Ann Major

Ann Major can break a heart as easily as she can piece it back together. My favorite aspect of her stories is that she has a beautiful way of speaking to the heart without sugarcoating the outcome. Love With an Imperfect Cowboy reads like a tragic love song. There are betrayals, emotional losses and mysterious tragedies that haunt every leg of Liam and Hannah's journey. However, along the way each learns a valuable lesson about themselves and the healing powers of faith and love. It's hard show more not to get teary eyed when reading Ann Major. I received a copy in exchange for an honest review. show less

I read Destiny's Child for the first time when I was eighteen. It's amazing to me how youth affords you blinders that adulthood quickly melts away. Maturity now allows me to see just how intense Jeb and Megan's relationship was. How can a relationship shrouded by pride, lies and family ties truly stand a chance? Like the rumblings of a storm as it prepares to shake up it's mark, Destiny's Child blows me away just as much today with emotions that speak to the heart.

I had high hopes for this book because it's a theme I usually enjoy. But the hero, Michael, spent so much of the book being not just a jerk, but a cruel one, that I couldn't connect with him at all. It all starts when he seduces the woman he thinks is after his younger brother. He's going to expose her to Will as the gold digger he thinks she is. He doesn't expect to feel so connected to her, but still believes himself to be right. After telling her exactly why he slept with her and what he show more thinks of her, he walks out. He doesn't understand why his brother gets so angry when he exposes Bree, and why it creates such a wedge between them. When his brother is involved in an accident involving Bree and a friend, Michael barely makes it in time to say goodbye to Will. He's not happy when Will makes him promise to look after Bree and the baby she carries. He's still convinced she's been after Will's money all along. He continues being a complete ass to Bree, even as he starts to suspect he might have been wrong about her.

I understood Michael's protectiveness of his brother. Michael had had a horrible early life before being adopted by Will's father, and never felt that anyone really cared about him except for Will. Michael had also been badly burned by a woman who was a gold digger and saw all women through that experience. But I felt it took way too long for him to see that he was wrong about Bree. Even when he did, his attitude still remained that of a manipulative jerk. I also thought it took too long for him to realize the truth about the relationship between Bree and Will, and even then it took photographic evidence to do it. I really didn't feel too sorry for him when Bree refused to have anything more to do with him.

Bree was a warm and caring woman who was trying to keep her late brother's restaurant going. Will had been one of her brother's friends and investors and became a friend of hers also. When she first met Michael she was attracted to him, even though Will told her what a cold, manipulative man he could be. During their second meeting, she fell completely for the caring, romantic man he seemed to be, and was completely devastated by his words and actions the next day. Though her attraction to him remained strong, she was also determined not to give in to it without a complete change of attitude on his part. As they started to get closer, she tried to protect herself but ended up falling for him anyway. I liked the way that she stood up for herself and her own needs against all of his attempts to get his way. I did understand her reluctance to believe he had changed at the end. She had her own issues with the past, and had trouble believing he wanted to be with her for any reason other than that she was pregnant.

Seeing the two of them learn to let go of the past was the redeeming factor in the book. It took a lot for Michael to let go of the things that had made him so cynical. I did enjoy seeing him have to work to show Bree that he had changed, because if it had been too easy I don't think it would have meant as much. show less

Love with an Imperfect Maid was the first book I’ve read from this author. I like that rather than stay away from tough topics, she dives right into it. In this story, the engaged couple has issues in their relationship but neither want to admit it or dig into the reasons for them. Instead, Colt and Nell are caught in a compromising situation & Hannah, the fiancée runs away. She spends the time away thinking about their relationship & finding a new man while Colt tries to punish Nell for show more her part in the breakup. He doesn’t want to admit his own guilt.

This story was a study in family dynamics & how they affect all interactions. Nell & Hannah’s mother is a cold, rich witch that believes Hannah can do no wrong & Nell can’t do anything right. Her husband, their dad, doesn’t speak up or protect them from her. When a bomb is dropped on Nell explaining the reason behind this, Colt has to realize that all families have hidden depths & money just hides them better. This is a interesting story & I’d recommend it for everyone. show less