Scandal, heartache and self - doubt seem to follow two dreamers looking to bring those dreams into reality. Ms. Selvig blends the best parts of human nature: determination, fear and heart and builds a story of redemption, hope and family. Grace has more family than she knows what to do with. Personal and professional merge into one big brand of complicated for this caring, yet lost young woman. In order to find happiness, she has to first understand what makes her unique. Not easy when you're part of a group.

Ty offers her the chance to find herself, but steals her heart in the process. He has her heart, but what else does he want in return? Betting on Paradise strives for endearing and succeeds.

Copyright of Night Owl Reviews

 

The Bride Wore Starlight

 

Seven Brides for Seven Cowboys, #3

 

Lizbeth Selvig

 

 

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Date of Publication: February 9, 2016
Number of pages: 279

 

Once comfortable on stage in front of thousands, Joely Crockett is now mortified at the thought of walking—or rolling—down the aisle at her sisters’ wedding. Scarred and wheelchair-bound, the former beauty queen has lost more than the ability to walk—she’s lost her fire. But when one handsome, arrogant guest accuses her of milking her injuries and ignites her ire, Joely finally starts to feel truly alive again, and soon it’s impossible for her to resist her heart’s desire.

Alec Morrissey knows a little something about loss. A famous rodeo cowboy before he was injured in Iraq, he’s managed to create something of a normal life, even if it’s not the one he always imagined. Encountering stunning but damaged Joely, he sees a kindred spirit who can learn from his mistakes.

As these two healing souls begin to fall in love under the Wyoming stars, they must discover if they are willing to give in to the tragedies of life or fight for a future together.

Excerpt: 

The contact with Alec’s strong, long-fingered hand didn’t do anything to quell the annoyance dancing in her stomach. Or was it attraction? Or just a very long time since a man had taken her hand?

He tugged gently and braced his feet so she could stand and get her solid leg beneath her.

Her eyes came level with his tie. That put him at roughly six feet, she thought inanely, although, in truth, no thoughts but inane ones filled her head. Up close his eyes shone a dark, rich amber, and his full, upturned lips made him appear prone to smiling. His hat looked so natural on him he might well have been born with it on.

He held out his right elbow. “Just think of me as a human hiking stick.”

He hadn’t said “cane.” He hadn’t said “crutch.” She offered a tentative, grateful smile, took a deep breath, and nodded.

What could have been horribly awkward turned out to be an easy partnership. Alec seemed to know instinctively how to step where she needed him for support, and his arm offered a perfect grip that she could lean into as firmly as she wanted. It took a dozen or so strides to get the coordination right, but slowly she figured out how to step firmly with her right leg and use Alec’s weight to help swing and step quickly with her left. She’d walked like this with crutches, but this felt so quasi normal—she almost enjoyed it.

Almost.

They came to the stairs, and she froze. A flat path was easy. Going up stairs was awkward but doable. But going down threw her weight forward, and she didn’t have the strength or balance to keep from pitching headfirst down the flight.

“We’re doing great,” he said. “There are only six.”

“We’re doing fine,” he’d said. She didn’t know this man from any random person, and yet he knew how to speak as if they’d been doing this forever.

“I really should have a body on the other side, too,” she admitted reluctantly. “I suck at stairs.”

“Here’s the deal.” He removed her hand from his elbow and held it, then wrapped his right arm loosely around her waist. “It’s your balance that’s got you spooked. You haven’t practiced with it, but your left leg is strong enough. Trust yourself. You know the drill: bad leg—”

“First,” she finished. “Yes. But it doesn’t hold my weight.”

“Eventually it will, but for now we’ll step together, and you lean into me when you’re using that leg.”

How did he know so effortlessly what to do? He’d probably had plenty of bangs and bruises when he’d been on the rodeo circuit—maybe this was second nature for him.

They navigated the stairs like they’d been doing it for years. She’d never have made it on her own, and such an exercise had been clunky at best with a physical therapist. When she stood at the bottom without aid of a crutch or two side walkers, her satisfaction had to rival that of any successful mountain climber’s.

“Wow,” she said, unable to keep the pleasure from her voice.

“Why are you surprised? You’re a ranch girl; you’re tough.”

Giveaway: 

Author Bio:

Lizbeth Selvig lives in Minnesota with her best friend (aka her husband), and a gray Arabian gelding. After working as a newspaper journalist and magazine editor, and raising an equine veterinarian daughter and a talented musician son, she won RWA’s prestigious Golden Heart® Contest in 2010 with her contemporary romance The Rancher and the Rock Star. In her spare time, she loves to hike, quilt, read, horseback ride, and spend time with her new granddaughter. She also has four-legged grandchildren—more than twenty—including a wallaby, two alpacas, a donkey, a pig, a sugar glider, and many dogs, cats, and horses (pics of all appear on her website www.lizbethselvig.com). She loves connecting with readers—contact her any time!

To connect with the author online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Book Info
Kindle Edition, 352 pages
Expected publication: July 1st 2014 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
original title How to Marry a Cowboy
ASIN B00HFDVNS8
edition language English
series Cowboys & Brides #4
other editions (1)
Source:Netgalley EARC

Book Buy Links
Amazon
B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS

Rancher Mason Harper’s two little girls want nothing more than a mama of their own. So when a pretty woman appears on his front porch in a tattered wedding dress, while Mason’s looking for a nanny, he can’t help but wonder if it’s fate.

