Max Wilde's Cowboy Heart (Wyoming Wilde #3), Jennifer Ryan

 

Max Wilde's Cowboy Heart (Wyoming Wilde #3)

By: Jennifer Ryan

Recommendation: 👍👍👍👍👍 - (Out of 5 👍)

Synopsis: 

Kenna Baker has struggled to forget the love of her life, Max Wilde. They had been high school sweethearts on their way to marriage and a family when Kenna made a tragic mistake. Now she finds herself the only witness to a murder and at the mercy of the FBI. Max volunteers to watch over Kenna while she is in protective custody. He tells himself that the ranch is remote enough to offer protection while being large enough and allow him to stay emotionally and physically distant from Kenna. Max was sorely mistaken. As the pair spend more and more time together they realize the tragic mistakes made in their past.

I was provided an Advanced Reader Copy by NetGalley and the Publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager, for an honest review.

Jennifer Ryan writes romance with a purpose. The reader gets a happily ever after while at the same time enjoying a storyline filled with heart pounding action. Her stories are layers of depth made even deeper when developed across three or more related books. Kenna and Max's story is tragic. In life we all make mistakes, their situation forces them to confront their misconceptions and move beyond the hurt they have caused each other. Unfortunately for them they must do so while in danger for their lives. Kenna is a smart and caring teacher who only wants the best for her students; she was an easily relatable character. Max is a sexy, well built cowboy who cares deeply and longs for something more in life. I had no trouble relating to all the characters and falling into the fast paced storyline. I look forward to seeing more from the extended Wilde family.

Max Wilde's Cowboy Heart is available for pre-order and will be released March 28, 2023

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Mail Order Cowboy (Wishing River #4), Victoria James

 

Mail Order Cowboy (Wishing River #4)

By: Victoria James

Recommendation: 👍👍👍👍 - (Out of 5 👍)

Hope Roberts and her daughter Sadie are trying to get acclimated to life in their new home. As a single mother who owns her own business, life is hard enough without the stress and cost associated with renovating a dilapidated, run down ranch. The ranch is Sadie's legacy, her inheritance from her paternal grandparents and Hope is dedicated making things work. 

Dr. Dean Stanton grew up living a very privileged life. His family owns one of the largest ranches in the Wishing River area and are extremely wealthy. Unfortunately, not everything is as it appears. Dean's father is an abusive man unable to love and care for his sons. He never talks about his upbringing because he doesn't want to be consider the 'poor little rich boy'.

Dean and Hope hanging out in the same circle of friends but their relationship is fraught. Hope blames Dean for the death of her husband and Dean has been keeping a huge secret from Hope. Regardless of what Hope believes, Dean only wants the best for Hope and her daughter and promises to help with the ranch. Unfortunately, there are outside forces that are working against Hope, compromising her success.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley and the publisher Entangled Publishing, LLC for an honest review.

'Mail Order Cowboy' takes us back to Wishing River. Victoria James has a wonderful talent for creating beautifully written stories with deep characters who are facing realistic life struggles. I fell completely in love with Hope, Sadie, and Dean and was rooting for their success. Hope was easily relatable. She is struggling with the loss of her husband, trying to raise her daughter to be a good human being, juggling work and managing the ranch. It would be so easy for her to just give it all up but she perseveres. Dean is the perfect complement to Hope. Even though he stands to inherit so much he strives to bring something more meaningful to his life. Dean wants a real family, he wants to stand on his own and be known for his successes, but he is afraid he is more like his father than he wants to admit. 'Mail Order Cowboy' is a great story with a wonderful ending.

'Mail Order Cowboy' is available to preorder and will be released on December 27, 2022.

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Danger Rising (Red Stone Security #20) Katie Reus

 

Danger Rising (Red Stone Security #20)

By: Katie Reus

Recommendation: 👍👍👍👍 - (Out of 5 👍)

Lana didn't have a normal upbringing. When she was a teenager, Lana learned how to scale buildings, crack safes, and escape crime scenes undetected. Her mom was a modern day Robin Hood, stealing from those who were doing evil and then giving the spoils to their victims. Lana travelled the world with her mom to assist on her heists. But Lana had plans to leave that life behind, that was until her mom was murdered and a prized family heirloom was stolen by her mom's shady business partner.

