Indigo Lake Jodi Thomas

From the Pen of Jodi Thomas.

The two main characters in INDIGO LAKE came from two different worlds.  Blade had no family who cares about him and Dakota was sometimes smothered in her responsibilities.  Both were looking for someone, the right person, to fill the longing, but neither would admit it.

Dakota Davis had heard her grandmother's dark stories about the Hamilton house all her life.  When she turned off the county road heading toward home, she thought she was seeing a ghost standing knee-deep in Indigo Lake.

Blade Hamilton had inherited a house he cared nothing about.  After driving all day to look at it, he'd decided to sell it all, land, house and heritage.  He hadn't known about his father and he didn't need an old crippled house with wild roses growing almost to the roof.

As they get to know one another they begin to care and the love they share seems to cut their problems in half.

I love writing stories about people who become so real to me that I wake up nights worrying about them.  That's how it was with Blade and Dakota.  And Dakota's sister was too good a character to let her story end so she will be the star of her own Christmas short story in October.

Good news for Ransom Canyon fans: WINTER’S CAMP is included in the back of INDIGO LAKE!

Hope you enjoy both,

Jodi Thomas 

http://www.jodithomas.com/

www.facebook.com/jodithomasauthor

www.twitter.com/jodithomas/

Published: Harlequin
Date: 18th July 2017
Format:e-ARC
Pages: 432
Genre: Western Romance
Source: Publisher via NG
Rating:
            

Blade Hamilton is the last of his line. He's never even heard of Crossroads, Texas, until he inherits land there. Riding in on his vintage Harley-Davidson, Blade finds a weathered ranch house, an empty prairie and a dark river that cuts a decisive path between the Hamiltons' land and that of their estranged neighborsWhen Dakota helps a stranger on the roadside, she isn't prepared for the charisma of the man on the motorbike—or for the last name he bears: Hamilton, of her family's sworn enemies.

Lauren Brigman feels adrift. Unhappy in work and unlucky in love, she knows she ought to be striving for more, but she's never truly at peace unless she's at home in Crossroads. If the wider world can't satisfy her, is home truly where her heart is?

Indigo Lake by Jodi Thomas is #6 in the Ransom Canyon series, and what can I say but that I loved this visit to Crossroads Texas. Its another one of those places I'd love to live or ... at least visit.

We have ourselves a bit of feud between the  Hamilton and Davis family, it seems there has been some bad blood in the past and if Grandmother is to be believed its best that they don't approach each other. However Blade really likes the pint sized Dakota and if anything he is about to put that feud to bed.

We also catch up with Lauren and Lucas and Tim and that other one Ryan, all linked together by a happening when they were teens. We've watched the attraction between Lucas and Lauren wax and wane, and wondered whether they will ever find their way together. Plus Tim and Lauren are best friends and might even enjoy sleeping with each other. I ask you! Where is all this going!

Something very fishy is going on at Ryan's ranch, there a few bodies and something that just does not seem right. Dan Brigman is sheriff and he wants to find out just what it is.  So before we know it Blade is sworn in as a deputy with little pay and an eighteen hour day or more. 

This is a place where you can expect shootings and danger. We're talking a good cowboy story. Where people are locked up in the local jail for their own safety and the town looks after them. 

I loved the humor and the turn of phrase that makes this series so fun to read. All that I expected was there. I was just sorry I couldn't get to visit with all the beloved people of the town, but I hope to make the acquaintance of some of them next time. There sure needs to be a #7 and more!

And delighted to see that Jodi says she is going to have a story for Dakota's sister, who happens to be blind. Yay. Going to be an October happy read.

Always a Cowboy by Linda Lael Miller

Published: HQN books
Date: August 30th 2016
Format:  e-ARC
Pages: 384
Genre: Western Contemporary
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Rating:
                    

Drake Carsonis the quintessential cowboy. In charge of the family ranch, he knows the realities of this life, its pleasures and heartbreaks. Lately, managing the wild stallions on his property is wearing him down. When an interfering so-called expert arrives and starts offering her opinion, Drake is wary, but he can't deny the longing—and the challenge—she stirs in him.

