Ranch Ambush (Marshals of Mesa Point, Book One)

 

BARB HAN

How acquired: Harlequin Reader Service Subscription

First line: Can you ever go home again?

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: I've only read one other book by this author, an older one published about ten years before this one, and I did not like it. I one-starred it, something I rarely do. So I've been hesitant to pick her up again, even though I have around ten of her books in my TBR. But boy, am I glad I took that chance. Sometimes I read a book from a new to me author and love it so much I grab everything I can find by them, and then I'm disappointed when the next one or two I read aren't nearly as good as that first one. I guess that can work in reverse!

RANCH AMBUSH was well written, and I loved both the hero and heroine. In love for a summer at sixteen, then separated about as many years, there's lots of angst as they both internally hash out their feelings when they see each other again and spend some time together. Plus Duke's grandparents both being in the ICU after a car wreck (which I'm guessing will play out over the course of the series), and the mystery of who is out to hurt Audrey. Considering all the plot, the story is still more character over action, which I am always here for.

Now I'm off to look for Book Two!

Synopsis from Goodreads: Fourteen years after the girl Duke Remington loved disappeared, the US Marshal comes home to discover that Audrey Newcastle is in mortal danger. Protecting Audrey, now a sheriff’s deputy, rekindles painful memories and unwelcome desire. But as secrets from Audrey’s mysterious past surface, Duke must find a way to earn her trust and stop a killer lying in wait to complete a final act of vengeance.

Crossfire (Extreme Measures, Book Two)

 

LYNETTE EASON

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, 2022.

How acquired: Revell Reads Blogger Program

First line: FBI Special Agent Julianna Jameson glanced at the alert on her phone.

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: This is the second book in the author’s Extreme Measures series, and a great follow up to the first book. Julianna is a hostage negotiator, a profession I’ve not come across in my reading before now. Her younger sister Dottie, a senior in high school, moved in with Julianna as soon as she turned eighteen and could get away from their sorry excuse of a mother. So there’s some baggage from her upbringing, but also from an event that occurred during Julianna’s own high school days.

Clay, a police officer, is an SRO – school resource officer – at Dottie’s school. There are tons of books with police officer heroes out there, but an SRO was another first for me, and I really liked it. I remember a police officer at my high school, some of us called him CC, for “cool cop”, because he’d smile and wave at us as we walked out to our car to leave when we should’ve been in class. Something I’m pretty sure Clay would not do – he’d be questioning the students and sending them back to class. Clay enjoys his job and seems to be well liked by the kids, providing them with encouragement and a willing ear if they want to talk about anything, even making sure that one of the students gets breakfast every morning, and calling the middle school to be sure that student’s younger brother is also getting breakfast.

When the story opens, Julianna is called to a hostage situation at the courthouse. A high profile defendant has taken over a courtroom. Clay also rushes to the scene when he learns about it, as his younger sister, Reese, is one of the jurors. Watching Julianna at work was tense and fascinating, as she tries to get control over the situation. We’ve all seen hostage situations play out in TV shows and movies, but seeing it from Julianna’s point of view gave me a much more detailed look at and understanding of a negotiator’s role/process.

Once it’s all over, a grateful – and impressed – Clay invites Julianna and her sister to meet him and Reese for dinner, and a very quick close friendship develops between Reese and Dottie. It’s a little slower for Clay and Julianna, what with the baggage I mentioned earlier, which Julianna doesn’t like to share or talk about. And Clay has some serious baggage of his own, from an incident that occurred when he was deployed. He avoids relationships because he’s convinced that when a woman hears his story, she’ll turn her back on him.

But it’s not all quite over, as Julianna finds herself and Dottie in danger from someone who appears to be watching them, following them. From there it’s a roller coaster ride as Clay sticks close to his new friends, determined to help Julianna keep Dottie safe, and do whatever he can to keep Julianna safe. At one point, when Julianna is called to another hostage situation, Clay has to force himself to stand down and let her go on her own, knowing she could be in danger, but also realizing she’s very capable at her job, and of taking care of herself. The women in this series, and all of Revell’s romantic suspense line of books, are definitely not helpless victims who need a man to protect them, which is a big part of their appeal to me. But it’s more than just that, of course. There is lots of action, some tender moments, and believable, well written characters who you’d love to be friends with.

