Bea Muldoon is more than most men can handle. . .
Which is probably why it's best the big city beauty hasn't been back
to her small South Dakota ranching town since her teens. But with
family business to take care of, the out-of-work actress is now
strutting around in her stilettos, stirring up all kinds of
trouble--especially with a certain ruggedly handsome hometown man.
Morgan Browning is in a bind. . .
And it seems the only woman who can help is Bea. He claims it has
nothing to do with her long, lovely legs, but really why would the town
vet hire her to run his office? It could be something in the way Bea
sweet-talks every man--and beast--who crosses her path. Or it could be
that Morgan can't resist wrangling a woman who's intent on making a
getaway--especially when he can see the country girl beneath the
glamour. . .
Comment: This is the third story in the Roped and Wrangled trilogy by Kat Murray. Although the first two books were good, there were still things in them that I thought could have been better, so I was anxious to read this one and see if it would average good like the others or if it would finally be the story to remember. I'm very glad to say it is better than the others, at least to me.
This is the story of Bea, the youngest sister. She used to be an actress but career has taken a dead end so she got back to her family ranch and her family is wondering when he is leaving again.
In the meantime, Bea meets Morgan, the local vet and one thing leads to the other and Bea finds herself a job in his clinic and shelter. While things seem to go wonderful between them and with the job, Bea still thinks she has no place in Marshall, so when the time comes, will she go back to her acting?
I have to say I really liked reading this story. The first one was OK for the genre, the second one I hoped for much more, but this one which would seem the most formulaic was the one that surprised me the most, for the better. It's still a story based on things we would expect to see in this type of plot and genre, but I had such a good time reading that all that was insignificant when compared with the cute scenes with animals and the progress of Bea's character.
Bea has been a glamorous woman from the beginning and she seemed silly and only concerned about her clothes and shoes. It was obvious something was going on with her because she left the glamor of LA and she had a secret only the reader knows, about night riding, but there was always the idea she might be one of those crazy characters that people grow to love but without any real substance. I'm glad to say this idea is wrong, because we not only understand Bea, but we get to see her prove herself and her attempts to help show she has inner talents and worth.
Morgan is the small town guy, he's a vet and lives close to his parents. He is very well respected and cherished by everyone so his relationship with Bea might not be seen with the better eyes, but he's so adorable and cute, it's almost perfect how they match each other. I still think their romance happened fast, considering his personality, and at first it seemed their relationship would be fast and without much interest, but towards the middle, I was more invested in them and how the small things of each one complemented and worked well.
The plot is the usual, everything ends well, but it's full of small scenes that make the characters matter to the reader and their actions and conversations give an interesting vibe to the story. More than the story itself, it's the small things everywhere that make this book. I was really happy with the way things happened and how the author used many details to bring the gap between story and reader shorter. I loved ll the scenes with the animals, all the inner growing up Bea did and how the siblings seemed balanced in the end, like a real family.
I'd say this trilogy is successful even though the second book could have been much better. The average is good but the one I'll remember the better will definitely be this one.
Grade: 8/10
Prince Joron of Blade
Rain was kissed by a man he had no idea was King Aric of Claymoor Doom.
Of
course King Aric had no idea the one he kissed was even a man since
Joron was dressed as a woman. Disguised in order to escape the newly
crowned king of Blade Rain who just happens to be Joron's brother, Joron
is swept off his feet by Aric when he is rescued by him from an
assault. Aric is also swept off his feet by the beauty of the "woman"
and that one amazing kiss. Aric, who is led to believe the beautiful
woman he kissed is actually the princess, immediately goes to the king
of Blade Rain and offers for the princess’s hand in marriage and his
offer is accepted. Unfortunately, King Aric is now betrothed to Liarta,
Joron’s sister. But an emergency has King Aric racing home without
finding out the mistake he has made and now Joron must ride to Claymoor
Doom to renegotiate the offer since Liarta is in love with someone else
and does not want to marry King Aric.
Imagine Aric’s surprise
when he discovers the Prince is the one he thought was the Princess! So
Aric does the only thing he can think of. He will release Liarta from
her obligation of marriage, but only if Joron takes her place... in the
marriage bed.
But there are other forces at work as well and
those forces are out for Joron’s life. At the death of his father, the
former king of Blade Rain, Joron is suddenly the powerful new owner of
the Ice Dragon Pass, the only safe route through the Norborne Mountains.