Teague is a black ops agent who fell in love with Lana between assignments. He can never share with her the intimate details about his job even though she has told him everything about her life. The past few months, as a way of protecting her from enemies who want him gone, Teague has allowed Lana to believe he was dead. He has watched her from a far and realizes he needs to intercede when Lana decides to go up against the monster who stole her inheritance and get back the necklace that was stolen from her. 

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley and the publisher KR Press, LLC for an honest review.

I have been a long time fan of Katie Reus but admit that I have never had the opportunity to read a story from her 'Red Stone Security' series. From the very beginning of the book, Danger Rising grabbed me and drew me in with a fast paced, action packed, edge of my seat scene. The main character Lana, was already in the middle of her first heist. At that point in the story I didn't need to know why or who, the writing of this first chapter was so engaging I couldn't wait to learn more. Reus created in Lana a strong female character who is self sufficient and capable of taking care of herself. Yes, she is a thief and technically that is a bad thing but Lana has a moral code of ethics her mother instilled in her. They always stole from those who were wealthy and then used that wealth against those less fortunate. A portion of the money stolen would go back to the victims. As you read deeper into the book you find there are several layers to the story, each one creating a greater depth to the overall storyline. I enjoyed Danger Rising and will definitely be checking out the other books in the series. Danger Rising can be read as a stand alone; no evident storylines from the prior books carried over.

Danger Rising will be released on September 20, 2022 but you can pre-order your copy now.

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Garrett's Destiny (Dark Protectors #15) Rebecca Zanetti

 

Garrett's Destiny (Dark Protectors #15)

By: Rebecca Zanetti

Recommendation: 👍👍👍👍👍 - (Out of 5 👍)

Book Blurb:

Love and danger . . .
For most of his life, Vampire-Demon Garrett Kayrs, nephew of the King of the Realm, has carried a heavy mantle of responsibility with ease and control. Fate declared him heir to the throne, Fortune marked him with the power of the mysterious circle of Seven, and Chance promised more surprises to come. Nothing deterred him from his path. Until the nightmares began--agonizing dreams of having a female, the female, his mate, on the back of his motorcycle—only to have her torn away from his protection. He feels the menace around her, the danger she’s in, and he can’t rest until he finds her . . .

Duty and desire . . .
Destiny Applegate bears the weight of her name with a respectful balance of fear and purpose. She has been given some direction, but not nearly enough to truly understand her duty, what she was born to do. Even as a child, she had a sense of him. The him, her mate. A dream moment or two with him that might have saved her—or possibly cursed her. So now, when he finds her, she has no choice but to jump on the back of his bike and do her best to hold on until she discovers her path—even if that means ending his. ~Goodreads

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley and the publisher Macmillan-Tor/Forge for an honest review.

Garrett Kayrs is nephew to the king of the Vampire nation and destined to rule one day. He volunteered to become one of the Seven, a group of protectors sworn to guard the realm from the evil Kurjan leader Ulric, in an effort to protect his niece. Hundreds of years ago, the original seven prisoned Ulric within a bubble in another realm. Recently, that prison realm has started to degrade and come apart. The seven know the end of their fight is near. They have been searching for the three keys and the lock in an effort to prepare for the final ritual and battle. Garett's niece is the lock and the main reason he joined the Seven. He hopes to find a way to end Ulric prior to the ritual and save his niece from a tragic ending.

Along the way, each of the seven have found their destined mate; the one who was meant to be with them for the rest of their days. Garrett has dreamt of his mate an in his dreams she is a hardcore assassin out to kill him. When he meets up with the human female named Destiny he finds her to be nothing liked he dreamed. He can't understand why she prompts his mating mark to appear. What is Destiny not telling him? He knows there is more to her than meets the eye but nothing prepares him for the truth.

After fifteen books in a series you would think that Rebecca Zanetti has shared every possible storyline possible but she continues to amaze with her fresh ideas and new characters. I had waited so long for Garrett's story and I was not disappointed. I will admit, when Destiny first appeared in the diner I found her to be naive, innocent, and a little out of touch. I wasn't sure I was going to like her but as her back story started to reveal itself I grew to love her strength and charitable nature. She may not have been the badass female Garrett anticipated but she certainly proved she was tough as nails.

This fifteen book series is actually comprised of two storylines. I know that this particular storyline is coming to its conclusion. I sure hope that I wasn't 'reading' into too much when we were introduced to Hunter and his secret mission. My fingers are crossed that Zanetti is planning a follow up series involving his storyline.  

Garrett and Destiny's story will be available October 25th, 2022

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