Christmas Cowboy Duet - Marie Ferrarella (HAR #1527 - Dec 2014)

Series: Forever, Texas (Book 12)

Forever's Country Cowboy

His heroic rescue of a stranger caught in a flash flood just changed Liam Murphy's life -- big-time. With Whitney Marlowe's help, the laid-back country-and-western singer could be a star. Only now, with the dynamic LA talent scout stranded in his Texas town, during the holidays no less, Liam has another dream: a permanent duet!

The long, lean cowboy with the soulful eyes makes the most beautiful music Whitney has ever heard. Fate brought her to Forever, and the town embraced her, inviting her to help decorate the community's Christmas tree. Though reluctant to return home, she isn't leaving without her newest discovery. It's dangerous mixing business and pleasure! Together, can she and Liam find their forever after?

Good book. Whitney is an LA talent scout on the way to Laredo to audition a band for her family's record label. She looks at a map and decides to take a shortcut that ends up being anything but. She gets caught in a sudden thunderstorm that turns into a flash flood, sweeping her car away. If it hadn't been for Liam hearing her scream, she would have drowned.

What follows is pretty funny. Whitney is LA born and bred and has absolutely zero experience with small towns and their people. The flood has deposited her car up in a tree, and she watches in disbelief as Liam and his friends try to find a way to get it down. While that is going on, he decides she needs food and warmth and they head to Joan's diner, where she gets still more shocks. Joan being who she is, Whitney doesn't know how to react to the things she says and does. To cap it all off, her car will need repairs, the parts have to be ordered because no one in Forever drives those fancy foreign cars, and there's nowhere to rent a car so she can move on. Nor is there a hotel in town, other than the one under construction. Somehow Whitney finds herself sucked into life in Forever while she waits for her car to be ready. She's under some stress because she can't make it to Laredo to audition the band, news that her brother/boss doesn't take well. He's really obnoxious but Whitney does appear to stand up to him pretty well.

There's a strong attraction between Whitney and Liam from the moment they met. Liam is pretty laid back but there's something about Whitney that gets him wound up. I loved how he tried to take care of her, even arranging for her to stay in one of the few completed rooms in the hotel. He even drove back and forth outside the room to make some noise, because the total quiet freaked out the city girl in her. I loved seeing the attraction build between them, and how the sparks flew when they kissed. But Whitney fights the attraction because Liam is a few years younger than she is. Her mother deserted the family when she ran off with a younger man, and that has left Whitney with a bit of a phobia about age differences.

Whitney is also stunned to find out that Liam is the lead singer for his own band, and that they are really good. She thinks they're even better than the band she was sent to sign. I loved seeing her enthusiasm and how she pushed her brother to listen to the video she took. Again, I found her brother to be totally obnoxious. His attitude when he deigned to show up at the saloon to listen to the band was snobby and rude. I was shocked by the proposal he made to Liam, as were he and Whitney. I loved Liam's response to Wilson, though its carryover to Whitney was a little extreme.

I loved the glimpses of both Whitney and Liam as they tried to deal with being apart. Both of them came to realize the strength of what they felt for each other. I loved Whitney's big moment at the end and the surprise she brought with her to Forever. The epilogue was really sweet, too.

The Cowboy and the Lady - Marie Ferrarella (HAR #1562 - Sept 2015)

Series: Forever Texas (Book 13)

EVERYONE NEEDS A HERO

…and this tiny Texas town is Deborah Kincannon's last hope. The Indiana nurse will do whatever it takes to save her troubled teenage brother from their painful past. Debi isn't prepared for the community that welcomes them with open arms -- or Jackson White Eagle, the handsome rancher who's giving new meaning to starting over.

As co-owner of the Healing Ranch, Forever's former bad boy is paying it forward. But Debi's brother isn't the only one who's blossoming under Jackson's innovative program for giving back to his town. The pretty, guarded newcomer is igniting a powerful yearning that's bringing out the unlikely hero in him. Can Jackson convince Debi that she has finally found her safe haven -- with him?

Sweet story about two wounded souls who find their way to each other thanks to a teenaged miscreant. Debi has been the guardian of her younger brother since their parents were killed in a car crash that also injured him. Since that day, he has turned from a good kid to a sullen troublemaker. When her husband forces her to choose between him and her brother, she knows she needs help. When a friend tells her about the Healing Ranch in Forever, Texas, she feels that it is her last chance to save her brother from himself.

Jackson and his brother deal well with troubled teenage boys because they were once just like them. It was working on the ranch with their uncle that turned them around, and when he left them the ranch they decided to do the same for others. They've had great success and Jackson is certain he can help Ryan. What he doesn't expect is his desire to help Debi too.

