Dry Creek Ranch #2, Jace, Cash, and Sawyer are still trying to figure out how they can keep their ranch in one piece and still have enough to pay the taxes which are coming up and on top of all that Jace is up for re-election as Sheriff and this time he has competition. Jace also needs a new babysitter for his boys, even though the oldest, Travis, is old enough to watch Grady they don't always play nice. Charlotte is on the run from her fiance with the help of an organization that specializes in her situation she's trying to get as far away from him and San Francisco as possible she only made it as far as Dry Creek. Charlotte's former fiance cost her everything and now she has to start over. When Jace earns her trust enough for her to confide in him he talks her into staying at least for a little bit and file a restraining order. Charlotte helps around the house, watches the boys when they need it, helps out with the re-election campaign, and she start to find something to help her make money, refurbish and upcycle stuff she found at an old barn. She is well on her way to falling in love with the town, the boys, and Jace now she only needs to stop worrying about what her ex-fiance is going to do when he finds her.

Overall, it was another fabulous read from Stacy Finz. Wonderful characters love Charlotte heartbroken but resilient, Jace hesitant to start a relationship with a woman who has up until now been a city girl and one who might leave him and his boys and they have been through that before he can't do it again. This a a wonderful romance, Stacy Finz has a way with words, she pulls you in and makes you feel like your part of their family. I am really looking forward to Sawyer's book and finding out about what happened to Angie. 

 

 Dry Creek Ranch #1, New series I'm so happy. This was a good read, just like so any other Finz stories you have witty banter, complex characters with enough baggage in their past and present to make them interesting, quirky side characters, and hunky cowboys. This is a great start to the series with wonderful character introductions and vague background on the other two cousins who live on Dry Creek Ranch.

Jace, Sawyer, and Cash are cousins who inherited the ranch from their grandfather, the Ranch was already starting to go belly up when they got it now they are arguing about keeping it or selling the main bulk of the land off. Jace and Sawyer are against it Cash on the other hand is being realistic about the three of them running the ranch. Jace who is also Sheriff with two boys, Sawyer who is also a writer, and Cash former FBI and just recently moved to one of the cabin on the property. He needs to fix up the cabin to liveable conditions because he just found out he has a daughter, Ellie, from a one night stand 12 years ago. 

Across the creek from Cash's cabin is another cabin which is occupied by one of Jace's best friends, Aubrey, who walked out on her fiance two weeks before the wedding. Aubrey is now the town pariah, apparently her ex-fiancee is covered in teflon because shit don't stick to him it's "all her fault" and now rumors are going around that her and Jace had an affair and that's why she left. Aubrey isn't telling the truth about what really happened because she doesn't want to hurt a very dear friend who came back from his military service without his legs, the truth that his wife was the one cheating with Aubrey's fiance and she caught them. Aubrey is having to deal with snide remarks, vandalism, and clients canceling jobs. 

Aubrey and Cash don't start off on the right foot but soon he has her coming over to help decorate his daughter's new room to make her feel more at home in her new home. While Aubrey and Cash do this slow seduction friends to lovers thing Cash is also trying to build a relationship with a preteen Ellie who thinks he never wanted her in the first place and keeps thinking that she will be going back to Boston. There is also some funny business going on around town that has pulled in Cash to help investigate.

Overall, another great story from Stacy Finz. I liked the romance between Cash and Aubrey and the building of a relationship between father and daughter. I look forward to the other books in the series.

 

Up for a little horseback riding? Enoy these Contemporary Cowgirl Romance Heroines!

 

My lists are never in any particular order. 

 

1. True Love at Silver Creek Ranch by Emma Cane

 

Adam Desantis is back—bruised, battle-weary and sexier than ever! Not that Brooke Thalberg is in the market. The beautiful cowgirl of Silver Creek Ranch needs a cowboy for hire, not a boyfriend—though the gaggle of grandmas at the Widows' Boardinghouse thinks otherwise. But from the moment she finds herself in Adam's arms, she's shocked to discover she may just want more.