All in all, this is a gripping read, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and have voluntarily reviewed it*

Goodreads Synopsis: FBI special agent Julianna James is a top-notch negotiator who has never lost a hostage. Surely, she can manage to take care of her much younger sister, Dottie, who showed up unannounced to live with Julianna while she finished her senior year of high school.

A former sniper with the 75th Ranger Regiment, Clay Snyder left the army after a tragic incident that he can't get past. Now he's working as a high school resource officer until he can figure out what to do with the rest of his life. 

Their paths cross when Julianna is called in to negotiate a courtroom hostage situation involving Clay's sister. Impressed and a bit intimidated by the calm, capable woman with the dark hair and blue eyes, Clay invites her to speak at his school. Dottie's school. 

But as the anniversary of a school shooting from Julianna's past approaches, it becomes clear that her perfect record is about to be tested and that Dottie is at risk. If Julianna and Clay can't figure out who's behind the attacks, more innocent people will die--and Julianna just might be one of them.

This intense story of revenge and redemption from bestselling author and master of suspense Lynette Eason will have you up all night as you race toward the explosive finish.

A Bad Day for Sunshine (Sunshine Vicram, Book 1)

DARYNDA JONES

Stats for my copy: Kindle edition, St. Martin's Press, expected publication date 4/7/20.

How acquired: NetGalley.

(For the Goodreads synopsis, scroll to the bottom of this post.) 

My thoughts:  While I hadn't read Ms. Jones before, I am very aware of her popular Charley Davidson series, and even have books one and twelve of that series in my TBR. So when an email showed up from Netgalley about this book, the first in a new series, being available, I jumped on it.

It's one of those books that is filled with quirky characters and outlandish situations. Starting with Sunshine becoming the sheriff of her home town after winning an election that she had not even entered. Her friend and coworker, Quincy, tells her she killed it at a the debate. How...? Sunshine never does find out how her parents managed to get her elected behind her back, but she is still glad of the opportunity to move back to her home town, if only to investigate her own abduction when she was seventeen, of which she has very little memory, and the perpetrator was never caught.

Much of the dialogue was quite amusing, with quips being tossed back and forth between the characters like a volleyball, while Sunshine and her deputies race against the clock to find a missing teenager who had premonitions of her own abduction and murder for years. I sometimes got a little confused as something would come up from Sun's past. For instance, one minute her childhood rival and bully Hailey is snarling insults at her, and the next they're hugging in a coffee shop storeroom, followed by a short info dump to explain their situation, although I'm still not completely clear on why the two women have to pretend to hate each other when anyone else is around. Plus there was just soooo much going on, like dozens of tiny little side plots. Despite that, I like the author's writing and the story was engaging for the most part. And when Sunshine and her daughter finally had a heart to heart, no more secrets, talk about what happened to Sunshine when she was seventeen, I cried right along with them.

While Sunshine is apparently surrounded by handsome burly men, Levi of course stood out from the others. An enigma, who I'm sure we'll learn more about as the series progresses. I have some theories about him, and I loved the conversation between them when she went to his house to thank him for something and ended up standing beside his bed interrupting his nap to talk to him.

If this review comes across as my feeling a bit ambivalent about the book, I guess I am a little, but the bottom line is I did get quite caught up and raced through the last quarter or so, and I look forward to the next book. And definitely need to get a start on the Charley Davidson books.

Goodreads synopsis: Del Sol, New Mexico is known for three things: its fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, its strong cups of coffee—and a nationwide manhunt? Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff—an election her adorably meddlesome parents entered her in—and she expects her biggest crime wave to involve an elderly flasher named Doug. But a teenage girl is missing, a kidnapper is on the loose, and all of it's reminding Sunny why she left Del Sol in the first place. Add to that trouble at her daughter’s new school and a kidnapped prized rooster named Puff Daddy, and Sunshine has her hands full.

