I will have a Review, Excerpt, and Giveaway. First, let's get to know the author!
A voracious reader, Kathleen quickly discovered the world of romance novels and she knew she was home. Kathleen wrote her first book two years ago. She was shocked to find out that people loved what she wrote. All of Kathleen's novels are award winners. Callie's Heart is her first published novel. It is the first book in The Lasso Springs Series. Kathleen lives in Texas. She moved there from Rochester, New York and is having the time of her life exploring Texas culture. Kathleen is married to her wonderful husband Bruce and they have one son, Steven. They just welcomed new additions to their family, a new daughter in law, Brittany and her cute as a button son, Colt.
She feels blessed to be supported in her writing by her family and friends.
A voracious reader, Kathleen quickly discovered the world of romance novels and she knew she was home. Kathleen wrote her first book two years ago. She was shocked to find out that people loved what she wrote. All of Kathleen's novels are award winners. Callie's Heart is her first published novel. It is the first book in The Lasso Springs Series. Kathleen lives in Texas. She moved there from Rochester, New York and is having the time of her life exploring Texas culture. Kathleen is married to her wonderful husband Bruce and they have one son, Steven. They just welcomed new additions to their family, a new daughter in law, Brittany and her cute as a button son, Colt.
She feels blessed to be supported in her writing by her family and friends.
Contemporary Western Romance
Date Published: 7/28/12
Sexy ,Rancher Burke Dawson wants a family- including a wife who has no expectations of love. Burke never bargained on Annie Douglas. Searching for a place to belong, Annie Douglas heads to Texas, hoping to discover the one thing she had never had, love and passion.
Deciding not to act on their attraction, they part ways. Burke continues to search for a wife, but he realizes that only Annie will do. Annie heads back to her lonely life in New York City and her controlling Stepbrother. Annie is thrilled when Burke proposes.
Annie’s Stepbrother tries to stop the wedding, he doesn’t want her to know about an inheritance she is supposed to receive upon her wedding day. Failing that, he hires Burke’s caustic ex-wife, Alice to break up the marriage at any cost. Alice has plans of her own that include her remarriage to Burke. She just needs to get Annie out of the way.
Misunderstandings, accidents, and treachery cause Annie to return to New York, shattered. Finding herself pregnant, Annie heads back to Texas only to hear from Alice that Burke denies that the baby is his.
Discovering Alice’s misdeeds, Burke throws her off the ranch. He tries his damndest to lasso Annie once again. Nothing seems to work. Making one last effort, Burke takes Annie for a walk under the Texas stars and gives her the one thing she wants most- his heart.
My Rating:
My Review:
This book threw me a little in the beginning. I can not pinpoint what it was exactly but something in the beginning as far as the writing style took me a little bit to get used to. I think this often read more like a Historical Western than a Contemporary Western. They are in present time, but a lot Annie's mindset and Burke's expectation screamed Historical Romance. Annie's naievity was frustrating in the beginning but she definitely showed great growth throughout the book.
While oftentimes predictible, this book was a very sweet one. Burke was the typical man, making mistakes at every turn. They had set backs all along the way and their perserverence and their love story was truly beautiful! Like I already mentioned Annie showed major growth in this book. Her coming into herself and realizing that what she thought her entire life was not true was amazing. Burke also showed great growth in the love in trust department.
I really liked Sherry and Ted as secondary characters and them already being married kind of bums me out because we wont get a full length on them. :'(
All in all a great Western Romance set in my Home state of TEXAS! P.S. I loved her calling Fort Worth the Big F.W. Had me literally laughing out loud!
EXCERPT
Annie felt enchanted. For all the show of not liking cats,
Burke seemed attached to this one. If only he had given her a better name.
After a delicious dinner of steak, potatoes, and homemade
biscuits, they sat on the porch swing in the front of the house. The night had
cooled pleasantly with a refreshing breeze blowing the prairie grass back and
forth. Long-stalked sunflowers bent and danced to some unknown ballet. Annie
closed her eyes and took it all in. She wanted to make a memory of this place,
of this moment for when she was back in New
York . It was going to be harder to go back to her
stark existence after this perfect night. She looked at Burke’s profile hoping
to memorize it too. There was such strength in his features from his square jaw
line to his crooked nose. She wondered if he had broken it in a fight. His eyes
were so blue that she had gotten lost in them many times throughout the
evening. All of Annie’s nerves tingled as her arm brushed against his. There
was no doubt about the attraction they had for each other.