 

Adam knows it's crazy to tangle with Brooke, especially with the memories that still haunt him, and the warm welcome her family has given him. But he finds himself in a fix, because tender-loving Brooke is so much more woman than he ever imagined. Can a soldier battling demons give her the love she clearly deserves?

Just about everybody in Valentine thinks so!

 

2. Drifter's Heart by Karen Wiesner

 

Maggie May’s pa is still looking for the cowboy who knocked up his cowgirl vixen daughter five years ago. Little Tex has grown up without a father, but he’s the shining star of the May Ranch. Like his father, though, he’s always running off and disappearing. Just when Maggie May thinks it’ll never happen, the drifter she loves shows up, suddenly wise to the fact that his oh-so-altruistic efforts to quiet her endless stream of conversation had ended with a child. Horse trainer for hire and former rodeo bullfighter, Ryder McCall returns to Fever, Texas. This time, Maggie May plans to get him back in her clutches—and win his heart forever.

 

3. Cowgirl Up! by Carolyn Anderson Jones

 

ife on the Front Range of Colorado is never dull, especially with a spunky vet and a really hot cowboy in the mix.  

Samantha Kendrick is a large animal vet in her small hometown of Fairview, and happy tending to her clients during the day and reading sizzling romance novels at night. Until Cheyenne Wells comes back into her life.  

Samantha and Cheyenne have known each other since first grade, but it’s been a tenuous relationship that started when he yanked her ponytail and she punched him in the nose. Now Cheyenne is the head trainer and manager of the largest horse ranch in the west, and Samantha is called out to treat their prize stallion.  

Their reunion ignites sparks of passion neither one is expecting. Though Sam resists at first, Cheyenne’s Native American magnetism draws her into his life, with some help from her mom and fate. Before she knows it Sam is drawn into a spidery web of evil. Together, Sam and Cheyenne must work to solve the mystery before it turns deadly.  

It couldn’t get any worse for Sam, who up until then only pondered mysteries like, “Do cowboys really go commando?” 

 

4. Cowgirls Don't Cry by Lorelei James

 

essie McKay has accepted her marriage to Luke McKay wasn’t perfect. After two years of widowhood, she’s ready to kick up her bootheels—until Luke’s younger brother shows up to spoil her fun. But if Brandt thinks she’ll ever take orders from another McKay male, he’s got manure for brains. 

 

Brandt McKay has avoided his sweet, sexy sister-in-law ever since the night he confessed his feelings for her weren’t the brotherly type. Unexpectedly faced with proof of Luke’s infidelity, Brandt is forced to ask for Jessie’s help in taking care of Luke’s young son. Jessie agrees on one condition—she wants Brandt’s boots exclusively under her bed for the duration.

 

The sexual heat that’s always simmered between them ignites. Brandt is determined to make the temporary situation permanent, proving to Jessie he’s a one-woman man. And Jessie is shaken by feelings she’s sworn never to have again for any man…especially not a McKay.

 

5. Accidental Cowgirl by Maggie McGinnis

 

After being betrayed by her con man ex-fiancé, Kyla Bennett nurses a broken heart. But Kyla’s friends have other ideas and when they whisk her off to Whisper Creek, a dude ranch staffed by cowboys so hot they dim the Montana sunset, all Kyla wants to do is hide under a quilt. Then in rides Decker Driscoll. He’s hauling about as much emotional baggage as Kyla, but when he stands close by, both of them want to stay close—and begin to succumb to an undeniable attraction.
 
After experiencing personal tragedy, Decker never thought he’d see Big Sky country again. But now that his family’s Whisper Creek property is in deep with a Vegas gambler, Decker’s back for the summer—and spending all his time running from “cowgirls” who come to the dude ranch to score some dudes. Then he meets Kyla, a kindred spirit who brings on a stampede of protective feelings . . . and a powerful hankering to sear her with a new brand of love.