Enter sexy almost-old-flame Levi Ravinder and a hunky US Marshall, both elevens on a scale of one to blazing inferno, and the normally savvy sheriff is quickly in over her head. Now it’s up to Sunshine to juggle a few good hunky men, a not-so-nice kidnapping miscreant, and Doug the ever-pesky flasher. And they said coming home would be drama-free. 

Her Valentine Sheriff (Serendipity Sweethearts, Book 2; Love Inspired Large Print #833)

DEB KASTNER

Synopsis: Rugged and tough deputy sheriff Eli Bishop isn't scared of anything. Except dogs. When he’s assigned a K-9 partner, he thinks things can't get any worse. Then he learns who'll be training him. Local vet Mary Travis is sweet as sugar...but she's also Eli's ex-fiancee's sister. Revealing his humiliating phobia to her is not an option. Neither is developing feelings for Mary – who's built her career around the dogs Eli fears. When a terrible storm hits their town, Mary and Eli must find the courage to work together and save lives – and fall in love.

First line: Serendipity, Texas, had gone to the dogs.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Love Inspired Books, releases in January 2014; 215 pages; purchased through Harlequin Reader Service subscription.

My thoughts: The Serendipity police force is getting it's first K-9 officer, and Eli Bishop is horrified to learn that he has been chosen to partner with the dog. A frightening encounter with a wild dog when he was very young left him with physical and emotional scars, and the thought of being around a dog still scares him. But he isn’t about to turn down a promotion, not to mention allow himself to become the butt of his fellow officers' jokes and teasing. He's still smarting from the jokes and teasing that followed his ex-fiancee jilting him, and he's not pleased that her sister will be training him. But he keeps his misgivings to himself and stoically accepts the new position.

Mary Bishop is excited about starting a K-9 training program, and if her first pupil and his partner do well, she hopes to get contracts from other local police forces. She's nervous about working with Eli, whom she had a crush on in high school, and she's still angry at her sister for the way she walked out on Eli and their engagement to be with another man.

Eli doesn’t tell Mary about his dog phobia, leaving her to ponder and wonder why he's so reserved and resistant to interacting with Bullet. She needs Eli and Bullet to become a cohesive unit in order to get the new training program off the ground. I'm fascinated by police dogs (well, by any dogs!), and Deb Kastner appears to have done some research into what makes them tick, and I enjoyed this brief glimpse into how the canine officers – and their human partners – are trained. And Eli's first training session with Mary and Bullet had me laughing page after page.

Mary quickly realizes her teenage crush on Eli is still going strong, but she doesn't think he would ever possibly be interested in someone like her. In fact, she spends a majority of the book convinced that he's fallen for her friend Alexis, and determined to be happy for them. Meanwhile, Alexis and Samantha, the other member of the Little Chicks, as the three girls are known around town, plot and scheme to get Mary and Eli together.

The storm scenes were descriptive and realistic, and I got a little tense but very immersed in the story. Thinking back, this is the first book I've read that featured any tornadic activity since my own city was devastated by a tornado back in May, and Mary and Eli heading out with their dogs for Search and Rescue made me emotional. But not in a bad way – with the happy ending it was also cathartic.

Overall an enjoyable and engaging read. I gather from Harlequin’s website that this is the second book in the “Serendipity Sweetheart” series, the first book having been Samantha's story, THE SOLDIER'S SWEETHEART, which thanks to my excessive subscriptions to Harlequin's Reader Service I already have in my massive TBR pile. But scrolling through synopses of Ms. Kastner's other books it looks like many of them are set in the same little town, such as MEETING Mr. RIGHT, which is the fourth book in the “Email Order Brides” series and is about Eli's sister, and which I'm pleased to realize is also in my TBR pile, along two more of her books. So, you know, just what I need. Another bunch of books to move to my “to be read next” bookcase, which is almost overflowing as it is. 