Luce Hale is researching how wild horses interact with ranch animals—and with ranchers. The Carson matriarch invites her to stay with the family, which guarantees frequent encounters with Drake, her ruggedly handsome and decidedly unwelcoming son. Luce and Drake are at odds from the very beginning, especially when it comes to the rogue stallion who's stealing the ranch mares. But when Drake believes Luce is in danger, that changes everything—for both of them.

                                               
Always a Cowboy is #2 in Linda Lael Miller's The Carson's of Mustang Creek, and is set within her books that take place in Biss County.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, a great addition to the series although there would be no problem picking up this book as a stand alone - the best of both worlds!

What drew me?

• Linda Lael Miller knows her ranch and the animals on it. Right down from the wild stallion and its herd, to the ranch horses, mountain lion and faithful dogs.
• The care of animals - wild and ranch. There is a respect for both and the needs of both. No just shoot on sight because you are a nuisance factor.
• The beautiful Wyoming setting. Perfect for a cowboy type romance.
• A gentle romance story, no big tension or angst. A great stand off at the beginning that was a fun hook though into the book.
• The family that surrounds the main couple. We had met Drake's older brother and his choice of wife - Grace in the first book, and they are still very much about, with a nice little cameo advancement to their story. Then there is his younger brother Mace whose story no doubt will be next, and Blythe his mother. Blythe is terrific, if a little too much "let's get this romance on the road" style. Red a ranch hand and Harry the cook along with Grace's brother round out the strong family atmosphere.
• The sense of community, they are not centre stage but they are there in the background and it was great just having a taste of some previously well loved characters doing what they do well.

While there was a nice rounding off to the book I felt a little more could have been made of the wild stallion and the mountain lion - there was scope to broaden it out a little. But happy reader anyway!

Sunrise Crossing. Jodi Thomas

Today is the publishing day for Sunrise Crossing by Jodi Thomas, #4 in her Ransom Canyon Series.

Jodi says...

I can’t wait for my readers to open SUNRISE CROSSING.  Once in a while stories come fast and full of life.  SUNRISE CROSSING did that for me.  I flew into the lives of my main characters loving the adventures.  Many nights I felt like I was hanging on to the laptop, trying to write as fast as the story was coming to me.

In this story I wanted to bring back a character I dearly loved in Ransom Canyon.  He was little more than a kid when he went to prison for a robbery and five years later, when he’s free, Yancy Grey heads to a little town called Crossroads, Texas.  He thinks he is worthless, but is taken in by a group of senior citizens and slowly finds his roots in town.  SUNRISE CROSSING opens with him beginning work on an old house called the Gypsy House where he was born.

Yancy works alone every night restoring the place where he was born.  When he hears a noise in the attic, he discovers a woman hiding there.  He calls Tori Vilanie Rabbit because that’s what he thought was in the attic.  She’s running from life and he’s afraid to step into living but somehow they build a gentle kind of friendship that grows into love.

For those of you who love a good love story SUNRISE CROSSING  is the book for you.  Maybe because I believe in love and I love reading happy endings, but this book was so fun to write.

So, saddle up and ride with me through SUNRISE CROSSING.

Jodi also shares with us the importance of setting.

Published: HQN books
Date: 30th August 2016
Pages: 384
Format: e-ARC
Genre: Romance
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Yancy Grey is slowly putting his life back together after serving time for petty theft. As he rebuilds an old house, he finally has a sense of stability, but he can't stop thinking of himself as just an ex-con. Until one night, he finds a mysterious dark-haired beauty hiding in his loft. But who is she, and what secret is she protecting?

The art gallery Parker Lacey manages is her life—she has no time for friends, and certainly not lovers. But when her star artist begs Parker for help, she finds herself in a pickup truck, headed for the sleepy town of Crossroads. A truck driven by a strong, silent cowboy…

Gabe Snow has been a drifter since he left Crossroads at seventeen after a violent incident. When he accepts a job in his hometown, he'll have to decide whether he can put the worst night of his life behind him and build a future in the community that raised him.

I always eagerly look forward to the next in any series by Jodi Thomas. Sunrise Crossing was no exception to that, as I knew it was going to contain further development of Yancy, the young guy who arrived in Crossroads in the first book. I loved him then and it was such fun to see him develop through the series until this book where he pretty much has star billing. He has had it rough, but he has made it through and is a kind and caring kind of person. And of course as we moved along the series he had more of a link to Crossroads than we first saw.

