’t tell by now, I really dug Russ. He’s just wonderful. He's sensitive without being emo, and he could be jealous and possessive, too, but oddly enough it didn’t bother me.
Sarah, on Russ: So handsome. Not movie-star handsome-the kind of looks that conked a girl over the head-but the sort that if a woman were attracted to the type of man Russ was, she couldn’t help but melt. And he wasn’t Sarah’s type, even, but she melted all the same. She was a lump of chocolate and Russ was a warm radiator.
I love how Sarah makes the first move with Russ, how she reaches out and takes what she wants. I mean, she shouldn’t have taken his watch and his money (. That wasn’t cool. Much like Russ, though, I was a big ole pushover when it came to Sarah.
“I’m gonna say something real stupid now,” Russ announced, going perfectly still.
“Oh. Alright.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you.”
I hope they live happily ever after.
September 12, 2011
In the middle of the night, Russ Gray finds an injured woman wandering outside his home. In an attempt to help her, he invites her in so he can treat her gun shot wounds. Being a vet he knows a little something about treating injuries. Russ realizes right away she's probably in some sort of trouble, but offers her food and shelter while she recuperates. When she steals away in the middle of the night several days later, she takes more than just his money, she takes a piece of his heart.
I was three chapters in when I first realized this was an erotic romance. This one was a member's choice book of the month in my Goodreads group, Nothing but Reading Challenges. There are a few erotic romance authors whose books I'll read, but I am usually hesitant about reading books labeled erotic. I kind of see erotic romances like (and yes I'm totally stealing this analogy from Forrest Gump) a box of chocolates. When you pick one up you never know what you're going to get. That said, I was pleasantly surprised that this was one I liked. For an erotic romance to work for me, it needs to have a decent story line, be well written, and have nothing I'd categorize as kinky or shocking between the two main characters.
Now, *blush* I'm not a big fan of self pleasuring (to term it kindly) in a romance and you will probably NEVER hear this from me again, but the author did a brilliant job with the scene. Both characters simultaneously have their "moment" and the scene takes on more a phone sex air less the humor. It made it easier to focus on their feelings for one another rather than what they were doing. *end of blushing*
The author used a lot of symbolism throughout the book which is something I love. There is a discussion of putting together a jig-saw puzzle which I felt perfectly symbolized the developing relationship between Russ and Sarah. They talk of assembling a puzzle without knowing what the image on the pieces look like, basically putting one together when it's pieces have been spray painted black. You don't get a clear view of what the individual pieces looks like or what the final picture on the puzzle will be. In a way, that's what happening with Russ and Sarah - their building a relationship without knowing much about each others background or what the relationship will be when they're complete. While such a task may take more time and be more difficult cultivating/piecing together, it is ultimately more satisfying. Also, Russ' wife's wedding dress seemed to represent Russ' feelings for his wife who died. When Sarah took it out of the closet, aired it out, and suggested he give it to his sister-in-law, I felt it symbolized what he was doing with his feelings for his former wife. In a way, he was airing out his feelings, letting go of the past, and moving on like the dress.
I admit I didn't like Sarah and Russ as much to begin with as I did towards the end of the book. Initially, Russ seemed a bit too needy. In fact, I asked in our Goodreads discussion if the roles were reversed and Sarah acted like Russ would the male character be turned off by her actions? We all agreed he would. Eventually, however, Russ seemed to come up to snuff and let his inner alpha out. Sarah was hard to read at first and it wasn't until later that I really got to know her and find out what happened. I originally felt she was a bit cold, and while some of the initial things she did were not totally forgivable, they were understandable.
On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one gets a SHOWER rating - a cold shower may be necessary after reading this book. Need I say more? I believe some books should come with a warning - make sure your significant other is handy or your shower is in working order. Overall, I gave this one 4 out of 5 roses.
If you don't have an eReader you can download the free Kindle application to your computer:
Go to http://www.amazon.com/
On left hand menu, run your cursor down until you get to Kindle.
This will provide a drop down menu.
Click on Free Kindle Reading Apps (in light grey will be the words “For PC, iPad, iPhone, Android, and more”)
Make you selection and then click on the goldenrod colored button “Download Now”
To read more of my reviews please visit my blog at www.seducedbyabook.com
I was three chapters in when I first realized this was an erotic romance. This one was a member's choice book of the month in my Goodreads group, Nothing but Reading Challenges. There are a few erotic romance authors whose books I'll read, but I am usually hesitant about reading books labeled erotic. I kind of see erotic romances like (and yes I'm totally stealing this analogy from Forrest Gump) a box of chocolates. When you pick one up you never know what you're going to get. That said, I was pleasantly surprised that this was one I liked. For an erotic romance to work for me, it needs to have a decent story line, be well written, and have nothing I'd categorize as kinky or shocking between the two main characters.
