Part of the Bargain \ To Wed and Protect

by Linda Lael Miller, Carla Cassidy

To heal the wounds left by a broken marriage and the death of her beloved stepson, Libby Kincaid returned to the ranch where she grew up. But instead of the solace she craved, she found Jess Barlowe--sexy, alluring...and mad as hell.For years Jess had been her constant opponent, and now malicious rumors tarnishing her reputation seemed only to enrage him further. But soon these adversarial sparks ignited into a fire of passion, and Jess wouldn't stop until he made her his bride. Unfortunately, Libby knew all too well that being married to a man was no guarantee of his trust...or his love.

Genres: Romance, Western Romance, Westerns, Fiction

474 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West. Raised in Northport, Washington, Linda pursued her wanderlust, living in London and Arizona and traveling the world before returning to the state of her birth to settle down on a spacious property outside Spokane.
Linda traces the birth of her writing career to the day when a Northport teacher told her that the stories she was writing were good, that she just might have a future in writing. Later, when she decided to write novels, she endured her share of rejection before she sold Fletcher’s Woman in 1983 to Pocket Books. Since then, Linda has successfully published historicals, contemporaries, paranormals, mysteries and thrillers before coming home, in a literal sense, and concentrating on novels with a Western flavor. For her devotion to her craft, the Romance Writers of America awarded her their prestigious Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
Long a passionate Civil War buff, Linda has studied the era avidly for almost thirty years. She has read literally hundreds of books on the subject, explored numerous battlegrounds and made many visits to her favorite, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where she has witnessed re-enactments of the legendary clash between North and South. Linda explores that turbulent time in The Yankee Widow, a May 7, 2019 MIRA Books hardcover, also available in digital and audiobook formats.
Dedicated to helping others, “The First Lady of the West” personally financed fifteen years of her Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women, which she awarded to women 25 years and older who were seeking to improve their lot in life through education. She anticipates that her next charitable endeavors will benefit four-legged critters.
More information about Linda and her novels is available at www.lindalaelmiller.com, on Facebook and from Nancy Berland Public Relations, nancy@nancyberland.com, 405-206-4748.

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually I love LLM, but this one wasn't one of my favorites. I didn't like that Jess and Libby fought almost continually through out the book, even after they were supposedly together. Once you find confidence in someone you should have more faith in them when someone tells you something negative about them, in my opinion. Jess shows absolutely no confidence in Libby through most of the book and that drove me nuts. There didn't seem to be the depth of story that some of her other books have had. Even her latest series, The McKettricks of Texas, was much better than this one, so I don't know what happened here. Probably not one that I will be reading again.

But the extra bonus book by Carla Cassidy,To Wed and Protect, was what I would consider a 4 out of 5 stars. I like the characters and the background of their lives. Their dedication to the children in the book and their faith in each other was really nice. If the world would embrace these principals in relationships there would be a lot more happy marriages. I really liked it!

[Deborah Gebhardt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of the Bargain - After her divorce and the death of her beloved stepson, Libby Kincaid has returned home to the ranch, Circle Bar B, where she grew up, only to have Jess Barlowe, one of the ranch owner's sons verbally attack her regarding his brother's relationship with her. He may have issues with her, but he blows hot and cold with her driving her crazy.
Meanwhile, she takes issue with his brother, Stacey, for claiming to be in love with her, especially when he is married to her cousin, Cathy. Cathy full of insecurities due to her deafness, prefers to believe the lies rather than standing up for what she wants.
Can Libby and Jess and Cathy and Stacey work out their issues for their HEA?
To Wed and Protect - Abby Graham moved to Inferno with her children to escape the man who murdered her sister. Luke Delaney is biding his time in Inferno, staying only long enough so that his siblings can inherit the family ranch. Abby needs a protector for herself and the kids, Luke steps up and offers a marriage of convenience, to protect them until they are safe and to do repairs on the house where Abby and the children live. With the understanding that once he's sure they are safe and that his siblings have the ranch, he will leave.
Will Luke give up his dreams and decide being a husband and father is a much better dream to have?

[ceecee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perhaps I have higher standards for books, but I'm the kind of person who likes books with strong female characters. This book portrayed a woman who stayed married to a man even through many infidelities, sex that felt like rape and the death of a stepson that she had to survive alone. Libby returns home in the hopes of finding solace, only to find that her friend Stacey (married to her cousin) has been spreading a rumor that Libby is his mistress and that he's leaving his wife for her. Stacey's brother Jess is in love with her and has been since he was about 7, yet he can't seem to get his head out of his ass long enough to realize it.