There are a few new characters - this book could be read as a stand alone but you would miss quite a bit of Yancy's story.  There is Parker, who thinks she may have limited time to live and is reassessing her life choices and so she too arrives eventually in Crossroads to discover how her next door neighbor has been caring for her house. 

Tori is the music artist who has been taken advantage of by her parents, they see her as a money machine. With the help of Parker she escapes and goes to Parker's house in Crossroads. She is delightful and I loved how hers and Yancy's lives started to intertwine. And there is also another surprise character who blows into Crossroads that just adds more spice to the story.

There is mystery, a little suspense, attempted crime and a delicious development of relationships. I thoroughly enjoyed my return visit to Crossroads.

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Lone Heart Pass. Jodi Thomas

Published: HQN Books
Date: 26th April 2016
Format: e-ARC
Pages: 352
Genre: Western Romance
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Rating:
               

With a career and a relationship in ruins, Jubilee Hamilton is left reeling from a fast fall to the bottom. The run-down Texas farm she's inherited is a far cry from the second chance she hoped for, but it and the abrasive foreman she's forced to hire are all she's got.

Every time Charley Collins has let a woman get close, he's been burned. So Lone Heart ranch and the contrary woman who owns it are merely a means to an end, until Jubilee tempts him to take another risk—to stop resisting the attraction drawing them together despite all his hard-learned logic.

Desperation is all young Thatcher Jones knows. And when he finds himself mixed up in a murder investigation, his only protection is the shelter of a man and woman who—just like him—need someone to trust.

Lone Heart Pass - #3 in the Ransom Canyon series and it just gets better with each one. The characters are fun, they have depth and it was easy to just fall in love with them. There is a bit of crime and mystery, along with a ranch that needs taking care of and some romance. We meet some new characters and catch up with a couple of the earlier ones.

Jubilee has had a tough past, her family has never really loved or accepted her and now she finds out the only relative she loved is dead. Yet he has left her his ranch, a place where she has been happy in the past. Yet she is a bit of a city girl and so she is going to need help.

Walk in Charley Collins, a man who has his own family problems and has been cast out by his father. He has a delightful daughter - aged five, and he will do anything for her. When he is offered a job at the ranch he accepts and so the journey begins to bring the ranch back to life.

Thatcher is a young fourteen year old, pretty much with no family, he eventually finds his way to the ranch as well and it is wonderful to see the caring relationship that develops between the little five year old and the rough and ready Thatcher. What a fun hero he is.

We also catch up with Tim O'Grady, Lauren and the Sheriff. Tim is bent on being an author, and is keen to experience life so as he can write about it. Lauren is finishing college and wondering what is next for her. And the Sheriff is caught up in sorting out shootings and murder. 

I really enjoyed the story, chuckled away at the characters and some of their responses to events and generally hoped all would be well for each of them.

 

A Word From the Author.

In LONE HEART PASS I had a great time with the characters because they really came alive.  Charley Collins was too good looking and every woman he’d ever met left him shattered and broken.  He decides after his wife runs out on him and leaves their baby that he’ll swear off women for good.  He’s working several jobs and raising a five year old when he hires on to run a broken down ranch.

Jubilee Hamilton has lost everything.  All she has left is a broken down ranch her great grandfather left her and she has no idea how to manage it.  The cowboy she hires to help has the knowledge and needs the money, but makes no effort to be friendly. As they learn to trust one another and work together, they both discover what true wealth is in life.

By the way, readers are going to fall in love with the kid, Thatcher Jones, also.  He’s 14 and hunts rattlers to earn his lunch money.  He’s had to raise himself and thinks twins happen if you hiccup during sex.

LONE HEART PASS marks my 43^rd novel.  Sometimes I feel like I’ve had an extra lifetime of friends and family. It was hard writing the end to this one.  I hope you enjoy reading my story as much as I enjoyed writing these characters.

