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Salvation, Texas #1
The Rancher and The Event Planner
After taking her eyes off the road for a second, Jennifer “JC” Barrett flattened a mail box, nearly killed a man, a dog and her career. Now she must complete thirty days of community service in her home town of Salvation, Texas helping sexy ranch owner and mayor, Rafe McCord revitalize the town for a chance at winning The Best Texas Vacation Contest before she can plan the most important event of her career. JC stopped believing in fairy tales and happily ever after a long time ago. But Rafe is a cowboy fantasy in the flesh and romantic feelings she doesn’t believe exist are growing in her heart.
Rafe knows he isn’t good at relationships as he was never able to make his deceased wife happy. Unfortunately, the local judge—his soon-to-be-disowned brother—has saddled him with his best friend’s little sister, Jennifer Barrett to help the town win the contest, give a much needed boost to the economy of Salvation and a chance to host the East Texas Rodeo. Only Jennifer has changed from an ugly duckling into a gorgeous swan and resisting her is impossible.
Rafe knows he isn’t good at relationships as he was never able to make his deceased wife happy. Unfortunately, the local judge—his soon-to-be-disowned brother—has saddled him with his best friend’s little sister, Jennifer Barrett to help the town win the contest, give a much needed boost to the economy of Salvation and a chance to host the East Texas Rodeo. Only Jennifer has changed from an ugly duckling into a gorgeous swan and resisting her is impossible.
164 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 23, 2013
29 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
About the author
Cheryl Gorman
42 books17 followersCheryl Gorman is a multi-published award winning author of contemporary and romantic suspense novels. Her first novel, Wolf Island was a 2006 Eppie Finalist. She also co-authored the non-fiction book Ten Steps to Creating Memorable Characters. She grew up in Burke County Georgia whose claim to fame is The Bird Dog Capital of the World. Cheryl graduated from Georgia College and State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1979 and went to work at the Medical College of Georgia. In 1987 she moved to the beautiful state of Colorado and there her life truly began. On her arrival in Colorado, Cheryl felt she had finally come home after being away for a long, long time. She put fingers to keyboard, stated writing and has never looked back. She lives in Highlands Ranch with her husband, their daughter and two little furry children named Pilot and Rocky.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 9, 2013
J. C. Barnett worked hard to put Salvation, Texas in her past. She is successful, immaculately groomed, cool and sophisticated. There are no more days of others pitying her circumstances or ridiculing her station in life. Definitely no more mooning over Rafe. She is an event planner for a successful firm, but life is about to get messy.
Rafe McCord is the newly elected mayor and he wants to revitalize the town. If they can pull it off, they'll win the Texas Vacation Spot award and the Texas rodeo will come to town. But they need an event planner to make it happen, and they can't get one. They are either too expensive or too busy.
A dog, A mailbox, and an accident changes both their lives. Sentenced to 30 days community series as the much needed event planner, including living in town, throws them together.
Rafe doesn't want a permanent relationship with a woman. The death of his wife guarantees that. Besides he must only think of his daughter now.
J. C. doesn't want a man, but she wouldn't mind having Rafe.
The push and pull of this relationship is fun to read. Every excuse Rafe uses, J. C. logically compromises and blends. Finally out of desperation, Rafe pushs her away with stern words. Rafe flounders, wondering if he made the right choice.
The reader could follow the story easily. Empathy with J.C.'s plight against Rafe's stubborness was easily felt. Rafe's dilemna was understood on more than one level. Through it all, the daughter tugged at your heart strings. She was easily loved by everyone.
An excellent read! I would recommend this book!
Rafe McCord is the newly elected mayor and he wants to revitalize the town. If they can pull it off, they'll win the Texas Vacation Spot award and the Texas rodeo will come to town. But they need an event planner to make it happen, and they can't get one. They are either too expensive or too busy.
A dog, A mailbox, and an accident changes both their lives. Sentenced to 30 days community series as the much needed event planner, including living in town, throws them together.
Rafe doesn't want a permanent relationship with a woman. The death of his wife guarantees that. Besides he must only think of his daughter now.
J. C. doesn't want a man, but she wouldn't mind having Rafe.
The push and pull of this relationship is fun to read. Every excuse Rafe uses, J. C. logically compromises and blends. Finally out of desperation, Rafe pushs her away with stern words. Rafe flounders, wondering if he made the right choice.
The reader could follow the story easily. Empathy with J.C.'s plight against Rafe's stubborness was easily felt. Rafe's dilemna was understood on more than one level. Through it all, the daughter tugged at your heart strings. She was easily loved by everyone.
An excellent read! I would recommend this book!
