Donna Repsher (goodreadscomgemgal14) (4,538 books)

Donna Repsher rated a book it was amazing The Last Real Cowboy (Cold River Ranch, #3) by Caitlin Crews (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I've been following this trilogy since its inception, and have been patiently waiting for Brady's story. I'm happy to say it was worth the wait, it's my favorite among the three novels in the Cold River Ranch series, and it gets 5 stars from this ...more
Jan 23, 2020 08:45AM · like · see review
Donna Repsher rated a book it was ok Country Strong (Painted Pony Creek #1) by Linda Lael Miller (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
For anyone who follows my book reviews, you already know that I tend to start at or near the end of a series, so I was eager to get in at the beginning of a new series, Painted Pony Creek, by a talented author I've been reading for years, Linda Lael ...more
Jan 18, 2020 09:17AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Country Strong by Linda Lael Miller. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Country Strong by Linda Lael Miller <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Donna Repsher entered a giveaway Almost Perfect by Claudia Y. Burgoa (Goodreads Author) 3 copies available, ends on January 31, 2020 Enter to win »
Jan 12, 2020 12:26PM · like · see giveaway · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Almost Perfect by Claudia Y. Burgoa. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Almost Perfect by Claudia Y. Burgoa <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Donna Repsher rated a book it was amazing Country Hearts by Cindi Madsen (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
While my reading tastes usually tend toward dark, sexy, romantic suspense novels, no one could possibly be more surprised than I am to find myself giving a 5-star review to a sweet, charming, funny, small town, Hallmark romance, but here I am doing ...more
Jan 12, 2020 09:30AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Country Hearts by Cindi Madsen. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Country Hearts by Cindi Madsen <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Donna Repsher made a comment on her review of Dirty Devil (Billion $ Bastards, #1) " Susan in Perthshire wrote: "Great review Donna, and I totally agree with you. I read this one over Christmas when I was stuck in bed with a horrid ...more "
Jan 10, 2020 05:03PM · see review
Donna Repsher rated a book really liked it Hero's Haven (Dark Protectors #11) by Rebecca Zanetti (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Leave it to me to request an advance reader copy of a novel that's the eleventh title in a series and also the first novel I've read by this author--and, oh yes, it's paranormal, a romance subgenre I rarely read. Yet, for all the confusion, and ...more
Jan 06, 2020 08:22AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Hero's Haven by Rebecca Zanetti. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Hero's Haven by Rebecca Zanetti <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Donna Repsher rated a book it was amazing Dirty Devil (Billion $ Bastards, #1) by Jackie Ashenden (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I've been a fan of Jackie Ashenden's novels for some time and although I generally complain about insta-love romances, which this first novel in her new series, Billion $ Bastards, has in spades, when done as well as it is in this book, it works for ...more
Jan 03, 2020 09:21AM · 2 likes · like · see review
Donna Repsher rated a book liked it Navy SEAL's Deadly Secret by Cindy Dees (Goodreads Author) Read 2 times	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Navy SEALs Deadly Secret is the first novel in Cindy Dees' new Runaway Ranch series, and while it was a quick, well-written, emotional and engaging read, and while I'll read anything with Navy SEALs in the title, I had more than a few issues with ...more
Jan 02, 2020 08:06AM · like · see review
Donna Repsher rated a book it was amazing A Cowboy Never Quits (Turn Around Ranch #1) by Cindi Madsen (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A Cowboy Never Quits is the first novel in Cindi Madsen's Turn Around Ranch series, and it's also the first Cindi Madsen book I've ever read, but it most certainly won't be the last. Although this isn't the first equine therapy romance I've read, ...more
Dec 30, 2019 10:12AM · 1 like · like · see review
Donna Repsher rated a book it was amazing Risk It All (Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters, #2) by Katie Ruggle (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Risk It All is the second novel in Katie Ruggle's Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters series, and while I wasn't a fan of the first novel in the series, In Her Sights, giving it only 2 stars, I decided to give this series a second try and requested an ...more
Dec 26, 2019 08:49AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Risk It All by Katie Ruggle. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Risk It All by Katie Ruggle <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

Donna Repsher rated a book it was amazing

The Last Real Cowboy (Cold River Ranch, #3)
by Caitlin Crews (Goodreads Author)

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I've been following this trilogy since its inception, and have been patiently waiting for Brady's story. I'm happy to say it was worth the wait, it's my favorite among the three novels in the Cold River Ranch series, and it gets 5 stars from this I've been following this trilogy since its inception, and have been patiently waiting for Brady's story. I'm happy to say it was worth the wait, it's my favorite among the three novels in the Cold River Ranch series, and it gets 5 stars from this reader.