There are those who would kill for that kind of power. And they have
killed for it before…
Comment: This story was really a disappointment. I lied the idea of misunderstood identities but I didn't like any of the characters all that much and their motivations didn't alway add up to their actions which I think was meant to be the opposite. The protagonists didn't seem to suit that well, one being too domineering and treating the other like a possession and the youngest one so smart and dedicated for one thing and TSTL when it came to his personal relationship. It was also annoying practically everyone felt lust for the younger guy, come on. I think the world had promise and could be interesting to explore but things didn't work for me so I won't read more. There's a cliffhanger which many people hated but to me it's pointless to be annoyed because so many things before seemed worse for me. Taste is different for everyone and this story didn't work that much for me.
Grade: 4/10
* * *
Trace Muldoon can handle anything...As
long as it has four legs, a mane wild as the wind, and a penchant for
chewing hay. But when life tries to throw him off, that's when the rodeo
star is at his best.
Jo Tallen knows what she wants... And
it's not a picket fence. She had a hard childhood, but now she's the
boss of the town's best watering hole, she's got her friends and her
neighbors, and there are plenty of eager ranchers around. She might have
a thing for Trace--but there are too many complications. And the most
dangerous is that whenever the hot cowboy bellies up to her bar, she
just can't keep her hands to herself...
Comment: This is the second book in the Roped and Wrangled series. I liked Tracy in the previous book and I was hoping for a really romantic story for him. While the plot was interesting and mostly addictive to read, I still think the romance between the main characters was a bit lacking. Their relationship started slow but the change to something more serious didn't seem to go through a believable stage. Also the way the book ended was a bit more realistic if one thinks about real life, but in terms of romantic environments, I think it was a bit of a let down. I liked the protagonists' personal traits and how they tried to build something for themselves and how they valued certain things, like family and work. The story was good, the foundations too, I just would change the execution on the romance.
Grade: 7/10
Peyton Muldoon needs a
man bad. No, not that way. What she needs is a trainer for her
struggling stud ranch. And only a true life horse whisperer will do, a
man with the right touch and real know how.
Redford Callahan’s on
a hot streak. Not in the sack. But with the ranch owners who hire him
to gentle their animals without breaking their spirit. He can pick and
choose his next gig, so he’ll be damned if he’s going to waste his time
on a mismanaged operation like the M-Star. Not until Peyton sashays into
his motel room one night to make him a deal he can’t refuse. Now Red’s
days as a loner are numbered and he’s starting to wonder if there’s one
spitfire he won’t be able to tame…
Comment: I got this book after seeing a review in Hilcia's blog.
I thought it would me something along my references and I was curious to see if I'd find the romance as balanced as Hilcia said. I've had it since last year, but I kept moving it along until finally january it was.
This is the story of Peyton Muldoon, she's the only person in her remaining family to care about the ranch where she grew up. She's been taking care of things but the ranch isn't safe yet and she knows she needs to change many things before putting the ranch's name in everyone's path. Peyton wants to have a successful ranch and she nows having a known and respected trainer for her horses would speed that so that is why she asks Red Callahan even though they seem to despise each other. But with time, it's obvious it isn't so...
I liked the story yes, but I also felt the author took the easy way here and there in several situations. I guess it's as good tactic as everything else, but I think the story could have used a more serious tone at times, I don't know how to explain it better.
The romance was believable enough I think, personally I'd have preferred to see a better acceptance of their feelings for each other sooner or the opposite, they could have "fought" a bit longer so their reunion could have been sweeter. I guess my issue is Peyton at first kept saying he was proud and could do anything so why would he bother with her ranch so I was really surprised by how quickly she invited him to work for her. Ok, speed was needed to move things along, but in a real world people don't swallow their own pride so fast and as politely as Peyton, at least in their own heads. Peyton was a grown up and she knew what the right thing was, but even in her inner thoughts she accepted the right thing to do so easily, it didn't seem to match the outside vibe she gave...
As for herself and Red's relationship, well after they got together for the first time it was more balanced I think, they sort of matched. I thin their romance had a real fast ending, until the end things weren't as boldly stated even if understood, but they talked about it really fast and that was that. I expected a bit more feeling.
Red was interesting to know, his issues seemed deep and strong to deal with. I think he had a positive attitude abut the whole thing, personally I know it's not always easy to just accept the other's faults like that, but thinking he had years to deal with it...still, his behavior was understandable. And I liked how he decided he could be happy and have a happier future.
The plot was OK. Not much of a surprise after some clues and really obvious after a while into the story. I liked how we got to see the other characters have an important role already and I'm curious about the next stories. I hope they're good.
Grade: 7/10