August 20, 2016
*SOME SPOILERS*
I always try to balance out the negatives with the positives. So with that said, I didn't dislike this story. The author did a good job of setting the scene. I have no idea if Salvation, Texas is real or fictional, but I imagine it's like many small towns in Central Texas. It felt like a friendly place and the townspeople were likable enough. But I can't help but wonder how much they liked their mayor running around kissing the new event planner. In any other average town, there'd be a lot of social red flags. That came across as not believable.
I liked *some* of the characters - Linc and Molly especially. I liked Jennifer sort of. By the end of the book, I couldn't stand Rafe. First of all, Rafe is not my favorite name and McCord has been overused in a lot of westerns. Second of all, how dumb can one man be? I think this is the first romance where I didn't want the couple to get together and was disappointed when they did.
The plot itself was okay, but predictable. There was too much time spent describing the various events. I do not enjoy reading paragraph after paragraph about planting flowers, remodeling buildings, or hosting local events and found myself scanning past them. Sentence flow was actually very nice. But, for the love of God, stop with the corny analogies. At first, they were funny, but by the end of the book I was cringing. I refuse to believe people anywhere talk that way.
Also ... I get it. He looks at her and has groin problems. She has creamy skin and nice breasts. Body parts were way overused in the text, although the sexual tension was nicely done. Which brings me to the sex scene itself. If I can manage to look past it being in a public place on muddy ground where anyone could see them ... It wasn't needed to make the point. Sex doesn't mean a couple's in love. Characters CAN show restraint. This author already proved she could make the reader feel their desire, so stop it there and give them a chance to love each other first.
I was shocked twice by turns of phrases. "Shot her wad" was grossly inappropriate on any level. A curse word leaped out of midair about midway. Other than that, the language was clean. Overall, this book is a 3. Truthfully, I was going to rate it higher until Rafe got on my nerves. I'm on the fence about recommendation. It's better than some, but not as good as it could be.
I always try to balance out the negatives with the positives. So with that said, I didn't dislike this story. The author did a good job of setting the scene. I have no idea if Salvation, Texas is real or fictional, but I imagine it's like many small towns in Central Texas. It felt like a friendly place and the townspeople were likable enough. But I can't help but wonder how much they liked their mayor running around kissing the new event planner. In any other average town, there'd be a lot of social red flags. That came across as not believable.
I liked *some* of the characters - Linc and Molly especially. I liked Jennifer sort of. By the end of the book, I couldn't stand Rafe. First of all, Rafe is not my favorite name and McCord has been overused in a lot of westerns. Second of all, how dumb can one man be? I think this is the first romance where I didn't want the couple to get together and was disappointed when they did.
The plot itself was okay, but predictable. There was too much time spent describing the various events. I do not enjoy reading paragraph after paragraph about planting flowers, remodeling buildings, or hosting local events and found myself scanning past them. Sentence flow was actually very nice. But, for the love of God, stop with the corny analogies. At first, they were funny, but by the end of the book I was cringing. I refuse to believe people anywhere talk that way.
Also ... I get it. He looks at her and has groin problems. She has creamy skin and nice breasts. Body parts were way overused in the text, although the sexual tension was nicely done. Which brings me to the sex scene itself. If I can manage to look past it being in a public place on muddy ground where anyone could see them ... It wasn't needed to make the point. Sex doesn't mean a couple's in love. Characters CAN show restraint. This author already proved she could make the reader feel their desire, so stop it there and give them a chance to love each other first.
I was shocked twice by turns of phrases. "Shot her wad" was grossly inappropriate on any level. A curse word leaped out of midair about midway. Other than that, the language was clean. Overall, this book is a 3. Truthfully, I was going to rate it higher until Rafe got on my nerves. I'm on the fence about recommendation. It's better than some, but not as good as it could be.
June 6, 2013
This is a 'one-sit' read that has enough drama, love and tears to be really enjoyable. And as much as Rafe is an "Addlepated fool", I genuinely liked each of the characters.
I'm looking toward to reading about more of the residents of Salvation :) xx
I'm looking toward to reading about more of the residents of Salvation :) xx
June 13, 2013
This was a good romance story and I really enjoyed it. It is really worth the time to read it. a good read
June 9, 2013
I could not finish this book. The plot was implausible, the relationships were childish, and all the heaving breath and sexual thoughts just got to be too much after awhile.
October 7, 2018
Jennifer “JC” Barrett, an event planner has a minor accident while traveling through her hometown of Salvation, Texas; she appears before Linc McCord, now the local judge and he sentences her to thirty days of community service to help the town. She is to work with Rafe McCord, her brother's best friend and an old crush from her high school days. This is how The Rancher & the Event Planner come to work together to improve the town and help revitalize the business by winning a state contest.
JC loves working as an event planner and works hard to give the town what it needs to bring it back to life. She is full of energy, great ideas and willing to work hard to make her plans come to life.
