The Cowboy's Pride and Joy

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS INFORMATION THAT SOME MAY CONSIDER SPOILERS.

MAUREEN CHILD

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Harlequin, 2014.

How acquired: Bought.

First lines: “When Boston comes to Montana, it’s never a good thing.” Jake Hunter frowned into the distance.

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: It’s been quite some time since I read a Maureen Child book but I’ve enjoyed them (I especially recommend SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL), so I looked forward to this one. And it did not disappoint.

Jake Hunter took over running the family ranch when he discharged from service. After having spent vacations at the ranch with his grandfather when he was a child, it and the mountain in Montana are the only home he ever loved, the only place he felt comfortable and at peace. His mother runs the other family business, a media empire started by his father’s family, and she has long been after him to take his rightful place there, but the last place Jake wants to live is Boston. His mother has finally agreed to let him completely off the hook for that business, and sends her assistant to Montana with paperwork for Jake to sign, which will absolve him of all dealings with the business.

This is a Harlequin (Desire), so of course Jake is wildly attracted to Cassie, said assistant, and of course a snowstorm rolls in, closing down roads so that Cassie cannot get back down the mountain to catch her flight back to Boston the next day. You can guess what happens between them, but once the weather clears up, it’s back to real life and they part company, because it was purely physical. No emotions involved. At least, none admitted to.

Fast forward fourteen months. Cassie is now a single mother to five month old Luke. Once she realized she was pregnant, she quit her job to keep Jake’s mother from finding out. Of course she didn’t notify Jake. He’d made it all too clear that he preferred to be alone on his mountain. But her sister has stepped in and taken the decision away from Cassie, going behind her back and telling Jake’s mother, and now Jake’s mother is threatening legal action. So off to Montana Cassie goes with Luke, to enlist Jake’s help in calling off his mother.

I’m always a little leery going into a secret baby story. I need there to be a compelling reason for the heroine to not let the hero know he’s a father. But again, Maureen Child, so I was curious to see how she would handle this. And I’ve gotta say, I totally understood where Cassie was coming from, and could sympathize with her reasoning for not telling Jake. Not saying it was right, but believable. But even more, after being lambasted by her sister and brother for keeping Jake in the dark, Cassie can admit she’s had some guilt over her decision. And after spending some time with Jake again, facing his anger but also seeing the hurt in his eyes, she’s finally able to admit she was wrong. And not admit it just to herself, but to Jake.

That doesn’t mean they’ll become a happy little family though. No, there’s still a lot to sort through and a lot of clashing with each other before they can finally get their HEA. I love a hero who is grouchy and angry and prickly, and the heroine has to get past his defenses, actually gets a little past them without even trying. I loved Jake and Cassie, plus Jake’s grandfather, loved their story, loved this book.

Goodreads Synopsis: All former marine Jake Hunter wants is peace and quiet. But when his business-minded mother sends her assistant Cassidy Moore from Boston to see him about a long-standing family dispute, chaos ensues. Their attraction rages out of control as a snowstorm strands them on his Montana ranch.

Flash-forward fourteen months: Cassie can't bring herself to tell Jake she's had his child. But when his mother interferes again, Cassie rushes back to Jake…just in time for another blizzard—and for the Christmas spirit to open one reclusive cowboy's heart. 

Critical Threat (Extreme Measures, Book 3)

LYNETTE EASON

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, 2023.

How acquired: Revell Reads Blogger Program.

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: This series just gets better and better! A serial killer is on the loose, and the killings are reminiscent of an earlier serial killer who is now incarcerated. Supervisory Special Agency Grace Billingsley is a behavioral analyst – a profiler – called to the latest crime scene. Sam Monroe is an FBI agent and a prison psychiatrist, also called to the crime scene but in an unofficial capacity – he is the son of that incarcerated serial killer.

I loved Sam just about right off the bat. It’s been awhile since I read the previous books and I wondered briefly if we had already met him, but I don’t believe so. One of my first thoughts about him was what a gentleman he is. He and Grace met previously at a conference, where they spent some time together, but haven’t seen each other since. In a good romance, the characters usually have some baggage (don’t we all?), and with his infamous father, Sam has a lot of baggage. He and his now ex-wife had even changed theirs and their children’s last names in order to distance themselves from his father.

In the previous books, from what I remember, especially the first book, the action started right from the first few pages. This time around the book started off at a leisurely pace, though no less enthralling, as Grace and Sam, along with other members of the FBI, continue to investigate. Sam has a niggling feeling that his father, despite being in prison, is somehow connected to the murders. He and Grace visit the previous crime scenes as Grace gathers information to create a profile of the killer. There is some action, a car nearly running Grace over in a parking structure, but the real, pulse-pounding action starts around page 124. Not that I’m complaining, I was completely invested in the story from the first chapter.

As usual, the author’s writing is descriptive and flowing. Though I’d never read about characters heading somewhere as aiming themselves. As in, she aimed herself towards the door. I guess when we are going somewhere, we do aim ourselves in that direction. It just struck me as an odd way to describe it. Also as usual, all of the characters are well written. While we don’t see the main couples from the first two books until the very end, we meet lots of new characters, including Sam’s kids and mother-in-law, who all live with him, and both Sam’s and Grace’s coworkers. Sam’s 12 year old daughter is prevalent throughout the book, and I loved how she took to Grace immediately upon meeting her. There are plenty of twists, and while I suspected (correctly) that one plot point was going to happen, until it did I never knew where the story was going, and when it did I had no idea how the characters would get out of their predicament.

Another wonderful and suspenseful story, and I can’t wait for the next book!

*received from the publisher and voluntarily reviewed*

Goodreads Synopsis: FBI Special Agent Grace Billingsley tracks serial killers, using her skills as a psychiatrist and behavioral analyst to get dangerous people off the street and safely behind bars. But prison psychiatrist Sam Monroe knows that just because a killer is incarcerated doesn't mean they're not a threat. His own father, Peter, is a serial killer--in prison but certainly not out of Sam's life, as much as he wishes he was.

When bodies start showing up with Peter's MO, Sam and Grace are both called in to consult. They've met before--and though Grace thought they'd made a real connection, Sam ghosted her. They'll have to get past the awkwardness and mistrust to solve this case--especially because it's about to get personal.