Linda Lael Miller

The ever-elusive 2 stars. You've earned it, book.

I've read worse books, but never one that annoyed me so much. First of all, this is insta-love at its worse. The two main characters meet, have a long night of (hot?) sex, then the next day are engaged to be married. And nobody has a problem with that. Her dad is overjoyed, her young daughter is excited to move into a trailer away from everything familiar, and his brothers are congratulating him at every turn. It's so ridiculously show more unrealistic, and it drives me nuts. And don't tell me that they loved each other in high school, because it's been a decade, a failed marriage for both of them, a career in Hollywood of all places, and a kid. People change, and these two people have no business jumping right back into things like they're still in high school.

Then there's the horribly convoluted plot. Nothing really ever happens, except for some drunk guy driving a semi truck into his cabin, which I think was supposed to serve as the climactic action? It gets a question mark, because there's not a second of worry that the characters will actually get hurt, there's no emotional turmoil, and they wanted to bulldoze the cabin anyway! Win-win! Grr.

Last but certainly not least, this is a ball of sickening fluff. It's like the author can't bear to write in any sort of struggles for her characters, and we the readers end up suffering for it. Everybody in this book is super rich, rich enough to just pack up and sell their cars, apartments, and belongings with no worry, and to bulldoze a cabin and immediately start putting in a house with absolutely no forethought. I usually don't have a problem with the rich hot guy trope, but this book really makes it sickening. And thanks author, we get that you like kids and animals, but does every woman in this book need to be barefoot and pregnant to feel happy? For god's sake, the book ends with an info dump about every single one of the Creed wives and their new babies' names and their happy children. There's nothing wrong with having kids in your epilogue, but this is a prime example of the wrong way to do it. Finally, the thing that bugs me the most - the "cowboy" culture. I'm from the high plains, I talk to real cowboys all the time and they DO NOT act like the Creed men. They don't jet off to become high-powered lawyers or movie stars and then decide that they miss the "big open Montana skies." If you want to write about cowboys, write them the right way.

This book is downright terrible, and I will absolutely never be reading anything by this author again. Now I need to go and find one of my old favorites to get this crap out of my system. show less

I haven't read a historical western romance in a long time, and this was the perfect book to remind me why I love them so much. It's a simple story (but in the best way possible) that takes place almost exclusively in a one room schoolhouse during a snowstorm. Miller, though, infuses every look, every gesture, and every eye flutter with heavy emotion. It didn't matter that Sawyer and Piper had only known each other a few days. I was rooting for their happy ending.

Very good book. Susannah had promised her friend Julia she'd look after her baby if something happened to her. When she learned of Julia's death, she left for Seattle immediately, not knowing what to expect. Julia's letters to her had changed over the course of her marriage, going from ecstatic to miserable. When she arrived, she discovered a man who had nothing good to say about love or marriage and was uninterested in anything to do with the baby.

Aubrey had begun his marriage deeply in show more love with Julia. But she turned out to be rather immature, selfish and vengeful. Over the months of their marriage she started behaving erratically, claiming multiple lovers, including Aubrey's brother Ethan. By the time the baby is born, Aubrey doesn't believe that he is the father and resists getting emotionally involved. When Susannah arrives she throws his life into confusion. He doesn't know if he can trust her, as she could be just like Julia. But he is also attracted to her, which he tries to fight. As he gets to know her he realizes that she is very different than Julia, and slowly begins to trust her. However, he is still unwilling to trust his heart again.

All Susannah can see at first is that Julia had been right about Aubrey. He certainly seems to be cold, and completely uncaring about the baby. It doesn't take too long before she starts to see that there is more to his attitude than she thought. The more she learns about her friend, she realizes that Aubrey may have good reason for the way he feels. She also starts to have feelings for him, which make her feel guilty, because he had been her friend's husband.

The relationship between Aubrey and Susannah is a slow growing one. There is a physical attraction, but both have much to overcome. Susannah still believes in love and wants that for herself someday. Aubrey comes to trust Susannah, but he is unwilling to open himself up to love. He wants her and believes that they would deal well together if they were to marry. When he proposes marriage, he insists that he doesn't love her. Susannah is torn. She wants his love, but she loves him so much that she hopes maybe he will come to love her anyway.