Now, *blush* I'm not a big fan of self pleasuring (to term it kindly) in a romance and you will probably NEVER hear this from me again, but the author did a brilliant job with the scene. Both characters simultaneously have their "moment" and the scene takes on more a phone sex air less the humor. It made it easier to focus on their feelings for one another rather than what they were doing. *end of blushing*
The author used a lot of symbolism throughout the book which is something I love. There is a discussion of putting together a jig-saw puzzle which I felt perfectly symbolized the developing relationship between Russ and Sarah. They talk of assembling a puzzle without knowing what the image on the pieces look like, basically putting one together when it's pieces have been spray painted black. You don't get a clear view of what the individual pieces looks like or what the final picture on the puzzle will be. In a way, that's what happening with Russ and Sarah - their building a relationship without knowing much about each others background or what the relationship will be when they're complete. While such a task may take more time and be more difficult cultivating/piecing together, it is ultimately more satisfying. Also, Russ' wife's wedding dress seemed to represent Russ' feelings for his wife who died. When Sarah took it out of the closet, aired it out, and suggested he give it to his sister-in-law, I felt it symbolized what he was doing with his feelings for his former wife. In a way, he was airing out his feelings, letting go of the past, and moving on like the dress.
I admit I didn't like Sarah and Russ as much to begin with as I did towards the end of the book. Initially, Russ seemed a bit too needy. In fact, I asked in our Goodreads discussion if the roles were reversed and Sarah acted like Russ would the male character be turned off by her actions? We all agreed he would. Eventually, however, Russ seemed to come up to snuff and let his inner alpha out. Sarah was hard to read at first and it wasn't until later that I really got to know her and find out what happened. I originally felt she was a bit cold, and while some of the initial things she did were not totally forgivable, they were understandable.
On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one gets a SHOWER rating - a cold shower may be necessary after reading this book. Need I say more? I believe some books should come with a warning - make sure your significant other is handy or your shower is in working order. Overall, I gave this one 4 out of 5 roses.
If you don't have an eReader you can download the free Kindle application to your computer:
Go to http://www.amazon.com/
On left hand menu, run your cursor down until you get to Kindle.
This will provide a drop down menu.
Click on Free Kindle Reading Apps (in light grey will be the words “For PC, iPad, iPhone, Android, and more”)
Make you selection and then click on the goldenrod colored button “Download Now”
To read more of my reviews please visit my blog at www.seducedbyabook.com
June 24, 2011
originally posted at http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...
On the run from a crime of self-defense, Sarah Novak arrives in the dead of night at Russ Gray's remote Montana property, riddled with buckshot and short on answers. Despite his misgivings, the kind, hunky vet treats her wounds and allows to let her stay until she heals. But will the attraction that flares between them be enough to allow trust to build? Russ hopes so, but when he awakens to find “Nicole” and his money gone, anger drives his emotions.
Sarah has been on the run from her home in Buffalo for three weeks—a harrowing time when she's hitchhiked, been threatened at knifepoint and shot at by a rancher. Exhausted, she arrives on veterinarian Russ Gray's doorstep in need of medical attention, rest and food. Using the assumed name Nicole, Sarah isn't about to give out many answers. Nevertheless, the lonely widower takes her in and provides the assistance she needs.
Over the course of a few days, they share a sort of camaraderie, and later an attraction that moves into full-blown lust. Russ wants answers but won't push her, and “Nicole” hates lying to this good man, but she has to save herself. After three days of passionate lovemaking initiated by “Nicole”, she steals away with a gold watch and some money.
Ms. Maguire has crafted a strong story with truly likable characters, and she has a knack for plumbing the depths of their souls. I'm not a fan of gratuitous sex, but the sex scenes in Trespass were appropriate to the characters and the story, and if you like them spicy, then this is the book for you!
Russ has been a widower seven years, and he's lonely but never expected to find a woman in the remote Montana ranch country. He's locked in the past, living in a seventies house with now prospects for a future other than treating farm animals in the community. Enter Sarah, a big city girl, and almost his exact opposite. Yet the attraction between them sizzles, and Sarah, who has escaped from a bad environment and a bad childhood, recognizes the decency in Russ. She wants to stay for as long as he will have her.
I felt both Sarah's and Russ' motivations were in keeping with their characters. Ms. Maguire did an excellent job of reeling me in and keeping me interested in the outcome.
Trespass is beautifully written, a powerful drama that will stay with you. I won't reveal the ending, but be ready to shed some happy tears.
On the run from a crime of self-defense, Sarah Novak arrives in the dead of night at Russ Gray's remote Montana property, riddled with buckshot and short on answers. Despite his misgivings, the kind, hunky vet treats her wounds and allows to let her stay until she heals. But will the attraction that flares between them be enough to allow trust to build? Russ hopes so, but when he awakens to find “Nicole” and his money gone, anger drives his emotions.
Sarah has been on the run from her home in Buffalo for three weeks—a harrowing time when she's hitchhiked, been threatened at knifepoint and shot at by a rancher. Exhausted, she arrives on veterinarian Russ Gray's doorstep in need of medical attention, rest and food. Using the assumed name Nicole, Sarah isn't about to give out many answers. Nevertheless, the lonely widower takes her in and provides the assistance she needs.
Over the course of a few days, they share a sort of camaraderie, and later an attraction that moves into full-blown lust. Russ wants answers but won't push her, and “Nicole” hates lying to this good man, but she has to save herself. After three days of passionate lovemaking initiated by “Nicole”, she steals away with a gold watch and some money.
Ms. Maguire has crafted a strong story with truly likable characters, and she has a knack for plumbing the depths of their souls. I'm not a fan of gratuitous sex, but the sex scenes in Trespass were appropriate to the characters and the story, and if you like them spicy, then this is the book for you!