Annie Rose Boudreaux is in a downright hellish mess. She’s just a few steps ahead of the low-life ex who’s been hot on her heels, but she’s tired of running, and nannying Mason’s two sweet girls may be just what she needs. As her days on the ranch fly by, and the night’s with Mason get hotter, Annie Rose decides that she’s going to stay…for a lifetime.

My Thoughts

The morning of their 9th birthday twins Gabby and Lily Mason find a young woman on their porch asleep wearing a wedding gown, their screams of delight that their Daddy had gotten married to give them a “Mama” for their present not only woke Annie Rose up but brought their father out to see what all commotion was about.

Finding herself on a strangers porch with the family cat curled up next to her asleep was the last thing Annie expected, she had no intention of staying but when confronted with the heartfelt pleas of the twins plus the genuine need by Mason for a person willing to fill the gap of time before he could replace their nanny she found herself making a promise to help out for a few days.

Mason Harper found himself a single parent 8 years prior when his wife Holly died unexpectedly, for all those years it has been he and his girls with none of the women he dated briefly even making his heart flutter once. Boy is it fluttering now! Annie Rose is nothing like his deceased wife in looks but some of her mannerisms are dead on which makes his uncomfortable attraction to the new nanny a reason for him to feel guilty that he is somehow betraying cherished memories of Holly.

What I liked best about this tale is that it is not a fish-out-of-water story, Annie Rose was raised on a ranch so she knows full well the hours of day to day work and that a flexible schedule works best when it comes to meal times and making sure that the abundant energy that two 9-year-old girls have is channeled into the proper outlets to keep them out of making mischief as much as possible.

The fact is that Annie fits right in as not only is she able to cook, she is a former nurse which comes in handy when dealing with minor illness or medical emergencies caused by the over zealous application of claws by the family Tomcat O’Malley. The icing on the cake comes when she is able to help with fiddle and singing lessons for the girls and when she wins over the foreman’s elderly grandfather there is no better character reference!

Like the previous book in the series this one also builds the romance slowly so Mason has time to realize that Annie is just what he needs after 8 years of grieving and Annie finds that not all men are abusive like her Ex but rather able to show passion sweetly even when driven by a need as strong as her own.

Wow! Can only say am sorry series has ended but if it had to go this was a great send off and such a heartwarming story it was enough to give me chill bumps more than a time or two along the way to the HEA.

[EArc from Netgalley in exchange for honest review]

Book Info
Paperback, 384 pages
Expected publication: February 4th 2014 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
original title The Cowboy's Mail Order Bride
ISBN 1402280521 (ISBN13: 9781402280528)
edition language English
series Cowboys & Brides #3
other editions None found
Source:Netgalley EARC
Book Buy Links
AMAZON
B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS

With a bundle of letters in a boot box, Emily Cooper doesn't know what to expect when she arrives on Clarice Barton's Ravenna, Texas, ranch. Clarice is stunned to meet the great granddaughter of a man she hadn't heard from in decades and insists that Emily stay on the ranch to tell her all about him.

Greg Adams isn't thrilled with the idea of a strange, if beautiful, woman in his grandmother's company. But when this stubborn cowboy sets out to uncover her lies, he finds the truth staring him in the face: it's not an explanation he wants, it's just her.

My Thoughts

Emily Cooper had just lost her grandfather and in accordance to his last wishes she promised to return a box of letters to Clarice that she had written to him many years before when they were both young. Now over 60 years have passed and Clarice married, raised a son and even though she had never forgotten her first love never expected to hear from him again so when Emily showed up one day it was quite a shock. As it turned out it was also fortuitous as the electronic end of ranching was something Clarice just could not seem to get a handle on and as Emily just so happened to be quite computer savvy she was asked to stay on not only to reminisce about her grandfathers life but to also assist Clarice with ranching chores.

Having a stranger on the premises did not sit too well with Clarice’s grandson Greg, even when he met her and was captivated by her forthright manner and obvious beauty there were still reservations as to what her motivation was.

Being somewhat of a schemer Clarice notes the sparks flying between Emily and Greg and with the help of her elderly friends decides to help the couple along as Emily only promised to stay for a month before going back to her own property in West Texas inherited from her granddad.

This story is full of delightful intrigue, a little spot of blackmail, some personal revelations on both Emily and Greg’s part that will really come as no surprise to the reader as we watch the couple form a relationship that proves to be just as romantic as one could wish for as it is built over time rather than just being instantaneous the first time they meet!

As others have stated reading about the day to day ranch life and the give and take between all the characters was delightful as it added such great depth to the story, the fact that the main plot of getting Emily and Greg together was more a matter of the pair following their hearts rather than their heads.

Good old fashioned love story with a contemporary timeline.

The premise is simple for this story but the execution will give you chills as the beauty of this contemporary western romance shines through from beginning to end. You will find that by the time the last page is read the characters described in the book have become fast friends and the country atmosphere that they live in has a singular charm that cannot be denied!

[EArc from Netgalley in exchange for honest review]