Jodi Thomas

http://www.jodithomas.com/

www.facebook.com/jodithomasauthor

www.twitter.com/jodithomas/

Once a Rancher. Linda Lael Miller

Published: Harlequin
Date: March 29th 2016
Format: e-ARC
Pages: 320
Genre: Romance
Source: Little Bird Publicity via NetGalley
Rating:
                                

Slater Carson might be a businessman by trade, but he’s a cowboy at heart—and he knows the value of a hard day’s work under the hot Wyoming sun. So when he sees troubled teen Ryder heading down a dangerous path, he offers the boy a job on the ranch he shares with his two younger brothers. And since Ryder’s temporary guardian is the gorgeous new resort manager, Grace Emery, Slater figures it can’t hurt to keep a closer eye on her as well…

Grace Emery doesn’t have time for romance. Between settling in to her new job and caring for her ex-husband’s rebellious son, her attraction to larger-than-life Slater is a distraction she can’t afford. But when the past catches up to her in Mustang Creek, she’ll discover just how far Slater will go to protect what matters most—and that love is always worth fighting for.

                                              
Once a Rancher starts off a new trilogy in Linda Lael Miller's setting of Biss County in Wyoming. It involves three Carson brothers of Mustang Creek. This one is all about Slater or as he is known to his two brothers - Showbiz. That's because he is involved in the movie industry.

The Carson family is a delightful mix, with related and... unrelated characters. Red for instance, the ranch hand who each of the Carson boys really respect, and Harry the cook. Then there is Blythe their mother, a woman to be reckoned with.

Along comes Grace and Slater certainly is slayed! Grace is a resourceful, independent woman and she sure is not looking for love and a man about the house! She is divorced and has responsibility for Ryder her stepson.

Mix them all up together and you have a recipe for a very enjoyable romantic story. I really delighted in the return to this small community, where before the word is out of your mouth the whole town knows. However that is a small price to pay when they are also totally there with their care and support as well.

I took time to just appreciate the romantic build up, the fun, genuine characters, the spice added by someone who is out to 'pay Grace back' in irresponsible ways, and the warmth of a story well told. It was a well paced, very entertaining story. Actually so looking forward to the other Carson stories. Love their sense of fun and good taste in hats!

Rustler's Moon. Jodi Thomas

Today the Book Date welcomes Jodi Thomas with a little about her new book Rustler's Moon. Jodi says:

On a dirt road marked by haunting  secrets, three strangers caught at life’s crossroads must decide what to sacrifice to protect their own agendas…and what they’re willing to risk for love.

In this second book of the RANSOM CANYON series called RUSTLER’S MOON, I wanted to add a mystery whispering through my story.  When I began RUSTLER’S MOON, Angela Harold runs from the pain of loss of her father and the only home she’s known to a new beginning in Crossroads, Texas. She meets a rancher who’s given up on dreaming. Their story weaves in and out of the lives of the people in Crossroads.

Sometimes a character steps onto the stage of the book and surprises the writer. Carter did that for me in RUSTLER’S MOON. He’s a man who thinks his life is over but holds on to his one goal of finding a childhood memory. I loved the way Carter’s story wound around Angela’s mystery and the surprises he finds not only in the canyon, but also within himself.

Come along on a journey of new beginnings filled with suspense  and finding forever love in RUSTLER’S MOON. You might just fall in love again for the first time.

Rustler's Moon
Jodi Thomas
Published: HLQ Books
Date: 26th January 2016
Format: e-ARC
Pages: 384
Genre: Romance
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Rating:
                        

If there's any place that can convince Angela Harrell to stop running, it's Ransom Canyon. And if there's any man who can reveal desires more deeply hidden than her every fear, it's Wilkes Wagner. Beneath the rancher's honorable exterior is something that just might keep her safe...or unwittingly put her in danger's path.

With his dreams of leaving this small Texas town swallowed up by hard, dusty reality, all Wilkes has to show for his life is the Devil's Fork Ranch. Though not one to let false hope seduce him, he can't deny the quiet and cautious beauty who slips into his world and changes everything.

Lauren Brigman finally has freedom at her fingertips. All she needs is Lucas Reyes's attention—a look, a touch, some sign that she's more to him than a girl he rescued one dangerous night. But now it's her turn to rescue someone, and the life-altering decision may cost her more than a chance with Lucas.