The series follows the three Everett brothers, whose father was a mean, abusive drunk. When he died almost a year before the start of this novel, he left his ranch to his three sons, Gray, Ty and Brady. Gray, with ranching in his blood, was the only one who didn't leave as soon as he was able. Ty got out and spent years on the rodeo circuit, avoiding the ranch, and Brady, the youngest, graduated from high school, earned a scholarship and went to college, drawing no small amount of ire, animosity, and taunts from his father. After college, he went to Denver and became a successful financial wunderkind, and would have been happy to never return to the ranch, but Gray couldn't work the ranch alone. Ty was badly injured at the rodeo, lost much of his memory, and had to return to the ranch to recuperate, but Brady didn't want to be there at all. The ranch held no warm memories for him. He'd suggested diversifying, Gray had always refused, and his alternative suggestion was to sell the ranch, split the proceeds, and go their separate ways, but Gray asked him to set aside his business and return to the ranch for one year, and Brady finally agreed, putting his life on hold, but that didn't mean that he was happy about it, or that his brothers appreciated the sacrifice he was making.

The neighboring Kittridge ranch had been at odds with the Everetts for years, a several generations old feud keeping them separate and apart. Amanda Kittridge is the youngest and only daughter, over-protected by her four overhearing big brothers--Jensen, Zack, Connor and Riley. She's never been kissed, has been on only 2 dates and has had a crush on Brady Everett for years, and at age 22, she is still viewed as a child by her brothers and she's sick to death of it. So she decides to make her move, getting a job working a the Coyote Bar, the worst and roughest dive bar in town, and with the job comes the apartment upstairs. No matter how her brothers try to rein her in, she's not moving back home, not changing jobs, and is no longer being their obedient little sister. Her brothers start showing up the bar to keep an eye on her and to discourage anyone who tries to flirt with her, and one night, Riley is there with his best friend, Brady Everett, who is 10 years older that Amanda, used to babysit her and even at one time changed her diaper. Yet, when he spots Amanda behind the bar in a tank top and tight jeans, he suddenly realizes she's not a child anymore but an attractive, sexy, young woman, although the last thing he wants to do is let on to her brothers that he's interested.

When Amanda finally tells her brothers to get out and leave her alone, Riley asks Brady to keep an eye on her--a double-edged sword because Riley doesn't really want to guard her, he'd rather bed her, but he's not looking for a serious, committed relationship, he's looking for a one-night stand, and he knows that if he pursues Amanda, 10 years his junior, her brothers will kill him, so when he makes no overt moves towards Amanda, she's gutsy enough to tell him she wants him to be the one to deflower her and teach her about sex. They agree on this conditional arrangement, but as romance readers know, things are about to change in a major way--and do they ever.

The chemistry between Brady and Amanda is scorching, and Ms. Crews has written what is perhaps the sexiest deflowering scene it's been my pleasure to read in years. The fact that these two have to hide their relationship from everyone in this small town, and especially from Amanda's brothers doesn't help matters any, nor does Brady's belief that there's too much of his father in him to ever willingly commit to a long-term, serious relationship. When Amanda confesses to Brady that she's in love with him, he's ready to end it all, but Amanda is no longer content to let that happen, and when Riley discovers the two of them having a not very platonic kiss, he punches Brady in the eye, Amanda and Brady's secret is no longer a secret, Amanda won't accept that Brady wants to end their relationship, and what follows is one huge, emotional upheaval not only for Amanda and Brady, but for all the Everetts and Kittridges too.

With Brady's plan to leave the ranch after fulfilling his one-year commitment to Gray to live and work there, his best friend Riley and his 3 brothers wanting to kill him for his dalliance with their baby sister, prepare for some fireworks, some serious confrontations with Gray after years of putting up with his disdain for his younger brother, and some serious attempts to mend fences, free themselves from the damage they all suffered under Amos Everett's cruelty, and some deep soul-searching for all concerned.

The Last Real Cowboy is as good as it gets in a contemporary western romance. It's filled with three-dimensional characters that have real issues and real depth, and it's written with a deep understanding of family dynamics, and how the sins and flaws of one generation can strongly affect the next generation. This is an excellent series, and this is my favorite novel in it. I suggest and recommend that you read this series in the order it was written to better understand the history, the characters, the ill-will, and misunderstandings that influence and impact on these well-drawn, well-developed and interesting characters.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own. ...more

Donna Repsher rated a book it was ok

Country Strong (Painted Pony Creek #1)
by Linda Lael Miller (Goodreads Author)

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For anyone who follows my book reviews, you already know that I tend to start at or near the end of a series, so I was eager to get in at the beginning of a new series, Painted Pony Creek, by a talented author I've been reading for years, Linda Lael For anyone who follows my book reviews, you already know that I tend to start at or near the end of a series, so I was eager to get in at the beginning of a new series, Painted Pony Creek, by a talented author I've been reading for years, Linda Lael Miller, and I wish I could say I was absolutely thrilled with this novel, but since it took me what seemed like forever to get through this book, the best I can do is give it 2.5 stars. It was sort of okay but left a lot to be desired, in my opinion.

