Swept Away

The Men of Mayes County #5

by Karen Templeton

A STRANGER...
Temporarily retired dancer -- and big-city girl -- Carly Stewart was aghast when a fender bender caused her to set up housekeeping in Sam Frazier's house in tiny Haven, Oklahoma. But "aghast" didn't begin to describe her reaction as she realized she was attracted to this tall, dark and handsome...farmer! And father...of six!

IN PARADISE?
Widower and single father Sam had become an expert at reading signs, and the petite and feisty beauty currently residing with him might as well have had "Just Passing Through" written all over her. And though he was finding her nearly impossible to resist, resist he must -- because if and when she walked out that door, she would leave seven hearts in pieces.

But if she stayed, she could make seven people really happy. Or even...eight?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

As the mother of five sons, now grown, Karen loves to write about real people dealing with the drama (and humor) of everyday life. Over the past fifteen years, Karen has written nearly 50 books for Harlequin/Silhouette and Red Dress Ink, and three of her Special Edition titles (A Mother's Wish (2009) Welcome Home, Cowboy (2011) and A Gift for All Seasons (2013) have won the RITA award, the romance industry's top prize for published authors. In addition, her November 2014 title, Santa's Playbook, earned the Romantic Times Gold Seal of Excellence, out of the hundreds of releases reviewed by the magazine for that month.

She is very active on Facebook, as both Karen Templeton and her full name, Karen Templeton Berger, running giveaway contests whenever she has a new release... or just feels like it. Or you can reach her via her website at www.karentempleton.com, which contains recent news as well as excerpts from both current and backlist titles.

Reviews

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karen Templeton's SWEPT AWAY is the 5th book in The Men of Mayes County series. I wasn't aware of this when I started reading it but the story was fine as a read-alone book. The twister to this was I LOVED this book and want to meet the other characters so I am going back to find the others: Saving Dr. Ryan #1, Fathers and Strangers #2, Staking His Claim #3, Everybody's Hero #4, and A Husband's Watch #6. I am amazed how good this was; it is rare for me to give a Silhouette or Harlequin five stars.

SWEPT AWAY is an engaging story of two fascinating people finding their way to be happy together. Two more different characters you couldn't meet; at 37, Carly is an only child, has never been married, has no kids, and was a professional ballerina until she was injured. Sam is a widower, a farmer and has six, yes, SIX children. To say that Carly isn't scared of this big family is an understatement.

Now, maybe it is because I am one of six kids and spent some wonderful vacations at my aunt and uncle's farm but I felt very much at home when reading their story. Some will think this book is too sugary-sweet but if you are looking for a romance that is a bit different this book is a smooth read. I finished it in one day.

There are some great secondary characters and romances and I found age wasn't a big factor. If you are deterred about reading a romance with kids or if you insist that your hero and heroine are perfect looking or young then this is not your cup of tea. But if you enjoy some good chemistry, humor, and some quoteable conversation this warm and witty romance is for you. I highly recommend it.

[Laura (Kyahgirl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot I read this last year but I remember thoroughly enjoying it. The main focus is on a woman who is lost in unhappiness, finding her way to be part of a community and to re-connect with herself and others. It was a pretty good contemporary romance with interesting characters.

[Luli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este ha sido, ni más ni menos, un romance dulce y sencillo. Precioso. Con personajes reales, problemas reales y sentimientos reales.
Nada complicado, ni angustioso, ni tonto o simplón, perfecto para leer de una sentada, bonito y sin complicaciones.
No se pueden encontrar dos protagonistas más diferentes: una ex-bailarina de 38 años, soltera y sin una relación digna de mención y un viudo con 6 hijos (!!!) que se casó con su amor del instituto, pero es fácil ver porqué se sienten atraídos y es bonito ver cómo van aceptando esos sentimientos. Y no son tres en la relación, por si a alguien le incomoda (como a mí) el fantasma de la esposa…
Los secundarios también están conseguidos y sus historias son muy interesantes, y los niños, los niños son geniales.
Una historia sin pretensiones y perfecta para pasar un ratito agradable.

