Read for: Netgalley/ Requested Review
Synopsis: "While I was off pitching in the big leagues, my family was back in the small town of Sweetwater, Texas, running the family ranch. Then tragedy hit and I discovered there were secrets that my family kept, problems they hid. I went home, left behind the money, women, and fame. I took over the ranch and took care of my grandmother. I took over hiding the secrets. Then she came to town. A smart-mouthed, clumsy, too-smart-and-too-pretty-for-my-own-good city girl hiding out to write a book. She's right here, on my property, in the cottage my grandmother rented her without my permission, and she sees too much. She knows too much.
Now suddenly my world is spinning, and she's shoving a baseball back in my hand while baking cookies with my grandmother. She's the devil and an angel all in one fiery little package. I decide I'll wait her out. She'll go back to the city. Only suddenly I don't want her to leave, and everything I’ve settled for in my life isn't enough. I want to play ball and I want her, but there's that secret that won't let go, but neither will she."
My Review: I have really been in the mood for some good cowboy romances lately and I really liked the idea of the jaded, high power woman stepping out of the city into the country. Sadly, I really struggled with this one, normally I consume romance novels in a day or two and this one took me well over 2 weeks to read. I didn't connect with the characters much and found a lot of the story to be disjointed and it felt forced with bits of inspired dialog that really flowed. It took until the last third of the book for me to really get into the story and feel like I was picking it up to find out what happened next instead of because I needed to finish it. It just really didn't work for me, maybe Jones' writing style just doesn't jive with my reading preferences. The redeeming factor, Grandma Martha, Roarke, the neighbor and Kelly that cat, two rather minor characters but they seemed to have more natural personalities that flowed on the page.
My Rating: I really can't believe how much I struggled with this book, romances, specifically cowboy romances, are my cup of tea and I usually fly through them. It really felt like a struggle to get from one inspired bit of the story to the next, it almost felt like a debut or even an early draft as opposed to a finished work. It was not at all what I was expecting, but with that said I am debating giving the next book a shot because it follows one of the side characters I actually enjoyed. I give it a rating of Two Paws and a Stump Wag.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. The above is my honest opinion