I liked the plot and the series summary, 3 male friends each of whom might just be the father of a teenage girl, who shows up in Painted Pony Creek, Montana one nigh, tin the middle of a rainstorm, breaking in on their poker game. She looks strikingly like Reba, a popular girl who showed up in town during their senior year in high school, and who, unbeknownst to them, had sex with all 3 of the men, Cord Hollister, Eli Garrett, and J.P. McCall, and then a short time later, Reba was suddenly gone. Eventually, the bedraggled young girl gives the men her real name, Charlotte (Carly). She tells them that her mother, Reba, is now deceased, and Carly wants answers. Although Reba wasn't in town very long, she found a best friend in shy, quiet, unobtrusive Shallie, who grew up with these 3 men, and who was aware of what Reba was doing that long ago summer, but never told them that Reba was playing them, nor did she ever know why

Shallie's aunt and uncle owned a motel in Painted Pony Creek, and her mother left her alone in a room there when Shallie was just 2 years old. She was never told the reason why, and never heard another word from the mother who abandoned her. Her aunt and uncle were heavy drinkers, were not good stand-ins for a loving mother, and they are now deceased, leaving the motel to their son, Russ, also a heavy drinker.

Fast forward 18 years and Shallie, a divorcee, now lives and works in Seattle. In addition to her job, she is now also involved with an equine therapy program run by a friend, and when she learns that Cord Hollister has earned quite a reputation training and rehabilitating abused horses as therapy animals, she decides to return to Painted Pony Creek and take the classes in horse training he offers. She hardly surprised when Cord doesn't recognize her, but she sure remembers him. Cord Hollister was also abandoned by his mother, who left her abusive husband, leaving Cord to be raised by him, and to wonder whether or not his abusive dad in fact killed her. Cord also divorced his cheating wife 3 years earlier, and hasn't dated since, but although he doesn't recognize Shallie at first, he is certainly attracted to her, but from the outset, these two main characters are tentative at best, and although they eventually start a relationship, there wasn't really enough character development for this reader, and so their slow-moving romance felt forced, flat and utterly without any chemistry between them.

Ms. Miller gives you a lot of backstory early on in this novel, and then adds so many other characters, everyone from Cord's two best friends, to the gal who runs the local diner, to the man and his wife who've worked at Hollister Ranch for years, the town librarian, Shallie's best friend in Seattle, Emma, Eli's ne'er-do-well son, Eric, the guys who are in the local band, The GateCrashers, to the many volunteers Carly enlists to help care for the pets of the elderly and ailing in town, and on, and on and on, to the point where you feel you need a scorecard to keep them all straight.

The only character in this novel who was fully developed was Carly, who desperately wants to find out which of these three men is her biological father. Although Cord takes her in, Shallie is already occupying his guest suite as a paying client, and so Carly moves in with Tina and Mitch, Cord's elderly cook and her ranch hand husband, who live in a double-wide trailer on the ranch. When Tina is doing Carly's laundry she finds thousands of dollars in Carly's knapsack, but doesn't pry further, she just mentions it to Cord, who also never asks her about it. It turns out that Carly has been writing a popular blog on-line, about her search for her 3 possible dads, something else she's hiding. She responds well to the care she's shown by all concerned, but why on earth Ms. Miller dragged out getting the simple DNA tests to prove who actually fathered Carly for more than 90% of this novel both frustrated and mystified this reader.

While all the mysteries in this novel are solved and there is the expected HEA ending, everyone and everything in this novel lacked depth and emotion. Rather than coming to like, dislike, sympathize with or care about any of the characters in this plodding novel, they all just seemed two-dimensional and lackluster to this reader. I know from having read her novels for years that Ms. Miller is a far better writer than she exhibited in this novel, and I hope the sequels, J.P. and Eli's stories will be more interesting, less crowded with extraneous characters, and more emotionally moving than this novel.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own. ...more

Donna Repsher entered a giveaway

Almost Perfect
by Claudia Y. Burgoa (Goodreads Author)

3 copies available, ends on January 31, 2020 Enter to win »

Donna Repsher rated a book it was amazing

Country Hearts
by Cindi Madsen (Goodreads Author)

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While my reading tastes usually tend toward dark, sexy, romantic suspense novels, no one could possibly be more surprised than I am to find myself giving a 5-star review to a sweet, charming, funny, small town, Hallmark romance, but here I am doing While my reading tastes usually tend toward dark, sexy, romantic suspense novels, no one could possibly be more surprised than I am to find myself giving a 5-star review to a sweet, charming, funny, small town, Hallmark romance, but here I am doing just that. This is the second book I've read by Cindi Madsen, it certainly won't be the last, and this novel grabbed me from the start.