Rafe, as the mayor has to work with her and when he is attracted to her he begins to fight his feelings. Molly, is young daughter is delightful and brings a lightness to the story and shows the best side of Rafe in his devotion to his daughter. I loved how Rafe, the big tough cowboy could join his daughter to play dollies with Molly and her 'Barbie and Ken' collection.
JC's devotion to her work, her willingness to listen and follow through with what the community wanted and needed and how she fit back into her hometown made her a lovely character. The entire storyline is full of push and pull of emtions between Rafe and JC making it interesting and fun.
JC loves working as an event planner and works hard to give the town what it needs to bring it back to life. She is full of energy, great ideas and willing to work hard to make her plans come to life.
Rafe, as the mayor has to work with her and when he is attracted to her he begins to fight his feelings. Molly, is young daughter is delightful and brings a lightness to the story and shows the best side of Rafe in his devotion to his daughter. I loved how Rafe, the big tough cowboy could join his daughter to play dollies with Molly and her 'Barbie and Ken' collection.
JC's devotion to her work, her willingness to listen and follow through with what the community wanted and needed and how she fit back into her hometown made her a lovely character. The entire storyline is full of push and pull of emtions between Rafe and JC making it interesting and fun.
May 14, 2017
Town Renewal
JC was passing through Herr home town on her way to Dallas to finalise an event. She ends up avoiding hitting a dog, running over a mail box and almost hitting a older gentleman. Rafe is the mayor and trying to figure out to win a contest. She gets given 100 hours community service. Now she has to work with her brothers best friend and a guys she has has as crush on forever.
JC was passing through Herr home town on her way to Dallas to finalise an event. She ends up avoiding hitting a dog, running over a mail box and almost hitting a older gentleman. Rafe is the mayor and trying to figure out to win a contest. She gets given 100 hours community service. Now she has to work with her brothers best friend and a guys she has has as crush on forever.
May 20, 2017
A nice, quick read. Deals with consequences and having to learn to accept help. The characters showed growth during the story
October 4, 2015
This is the first book I have read from this author, and I can truly say I hope it is not the last. Nothing like a hunky cowboy, single father to boot, to take your breath away. For JC, aka Jennifer, he's a blast from her past, her brothers' best friend and the man she had a super crush on since her youth. When she has a bit of a fender bender, the judge, Rafe's brother Linc, sentences her to 100 hours of community services in the way of helping Rafe, the mayor of the town, clean up their town and win the Texas top Vacations spot contest. Rafe isn't too sure he likes having JC working in such proximity with him, but tries to keep his distance, fretting the wrath of his best friend if he hurts her. But it sure is hard to keep your distance when the stars seem to be against you.
A great love story that tells a wonderful tale. The plot is extremely well written and executed. The characters are strong with lots of emotions well displayed. I definitely recommend this book.
A great love story that tells a wonderful tale. The plot is extremely well written and executed. The characters are strong with lots of emotions well displayed. I definitely recommend this book.
January 10, 2015
I liked this story about a girl returning to the home she couldn't wait to get away from, finding love and completeness. Molly, Rafe's daughter is cute and believable. Rafe's reluctance to become involved with JC seemed change from being afraid of her brother's reaction to being afraid of hurting her - but his gradual change of heart was nicely portrayed.
May 19, 2013
First time reading a book by Cheryl Gorman and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure I was frustrated with Rafe but its all part of the story. I hope there's more to come after this book. Maybe Cade's story? Or the judge? Great story!!
May 26, 2013
HEART WARMING LOVE STORY. THE ONLY THING THAT KINDA' GOT ON MY NERVES WAS RAFE REPEATING OVER AND OVER "I DON'T DO RELAIONSHIP'S". A TAD TOO MUCH IN THE ANGST DEPARTMENT, BUT IT WAS A CUTE STORY. I ENJOYED IT, IT SHOWS YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN, IF THAT'S TRULY WHERE YOU WANT TO BE. SIGH!!!
August 23, 2015
Salvation Texas series
I loved the book. Rafe is dreamy and JC is a wonderful independent woman who doesn't need a man in her life but would like for Rafe to be that man she does need if he'd just get out of his own way.
I loved the book. Rafe is dreamy and JC is a wonderful independent woman who doesn't need a man in her life but would like for Rafe to be that man she does need if he'd just get out of his own way.
August 26, 2013
Good story about a woman who meets up with her childhood crush. Not the greatest writing in the world. Story doesn't flow well. Entertaining though.
August 14, 2015
The Rancher and the Event Planner
This was such a great read. Full of many emotions when a couple is trying to find each other's live. Please take time to read this fabulous read.
This was such a great read. Full of many emotions when a couple is trying to find each other's live. Please take time to read this fabulous read.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews