Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Aphrodisia Books, 2008.
How acquired: Book Mooch
First line: Her daddy had always told her a man's worth wasn't measured by the size of his bank account or the square footage of his house.
(For Goodreads synopsis, scroll down.)
My thoughts: Three separate stories with Ms. Devlin's trademark heroes. The first story, “Wearing His Brand”, is the best by far. Lyssa has been in love with her brother's best friend for years. Brand has lusted after Lyssa, but being his best friend's sister makes her off limits, especially since Mac entrusted Brand to look after his sister when he was deployed. The story opens on a scene that seemed a bit ludicrous to me – Lyssa was repairing a barbed wire fence and a strand broke and snapped around her, leaving her helpless to move or do anything other than wait for someone to come along and find her. Maybe it's not ludicrous, I've never worked a ranch or dealt with barbed wire, so what do I know. Anyway, Lyssa decides it's time to push Brand until he loses control, and when he finally does, boy howdy. Hawt!
The second story, Slow Ride, is about Brand's brother, Danny. In high school he worked on a ranch and lusted after the owner's wife. Now she's a widow, and her foreman has put up a notice at the local bar, looking for someone to work with her horses. Danny gets the job and realizes he's still crazy about Maggie and sets out to convince her that age is just a number. I'm not a fan of older woman/younger man stories in general, but I liked Danny and Maggie and enjoyed their story. Just not as much as the first story.
The third story, Straight Up Soldier, is about Lyssa's brother, Mac. After being injured, he's back in the states and trying to adjust to the non-soldier life. His friend, Tara, asks him to provide protection to her friend, Suki, whose Mexican mafia connected ex is stalking her. When he leaves a note on the door of the safe house where officers have hidden Suki, she flees police protection to stay in her remote cabin. She's not happy when Mac shows up, and doesn't want his company or protection, but of course once he's met her Mac is determined to stay regardless.
This was my least favorite of the stories. The first two stories feature couples who already have some kind of history with each other. It gives them a foundation to build a relationship on. Mac is described as being desperately in need of a woman – he tried to get Tara to sleep with him but she declined. Of course Mac is still a gentleman and isn't going to push Suki into sex, so Suki pushes him instead. I guess this story of insta lust leading to love in a short period of time was a little jarring for me on the heels of the first two stories. I prefer some buildup, some getting to know each other first. And I just didn't connect with Mac or Suki as well as I did with the first two couples. Especially Lyssa and Brand. The book is worth reading for their story alone, and for that reason I'm giving the book four stars.
Goodreads synopsis: Down in Texas, there's a little town called Honkeytonk, where the women get exactly what they want... and the men know just how to give it to them.
Wearing
His Brand Lyssa
McDonough just got tangled up in a coil of barbed wire, and her
clothes are ripped to shreds. Rancher Brandon Tynan to the
rescue--but why is she so ornery? Could it be that the whole state of
Texas isn't big enough for the two of them? Hell, they'll still have
to share one horse to get home. Lyssa better hang on tight--she's in
for the wildest ride of her life...
Slow
Ride Maggie
Dermott doesn't know the first thing about horses and Daniel Tynan is
more than willing to show her the ropes. His gentle ways melt her
heart and his sensual passion burns away her inhibitions. Daniel
takes the time to love her right.
Straight
Up Soldier Suki
Reece needs protection and she can see that Mac McDonough has the
muscle. Too bad he can't stand taking orders from a woman. The rugged
ex-Marine won't listen to a word she says until Suki distracts him
with a sexy striptease. That gets his attention. Suki may have gotten
the upper hand but Mac is going to be on top...