Jemma Monroe, an elementary school teacher in Denver, Colorado, was laid off in the middle of the school year due to budget cuts, managed to fall for a guy who just wanted to be friends, is nursing a broken heart, and since teaching jobs are contractual, couldn't find another job close to home. The only job she could find was a temporary position filling in for a third-grade teacher on maternity leave in the tiny town of Haven Lake, Colorado. So Jemma packed up her lop-eared rabbit, Señor Fluffypants, and moved into a cute but old rental cottage on the edge of town, and her very first visitor during a thunderstorm is a horse, who knocks on her door, followed by the tall, handsome cowboy who is her new next-door neighbor, Wyatt Langford. Apparently the previous owner of the cottage always fed his runaway horse carrots, and although the owner is gone, the horse still comes calling, expecting more carrots.

Wyatt Langford, aside from being handsome, is rather taciturn and isn't really welcoming to the newcomer at first, and their second meeting doesn't get any better, when Jemma's small car ends up in a snow-filled, muddy ditch, and Wyatt, who is taking his daughter, Bailey Rae, to school, feels obligated to help her. Wyatt has clearly pegged Jemma as a city girl, one who wears stylish high heels instead of boots, isn't dressed warmly enough for the weather, and drives a "city" car, rather than an SUV or pickup truck with traction. Wyatt's ex-wife, who divorced him 3 years earlier, was also a city girl, and she left him because small-town country life just wasn't for her, leaving him to raise their young daughter solo, while also trying to keep up with the demands of his ranch. Knowing Jemma would only end up in another ditch, he offers to drive her to school too, and when Jemma and Bailey Rae meet in his truck, they connect like gangbusters. It gets even better when Wyatt realizes that Jemma is Bailey Rae's new teacher.

I'm generally not a fan of young children in romance novels, but Bailey Rae stole the show in this novel. She's a 24 year-old fashionista in an 8 year old body--an utterly adorable, sweet, creative, funny, chatty, and totally charming little girl in a small town that's filled with sweet, charming, friendly and nosy characters who are always up for gossip, matchmaking, and community-centered activities, like supporting the town basketball team or getting involved in the elementary school's Valentine's Day show, or joining a recently opened country dance exercise class, in support of another newcomer to their small town. Even though Jemma's first day of teaching is interrupted by a large snake dangling from the ceiling vent, she's doing a bang-up job getting to know and like her new students, her friendly fellow teachers, and the other quirky town residents.

The amazing chemistry between Jemma and Wyatt is something everyone in town seems to notice, except for Wyatt, who doesn't want to get involved with another city girl who's only in town temporarily. Jemma doesn't want to fall for Wyatt either, having already lost another guy she fell for who only wanted friendship, not romance. Bailey Rae has no such qualms, is enamored of Jemma, and manages to get the two adults together despite the fact that both have been burned in the past. But will Bailey Rae and the town busybodies manage to get these two wonderful characters together? That's for me to know and you to find out, and I recommend that you grab a copy of this sweet, funny, charming novel, and fall in love with this town and it's inhabitants, just as I did.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own. ...more

Donna Repsher made a comment on her review of Dirty Devil (Billion $ Bastards, #1)

" Susan in Perthshire wrote: "Great review Donna, and I totally agree with you. I read this one over Christmas when I was stuck in bed with a horrid ...more "

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Hero's Haven (Dark Protectors #11)
by Rebecca Zanetti (Goodreads Author)

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Leave it to me to request an advance reader copy of a novel that's the eleventh title in a series and also the first novel I've read by this author--and, oh yes, it's paranormal, a romance subgenre I rarely read. Yet, for all the confusion, and Leave it to me to request an advance reader copy of a novel that's the eleventh title in a series and also the first novel I've read by this author--and, oh yes, it's paranormal, a romance subgenre I rarely read. Yet, for all the confusion, and unfamiliarity with the many, many different worlds, human and otherwise, realms, dreamworlds, vampires, demons (male and female) fae, immortals, shape-shifters, and hybrids, somehow this novel worked for me as a standalone, although I'm sure it would have rocked my world if I had previously met the large cast of characters, and read the 10 novels that preceded this one. Nevertheless, I still found Hero's Haven by Rebecca Zanetti to be an exciting, sexy, and suspenseful read, and it gets 4.5 stars from this newcomer to the series. What would have made this a 5-star read for me, and would have also helped considerably would have been a foreword or frontespiece containing a list of the various characters divided by the paranormal group to which they belonged.