Rustler's Moon is #2 in the delightful series by Jodi Thomas. We continue on - meeting some newcomers and some more of the descendants of the early settlers who first started this community. There are really three prongs to this book, as it follows the lives of three groups of people, yet as it is a small community minded place, of course they all interact with each other as well.

There is Angie who has come to take up a new job in the museum, and what a joy that must be, could feel myself wishing it was all real and I could go view the place and all those early artifacts. Angie lost her mother at an early age, and when her father was mugged and murdered she leaves town quickly, as her life could be in danger. 

Arriving in the community its not long before she meets Wilkes who runs a ranch and who has living with him his Uncle Vern. Uncle Vern is a bit  of a character and he gave me a few out loud laughs. He is a bit of an old codger, thinks he would still be a catch with the women, and besides he knows what to look for in a woman. Also - no flies on him!

Wilkes is a delight - a good homespun honest, down to earth guy. He soon sets himself up as Angie's protector and well if Uncle Vern doesn't get there first - he is rather hoping to get significant time alone with Angie.

We also get to meet again Yancy, the guy who turned up last book - straight from a jail - and who weaved his way into the hearts of a local retirement community. His story advances with some exciting developments, my favorite moment being between him and Angie. Angie of the compassionate heart.

As well we also track some young college people, Lauren, Reid and Tim, the three who were mixed up in the break in to the old house in the previous book. Now they are wending their way through college, along with Polly, Lauren's room mate. And as Jodi Thomas mentions there is Carter, who is seeking something, and he has never given up on it. Will he be rewarded?

I love the depth Jodi Thomas brings to her characters, and the chance we have to see them developing over a period of time. It makes for very satisfying reading. Some relationship angst, some mystery and danger, a long time quest to be fulfilled. Great mix of a story.

A fifth-generation Texan, New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Jodi Thomas chooses to set the majority of her novels in her home state, where her grandmother was born in a covered wagon. A former teacher, Thomas traces the beginning of her storytelling career to the days when her twin sisters were young and impressionable. 

With a degree in family studies, Thomas is a marriage and family counselor by education, a background that enables her to write about family dynamics. Honored in 2002 as a Distinguished Alumni by Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Thomas enjoys interacting with students on the West Texas A&M University campus, where she currently serves as Writer in Residence. 

 Commenting on her contribution to the arts, Thomas said, “When I was teaching classes full-time, I thought I was making the world a better place. Now I think of a teacher or nurse or mother settling back and relaxing with one of my books. I want to take her away on an adventure that will entertain her. Maybe, in a small way, I’m still making the world a better place.” 

When not working on a novel or inspiring students to pursue a writing career, Thomas enjoys traveling with her husband, renovating a historic home they bought in Amarillo and “checking up” on their two grown sons. For more information, please visit Jodi’s website.

West of Pecos Zane Grey

Published: Golden West
Date: 1st published 1931, this edition 2012
Format: LP Paperback
Pages: 365
Genre: Western
Source:Local library


West of Pecos by Zane Grey was read for a reading challenge that called for a book before I was born. As West of Pecos was first published in 1931 this one well and truly fit that criteria!

I'd read some of Zane Grey's books when I was in my teens but haven't really read any since then. I though perhaps I had read this one, but I certainly didn't recognise it so probably not.

In this story Colonel Lambeth sets himself across Texas to begin life anew after the war and because his wife has died. And he is pretty much penniless. He takes with him his daughter Terrill. He'd wanted a boy so he pretty much brought Terrill up as a girl. She learned all the skills you'd pretty much need in the wild west.

Colonel Lambeth eventually dies which leaves Terrill with Sambo and Mauree, freed slaves who have opted to stay with the Lambeths. They then meet up with a cowboy called Pecos Smith who has made some money in rustling - although to give him his due he didn't realise that at the time. When he joins with Terrill he thinks she is a boy.

They start a ranch and begin to build up a herd. Along the way there are encounters with rustlers, other kinds of perils and some Indians. Eventually in a shoot out Terrill is revealed as a girl and eventually they fall in love and are married.

I sort of enjoyed the book, although I didn't enjoy the way the dialogue was written in the way Zane Grey thought they spoke at that time. Maybe they did. Also there were many sayings/attitudes that would no longer be accepted today.

Anyway it was pleasant to revisit an author, who set me on the path of enjoying a good Texan romance.