The Boss Next Door (Harlequin Heartwarming)

ROZ DENNY FOX

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Harlequin, 2013 (previously published as HAVING IT ALL).

How acquired: I think I got this book when I was subscribing to Harlequin's Reader Service.

First line: Sherry Campbell pirouetted in front of her sleepy roommate, seeking an opinion on her new appearance.

My thoughts: I can always count on Roz Denny Fox to deliver an enjoyable, amusing and heartwarming story that I zip through before I even realize how late I've sat up reading. Her characters are never one dimensional, including the children who are always integral to the plot and not just there. And she must research the crap out of everything, because I learned more than I ever thought I'd want to know about the process a college goes through when hiring a new dean. And if she just made all that up on the fly, then she is a very convincing writer.

I liked that the relationship between Sherry and Garrett built slowly and gradually, with both characters, but Sherry especially, continually denying her feeling and fighting them, not to mention fighting each other. There's lots of bickering between them, which I also really like. And the last chapter had me in tears.

I recommend reading ANYTHING YOU CAN DO... first, which is about Sherry's brother, Nolan. But while there are a few references back to happenings in that book, this one can still stand on it's own.

And then I recommend reading TROUBLE AT LONE SPUR, which has no relation to this book but is one of my favorites of the author's works.

Goodreads synopsis: Garrett Lock wants it all. He's a single father with a child he adores. He has a successful career. And now he wants a second chance at marriage, another shot at love—with Sherry Campbell.

Despite her desire for a family, Sherry doesn't believe that love and independence are compatible. But when Garrett becomes her boss—and her neighbor—she starts to question her assumptions, falling first for his eight-year-old son…and then for him.

Maybe with a bit of compromise and a lot of trust…you can have it all? 

Precious Gifts (Harlequin Heartwarming No. 8)

ROZ DENNY FOX 

Synopsis from back of book: Things have not gone well for Hayley Ryan. Her beloved grandfather is dead. Her ex-husband not only abandoned her for another woman but also stole Hayley's inheritance – and left her pregnant. All she has now is a piece of property to camp on – and a secret mine that might or might not produce.

Jake Cooper is part owner of the Triple C Ranch in southern Arizona. Hayley Ryan's campsite is adjacent to the Triple C. The first time Jake rides into her camp, she points a shotgun at his head – and without even knowing it, takes aim at his heart...

Jake is determined to persuade Hayley to trust him and marry him. As for Hayley's baby-to-be – he'd love the chance to be a dad!

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 2011, originally published as MOM'S THE WORD; purchased at a library book sale.

First line: “You're pregnant, Hayley.”

My thoughts: I have a subscription to Harlequin Heartwarming through their Reader Service, but I subscribed late and missed the earliest books, so I was pleased to recently come across this one at a library sale – a Heartwarming, AND a Roz Denny Fox, so double score. And then the hero is a cowboy, and I've really gotten into cowboys over the last few months, so triple score!

Hayley is young and naive, a girl who grew up lonely and fell for the first smooth talker to take an interest in her. She was raised by an undemonstrative grandfather who spent more time at his mine than with his granddaughter, and she was glad to marry Joe despite her grandfather's dislike and distrust of him. Then her grandfather passed away, and Joe forged her name and sold the mine out from under her, and took off with another woman, leaving Hayley with no income. And now she finds out she is carrying his child.

Then she learns from one of her grandfather's friends that he had been working another claim site for several years. She quickly goes to the recorder's office and files a claim in her own name, then sets up camp with her grandfather's old pickup and tiny little camper. She plans to work the site herself for a few months, and hopefully discover something, anything, that will support herself and the baby for awhile.

Enter Jake Cooper, part owner with his parents and brother of the Triple C. He tells Hayley that her claim site supplies water to the surrounding ranches, and Grandpa had a deal with the ranchers to let them use the water as needed, and to turn over the land – and the precious water – to them when he's through with his prospecting. So he's not happy to find this woman here working the site. And neither are the other ranchers, some of who are downright angry about it, and want her out of the way pronto.

It's a little strange that in all the years Grandpa was camping out at this site for a few months each year, he never told his granddaughter about it. And even more strange that in all these years he never mentioned to Jake and his family, who he was on very friendly terms with, that he was raising a granddaughter. But the secrecy also works in Hayley's favor, as Joe doesn't know anything about it, and until her divorce is finalized, she needs to keep it that way so he doesn’t steal it out from under her also. And yeah, it seems a little unbelievable that Joe got away with selling the other mine and keeping Hayley from getting a cent (other than the $1,000 he left her when he took off). She apparently has no recourse, and I had a little trouble believing that to be possible. Oh, she contacted the police of course, but it turns out Joe and the local deputy are tight, so, you know, no help from that quarter.

But put that aside and just go with it. Hayley is very determined to never trust or depend on a man again, and Jake is just as determined to show her that she can trust him and can depend on him. Sometimes I felt Hayley was acting foolish, putting herself out in the middle of nowhere, alone, with no cell phone and unreliable transportation – putting her unborn child at risk if anything should happen and she should need emergency medical attention. Not to mention no regular prenatal care. But I could empathize with that determination I mentioned. My ex didn't do me as badly as hers did, but I still felt the same way she did about not trusting or depending on men.

I enjoyed watching Hayley and Jake dance around each other. Hayley would let her guard down and be nice to Jake and have fun with him, and then he'd say something about the claim site or the water and her defenses would slam back into place and she would turn on him, convinced that he didn't care about her and just wanted her land.

Since most of the story takes place at her claim site, between just Hayley and Jake (and his dog), the secondary characters stay pretty secondary, but I didn’t mind that. Jake's family are a little antagonistic about Hayley (and his father and brother to her face), and since we don't spend as much time with them or get to know them as well as we do Hayley and Jake, we're not always sure if they can be trusted. But that added to the overall tone of the book and worked well.

A quick and enjoyable read with a satisfying HEA.