This has been, no more, no less, a sweet and simple romance. Beautiful. With real people, real issues and real feelings.
Nothing complicated, or anguish, or fool or simpleton, perfect to read in a single sitting, nice and uncomplicated.
Two more different MC´s cannot be found: an ex-ballerina, 38 years old, unmarried and without a relationship worthy of mention and a widower with 6 children (!!!) who married his sweetheart, but it is easy to see why they are attracted to each other and it is nice to see how they finally accept those feelings. And there are not three in the relationship, in case this bother someone (like me) the ghost of the dead wife and all...
The secondary characters are interesting and the kids are great.
An unpretentious story perfect to spend a pleasant moment.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

As perfect a romance novel as you're likely to get. Sam and Carly dance, laugh, and argue their way to an HEA of family, love, and commitment. Along the way, they deal with past trauma, healing, and the growing pains of becoming a family, as ballerina Carly learns to love and bond with Sam's six kids, love of the land (he's a farmer), and small-town community. It's really Carly's story as she learns to let go of the past, reassess what she wants, and choose to love and build a good life with a wonderful man and ready-made family. If you'd like to read a more extensive review, please follow the link:

https://missbatesreadsromance.com/201...

[babyfishmouth · Rating 1 out of 5]

It started with a lot of promise but lost my interest by the time I hit the halfway mark. Sam was a likeable character as was Carly but not enough time was spent focusing on why they grew to love each other. Too many side stories. And I think angst filled teens may become a deal breaker for me in romance books. The romance between Carly's dad and a woman from town was one big snooze. Carly's constant soul-searching and aimlessness got very tiring. The heat facor was very low in this book, not that a high heat factor could have salvaged the unintersting romance between these H and h.

[Saly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars
This book wasn't a straight-forward romance book per se as it featured multiple characters POV. We get the heroine's widowed father's romance, we see the hero's teenage daughter's first brush with romance and dealing with boys & crazy hormones and then as an after thought the h/H. The hero is a farmer and widowed father of SIX kids. The heroine is a retired dancer who still refuses to grow and is the kind of heroine I don't like much. She is 37 and still doesn't have her life together and flits from man to man. They get stuck in the hero's town and they bunk at his house. The heroine can recognise the angst his daughter is undergoing as that was her teenage years. Heroine has a lot of unresolved issues, hero is this crazy patient guy. I tend to like books that focus more on h/H.

[Susannah Carleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful! If you love great characters and stories of love and family, you'll love Swept Away. Sam Frazier is a farmer and a widower with six children (a girl and five boys) between the ages of 4 and 15. Carly Stewart is ballerina whose career ended due to a knee injury. She and her father, Lane, who has been in a funk since the death of Carly's mother three years ago, take a road trip to reconnect. Due to an almost collision with a squirrel, their car ends up in a ditch, where they are rescued by Sam and his youngest son. The only hotel in the area is closed for renovations (see Everybody's Hero to learn more), so Sam invites them to stay with his family while their truck-camper is being repaired. Carly doesn't know anything about children, nor is she inclined to learn. Is there a future for this unlikely couple?

There's a lovely secondary romance, almost equally as rocky, between Carly's father and Ivy Gardner, Haven's midwife.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it when a romance novelist can prove to me than you can write a romance novel without making me roll my eyes. My mom has a huge collection of romance novels and I cringe just reading the description on the back. I flat out refuse to read a book where the character is a virgin. Why do romance novels seem so obsessed with that?

This book is comfortably real. Yes it does have it's Hallmark-y moments, but for the most part I could see this happening.

I love the way the author describes Sam's thoughts and faces, I felt jealous of Carly that she was getting that, and Carly herself seemed to think a lot like I do, so maybe that explains how quickly I got swept up in it.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

My grade: C+, I liked this one better than the one which follows it and which I read first: A Husbands Watch. It was also about a person who wasn't sure exactly who she was.

What I did like--it is about a farmer. A rare hero for romance. And he has six kids. A really rare circumstance in romance. I liked Sam and his kids.