“Have you always lived on this ranch?”
Burke grinned. “All my life.”
“It must have been nice growing up here with your family.”
“Well, my mother was a saint of course and my father… let’s
see, how can I describe him without chasing you away? He was a strict old son
of a gun who was about as mule-headed as a man could be. It was his way or you
suffered the consequences. I guess you could say that I was a slow learner.”
Annie put her hand on his arm. “I grew up basically the same
way. I know all about consequences.”
*
* * *
They sat on the swing in complete silence. The sky was
beginning to darken. Burke put his arm around her, pulling her close. He could
feel her tremble at his touch and it humbled him. He couldn’t remember a time
when a woman had such a reaction to him. The urge to pick her up in his arms
and carry her to his bed was strong but he didn’t dare. He didn’t think she was
the type for a one-night stand and that was all he was willing to offer.
Although he found her damn attractive, she was off limits.
All he needed equated to an unpaid housekeeper not a woman that probably had no
practical skills, even so, she was very tempting. There seemed something so
vulnerable about her that it made him long to protect her.
He made the mistake of looking down at her upturned face.
Her luminous green eyes trapped him. Unable to resist the pull of her he
carefully leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. He only intended for
the kiss to be brief, but she tasted like honey and he had to have more.
Annie moaned as Burke kissed her again. He swiped his tongue
along the seam of her lips, coaxing her mouth open and deepening the kiss. His
arms tightened around her, pulling her close to him. She smelled of sunshine,
sweet and warm. Reluctantly he let her go. Annie smiled back at him anyway, and
it pleased him. She looked lovely in her yellow sundress with her curly auburn
hair falling down her back, and he couldn’t help but admire her cute figure.
Gently, he removed
her arms from around his neck and looked down at her with hooded eyes. Highly
aroused by her, it was by sheer willpower that he stopped his advances. Her
bruised lips looked inviting to him and her eyes shone with pleasure. God he
wanted her. Burke smiled at her enthusiasm. The last woman in his house had
overtly insulted every inch of it. He could hardly believe her reaction. She
seemed genuine in her pleasure over everything. But, he reminded himself that
it didn’t really matter. Burke grinned as he watched her scoop up the cat and
whisper in its ear, her happiness so apparent. For a second he was glad that he
adopted that ornery cat.
Regretfully, he stood up and moved away from her. “It’s been
fun.”
“Yes it has,” Annie stood. She wobbled a bit and made her
way to the porch stairs. She looked at Burke with her heart shining in her
eyes. “Maybe you could consider me as a candidate for a wife?” she asked
quietly.
He hesitated, not knowing what to say.
“Never mind.” She hurriedly rushed down the stairs to her
car.
Maybe in another life, it would have worked, but he knew
what the ending to their story would be.
BUY LINKS
Purchase Links:
Sexy ,Rancher Burke Dawson wants a family- including a wife who has no expectations of love. Burke never bargained on Annie Douglas. Searching for a place to belong, Annie Douglas heads to Texas, hoping to discover the one thing she had never had, love and passion.
Deciding not to act on their attraction, they part ways. Burke continues to search for a wife, but he realizes that only Annie will do. Annie heads back to her lonely life in New York City and her controlling Stepbrother. Annie is thrilled when Burke proposes.
Annie’s Stepbrother tries to stop the wedding, he doesn’t want her to know about an inheritance she is supposed to receive upon her wedding day. Failing that, he hires Burke’s caustic ex-wife, Alice to break up the marriage at any cost. Alice has plans of her own that include her remarriage to Burke. She just needs to get Annie out of the way.
Misunderstandings, accidents, and treachery cause Annie to return to New York, shattered. Finding herself pregnant, Annie heads back to Texas only to hear from Alice that Burke denies that the baby is his.
Discovering Alice’s misdeeds, Burke throws her off the ranch. He tries his damndest to lasso Annie once again. Nothing seems to work. Making one last effort, Burke takes Annie for a walk under the Texas stars and gives her the one thing she wants most- his heart.
My Rating:
My Review:
This book threw me a little in the beginning. I can not pinpoint what it was exactly but something in the beginning as far as the writing style took me a little bit to get used to. I think this often read more like a Historical Western than a Contemporary Western. They are in present time, but a lot Annie's mindset and Burke's expectation screamed Historical Romance. Annie's naievity was frustrating in the beginning but she definitely showed great growth throughout the book.