 

6. His Outback Cowgirl by Alissa Callen

 

Australian cowgirl Bridie Willis travels to Montana to escape the pain of losing her father. Headstrong and determined, she plans to spend the summer alone photographing wild animals. Instead she finds herself saddled with a stubborn cowboy as a back-country guide.

Ethan Morgan has been shaped by a childhood spent on the run. Cautious, steady and conservative, he is tasked with ensuring the beautiful, risk taking cowgirl doesn't ditch him or come to any harm.

But the biggest challenge Ethan must face is to accept how Bridie makes him feel. And the biggest risk Bridie must take is to trust in her heart.

 

7. Boots and Twisters by Myla Jackson

 

Lucky Albright’s unlucky streak is so long and wide that she’s been run out of one town and it looks like it may happen again. 

 

When she finds herself out of money and out of gas in Temptation, Texas, a part-time job from the kind owner of the Ugly Stick Saloon gives her a glimmer of hope that this time things will be different. 

 

Trent Jameson and Isaac Moore have always believed you make your own luck, but a black cloud of disaster seems to hover over their new hand. Under a tumbling stack of hay, Isaac discovers what Lucky’s hiding beneath baggy clothes and a tough exterior. Enough sexy curves to satisfy both men’s appetites. 

 

But it isn’t long before Lucky’s history starts wreaking havoc all over town. It’ll take a force of nature to help the ranchers convince the law, the Garden Club—even Lucky herself—that now is no time to hit the road.

 

8. The Cowgirl & The Unexpected Wedding by Sherryl Woods

 

Half virginal innocence, half saucy temptress, willful Lizzy Adams had long since stolen rancher Hank Robbins's heart. And then one night, passion overcame common sense and left them both with a little more than just wonderful memories—and the determination to "do the right thing."

 

For Lizzy, that meant not roping the rugged rancher into marriage. And for Hank, well…what would it take to make the beloved mother-to-be his wife?

 

9. Cowgirl Crazy by Becky McGraw

 

wyla Taylor is one frustrated cowgirl. She's not winning at barrel racing or in love. She's spent ten years nursing a crush on her brother's best friend, Ryan Easter, who thinks of her as no more than his little sister. When Twyla catches Ryan with yet another no-good buckle bunny, and calls him out, he tells her to get a life, and that is exactly what she decides to do. One that does not include a buckle-bunny-chasing cowboy with a bad attitude, or an overbearing older brother. 

Ryan Easter is one frustrated cowboy. He's winning every night at bronc riding, and has a different woman in every city. Mostly so he can keep his best friend's fiery little sister, and his desire for her, at bay. Since she grew those proud little breasts of hers, and mile-long legs, Ryan has had to fight his attraction to her. If her brother knew what he was thinking, he would kill Ryan, if her daddy didn't first. Ryan valued the surrogate family the Taylor's provided him with too much to ever go there with their youngest member. 

His diversion techniques work like a charm, until one night he pushes her too far, and Twyla takes off. Ryan knows he has to find her quickly and apologize, or face his best friend's wrath. He finds Twyla in Dallas and decides she's definitely gone cowgirl crazy. He barely recognizes her, because his barrel-racing tomboy is wearing makeup that looks like it was put on with a putty knife and she's working at a bar which borders on a cowgirl strip club. When she isn't serving shots off of her stomach, she's shaking her round ass for any man with a dollar to shove into the waistband of her barely-there shorts. 

Twyla refuses to leave with him, and Ryan knows he better make his final arrangements, or come up with another way to convince her and fast.

 

10. Jesse by C.H. Admirand

 

Danielle Brockway’s Uncle Jimmy brought her and her daughter, Lacy, to Pleasure, Texas, to mend her broken heart. Danielle is hoping for a new start, and the last thing she needs is another sweet-talking cowboy who will break her down again. Jesse Garahan is a proud man who wants what his brothers have found — love with a good woman on his ranch. But he’s been burned before. When a curvy blonde cowgirl shows up, the odds are stacked against them. But under the blue Texas sky, they may just be the answer to each other’s prayers. 