To say that this story is complicated is putting it mildly. The heroine, Haven, was just a baby when she was left abandoned on a church doorstep without so much as a note. A pastor and his wife took her in and raised her, but because she was more than a tad strange, they were convinced she was possessed by demons and Haven was repeatedly subjected to all manner of torturous exorcisms, and didn't fare much better in any of the foster homes in which she was placed, and finally was off on her own while still in her teens. Haven has been beset by bizarre dreams of other fantasy worlds for years, she draws and paints them, and has had some success as an artist. She's also dreamed of a handsome and tortured man who is trapped in one of the more hellish worlds she visits in her dreams, a man she's talked to in those dreams, and who she paints when she's awake. That man is Quade Kayrs, who is an immortal vampire, who has been in this hellish isolation in one of the other realms for many lifetimes. He's had visions of a beautiful young woman, whose rare visits have helped him maintain his sanity, and when he suddenly finds himself transported back into this world, naked, and in the freezing cold of an Idaho winter, Haven is the one who finds him and helps him. He's the one who tells her that she isn't human, but a hybrid fae-demoness, one of a kind, and his body recognizes that she is fated to be his mate for eternity--a story she isn't quite accepting, especially since she is incredibly independent, doesn't believe in love, and certainly isn't ready to spend eternity with a man who isn't really a human, one who is all alpha-male, and one who hasn't lived in this world for millennia, since he was born more than 2500 years ago. That's a lot to take in in a very short period of time, especially since Quade and Haven are being pursued by all manner of paranormal entities, some who want Haven, others who want Quade and his brethren dead. Quade is also hampered by his lack of technological advances in today's world, family members born since he was last here, and who are now adults with families of their own and mates of their own. and that's just for starters.

Prepare yourself for the sparks that ignite between Haven and Quade, and fights to the death by all manner of paranormal creatures, kidnappings, explosions, helicopter crashes, running to avoid encounters with other paranormals some of whom want Haven, others who are trying to kill Quade and his kind, dream trips to other worlds which set Haven on a mission to rescue other fae trapped in one of those worlds, the demonic Ulric, who's also been trapped in a hellish world of his own, and who wants to enter this realm and either rule it or destroy it. There is no shortage of graphic sex or bloody violence in this novel, and as a newcomer to this series, it took me most of the novel to unravel the complicated inter-relationships and drama between these different paranormal beings and sects.

While I highly suggest reading this series in the order written, I will say that for all my confusion, this novel had engaging characters, loads of suspense, a lot of heat between Haven and Quade, even some pretty humorous banter, and it was extremely well-written by new-to-me author, Rebecca Zanetti. I'll be backtracking to read the preceding titles in this series, even though I rarely read paranormal romantic suspense, this novel and the worlds created within it was such an exciting and suspenseful read that it left me wanting to know more about these characters and how they came to be.

As stated, I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated are my own. ...more

Donna Repsher rated a book it was amazing

Dirty Devil (Billion $ Bastards, #1)
by Jackie Ashenden (Goodreads Author)

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I've been a fan of Jackie Ashenden's novels for some time and although I generally complain about insta-love romances, which this first novel in her new series, Billion $ Bastards, has in spades, when done as well as it is in this book, it works for I've been a fan of Jackie Ashenden's novels for some time and although I generally complain about insta-love romances, which this first novel in her new series, Billion $ Bastards, has in spades, when done as well as it is in this book, it works for me, and it gets a 5-star rating, since I picked it up, opened it, and read it straight through until morning.

Thea Smith is the heroine in this novel. She's had a rough life, and was living on the streets until her mentor, Mr. Chen, found her on the streets of Hong Kong, trained her, and taught her his business--re-acquiring (aka, stealing) previously stolen items and returning them to their legitimate owners for a fee. When we first meet Thea she is crashing a party thrown by notorious playboy billionaire, Damian Blackwood. Dressed as a waitress, she manages to avoid detection by the security guards and gain entry to the private and exclusive gathering. She's there on a mission, to re-acquire the Red Queen, a fabulous ruby necklace, stolen from its rightful owner 20 years earlier, and recently acquired at auction by Damian, a collector of fine and rare gemstone jewelry. She plans to steal it if she can find it, grab it, return it to it's rightful owner, and get away without detection--a tactic she learned from her mentor, and one she' been successful at for years.