Russ has been a widower seven years, and he's lonely but never expected to find a woman in the remote Montana ranch country. He's locked in the past, living in a seventies house with now prospects for a future other than treating farm animals in the community. Enter Sarah, a big city girl, and almost his exact opposite. Yet the attraction between them sizzles, and Sarah, who has escaped from a bad environment and a bad childhood, recognizes the decency in Russ. She wants to stay for as long as he will have her.
I felt both Sarah's and Russ' motivations were in keeping with their characters. Ms. Maguire did an excellent job of reeling me in and keeping me interested in the outcome.
Trespass is beautifully written, a powerful drama that will stay with you. I won't reveal the ending, but be ready to shed some happy tears.
May 4, 2012
Again....LOVE this author! Great story!! I love the chemistry between Sarah & Russ! Even though they're story takes place in a short time span, they emotion & chemistry is unquestionable. From about middle to end, I couldn't put it down! Great read!!!
July 5, 2012
Another "sex on paper." AWESOME almost sex, and then BAM they finally get to, well, penetration. I know that sounds clinical, but it's part of the story. I thought the dialogue was superb for being an erotic story. I wish there would have been an epilogue or a part two or something, though.
January 12, 2020
I have had this in my e-reader for a while and decided to take a chance . It was a bit boring for me . their relationship took off to fast . I actually didn't like the heroine, because I like a powerful smart lead and she was lacking.
August 2, 2011
3.5 Stars
I wasn’t sure what to expect when starting Trespass, but I’ve enjoyed all of Meg Maguire (Cara McKenna’s) books that I’ve read in the past so Trespass was an auto-buy for me. I will admit to being intrigued in Nicole/Sarah’s story right from the start. Why was she on the run, injured, so far away from home with no clothes, little money and basically at the end of her rope when she landed on country vet Russ’s doorstep? I needed to know and I was fully prepared to feel empathy for whatever she had gone through to cause her all this grief and forgive her whatever she planned on doing to Russ. It must have been epic. Well not so much. Her reasons for being on the run were flimsy (at least in my opinion) at best. Certainly not reason enough for someone to uproot their entire life and go on the run.
Poor Russ. A widower, on his own for the past seven years with only his animals for company. He’s such a good guy and all together too trusting. He was practically smitten with the female trespassing on his property in the middle of the night with him dressed in his boxers and pointing a loaded gun at her. I’m still not sure how Nicole/Sarah ended up on Russ’s property since he lived in the middle of no where.
I guess I could kind of understand Russ’s fascination with Nicole since she’s practically the only female he’s been in close contact with since his wife died. “Little Russ” sure took notice in a hurray and Russ just seemed to accept Nicole taking up residence in his home and life no questions asked. Well at least he never pushed her to find out what her real deal was. Until she betrayed him, but even then it didn’t take him long to forgive her for trying to take advantage of his good nature and forgiving heart.
Maguire is great at telling an emotional story with only two people as the centerpiece with not a lot of outside distractions.
Trespass was an ok read, I just wish the reasons why Nicole/Sarah had been on the run had been more believable for me.
January 5, 2022
*** OCTOBER 28, 2012 ***
low 4 stars.
meg maguire/cara mckenna really has an ear for dialogue and is one of those sadly rare authors who take the time to find authentic motivation for their characters. i may not always particularly *like* her protagonists' kinks or personalities, but she carefully and thoroughly maps them, creating satisfying reads that often are a real joy.
trespass is a rather straightforward romance -- no great kinks or crazy -- that is paced well and only has a very, very few moments where i wish the author had better massaged the material. the protagonists are not mere retreads of characters she's written before: they're whole and unique, and their interactions are not only compelling but believable.
definite win, cara. meg. mara magennit. whoever you are.
UPDATE: it occurs to me that her hero is one of the very few fully believable, gentle, beta men of integrity that i've encountered so far in romance.
*** UPDATE: OCTOBER 4, 2013 ***
since first reading this just about a year ago, this has proven itself to be probably my favorite mckenna/maguire long-form book. the protagonists' clash of characters and needs and humming chemistry (can chemistry hum?) make for a wonderfully satisfying read. quiet and of small scope, but immensely satisfying.
*** UPDATE: AUGUST 12, 2014 ***
i recently dinged mckenna for fumbling a plot in another title. but after rereading this one just now, i realize that, though incredibly character-focused, this had a perfectly respectable plot that she handled beautifully. it's just that here she put her time and effort into the small moments, which she excels at. and there is a FINE tradition of lady writers who excel at small, character-driven moments. (SEE: Austen, Jane) love you, cara.
low 4 stars.
meg maguire/cara mckenna really has an ear for dialogue and is one of those sadly rare authors who take the time to find authentic motivation for their characters. i may not always particularly *like* her protagonists' kinks or personalities, but she carefully and thoroughly maps them, creating satisfying reads that often are a real joy.
trespass is a rather straightforward romance -- no great kinks or crazy -- that is paced well and only has a very, very few moments where i wish the author had better massaged the material. the protagonists are not mere retreads of characters she's written before: they're whole and unique, and their interactions are not only compelling but believable.
definite win, cara. meg. mara magennit. whoever you are.
UPDATE: it occurs to me that her hero is one of the very few fully believable, gentle, beta men of integrity that i've encountered so far in romance.
*** UPDATE: OCTOBER 4, 2013 ***
since first reading this just about a year ago, this has proven itself to be probably my favorite mckenna/maguire long-form book. the protagonists' clash of characters and needs and humming chemistry (can chemistry hum?) make for a wonderfully satisfying read. quiet and of small scope, but immensely satisfying.