The story line was fine, but the fact that Jess believes her one minute and then doesn't the next is infuriating because Libby just seems to take all the crap that every man dishes out. She's like a walking, talking door mat that everyone wipes their feet on and she doesn't have the spine to stop the cycle. Even in the end she appears to be the better person by going to the man who's hurt her time and time again.

Not one of the better books I've read. It was hard to keep reading in order to finish it.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually I like Linda Lael Miller's stories but this is not one of my favorites. Too many times in the story, in my opinion, she started a thought and then just left it hanging. I thought it rather abrupt that supposedly all their lives Jess and Libby feuded with each other and the story starts out with them at odds with each other then wham they are getting hot and heavy and not long after Libby's arrival they are getting married. I felt like Jess was over the top alpha male and one minute Libby is asserting how she is independent and can take care of herself then he is telling her she can or can't do this or that and she just does it. I could go on and on but needless to say this is definitely not a book I would ever read again.

[Vickie Raynor · Rating 5 out of 5]

True LLM fashion, I loved this book! The tug of war back and forth until the characters came together made this book for me. They were so used to arguing that it became the norm. The turn of events and unexpected surprises made this an easy read. But bonus, there was a second book that was just as enjoyable by an author I haven’t read before. Two romance novels that left me wholly satisfied.

[Jay Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frankly, the frequent sex in this book grew somewhat monotonous. The writer is obviously gifted and wrote a story with a decent plot, but I expected a Western. Although it takes place in Montana and has a grizzly in it, it is not a Western. I was given several by the same author and will be giving those to Goodwill. I guess I am not into romance novels.

[Sugar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never read a romance novel before. This was a fascinating experience.

[Patricia Solla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two very interesting stories. Part of the Bargain is about a woman who returns home after death of her stepson and divorcing her husband. Mix in two brothers who believe they are in love with the same woman (and one of them is already married to another woman!). Mix in the ex showing up and you get more than you bargained for!
To Wed and Protect is completely different from the first story. Here we have a man showing up to fix a run down house occupied by a widow and her son. Well that's not completely true but finding out what's really going on is what moves this story. Of course, the guys solution to the problem is wedding the widow; but we all know where that's going to lead.

[PepsiGirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I reluctantly gave this four stars. But in reality, this story is more believable than most I read
Jess and Libby's relationship was quite volatile. One minute there going at it the next there screamimg at each other. And that is pretty realistic, especially of there is a lot of passion between two people. Even though it doesn't seem like a healthy relationship it is never boring. And neither are these two together.

[Nico · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are a lot of these free from the library, so I downloaded a few. LLM's writing seems wildly inconsistent. This particular book is full of crazy yo-yo characters who change personality faster than socks. I thought I missed a few chapters when the main characters engaged in sudden smoochies. Love/hate should still follow some logic. The situations are all around unbelievable, as are the relationships and interactions.

[Fernanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

:(
estou mesmo desolada!
gosto imenso dos livros da LLM por serem uma leitura agradável e engraçadas.
mas este desapontou-me imenso. uma historia meio desconexa, a trama muito básica, os personagens são lamechas, piegas, machistas e com envolvimento "emocional" muito questionável.


what a waste of time!

[SweetSue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm only reviewing the bonus book by Carla Cassidy,To Wed and Protect. I couldn't even get started on the LLM story. I absolutely loved the way he was willing to do what needed to be done to protect her. I'm a sucker for the hero accepting and loving the heroine's children from a previous relationship.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much conflict. Seems hard to understand why two people would stay together when there are so many trust issues. Kind of frustrating. Not up to the usual standard of this author. I could find myself getting into the second part of the book so I gave it up.

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've enjoyed many of LLM's books but not this one.

Very little plot (and the little there was, was ridiculous), just fight followed by detailed sex scene. If this is your cup of tea, enjoy. Otherwise, skip it. I couldn't force myself to finish it.

[Julie Lence]

Part of the Bargain is 2 short stories, one by Linda Lael Miller and the other by Carla Cassidy. Both were very good.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian]

Only read Part of the Bargain by LLM

Time Period: Modern
Location: USA

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mindless pool read. Mildless is the key word on this one. Another one of Alycia's flee market finds.

[Rylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like it when they fall into bed the way Jess and Libby did. However I loved Cassidy's story. Stories where children bring out the best in men are my weakness!

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Barlowe men were a little to bull headed and jealous. The ending was good

[S Miller]

Used - Two copies in very good condition

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of Mrs. Miller's books are a GREAT read!! Always worth read over again!