Now a striking woman and much-respected teacher, Julie comes complete with a precocious four-year-old cowboy, a three-legged beagle and deep ties to the community. Good thing they have nothing in common—except their undeniable attraction and a future brighter than the Texas sun.

This is book thirteen of the McKettrick series and is part of a trilogy that tells the story about three brothers who are descendants of the famous clan that started almost a 100 years ago in Texas. In this book it’s the story of the middle brother, Garrett McKettrick. Garret is having a bad night, and is seeing his political ambitions crumble when the senator – whom he has been assisting for years – is having a major meltdown before his eyes by dumping his wife for a stripper.

Garret returns back to his childhood home to lick his wounds and to focus on what he should do with his life. Meanwhile, single mother Julie Remington – whose sister is engaged to Garrett’s brother Austin, and were the couple in the previous book –  is trying to find her equilibrium. She has to deal with problems at work and the reappearance of the father of her son who left them, but now wants to be part of his life again.

I have to say whilst I really enjoyed the previous installments of this series, Garret’s story wasn’t the strongest entry in the series. While there were some nice moments with Julie and Garrett, and with the other family members, I found the plot and pacing was too slow and not as focused as previous books. It really felt it was plodding along at times which dragged the story down.

I also found that the attraction between Julie and Garrett was too sudden and convenient, and I could not believe that although they knew each other for years, they suddenly found themselves attracted to one another. That transition from that attraction to the start of the relationship is jarring and I wished more to the foundation of their romance.

There was also no sense of buildup or tension at the beginning of the book other than a wham, ‘I’m suddenly attracted to you vibe’. Although I have to admit, whilst I have read the previous books in the series, I did not get the chance to read Austin’s book so I may have missed out on some set up between Julie and Garrett. But after that initial spark, Julie – who has admitted to herself to be more of a go-getter – was reluctant to get involved due to her preconceptions about the differences she had with Garrett. How this was portrayed in the story did not succeed in building tension or a real obstacle between them. Garrett’s own issues with the choice of choosing between having a career in politics, or staying and working at the family ranch and committing to Julie who is uncomfortable with the idea of being a politicians wife, didn’t play out as well either.

The side stories I think were a huge letdown in the book and added to the plodding pace whilst not contributing much to the book. For example, Julie’s student who is promising but is struggling financially due to her family’s circumstances, and the reappearance of her son’s father lacked tension. With the former it felt pretty cliched, and I felt like it didn’t really add anything to the story. And Julie – despite feeling preoccupied with by this – didn’t really help her student out other than a few words of encouragement. I was also disappointed that no time was spent on exploring about her ex’s re arrival in her life, and it felt redundant because other than her fears about her son’s reaction, nothing was really explored and the resolution of this subplot ended amicably. I felt that these subplots should have led to something more or at least to some kind of character development.

However that is not to say that the book is bad; the plot and the romance improves halfway, and I enjoyed the ending which ramped up the pace and excitement. But I found that the romance was missing that special spark that was apparent in previous books. I was more interested in Austin’s and Julie’s sister story which will be the next book. I don’t mind quiet toned romances,which I think can be the best types due to the subtle nuances that helps to add a tender touch to the love story. But in this case, Garrett and Julie’s story was missing that x-factor and I I would like some tension and buildup. I would have also preferred that there was more focus on the development of the romance, rather than the time  spent on the side-stories which didn’t add anything overall.

McKettrick’s of Texas: Garrett feels like it might be suffering from middle book trilogy syndrome. Whilst the characters are likable and warm with Linda Lael Miller’s trademark of great dialogue and western setting, I wasn’t engaged with this installment. Maybe I was in a more of a action/pacey mood, but I wished the romance was more focused and developed. While I enjoyed the ending which was the best aspect of the book, this is not a keeper for me. But if you read the previous books and enjoyed them and want to see what happens next then check it out.

I give McKettrick’s of Texas: Garret a C-

Review: McKettricks of Texas: Garrett by Linda Lael Miller is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter

I was a very lucky duck and won this book from Dear Author in their giveaway, and I wasn’t actually planning on reviewing it. But when I started reading the book and found myself literally trying to pry it out of my hands at night, just to go to sleep, I knew it was a winner.