When Thea first sets eyes on Damian, he's surrounded by a bevy of beautiful and wealthy women, all doing their utmost to gain his attention, but she's drawn to both the story he's telling, his charm, his looks, and the chemistry when they first lay eyes on one another is off the charts. What Thea doesn't know is that Damian has an eidetic memory, and he knows she isn't one of the waitstaff he meticulously hired, wondering how she got past his security team.

Since Thea prides herself on being unmemorable, and considers herself so ordinary that no one ever notices her, she is soon in Damian's supposedly secure office trying to find the safe containing the Red Queen, not realizing that Damian did indeed notice her, knew she didn't belong there, and wondered who she was, and what she was after. He finds her in what he believed to be his secure office--hiding under his desk. Although he knows she's up to no good, and has already guessed what she's after, he's sidetracked by her and the electricity between them, and in Thea's virginal mind, what better way to distract him from having her arrested, than to offer him her body and her sexual services. She's never done this before, but Damian is definitely interested, and she'd rather offer him sex than get arrested.

What follows is typical of Jackie Ashenden novels, two interesting and seemingly mismatched characters who are from completely different backgrounds, but each broken, and/or scarred in some fashion, who find common ground, have steamy sex, learn more about each other, and, in the process, begin to come to terms with the emotional scars they bear, and manage to slowly heal one another. Is it formulaic? Of course it is, but Ms. Ashenden is so masterful at creating these characters you can't help but root for them to find their HEA ending.

Other than Ms. Ashenden's ability to make these characters jump off the page and into your heart, were this novel written by any other than a small handful of authors I can name, I'd be listing my standard complaints about insta-love, not enough action, no threat of danger from someone else who wants to steal the rare ruby necklace, and so on, but in Jackie Ashenden's more than competent hands, I absolutely loved this novel, fell in love with her hero, and wouldn't change so much as a single word of this impossible to put down, steamy, heartfelt, and emotionally satisfying novel. I highly recommend it, and can hardly wait for the next novel in this series. ...more

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Navy SEAL's Deadly Secret
by Cindy Dees (Goodreads Author)

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The Navy SEALs Deadly Secret is the first novel in Cindy Dees' new Runaway Ranch series, and while it was a quick, well-written, emotional and engaging read, and while I'll read anything with Navy SEALs in the title, I had more than a few issues with The Navy SEALs Deadly Secret is the first novel in Cindy Dees' new Runaway Ranch series, and while it was a quick, well-written, emotional and engaging read, and while I'll read anything with Navy SEALs in the title, I had more than a few issues with both the title and this novel, which is why I'm giving it only 3 stars.

Let's start with the title--first, there is no deadly secret, certainly not relating to the hero, Brett Morgan, who isn't a Navy SEAL, he was in Special Forces, a U.S. Army Ranger, who, after 4 tours of duty in Afghanistan, can't remember what happened on his last mission, one which left him alive and his comrades dead, leaving him with PTSD, flashbacks, nightmares, and what is clearly survivor's guilt, blaming himself for the deaths of his men, although his inability to recall the details is quite literally driving him to drink. He's holed up in a remote mountain cabin on his family's large ranch with the injured service dog he adopted, where he's been drinking himself into oblivion, but must fulfill his father's demand that in order to stay at the cabin, he must get out, go into town, and see people a minimum of once a month. As the novel opens, he's at Pittypat's Diner, nursing his one cup of coffee and fulfilling that obligation, but it isn't something he's happy about and he can't wait to get out there and back to his cabin.

His waitress, Anna Larkin, has more than a few issues in her past as well. She's a local gal who ran away from the small town of Sunny Creek with her high school boyfriend, Eddie, right after graduation. Eddie was a wannabe actor, and Anna married him and followed him out to Hollywood. What she didn't know was that Eddie was a control freak and a drinker, and when he drank, he was both emotionally and physically abusive to her. Ten years into their marriage, when Eddie still was unable to land a film role and while Anna was working to pay all their bills, Anna accidentally killed him as he was about to attack her in a drunken rage, and although she was cleared of any wrongdoing, she holds herself responsible for his death, as does his family, who would love to see her dead or behind bars, preferably the former.

On that particular day, when a scruffy, scary, hopped up on drugs customer walks in, puts a knife to Anna's throat and demands the contents of the cash register, Anna assumes that he will kill her and that she'll finally get what's coming to her, payment in full for killing Eddie, but Brett, seeing that lost and submissive look in her eyes, comes to her rescue, beating and subduing the felon, and saving Anna's life. After the police arrive and Brett follows them to the station to file a report, Anna is cleaning up the bloody floor and discovers a gold medallion under the counter. She soon learns that it belongs to Brett, and when her shift is over, drives up the mountain to return it to him and to thank him for saving her, although it's clear she would have preferred her life to end at the diner, and so begins their on again, off again, relationship.