*** UPDATE: AUGUST 12, 2014 ***
i recently dinged mckenna for fumbling a plot in another title. but after rereading this one just now, i realize that, though incredibly character-focused, this had a perfectly respectable plot that she handled beautifully. it's just that here she put her time and effort into the small moments, which she excels at. and there is a FINE tradition of lady writers who excel at small, character-driven moments. (SEE: Austen, Jane) love you, cara.
July 29, 2011
4 1/2 STARS
What a fantastic story, the moment I read The Reluctant Nude by this author she became an automatic buy for me!
What a fantastic story, the moment I read The Reluctant Nude by this author she became an automatic buy for me!
August 11, 2011
HOLY SHITBALLS! I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH THAT I HAVE TO TYPE IT IN ALL CAPS!!
-Review Coming Soon-
-Review Coming Soon-
September 3, 2011
4.5 stars
February 6, 2012
This would have been a great full length book. A little more character development and then maybe a 5 star read. I like the concept and will be looking for more by this author.
August 20, 2011
4.5, but I'm rounding up because I love this hero so much.
Sometimes, all it takes for me to love a book is to fall in love with the hero.
Sarah Novak is on the run after being a part of a crime in Buffalo. She’s tried hitchhiking, with disastrous effects, and her latest attempt to find shelter ended up with the owner shooting buckshot into her side. It’s purely accidental she stumbles onto Russ’s property, and even more so that he turns out to be a vet. He insists on taking care of her injury as well as giving her a place to stay until she’s well enough to move on. Sarah gives him a fake name and refuses to answer questions about her past, an indulgence he grants because he both wants to trust in the best of people and he’s lonely as all hell. Their flirtation and friendship becomes something more over a couple days, but Sarah knows she has to move on. She takes measures to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night, stealing a little from Russ in order to get by, but unfortunately for her, Russ wakes up and catches her. Hurt and angered by her betrayal, he then has to decide what exactly he’s going to do with her.
I’ll state it simply. I. Loved. Russ. I was in love with him before Sarah made the disastrous choice to run out, and that only exploded in the face of his anger and roiling emotions after she betrayed him. Widowed for seven years, he’s led an incredibly isolated life in the time since. In a lot of ways, he’s moved on from his wife’s death, compartmentalizing it in such a way that he can function. But deep in his heart, he’s incredibly lonely and masks that pain with his work. Sarah gives him a glimpse of what it would be like to have someone in his life again, and for the first time in years, he begins to feel human again. Part of that is sheer lust. He doesn’t have many opportunities in the backwoods of Montana, and Sarah is a pretty girl. But they hit it off, too, enjoying each other’s company as friends before they become lovers. He finds a playfulness that counters his quiet existence and blossoms in this brief affair.
But then Sarah’s deception comes to life, and Russ feels like a complete fool. He’s angry and hurt, but his fury is as much directed at himself for giving in to the hope as it is at her for lying and stealing from him. He has to decide for himself how he’s going to deal with it, and it’s this emotional need that drives the rest of the story. His desperation is palpable, but I never felt like it was misdirected. It comes from his loneliness, and honestly, he and Sarah hit it off so well, I can’t blame him for wanting to embrace it fully. There’s a scene before he discovers the truth about Sarah where she has turned down his offer to spend the night with him in his bed, but he, after being unable to fall asleep on his own, goes out to her on the couch and asks to sleep with her there. This simple action is the quintessential example of just how cut off this man really was. I can see how some people might think him a sucker for choosing to believing in Sarah – even he calls himself one more than once – but it stems from his good heart and need to believe in the best of people. He made some bad choices. That makes him human.
While I loved Russ, I had problems with Sarah. It wasn’t at first, but as soon as it became clear what she was going to do to him, I got furious at her for hurting him like that. By that point, we don’t have any details on why exactly she’s on the run, but I think if I had known more, I would have been more sympathetic to the choices she made then, even as awful as they were. As it was, I didn’t know enough to be able to gather a fair judgment on her, and so I spent the entire middle section of the book pretty much hating the girl. It’s not helped that she turns into a mouse full of apologies when Russ hauls her back to his house. The spark that he’d liked about her in the beginning was gone, and I needed some of that to try and understand why I should care about her. It eventually returns, but honestly, it took too long to get there. It’s not helped that the reasons for her running were incredibly lame. They just made her look stupid in the long run, which only hindered the process of trying to sympathize with her.
The writing is clean and evocative, with fantastic dialogue, but I do have one quibble. The author was great about using scene breaks to denote POV shifts, but there’s a sex scene in the middle where she headhops between the two while each masturbates to thoughts of the other. I know why she did it. It’s obvious that it’s deliberate, a way to mirror their thoughts and emotions so closely. But compared to the smoothness of the rest of the story, the effect was incredibly jarring, so much so that I literally stopped and went back to re-read more than once to make sure I wasn’t being stupid about what I was seeing.
That being said, I was sucked in by Russ and the incredibly realistic interactions between him and Sarah. Their banter and actions captivated me up to the point where Sarah went off the deep end for me, while his emotions held me prisoner from that point on. I loved that they were so wonderfully flawed. Neither is particularly smart, though they’re both capable, and they react from the gut rather than the head. In a lot of ways, Russ felt like Everyman, his imperfections only highlighting just how real his emotions were.