A HIT AND A MISS

First the hit:

Romantic Notions, by Roz Denny (Harlequin Romance No. 3122)

Synopsis: When Sam Court came raging into Brynn Powell’s lingerie shop, Romantic Notions, to return the frivolous undies his thirteen-year-old daughter had bought, he was shocked to find himself attracted to the proprietor.

Sam disapproved of female vanity. Disapproved of women like his glamorous and unreliable ex-wife...a category that included former fashion models who “hawked filmy underwear.”

But despite appearances, Brynn was really a sensible home-and-hearth person. And she had to wonder if a one-time hockey great with a few too many bruises and an ex-model with far too many responsibilities could ever make a match of it.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback; published by Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 1991; 187 pages; purchased at a library book sale in February 2011.

My thoughts: At one of the annual library sales we go to they always have sealed boxes of books for sale, and I try to get at least one romance box. Some of the books will be good, some will so so, and some will be little gems, like this one. I'd never read a Roz Denny book until now, and what a wonderful introduction to a new to me author.

Brynn was a successful underwear model before coming home to care for her younger brother, who at age 15 needs a kidney transplant, after their parents passed away. But her real passion was design, and in addition to taking over the running of her late mother's shop, she sells her own line of lingerie. Before leaving New York, she had her heart broken by a man who she thought she was in love with at the time, and her focus in life now is to work and take care of her brother and the mounting medical bills. She's not interested in dating or being in a relationship.

Sam Court is a very well known hockey player who has left California (I think that's where he came from) in the hopes of providing a more wholesome life for his 13 year old daughter. He's a little older than the rest of the players on his hockey team, and starting to feel his aches and pains. His ex-wife was consumed by her looks and trying to become famous, and he overcompensates now by being too strict with his daughter.

Brynn and Sam clash from the moment they meet, which is standard fare for these older Harlequins, and which I have come to love and expect. The relationship builds up slowly, tentatively, almost grudgingly. It's a sweet story with wonderfully written characters, including the kids who are integral to the story and not just plot devices (see next review for example). Roz Denny, also known as Roz Denny Fox, is definitely on my radar now and I'll be snatching up everything of hers I can find.

The Christmas Child (Redemption River #4; Love Inspired #661)

LINDA GOODNIGHT

Synopsis: In Redemption, Oklahoma, a young boy is found huddled in a Dumpster, clutching a Christmas book. Scared and refusing to speak, he captures undercover agent Kade McKendrick's guarded heart. Kade brings the child home until he can track down his family - and his story. All Kade has is a name, Davey, and the boy's trust of sweet, pretty teacher Sophie Bartholomew. With her kindness and faith, Sophie helps both the boy and the battle-scarred cop to smile again. And as they uncover the mystery of a very special child, a family is formed - just in time for Christmas.

First line: In twenty years of Dumpster diving, Popbottle Jones had found his share of surprises in other people's trash.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Steeple Hill, 2011; 217 pages.

My thoughts: Linda Goodnight is one of the two authors who first got me hooked on the Love Inspired line of books (the other being Jillian Hart). Her stories are heartwarming, the settings charming (love the town of Redemption), and the characters well drawn out and easy to connect with.

Kade, staying temporarily with his aunt in Redemption, is the ultimate wounded warrior, an undercover cop who's faith has been shaken by the human horrors he has witnessed on the job in Chicago. Sophie is an optimistic and upbeat teacher who loves Christmas and winter and snow and pretty much everything that comes along. Including a lost little boy and a lost man, both of whom she longs to take care of. One is eager to accept her love, one is not.

As Kade throws himself wholeheartedly into the search for Davey's family and for answers to how and why the little boy ended up alone in a dumpster, cold and hungry and unable to talk, he also finds himself doing some soul searching about his own life and whether he really wants to go back to Chicago after the holidays. Kade is a wonderful hero who I was a little in love with from the first chapter. The banter between Kade and Sophie was amusing and I smiled a lot while reading this book.