I really liked watching the changes they went through. Susannah becomes much more confident in herself, thanks to taking care of the baby and the friends that she makes. Aubrey's attentions make her feel more attractive than she ever has before. I also liked seeing her gain the confidence to stand up for herself. She pursues the things she feels are right to do, even if she knows that Aubrey won't like it. I also liked her determination to see Aubrey and his brother mend their relationship. Aubrey had more changing to do. He had to let go of the bitterness about his marriage if he was going to move on. This was difficult for him because of the things that Julia had said and done. I loved seeing the signs of the caring man he could be on those occasions when he'd relax. Aubrey's growing love for Susannah was something that others could see, but he refused to admit until a near tragedy opened his eyes.

I really enjoyed the secondary characters of Maisie and Ethan. They had well-drawn stories of their own that added to what we know about Susannah and Aubrey. I loved Maisie's blunt way of telling Susannah what she needed to know. She was also kind-hearted and a really good friend. Ethan's story was complicated. He was furious and hurt by Aubrey's accusations, but there for his brother when he was needed. His personal love story was heartbreaking to see, especially with what is disclosed at the end of the book. There is also an interesting twist that connects that love story to trouble that he and Aubrey encounter. The resolution of that mess is an interesting part of the book. show less

Oldie but goodie, and highly emotional. Glory is returning to Pearl River for the first time since her brother's funeral eight years earlier. She'd been forced to leave, breaking her heart and her boyfriend's, but given no choice. She's back for a brief visit, to see her mother married, then moving on from a new heartbreak. But there's one thing she wants to find out before she leaves - what happened to the baby girl she had and gave up for adoption.

She didn't expect Jesse to be the first show more person she saw when she arrived back in town, or the sparks that flew between them. Likewise, Jesse was stunned to see Glory, and not happy to see the woman who had broken his heart. A heated confrontation ends in a scorching kiss that shows them both that the past is still alive and well.

Then Glory makes the startling discovery that her baby girl had been adopted by Jesse's older brother and his wife. They were recently killed in an airplane crash, leaving Liza in Jesse's custody. Glory is convinced that Jesse was in on his grandfather's scheme the whole time, while Jesse is stunned to discover that he isn't just Liza's uncle, he's also her father. Glory decides then and there that she isn't going to leave Pearl River again, she'll get a job locally and get to know her daughter. Jesse is equally determined at the time to keep them apart.

This begins an emotional roller coaster of a story. I spent the last third of the book in almost constant tears, aching for Glory, who wants to get to know her daughter. I was also equally mad at and aching for Jesse. I loved watching Glory get to know Liza, being excruciatingly careful not to give away the truth, while desperately wanting to do so. The two of them bonded quickly, aided by Jesse's cousin Ilene. I loved the part where Glory was helping Liza with an angel costume. She is so happy just spending time with Liza, but is also determined not to give up hope of eventually telling her the truth. I got a bit frustrated with her when she started to cave in to the pressure to leave Liza alone.

Jesse is torn between allowing Glory to spend time with Liza and wanting her gone from Pearl River entirely. He has moments of being so understanding, like when he brought Glory the pictures of Liza from when she was small. He also has his moments of being a real butt-head, such as when he told Glory she needed to stay away for awhile. Jesse tells himself he is protecting Liza from being hurt by a woman he doesn't trust to stick around, but he is also protecting his own heart. Jesse was so inconsistent with his behavior toward Glory that I really wanted to grab him and shake him. And knowing his grandfather as well as he does, it bugged me that he had listened to and believed what the old man had told him ten years earlier. I loved what happened when he discovered the truth and how he admitted his idiocy. His big moment at the end was good, and I especially loved Glory's response.

Liza was a big part of the story of course, and I really liked that she played an active part. She's smart and sweet and her relationship with Jesse is already good, so she doesn't have any trouble accepting that he's her father too. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing her get to know Glory and figure out the truth there. show less