Debi isn't sure what to make of Jackson and the rest of the town of Forever. She's never experienced anything like the openhearted welcome she's gotten from everyone. She holds herself a little apart at first, since she only plans to stay until Ryan is through the program. But a temporary job at the clinic starts drawing her into local life, and it isn't long before she feels more at home in Forever than in Indianapolis. 

The failure of her marriage has left Debi doubting her ability to pick a good man, and the attraction she feels for Jackson is something she is determined to resist. But the more time she spends with him, the more she begins to trust him. They get closer, yet she always feels that he's holding something back. She's fallen for him, but when Ryan's time is up and Jackson doesn't ask her to stay, she believe that he doesn't care and that she's given her heart for nothing again.

I loved Jackson and his determination to save as many boys like him as he can. He's drawn to Debi, but doesn't feel that any woman would ever want to stay with him, thanks to the events of his past. The examples of marriage that he had left him with no role models to guide is way. His mother left him and his father when he was little, after his father had cheated on her. Later, his father had left too. Jackson went into his relationship with Debi expecting her to leave too. In spite of how close they had gotten, when Ryan's time was up, Jackson simply accepted that she would leave, without trying to do anything to change her mind.

I loved seeing Jackson's brother force him to look at what he's doing. It was fun to see him point out where Jackson has gone wrong. Seeing Jackson take a chance was really satisfying. The epilogue was fun, especially seeing the new and improved Ryan.

Revisiting the town of Forever was great. As always, the crusty but softhearted Miss Joan played a part in bringing two lonely people together. I also liked seeing the way everyone tried to make Debi feel welcome. Her confusion over the differences between the city and small town was great, and I enjoyed seeing her become part of it all.

Cowboy for Hire - Marie Ferrarella (HAR #1523 - Nov 2014)

Series: Forever, Texas (Book 11)

A Love Built To Last?

Finn Murphy has always been good at building things. So when the town's alluring new developer makes him an irresistible offer, he's all set to jump on board. And working side by side with Constance Carmichael sure has its perks. Too bad the big-city beauty will be heading back east after she makes her name in his hometown.

Hiring the handsome saloon owner and carpenter to turn Connie's dream of building Forever's first hotel into reality was a stroke of pure genius. Finn has magic in his hands, and she's far from immune to his rugged charms. But what happens when the time comes to say goodbye to this close-knit, warmly welcoming community…and Finn? Or has Connie finally found forever -- with her Texas cowboy?

Good book. Connie works for her father, owner of Carmichael Construction. No matter what she does, it never seems to be good enough. She has talked her father into putting her in charge of building the hotel in Forever, Texas. She looks at it as her best chance of earning her father's respect. She's not sure what to expect when she arrives and starts to explore the town. When she comes across Finn working on a house, he appears to be just what she needs to get the hotel built.

Finn is the second of the three Murphy men. He works on the family ranch, works as bartender at the family bar, and works on renovating houses whenever he can. When Connie offers him the job as foreman on the hotel project, it's too good a chance to pass up. Working with her turns out to be even better than he expected.

From the very beginning the town of Forever was something completely out of Connie's experience. She is so used to the "every man for himself" lifestyle of the city and her father, that the friendliness of the people has her really confused. But with Finn's help, she sees the opportunity to do business her way. I really liked seeing the way she looked at the economy of the town and the available workers, and found a way to use so many people. She also has a great ability to connect with the people she's working with. Her best connection is with Finn. I really enjoyed the way that he sees past the construction manager to the woman beneath. I loved the way he was so sensitive to the insecurities caused by her father's attitude and how he worked to show her that her father was wrong. It was really sweet to see the way that he was so protective of her at the same time that he was so impressed by how good she was at her job.

I really liked the way that their relationship developed. Finn was so careful not to push things on the personal level, even though his feelings for her were growing stronger. He was planning to wait until the hotel was done so they didn't have the boss/employee problem going on. He was stunned when she was the one who made the first advances. From that point, the changes in Connie were amazing. Finn's support of her gave her a new confidence in herself. Just when things are really going her way, her father strikes again. Connie will have to decide what is more important to her. And Finn will have to decide if the future he pictured is worth fighting for. 

I would have liked to see the discussion with her father, once she made that decision. As it is, I loved the solution that she came up with. It didn't surprise me at all, thanks to the things she had done earlier in the book. I also really enjoyed the epilogue.

Once again, the book has terrific secondary characters. I loved Finn's brothers and their relationships with him. I can't wait to see more of Liam. I also really enjoyed seeing Miss Joan again, and her talent for making outsiders part of the fabric of the town.