This is the second hero and book by this author that I’ve loved this year. After this one, she’s going to my autobuy list. I seriously need to take a look at her backlist, too.
Sometimes, all it takes for me to love a book is to fall in love with the hero.
Sarah Novak is on the run after being a part of a crime in Buffalo. She’s tried hitchhiking, with disastrous effects, and her latest attempt to find shelter ended up with the owner shooting buckshot into her side. It’s purely accidental she stumbles onto Russ’s property, and even more so that he turns out to be a vet. He insists on taking care of her injury as well as giving her a place to stay until she’s well enough to move on. Sarah gives him a fake name and refuses to answer questions about her past, an indulgence he grants because he both wants to trust in the best of people and he’s lonely as all hell. Their flirtation and friendship becomes something more over a couple days, but Sarah knows she has to move on. She takes measures to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night, stealing a little from Russ in order to get by, but unfortunately for her, Russ wakes up and catches her. Hurt and angered by her betrayal, he then has to decide what exactly he’s going to do with her.
I’ll state it simply. I. Loved. Russ. I was in love with him before Sarah made the disastrous choice to run out, and that only exploded in the face of his anger and roiling emotions after she betrayed him. Widowed for seven years, he’s led an incredibly isolated life in the time since. In a lot of ways, he’s moved on from his wife’s death, compartmentalizing it in such a way that he can function. But deep in his heart, he’s incredibly lonely and masks that pain with his work. Sarah gives him a glimpse of what it would be like to have someone in his life again, and for the first time in years, he begins to feel human again. Part of that is sheer lust. He doesn’t have many opportunities in the backwoods of Montana, and Sarah is a pretty girl. But they hit it off, too, enjoying each other’s company as friends before they become lovers. He finds a playfulness that counters his quiet existence and blossoms in this brief affair.
But then Sarah’s deception comes to life, and Russ feels like a complete fool. He’s angry and hurt, but his fury is as much directed at himself for giving in to the hope as it is at her for lying and stealing from him. He has to decide for himself how he’s going to deal with it, and it’s this emotional need that drives the rest of the story. His desperation is palpable, but I never felt like it was misdirected. It comes from his loneliness, and honestly, he and Sarah hit it off so well, I can’t blame him for wanting to embrace it fully. There’s a scene before he discovers the truth about Sarah where she has turned down his offer to spend the night with him in his bed, but he, after being unable to fall asleep on his own, goes out to her on the couch and asks to sleep with her there. This simple action is the quintessential example of just how cut off this man really was. I can see how some people might think him a sucker for choosing to believing in Sarah – even he calls himself one more than once – but it stems from his good heart and need to believe in the best of people. He made some bad choices. That makes him human.
While I loved Russ, I had problems with Sarah. It wasn’t at first, but as soon as it became clear what she was going to do to him, I got furious at her for hurting him like that. By that point, we don’t have any details on why exactly she’s on the run, but I think if I had known more, I would have been more sympathetic to the choices she made then, even as awful as they were. As it was, I didn’t know enough to be able to gather a fair judgment on her, and so I spent the entire middle section of the book pretty much hating the girl. It’s not helped that she turns into a mouse full of apologies when Russ hauls her back to his house. The spark that he’d liked about her in the beginning was gone, and I needed some of that to try and understand why I should care about her. It eventually returns, but honestly, it took too long to get there. It’s not helped that the reasons for her running were incredibly lame. They just made her look stupid in the long run, which only hindered the process of trying to sympathize with her.
The writing is clean and evocative, with fantastic dialogue, but I do have one quibble. The author was great about using scene breaks to denote POV shifts, but there’s a sex scene in the middle where she headhops between the two while each masturbates to thoughts of the other. I know why she did it. It’s obvious that it’s deliberate, a way to mirror their thoughts and emotions so closely. But compared to the smoothness of the rest of the story, the effect was incredibly jarring, so much so that I literally stopped and went back to re-read more than once to make sure I wasn’t being stupid about what I was seeing.
That being said, I was sucked in by Russ and the incredibly realistic interactions between him and Sarah. Their banter and actions captivated me up to the point where Sarah went off the deep end for me, while his emotions held me prisoner from that point on. I loved that they were so wonderfully flawed. Neither is particularly smart, though they’re both capable, and they react from the gut rather than the head. In a lot of ways, Russ felt like Everyman, his imperfections only highlighting just how real his emotions were.
This is the second hero and book by this author that I’ve loved this year. After this one, she’s going to my autobuy list. I seriously need to take a look at her backlist, too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2017
Gah, Sarah was such a dumbass!!
August 1, 2018
This was boring as all get out!
August 23, 2018
3.5 stars!!!
July 2, 2015
2.5 Stars
By finishing this one, I've actually finished reading all of Meg's novels. Yeah I have quite a lot left from her other pan name (and her real one) - Cara McKenna but this is a sweet step as well. Sadly it's my least favorite from her books. I kind of went randomly through her books so I didn't have special expectations from this one (or another).
Meg's books are usually very fluent and an easy read. I'm not saying there isn't drama around the building of the relationship. Sure there is! But mostly I expect a relaxing time giving myself to the book. Here while the beginning was interesting and I enjoyed the buildup, somewhere along the line, their routine together became "too routine-y" I guess. It took WAY too long for Sarah to confess to Russ the true reason she is on the run and when you think about it, it makes absolutely no sense as to why she wasn't looking over her back the whole time. Also the conclusion of the book was SO obvious and silly I was just put off by it. I was struggling to finish the last 2-3 chapters and when I finally did finish I was just annoyed with how obvious it was to me..
