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Wild For The Sheriff (2013)

by Kathleen O'Brien(Favorite Author)

3.89 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0373607547 (ISBN13: 9780373607549)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Harlequin

series

The Sisters of Bell River Ranch

review 1: When Rowena Wright returns to her childhood home after 16 years and the death of her father, she's prepared for it to be a difficult return. The house hold a lot of dark memories, as does the local sheriff, Dallas Garwood. Rowena's mom died suddenly when she was a teenager, and she and her sisters were sent off to live with relatives without a backward glance. Rowena was known as a wild child, the one who tempted Saint Dallas into Temptation, and got caught. (No secret babies, it does not go there, thankfully.) She's certain the close knit locals hate her, and she's shocked to find that Dallas actually doesn't hate her. Dallas is cautious, but never assumes she's the same person she used to be. He's cautious, because he has a child, but he's definitely interested in pursui... moreng Rowena.If you read the back cover of Wild for the Sheriff , it sounds like a totally different book. Even the cover imagine brings to mind a fun reunion book. Instead, there's a lot of processing of both of their pasts, and there is a lot of darkness. This isn't a light and fluffy romance, and there's a good bit of doubt about what will happen. There's a lot to like in these pages and for the most part Rowena and Dallas are both reasonable adults. Rowena worries a good bit about what she inherited from her parents, and discovers that she is a lot more different than she thought. Dallas has a son from a failed marriage and as any good parent does, he worries about the effect that a failed romance with Rowena will have on his child. Despite this being a Harlequin romance, the majority of the book isn't really focused on the romance. It's largely about Rowena herself coming to terms with her family and her past, and making a decision about how she wants to live her future. The romance is a little bit steamy (the bridge!!) and largely just a quiet side story until the final resolution. It worked for me, but it wasn't typical of a Harlequin, in my experience.The book has flaws, of course, the secondary characters are about as fleshed out as you'd expect from a Harlequin, while still setting us up for a series. Rowena has two sisters, and it falls for the common trope of "we were raised separately after the death of our mother, so we are totally different and don't know each other well." (See Also: the first three Lucky Harbor novels.) Dallas has a younger brother who is an actual adult but Dallas is still overly invested in raising him and making sure he goes to college. (See Also: Only Mine from the Fool's Gold series by Susan Mallery.) Rowena is a bit fickle and selfish and I'm not sure I really appreciated her rashness, but she does come to her senses quickly enough. Despite all this, I couldn't really stop thinking about the book after I finished, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series as they are released.
review 2: Rowena Wright is back in her small hometown, somewhere that she never thought she'd be again. But now fifteen years after she left, Rowena is back to fix up the family ranch and sell it for good this time. It might not be as easy as that, with her old flame Dallas Garwood as the Sheriff and still just as tempting as ever. Determined to resist him, Rowena pulls away at every opportunity. But when she comes across a discovery that could take away any claim she has to Bell River, will all the secret dreams she has of turning it into a dude ranch go up in smoke? And with Dallas, his son Alec and a mysterious girl named Bonnie all finding a way into her heart, will she be able to leave when the time comes, or will Rowena finally stay in one place - home? This was very well written for a Harlequin romance! I usually go in expecting light fluff, but this was definitely not under that heading AT ALL. Rowena hasn't been back home in fifteen years, since her Father murdered her Mother and she & her sisters were sent to live with relatives. Also, the last time she saw Dallas her Father caught them having sex in a pickup and shot him! Rowena had serious trust issues and real reasons for having them. But I adored her feisty personality and self-reliant nature. Dallas was a good love interest, who had his own share of past heartbreak. Alec's Mom had left him for another man, started a new family and effectively ditched Alec while she was at it. Dallas describes his son as being like Huck Finn, and he is right. Alec is adorable and mischievous to the max, which adds something extra to the book. And the whole storyline where he thinks he has to get Dallas dating again before he can go live with his Mom (and THAT'S why she won't take him yet) is so sad, but definitely how an elementary aged kid would rationalize. The strained relationship between Rowena and her sisters Penny & Bree is painful but truthful. The resolution and beginnings of true sisterhood near the end of the book was a great touch. The romance itself was swoony, but the angst was a little too thick for my taste. Overall, loved this book more than I thought I would. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the rest of the series.VERDICT: 4/5 Stars*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is February 5th, 2013.* less

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