As any romance reader can anticipate, these two broken people are going to be attracted to another, feel unworthy, and eventually help heal one another, which is why this novel was a little too predictable, and would have greatly benefited from a more complex plot than Anna's nearly deadly car accident, her abduction, and Brett coming to her rescue yet again. My issues with this novel stem from my knowledge of PTSD, and my knowledge that there is no quick fix for it, certainly not as quick a fix as the hero experiences. While I enjoyed the heat between these two likable characters, it seemed unlikely to me that any woman who'd been as abused as Anna would be so willing and eager to jump into bed with a virtual stranger--let alone one who drinks. Once Eddie showed Anna his dark, abusive side, since she was the breadwinner, I couldn't help but wonder why on earth she stayed with him for a decade.

This is not a bad read, it moves along quickly and the characters are, as stated previously, likable, but it was far too predictable, the healing process which both main characters faced was given short shrift, and since you know beforehand that there will be an HEA ending, this novel would certainly have benefited from a more complex plot, and from an epilogue, rather than the abrupt HEA ending the author chose to write.

I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own. ...more

Donna Repsher rated a book it was amazing

A Cowboy Never Quits (Turn Around Ranch #1)
by Cindi Madsen (Goodreads Author)

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A Cowboy Never Quits is the first novel in Cindi Madsen's Turn Around Ranch series, and it's also the first Cindi Madsen book I've ever read, but it most certainly won't be the last. Although this isn't the first equine therapy romance I've read, A Cowboy Never Quits is the first novel in Cindi Madsen's Turn Around Ranch series, and it's also the first Cindi Madsen book I've ever read, but it most certainly won't be the last. Although this isn't the first equine therapy romance I've read, it's the first one without wounded warriors with PTSD. Instead it's young teenagers who need to go through the process, but it's also funny, charming, sexy, engrossing and sweet, and it gets 5 stars from this reader.

Jessica Cook, age 31, got pregnant at 15, the sperm donor boyfriend dumped her when she gave him the news, and she had Chloe when she was just age 16, determined to succeed in life and raise her daughter as a single parent. She and her daughter were more like sisters than parent and child, but now, Chloe is 15, and has started drinking, smoking pot, and when her disrespectful, drunk and high boyfriend steals a car with her in it, wrecks it, and Jessica sees Chloe repeating the same mistakes Jessica did as a teen, it's time for desperate measures, like enrolling Chloe in a correctional ranch for teenagers.

When we first meet Jessica, she and Chloe arrive at the Turn Around Ranch, and Jessica is begging them to take Chloe into the program, which is already full. It doesn't help that Jessica can't afford the fee, even if they weren't already full. As she is being shown the door, she notices that they are looking for a cook. She lies her way in, saying that she wants to apply the job, that she is a professional cook, and although Wade Dawson, the oldest of the the Dawson brothers, wants to say no, Jessica gets hired, with lots of stipulations, and they find room for Chloe, who isn't even speaking to her mother at this point. All Chloe wants is to go home and be with her manipulating boyfriend. Although I'm now a senior citizen, I remember what love at 16 felt like, and Chloe isn't a bad kid, just a young girl who fell for the wrong guy. Even after begging her mother to reconsider her "punishment," Jessica sticks to her guns, and gets hired.

The problems begin almost immediately because by breakfast the next morning, it's really clear that Jessica's idea of cooking is opening a can or making a box of mac and cheese, and now she's got to start cooking for 30 people, the campers and staff. It doesn't help that handsome cowboy, Wade, is onto her ruse, and he's just waiting for her to fail, since he was outvoted when the rest of his family voted to hire her, especially his mom, who's just recovering from a serious illness and really needs someone to take over the kitchen duties, and they've had no other applicants in months, so she's willing to hire Jessica without even checking her references.

One of the things that sets this novel apart from the other equine therapy novels I've read is that, at times, it's laugh out loud funny. Jessica is one sassy, smart mom, and she gives as good as she gets, especially with Wade, and the attraction between these two characters has a nice slow build up. She's determined to prove not only her cooking abilities, which are nil from the get-go, but her stamina, and her commitment to raising her daughter by setting her on the right path. When Jessica got pregnant as a teen, her parents abandoned her, and she had to make it on her own. She absolutely won't do that to the daughter she loves so much, no matter how hard it is to get through to her, and I couldn't help but respect her grit and her determination.