Sarah is running away from home. She did something terrible that made her a fugitive. After a month on the run she stumbles upon Russ's ranch and stays there for 2 days of utter bliss. Russ is a sweet and caring guy, he helps her out no questions asked and she is totally blown away by his personality and the fact he is truly a good person. Russ has been living on his own for too long. It has been 7 years since his wife died so when Sarah appears on his doorstep so to speak one late night he is just happy for the feminine company. In his line of work - a vet mostly for farm animals - it doesn't happen so often and as he lives at least half and hour from the near town he is isolated in his daily life. He wants to know why Sarah is on the run but he understands she is too agitated to speak about it.
After the two days Sarah has to leave, to keep on going, she knows she is going to hurt Russ but in her eyes there is no other way. She leaves dead at night taking away some money and an old watch she hopes to sell. Russ, awakens in the middle of the night to find her gone - goes looking for her. When he brings her back it's obvious he should turn her in, but he simply can't. Too much has happened between them to leave him totally indifferent to her future. He gives her a strange but sweet gesture to stay for a while and she does. During that difficult time for both of them - Russ feeling used and generally stupid and Sarah feeling a total manipulative bitch - little by little the past and their truths starts to surface. After that Sarah doesn't want to leave and Russ sure doesn't want her to.
I really likes Russ, I understood what she found in him. The way he lived his life and the generally sweet loving person that he is. With his animals as well as how he treats a person like her - he doesn't even know yet he helps without thinking twice about it. Even when provoked he doesn't fully put himself above Sarah's future. Sarah on the other hand I TOTALLY disliked. She is just a stupid kid. Well, compared to him - 9 years his younger - she is!!! Everything she explains about her life back home and what she did that made her run, and especially the running without looking back sounded like something a kid would do. I understand why she didn't go to school and educate herself but she sounds like a stupid and childish with every word she says. Yeah she is sad to hurt Russ yet she does it because "there is no other choice" like with her running away. She only sees black and white and she is incapable of thinking clearly about her future, or the non existent one she made for herself. I wanted to like her in the beginning but something about her put me off and when I found out her truth I was just annoyed with how OBVIOUS it all was for me to decipher.
More Reviews HERE
By finishing this one, I've actually finished reading all of Meg's novels. Yeah I have quite a lot left from her other pan name (and her real one) - Cara McKenna but this is a sweet step as well. Sadly it's my least favorite from her books. I kind of went randomly through her books so I didn't have special expectations from this one (or another).
Meg's books are usually very fluent and an easy read. I'm not saying there isn't drama around the building of the relationship. Sure there is! But mostly I expect a relaxing time giving myself to the book. Here while the beginning was interesting and I enjoyed the buildup, somewhere along the line, their routine together became "too routine-y" I guess. It took WAY too long for Sarah to confess to Russ the true reason she is on the run and when you think about it, it makes absolutely no sense as to why she wasn't looking over her back the whole time. Also the conclusion of the book was SO obvious and silly I was just put off by it. I was struggling to finish the last 2-3 chapters and when I finally did finish I was just annoyed with how obvious it was to me..
Sarah is running away from home. She did something terrible that made her a fugitive. After a month on the run she stumbles upon Russ's ranch and stays there for 2 days of utter bliss. Russ is a sweet and caring guy, he helps her out no questions asked and she is totally blown away by his personality and the fact he is truly a good person. Russ has been living on his own for too long. It has been 7 years since his wife died so when Sarah appears on his doorstep so to speak one late night he is just happy for the feminine company. In his line of work - a vet mostly for farm animals - it doesn't happen so often and as he lives at least half and hour from the near town he is isolated in his daily life. He wants to know why Sarah is on the run but he understands she is too agitated to speak about it.
After the two days Sarah has to leave, to keep on going, she knows she is going to hurt Russ but in her eyes there is no other way. She leaves dead at night taking away some money and an old watch she hopes to sell. Russ, awakens in the middle of the night to find her gone - goes looking for her. When he brings her back it's obvious he should turn her in, but he simply can't. Too much has happened between them to leave him totally indifferent to her future. He gives her a strange but sweet gesture to stay for a while and she does. During that difficult time for both of them - Russ feeling used and generally stupid and Sarah feeling a total manipulative bitch - little by little the past and their truths starts to surface. After that Sarah doesn't want to leave and Russ sure doesn't want her to.
I really likes Russ, I understood what she found in him. The way he lived his life and the generally sweet loving person that he is. With his animals as well as how he treats a person like her - he doesn't even know yet he helps without thinking twice about it. Even when provoked he doesn't fully put himself above Sarah's future. Sarah on the other hand I TOTALLY disliked. She is just a stupid kid. Well, compared to him - 9 years his younger - she is!!! Everything she explains about her life back home and what she did that made her run, and especially the running without looking back sounded like something a kid would do. I understand why she didn't go to school and educate herself but she sounds like a stupid and childish with every word she says. Yeah she is sad to hurt Russ yet she does it because "there is no other choice" like with her running away. She only sees black and white and she is incapable of thinking clearly about her future, or the non existent one she made for herself. I wanted to like her in the beginning but something about her put me off and when I found out her truth I was just annoyed with how OBVIOUS it all was for me to decipher.