 

Vote for your favorite Cowgirl on my Goodreads list: Yee Haw! Contemporary Romance Novels with Cowgirls

Adam Desantis, grew up in Valentine Valley, played football in high school, and was a bad boy at times. At eighteen years old, he joined the marines, and now he is back, visiting his grandmother whom he believes has health problems. Brooke Thalberg, sees Adam again, when he helps her save horses from a barn fire, and her family offers him a job on the ranch. Brooke finds Adam delicious, but has no interest in a relationship. But when Brook and Adam share a passionate embrace, she can't resist the sparks that fly between them. So they agree to have a "secret" relationship, one that they keep from everyone, especially her family and closest friends. Brooke feels more alive than ever, and Adam coming back from battle scars, finds himself healing from the past and looking forward to the future. But Adam wants more than a few secret nights making love before the fire, he wants a future because he has fallen hard for Brooke...can he convince her to take a leap of faith?

True Love At Silver Creek Ranch is the second installment in the Valentine Valley series. Last year I was able to discover this author, and each time I read her....I am always impressed, and this installment is no different. There is so much in her books....that just satisfy every romantic urge in me when I am reading a romance novel. She always come out on top for me...which is rare for a contemporary romance...not many authors in this genre can do it for me like Emma Cane can. This story I have been wanting to read for quite sometime. I have seen this couple in some of the later books of the series, and I have been anxiously waiting for a chance to read this. So I just couldn't contain my excitement when I was able to grab this from the library shelves.

The story begins when there is a barn on fire, and horses inside, and Brooke being the only one home at the ranch, knows its up to her...but there is a strange man she runs into that beats her to it....sexy Adam Desantis. From that first moment of meeting, we see some sexual tension between the two. At first they do this whole flirting dance with each other, until well one moment they are talking, and Adam shoves Brooke against the wall and kisses the hell out of her....tingles...one of my favorite parts of the books. I do love a man that goes after what he wants. We also see some other aspects of the story, involvement of the old biddies of the town, in defense of a lingerie shop....I never get enough of these ladies, makes me wish this place was real and I could live there!!

This story is such a warm and tender romance that pulled at my heartstrings!! The characters were fiery and passionate, and full of enough zest to appeal to any reader. A story that is guaranteed to warm you on a cold winters night and watch out for the ending...it might bring a tear to your eye and leave a smile on your face!! CHARM IN EVERY CHAPTER!!

Father's Day Week Romance List Party!

 

I am not a huge fan of the secret baby trope because it is rare that I can forgive the heroine for keeping such knowledge from the hero. There are always exceptions though! 

 

My brother actually had the secret baby thing happened to him. Crazy. His daughter contacted him when she was 19. He found out he was a grandfather to a 3 month baby boy on the same day. My brother was so heartbroken to learn about this little girl growing up without him. He is working hard to build a relationship with her and his grandchild now. 

 

As from Romance Novels, I tend to like it better when the hero discovers he has a child and the heroine of the story isn't the mother of the child. 

 

Here are some great reads with the heroes who have just discovered they are fathers! 

 

1. The Taming of Billy Jones by Christine Rimmer 

2. Whisper Falls: A Destiny Novel by Toni Blake 

3. Just for Fun by Rosalind James 

4. His Tattooed Virgin by Heather Rainier 

5. Trying to Score  by Toni Aleo

6. The Soldier's Homecoming by Donna Alward 

7. Hard Mated by Jennifer Ashley 

8. The Pirate's Secret Baby by Darlene Marshall 

9. Baby Bonanza by Maureen Child 

10. Tied Up, Tied Down by Lorelei James 

 

To vote for the best of the best of these new Dads, go to my Goodreads list: Doorstep Baby: Best Romance Hero Discovers He has a Child.

 

To gaze upon so lovely father and child moments, check out my Pinterest Board: Father Love: Best Father Heroes in Romance.