I also liked the fact that this novel is written with alternating points of view. While Jessica is dealing with her new job, she's still working at her other job in her free time via computer. Wade is torn between his attraction to the feisty Jessica and the strict rules of the ranch, especially because he's a rules guy, and getting involved with staff is definitely prohibited. We also get to see what Chloe is dealing with, from the panic attacks she's kept hidden, her attempts at communicating with her boyfriend back home, and her distress when he fails to respond to her messages.

If you're looking for angst, this novel has it in spades, but it also has its lighthearted moments as well. The hot chemistry between Wade and Jessica, as well as Chloe's growing friendships with other campers, her horse, and her growing friendship with and attraction to the youngest and newly adopted member of the Dawson family, Aiden, make for one engrossing, sweet, sexy, funny, sad, dramatic, and heartfelt read. Ms. Madsen has herself a new fan in this reader, and I can hardly wait to read the next novel in this series.

I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this novel. The opinions stated are my own. ...more

Donna Repsher rated a book it was amazing

Risk It All (Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters, #2)
by Katie Ruggle (Goodreads Author)

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Risk It All is the second novel in Katie Ruggle's Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters series, and while I wasn't a fan of the first novel in the series, In Her Sights, giving it only 2 stars, I decided to give this series a second try and requested an Risk It All is the second novel in Katie Ruggle's Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters series, and while I wasn't a fan of the first novel in the series, In Her Sights, giving it only 2 stars, I decided to give this series a second try and requested an advance reader copy. Happily, it was a huge improvement over In Her Sights and I found it impossible to put this one down, reading it cover-to-cover until 5:00 a.m., and it gets 5 stars from this reader.

This series features the five Pax sisters, whose grab-it-and-go, disreputable mother stole a $2 million dollar necklace, got arrested, put their house up as collateral to get out on bail and skipped town, even though the sisters were the house's true owners and had made all the payments on it, the shady bail bondsman is now blackmailing the sisters. There are people constantly breaking into their home, believing that the necklace is hidden there (it isn't). Even worse, the bail bondsman their mother used is one shady, manipulative character, and he's blackmailing the sisters. If they don't chase down and capture his bail jumpers, he'll sell their house out from under them. Two of the sisters are busy trying to track down their bail jumping mother, two are committed to tracking other bail jumpers by doing on-line research, and leaving only one sister who is actively trying to catch bail jumpers to earn enough money to pay for food, and pay their bills. Admittedly, the premise for this series is a bit out there, but in this novel, it all starts to make a strange kind of sense.

Cara, one of the research sisters, hasn't done any fieldwork at all, and is feeling guilty because she's not contributing much to their business, and their survival. Without mentioning it to her sisters, she decides to try her hand at nabbing a skip, and she doesn't start small. Instead, she decides to go after the skip that will earn her the most reward money, notorious accused murderer and major hunk, Henry Kavinski, and she's been spending her time following him around town, eventually deciding to pick his lock when she's sees him leave, but we soon learn that he's been aware that she's been following him all along, and he sets a trap for her. However, when he catches Cara in the act of breaking in, he doesn't harm her at all, instead, he let's her go, warning her to stay away from him, but Cara is not easily deterred, and she's nothing if not persistent. Henry soon comes to her rescue and saves her life as she leaves her stakeout at Dutch's Bar, only to have a speeding car come barreling towards her in the parking lot. It's incongruous to Cara that Henry would risk his own life to save hers, especially since he knows she's trying to bring him in for the reward money, but because he saved her at great risk to himself, she can't believe that he's a cold-blooded killer, or deny her attraction to him.

During Cara's next attempt to bring in another seemingly less dangerous skip than Henry, she ends up getting kidnapped, drugged, and left in a dingy cabin in the middle of nowhere, her arms and legs zip-tied, and even though she does manage to eventually free herself from the zip ties, it's Henry to the rescue again, and that's just for starters, because Ms. Ruggle has written one of the most exciting, death-defying, and high-gear chase sequences I've read in years, and, combined with the slow building attraction between these two seemingly mismatched characters., it's soon obvious that someone is trying to kill both of them, and thanks to Ms. Ruggle's sense of the absurd circumstances, Henry's valiant attempts to get them both to safety, and Cara's quirky sense of humor, it all worked for this reader.

While billed as romantic suspense, there's far more suspense than romance in this novel, but there is no denying the attraction and chemistry between these two characters, nor is there any doubt that Ms. Ruggle can write one heck of a suspenseful, exciting and dangerous novel, and lighten up the action with some comedy, sex, and affection. Even though this novel works fine as a standalone, I do recommend reading the first book in the series to get a handle on the dynamics of the relationships between the 5 sisters, and the background information on their relationship with their mother, as well as how they reluctantly became bounty hunters. The next novel in the series will feature Norah Pax, and I'm eagerly looking forward to reading it.

As stated, I read an advance reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own. ...more