Never Love a Lawman is a western romance, and I don’t read many of those. My only experience is Linda Howard’s A Lady of the West and Angels Creek. The other is Sarah McCarty’s Promise series. So, I’m extremely happy to have this book added to my very meagre collection. **grins**

Never Love a Lawman is set in the late 1800′s in the mining town of Reidsville, Colorado. The heroine, Rachel Bailey, had moved there just a little over a year ago. Nobody in the town knows much about Rachel, and that’s how she likes it. While she is never rude, in fact, she is quite polite, she does guard and value her privacy, and goes out of her way to assure no one comes into her home. That is until the very handsome Sheriff Wyatt Cooper comes knocking on her door with two very big surprises. The first surprise that Rachel learns is that she has inherited the railway line that connects the mining town to the outside world. The other surprise, much to her disbelief, is the stipulation that comes with it. Rachel is to marry Wyatt, otherwise the railway will be handed back to the very man she had fled before arriving in Reidsville. Rachel, to her extreme reluctance, knows she doesn’t have a choice as she fears what will happen to the townsfolk if the railway belongs to an outsider. One that she fears greatly. Rachel reluctantly marries Wyatt, and throughout the story finds herself becoming more attracted to her husband, which results in something deeper. All that is threatened though, when her dangerous past arrives in Reidsville, which could result in deadly consequences for everyone.

I.adored.this.book. I did! I’m not going to curb my enthusiasm for it since everyone needs to go out and get a copy. What are you waiting for? Dooooooooooooo it! I bookpush thee!

Ok, jokes aside I shall explain why I loved Never Love a Lawman, muchly.

The heroine  ticks all the right boxes that I like. Smart, self-reliant, stubborn, kind and has a very smart mouth on her which she knows how to use. She never backs down when pushed, but when she does go too far, she apologises. Even though Wyatt himself calls her a prickly hedgehog, you can see those spikes smooth out throughout the book and that’s due to Wyatt. Their relationship was a pleasure to read about, especially seeing Rachel embrace her sexuality that Wyatt brings out. It’s not a book full of sexual need between the two. The love scenes, when they do happen, are intense, emotional and just downright smoking hot. One of my favourite scenes in the book, is when Rachel tells Wyatt, he can have her now. And boy, does he indeed.

I made myself space this book and it lasted three nights. Yes, I know! It took me three nights when usually I would devour a book within two hours. I wanted to pace myself with Never Love a Lawman to make sure I didn’t miss the details of the special journey Rachel and Wyatt go on.

Wyatt, I found to be even more vulnerable in a way than Rachel was. While he is humorous and has this façade he keeps as the watchful Sheriff, who seems to know everyone and everything, he keeps his deepest and innermost feelings tightly locked up. And it’s Rachel who manages to heal Wyatt in a way that not may free all the guilt he has of the past, but makes Wyatt understand and has a degree of acceptance of what happened. Their relationship, which started out as a convenience, turns into something so much deeper that neither of them expected. While Wyatt embraces it more easily than Rachel, it’s the things he does for Rachel that make her lose that strict independence. Rachel comes to accept Wyatt’s affections and tenderness equally with her own. It doesn’t happen straight away, as Rachel and Wyatt learn to live with one another and in the process learn about each other.

There is a nice dollop of humour in this book, and one thing that tickled me pink was that no-account Beaty boy, the deputy. His character was so darn nice and dorky, that I did feel he perhaps could have had more on page time, as there was a small secondary storyline with LaRosa, the madam of the bordello house in the town. On the other hand it was simply nice having the book solely concentrate on the main protagonists. Also, I do admit, I don’t enjoy reading about heroines in books who were and are prostitutes, as for me personally, as a reader, I just don’t find it very romantic.

The villain in this piece was written very well and I liked that he made his entrance towards the latter part of the book, which enabled me to concentrate on Rachel and Wyatt. While he did appear in the later portion, his character wasn’t rushed. He was smart, cunning and brutal and I could see why Rachel had no choice but to flee.

Never Love a Lawman is definitely going to be a re-read, where the binding will get worn down a lot more quickly than others on my bookshelf. And it’s going to be a certainty that I’m going to look at and probably buy some of Jo Goodman’s backlist.

I give Never Love a Lawman5 out of 5.

Never Love a Lawman is listed at TheBookDepository.co.uk for release in November and it has 39% off. I’m not sure why it’s listed as November for UK folks and for US folks, but you can get it now at Amazon.com and in ebook form at BOB.

Review: Never Love a Lawman by Jo Goodman is a post from: The Book Pushers | Book Reviews | Book Chatter