Book Reviews

Book Blurb

It's been six months since Vance Wolf buried his father. Driven to an early grave by the constant harassment of the new owner of the neighboring property, Andrew Blackwell. Now Vance's cattle are disappearing faster than he can replace them and their cash flow has been wiped out by the new barn they had to build after the other one mysteriously caught fire. The local sheriff's pockets are being lined by Blackwell, so Vance knows they're on their own and is at his wits end. Then his mother suggests they open up the ranch to business types as a cowboy camp.

Adam Prentiss arrives at Wolf Creek Ranch on a team-building exercise with the four colleagues in his department. He is not the cowboy type, but has no choice as his boss, and father, has sent him to Wolf Creek with instructions to delve into the financial status of the ranch and report back to him. Falling for Vance Wolf had not been part of the plan, but the connection between them had been instant. But what was he more afraid of? Disobeying his boss or Vance finding out Adam's father was in fact Andrew Blackwell and he'd been sent to help him appropriate Vance's land by any means necessary?

 
NOTE: 20% of each copy sold will be donated to the Friends of Roxburghe House hospice in memory of my friend Keith Donald who lost his brave fight with cancer on the 7 September 2013.

 

 

Book Review

I was really looking forward to reading this prequel to 'Too much Christmas Spirit' because Vance and Adam in that short story are intriguing characters not to mention very, very hot together. Little did I know they also have a complicated past with lots of heartache, intrigue, and almost didn’t make it as a couple. Boy, was I glad I read the second story first, so I knew all would end well. Tension runs high in this novella and the manipulations and dark plans of the villain had me very angry. Not as angry as Adam and Vance, but I sure came close!

Vance is a tough guy. Or at least he likes to project that image, even though deep-down he has feelings and hopes like anyone else. He has to present a tough front though to be able to fight off the attacks from the ruthless neighbor who wants Vance's family's land. The evil machinations have driven Vance's ranch close to bankruptcy, and so he is forced to accept some paying guests, managers who are interested in "the cowboy experience".  Full of disdain for what he assumes will be softies, he is surprised to find them willing (if not always able) to work and learn. As for Adam, their boss? As annoying as the guy is, Vance falls for him despite fighting his feelings all the way. "Just a fling" won’t work for them and Vance ends up opening his heart for the first time in his life. The crushing disappointment when he finds out Adam's real identity almost kills him.

Adam seems to have it all: money, societal acceptance, and a great job. By all accounts he should be very happy, but nothing could be further from the truth. His father has abused and terrorized him all his life, and he cannot find a way to escape the man's clutches. Personally, I think that, despite everything he and his mother had to go through and suffer, he just wasn't motivated enough. What I mean is not that he didn’t want to escape, he didn't have anywhere else to go, or so he thought. Once he decides that's what he needs to do, he manages just fine. But it requires a level of meanness and deceit he wasn't previously capable of. What a powerful motivator love can be!

These two men initially rub each other the wrong way and sparks fly. They are just too similar and too attracted to each other to do anything BUT antagonize each other, until they figure out the physical need to be close is just part of the issue. Vance has an extremely hard time accepting Adam's apology and explanations, but what else can he do? If you like explosive situations both from a personal and a business point of view, if you enjoy reading about stubborn men who try to out-macho each other before getting a clue, and if you're looking for Adam and Vance's story and want to find out how they met, then you will probably like this novella.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the author for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novella, 43000 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	23-October-2013
Price	$5.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-newyorkcowboy-1326390-145.html