More Reviews HERE
Read
December 14, 2012When I read the plot synopsis for Trespass – Sarah, our heroine, after having been on the run for three weeks, shows up at Russ’, our hero’s, doorstep with a buckshot wound in her side - I assumed that this would be Meg Maguire’s first foray into Romantic Suspense. As it turned out however, there was even less suspense here than in her previous novel, The Reluctant Nude – there is some minor mystery about the reason why Sarah, the female protagonist, is on the run, but the reader can guess quite early on at what is happening and how things will play out.
There is not really any suspense plot at all, and Sarah’s past serves only to provide a framework for her and Russ meeting and to motivate her betraying him. What the novel is really about is two people slowly falling in love with each other – or more precisely, falling in love quickly, then breaking up even faster and finally slowly learning to trust each other again. In other words, this is very much a character-driven novel – but then, that is true of all good Romance novels.
And a good Romance novel Trespass undoubtedly is, even if it does not quite live up to the author’s excellent The Reluctant Nude - it relies a bit too much on external paraphernalia (the pseudo-suspense non-plot) to keep things moving where the earlier novel developed everything out of its protagonists’ characters.
Trespass did have a lot more sex, though (at least a lot more than I remember The Reluctant Nude having), and there you can really tell that Meg Maguire’s alter ego is a writer of erotica - the sex scenes are without exception very yummy indeed (although I couldn’t help but notice a certain overuse of the word “harsh” which I found a bit grating, especially considering that this isn’t a BDSM novel). There is one scene I particularly loved, the one where Russ and Sarah are each masturbating simultaneously in different rooms – it is one of the extremely rare instances where head-hopping between characters makes sense, in this case achieving the literary equivalent to a split-screen. In fact it might be the best instance of it I have ever seen, and what is usually a clumsy and awkward device becomes a striking and brilliant technique in Meg Maguire’s skillful hands. This scene could be used as a textbook example of how to do head-hopping right… if it wasn’t also so damn hot, which, I imagine, would rather distract from its didactic usefulness.
Trespass is a Romance novel that is going to stick in my memory, for the vivid characterisation of its protagonists and the equally vivid description of the sex they have with each other. After my experience with Weekend Agreement a while back, I’m starting to think that memorableness (or should that be memorability?) would make an excellent indicator for the quality of Romance novels, and according to that yardstick, Trespass would achieve quite a high ranking.
There is not really any suspense plot at all, and Sarah’s past serves only to provide a framework for her and Russ meeting and to motivate her betraying him. What the novel is really about is two people slowly falling in love with each other – or more precisely, falling in love quickly, then breaking up even faster and finally slowly learning to trust each other again. In other words, this is very much a character-driven novel – but then, that is true of all good Romance novels.
And a good Romance novel Trespass undoubtedly is, even if it does not quite live up to the author’s excellent The Reluctant Nude - it relies a bit too much on external paraphernalia (the pseudo-suspense non-plot) to keep things moving where the earlier novel developed everything out of its protagonists’ characters.
Trespass did have a lot more sex, though (at least a lot more than I remember The Reluctant Nude having), and there you can really tell that Meg Maguire’s alter ego is a writer of erotica - the sex scenes are without exception very yummy indeed (although I couldn’t help but notice a certain overuse of the word “harsh” which I found a bit grating, especially considering that this isn’t a BDSM novel). There is one scene I particularly loved, the one where Russ and Sarah are each masturbating simultaneously in different rooms – it is one of the extremely rare instances where head-hopping between characters makes sense, in this case achieving the literary equivalent to a split-screen. In fact it might be the best instance of it I have ever seen, and what is usually a clumsy and awkward device becomes a striking and brilliant technique in Meg Maguire’s skillful hands. This scene could be used as a textbook example of how to do head-hopping right… if it wasn’t also so damn hot, which, I imagine, would rather distract from its didactic usefulness.
Trespass is a Romance novel that is going to stick in my memory, for the vivid characterisation of its protagonists and the equally vivid description of the sex they have with each other. After my experience with Weekend Agreement a while back, I’m starting to think that memorableness (or should that be memorability?) would make an excellent indicator for the quality of Romance novels, and according to that yardstick, Trespass would achieve quite a high ranking.
February 15, 2017
Meg Maguire/Cara McKenna is an excellent writer, and every story I've read has been character-driven, which is my favorite. This one is no exception and while I enjoyed the pace and flow of the story, the natural progression of Sarah and Russ's story, and their wonderful chemistry, I got stuck on the way the plot was wrapped up.
Once I got to the part where
I'm still giving it 3 stars because I do love Maguire's storytelling abilities and I always get wrapped up in the story, even when it's pretty ridiculous like this one.
Once I got to the part where
I'm still giving it 3 stars because I do love Maguire's storytelling abilities and I always get wrapped up in the story, even when it's pretty ridiculous like this one.
April 1, 2012
Who knew getting peppered with buckshot would be the thing that changed Sarah Novak’s life around? Little does she know fortune has smiled broadly on her in Nowhere, Montana after midnight, when she stumbles onto veterinarian Russell Gray’s property and trips his canine alarm system.