While oftentimes predictible, this book was a very sweet one. Burke was the typical man, making mistakes at every turn. They had set backs all along the way and their perserverence and their love story was truly beautiful! Like I already mentioned Annie showed major growth in this book. Her coming into herself and realizing that what she thought her entire life was not true was amazing. Burke also showed great growth in the love in trust department.
I really liked Sherry and Ted as secondary characters and them already being married kind of bums me out because we wont get a full length on them. :'(
All in all a great Western Romance set in my Home state of TEXAS! P.S. I loved her calling Fort Worth the Big F.W. Had me literally laughing out loud!
EXCERPT
Annie felt enchanted. For all the show of not liking cats,
Burke seemed attached to this one. If only he had given her a better name.
After a delicious dinner of steak, potatoes, and homemade
biscuits, they sat on the porch swing in the front of the house. The night had
cooled pleasantly with a refreshing breeze blowing the prairie grass back and
forth. Long-stalked sunflowers bent and danced to some unknown ballet. Annie
closed her eyes and took it all in. She wanted to make a memory of this place,
of this moment for when she was back in New
York . It was going to be harder to go back to her
stark existence after this perfect night. She looked at Burke’s profile hoping
to memorize it too. There was such strength in his features from his square jaw
line to his crooked nose. She wondered if he had broken it in a fight. His eyes
were so blue that she had gotten lost in them many times throughout the
evening. All of Annie’s nerves tingled as her arm brushed against his. There
was no doubt about the attraction they had for each other.
“Have you always lived on this ranch?”
Burke grinned. “All my life.”
“It must have been nice growing up here with your family.”
“Well, my mother was a saint of course and my father… let’s
see, how can I describe him without chasing you away? He was a strict old son
of a gun who was about as mule-headed as a man could be. It was his way or you
suffered the consequences. I guess you could say that I was a slow learner.”
Annie put her hand on his arm. “I grew up basically the same
way. I know all about consequences.”
*
* * *
They sat on the swing in complete silence. The sky was
beginning to darken. Burke put his arm around her, pulling her close. He could
feel her tremble at his touch and it humbled him. He couldn’t remember a time
when a woman had such a reaction to him. The urge to pick her up in his arms
and carry her to his bed was strong but he didn’t dare. He didn’t think she was
the type for a one-night stand and that was all he was willing to offer.
Although he found her damn attractive, she was off limits.
All he needed equated to an unpaid housekeeper not a woman that probably had no
practical skills, even so, she was very tempting. There seemed something so
vulnerable about her that it made him long to protect her.
He made the mistake of looking down at her upturned face.
Her luminous green eyes trapped him. Unable to resist the pull of her he
carefully leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. He only intended for
the kiss to be brief, but she tasted like honey and he had to have more.
Annie moaned as Burke kissed her again. He swiped his tongue
along the seam of her lips, coaxing her mouth open and deepening the kiss. His
arms tightened around her, pulling her close to him. She smelled of sunshine,
sweet and warm. Reluctantly he let her go. Annie smiled back at him anyway, and
it pleased him. She looked lovely in her yellow sundress with her curly auburn
hair falling down her back, and he couldn’t help but admire her cute figure.
Gently, he removed
her arms from around his neck and looked down at her with hooded eyes. Highly
aroused by her, it was by sheer willpower that he stopped his advances. Her
bruised lips looked inviting to him and her eyes shone with pleasure. God he
wanted her. Burke smiled at her enthusiasm. The last woman in his house had
overtly insulted every inch of it. He could hardly believe her reaction. She
seemed genuine in her pleasure over everything. But, he reminded himself that
it didn’t really matter. Burke grinned as he watched her scoop up the cat and
whisper in its ear, her happiness so apparent. For a second he was glad that he
adopted that ornery cat.
Regretfully, he stood up and moved away from her. “It’s been
fun.”
“Yes it has,” Annie stood. She wobbled a bit and made her
way to the porch stairs. She looked at Burke with her heart shining in her
eyes. “Maybe you could consider me as a candidate for a wife?” she asked
quietly.
He hesitated, not knowing what to say.
“Never mind.” She hurriedly rushed down the stairs to her
car.
Maybe in another life, it would have worked, but he knew
what the ending to their story would be.
BUY LINKS
Purchase Links:
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