The synopsis is fairly accurate so there is no need to rehash it. What it doesn’t convey is the chemistry between the leads and cute intimacy scenes or the steamy ones. My derision of the heroine’s questionable morality notwithstanding does not take away from this difficult to categorize novel, it rather adds to the charm of it. I suppose it is erotic romantic suspense. It is a tad different no matter which of those genre’s it slides into.
For a change the leads came across as your average flawed humans in this fast paced read and not fantasy. I was engaged throughout as the banter and believable reluctance played out between the characters.
The bonus of a chapter from The Reluctant Nude succeeded in adding another book to my evergrowing TBR pile.
The synopsis is fairly accurate so there is no need to rehash it. What it doesn’t convey is the chemistry between the leads and cute intimacy scenes or the steamy ones. My derision of the heroine’s questionable morality notwithstanding does not take away from this difficult to categorize novel, it rather adds to the charm of it. I suppose it is erotic romantic suspense. It is a tad different no matter which of those genre’s it slides into.
For a change the leads came across as your average flawed humans in this fast paced read and not fantasy. I was engaged throughout as the banter and believable reluctance played out between the characters.
The bonus of a chapter from The Reluctant Nude succeeded in adding another book to my evergrowing TBR pile.
October 7, 2015
Well, they finally get a chance to put a tan 30-something hunky cowboy on the cover, and they waste it on this scrawny boy-man. The cover design gods just are clueless aren't they?
This is a sad-sweet-hopeful story, a sort of first plus second chance story. The male lead is absolutely the nicest, most decent, hunky guy ever. He is sincere, hard working and loves Hank Williams and his horses and dogs. The female lead is just slightly TSTL with a little bit of flibbertygibbet mixed in. I definitely did not like her as much as him, but she has a few really nice scenes - she sews up a storm and plays a mean game of pool. So I wasn't hating, just not adoring.
It's a novella, so the author doesn't have much time to get to the HEA, but she makes us wait as long as she can instead of insta-love. And both characters feel kinda worried about how quickly the strong feelings appear, which is reassuring.
The plot is a bit of nonsense concocted to bring these disparate characters together. Just ignore your voice of reason and go with the flow.
This is a sad-sweet-hopeful story, a sort of first plus second chance story. The male lead is absolutely the nicest, most decent, hunky guy ever. He is sincere, hard working and loves Hank Williams and his horses and dogs. The female lead is just slightly TSTL with a little bit of flibbertygibbet mixed in. I definitely did not like her as much as him, but she has a few really nice scenes - she sews up a storm and plays a mean game of pool. So I wasn't hating, just not adoring.
It's a novella, so the author doesn't have much time to get to the HEA, but she makes us wait as long as she can instead of insta-love. And both characters feel kinda worried about how quickly the strong feelings appear, which is reassuring.
The plot is a bit of nonsense concocted to bring these disparate characters together. Just ignore your voice of reason and go with the flow.
November 28, 2012
I should probably give it a second star for being well-written, but I subtracted a star for every time the hero's d!*k Ugh. It was a startlingly poor word choice the first usage, and then moved past distracting and right into annoying with each repetition.
As for the story itself: Nope, sorry, didn't believe it. Intense, but nonsensical, with a hero & heroine who were BOTH TSTL. Well-written waste of time. Wouldn't read again.
Will try another M.Maguire, because I really do enjoy her writing Let's hope that she finds a better story outlet for her talent!
As for the story itself: Nope, sorry, didn't believe it. Intense, but nonsensical, with a hero & heroine who were BOTH TSTL. Well-written waste of time. Wouldn't read again.
Will try another M.Maguire, because I really do enjoy her writing Let's hope that she finds a better story outlet for her talent!
April 8, 2012
Great cabin romance! I love that Sarah and Russ were the sole focus. It allowed their characters to be fully developed so I was really able to root for their HEA.
The romantic and sexual tension was pitch perfect and believable. There were some plot points that weren't so believable but I was too wrapped up with the romance to care. The sex scenes were graphic but well- done and they got nicely creative due to lack of condoms.
Highly recommend. Meg Maguire is now on my auto- buy list.
The romantic and sexual tension was pitch perfect and believable. There were some plot points that weren't so believable but I was too wrapped up with the romance to care. The sex scenes were graphic but well- done and they got nicely creative due to lack of condoms.
Highly recommend. Meg Maguire is now on my auto- buy list.
February 5, 2016
4.5 stars. Looooved the hero. The ending resolution was a bit rushed, and I did want to see a bit more about how Sarah felt when her predicament was suddenly resolved.
I maintain that Ms. Maguire / McKenna's books are done a huge disservice by their covers and blurbs. This is a far more intelligent and subtle story than one would think.
I maintain that Ms. Maguire / McKenna's books are done a huge disservice by their covers and blurbs. This is a far more intelligent and subtle story than one would think.
December 10, 2012
This is the first book I read by Meg Maguire. I thought Russ was dumb & brave for letting Sarah stay in his home. I loved the steamy scenes. It kept me interested from the beginning to the end. I really enjoyed reading this book. I'm glad I purchased it.
November 19, 2017
Sweet read
Sarah is running, thinking she may have killed a man. With a side full of buckshot she finds Russ. Russ a country vet, is a good
Man and the book is really about how they fall in love. Definitely has it's slow moments.
Sarah is running, thinking she may have killed a man. With a side full of buckshot she finds Russ. Russ a country vet, is a good
Man and the book is really about how they fall in love. Definitely has it's slow moments.
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