Sara Orwig

Jake and Madison had been in love as teenagers, in spite of their families' long-standing feud. They didn't care and just wanted to be together. They made plans to elope, but Jake never showed up, breaking Madison's heart. She hasn't spoken to him since then. When he contacts her to tell her he has a family map that shows where gold has been buried on her ranch, along with the bodies of several of their ancestors, she is intrigued enough to allow him to hunt for it. She also doesn't trust show more him, so she's determined to keep an eye on him.

Keeping watch over Jake means spending a lot of time with him. It quickly becomes obvious to them both that the old passion is still there and stronger than ever. But their hurt and anger over what had happened years ago is still there, and they can't move forward until the past is dealt with. When the truth comes out, Madison is shocked, and both realize that their anger has been misplaced. Now they have to decide if they want to move forward together, or part ways if and when the treasure is found.

To complicate matters, Jake hasn't been entirely up front about what all is involved in his search. He's told Madison about the gold, and made a good case for finding their ancestors' bodies and giving them a proper burial. But there's something else that's supposedly with the treasure that will give him the revenge he's been looking for against the Milans. Unfortunately, that revenge could ruin what is growing between them.

I enjoyed the heat between Jake and Madison, and the way that it ended up opening their lines of communication. In spite of their initial antagonism, they were still able to work together. Once they resolved their past issues it was great to see the way that they started to get to know each other again. Madison started to trust Jake and Jake started wondering what was going to happen to those feelings if they found the treasure. Things got really interesting at the end, and I loved seeing the way Jake made it work.

The whole feud idea was very interesting, but we really didn't get very much information about it. I expect that there will be more revealed in later books. The various siblings on both sides all seem ready for their own stories, but I am really looking forward to Tony and Lindsay. I suspect that, with the amount of fireworks between them, they are going to end up together and in a spectacular way. show less

I liked the premise of the story - hot shot tv personality comes to town, determined to solve the century old murder mystery and falls for one of the descendants of the victims who isn't so thrilled about having the feud stirred up. There was the potential for some good conflict to go along with the passion but it never happened.

Wyatt likes the peace and quiet of his town. He answered the call when the people of Verity asked him to be sheriff, because they trust him to know what is right to show more do whenever trouble happens. When Verity comes to town, he's not at all happy to have someone stirring up memories of the feud now that things are starting to calm down. He gets his first inkling of trouble when he finds her limo illegally parked, and then hears about the chaos that's already beginning. He gives some orders regarding the limo, has his mind set on making sure Verity knows there's no story to pursue, and then goes totally brain dead as soon as he sees her. All he can see is how beautiful she is and that he's attracted to her. Instead of really trying to convince her to give up, he asks her to dinner instead, and from there it's just a short hop into bed.

Destiny is beautiful and determined to find out more about the feud and what happened. She is accustomed to getting what she wants and has no trouble using her beauty and charm to do it. While I like a determined heroine, this seemed more like manipulation. She's also got a personal stake in the story because her grandmother is a Calhoun. She listens to Wyatt's arguments, all the while thinking about how hot he is, and that maybe she can seduce him into changing his opinion. By the time dinner and "afters" are through, she knows that won't happen, but the sex has been great.

Destiny continues her efforts, pretty much ignoring everything Wyatt asks about not stirring things up. He has real fears about what could happen during her interviews with various members of the families. Thankfully his brother Tony does as Wyatt asked and kept calm when his nemesis Lindsay Calhoun was being interviewed, preventing some of the trouble that could have happened. What bothered me most about Wyatt was that he seemed to have absolutely no backbone when it came to dealing with Destiny. He would make a request, she'd ignore it and he'd just shake his head and laugh.

As far as their relationship went, both had issues to deal with. Destiny has never been in love and is determined that she won't fall for Wyatt. After all, she's big city and he's small town. She lives all the way in Chicago, and he prefers Verity. But all that hot sex is great, and she doesn't really want to leave. She thinks maybe she might really be falling in love with him, but he guards his emotions and she doesn't want to love someone who won't love her back. Wyatt had been in love years ago and devastated when his fiancee broke things off. He doesn't want to risk feeling like that again, so he doesn't allow his emotions to get involved with any woman. He has to admit that Destiny has gotten to him far more than anyone else, but he refuses to believe that he's in love with her. After she leaves to return to Chicago, he finally realizes what she means to him.

I had a hard time buying that they had fallen in love with each other at this point. Whenever they were together, they were in bed. There was little talking done and I really didn't get the feeling that they had gotten to know much about each other. The most talking they did was after they had parted and talked on the phone every night. It wasn't until that point that I felt a real connection between them. Even then, Wyatt is still sure that there's no way for them to be together. Destiny is the one who takes the first steps.

I did enjoy the resolution of the mystery. I thought it was very neatly done. I liked seeing the families get together and how the younger generation is settling things. show less

Good story of opposites attracting. Sierra is a former interior designer who has left that career behind to run a non-profit charity. She's much happier doing that work and can't conceive of going back to her former life. Blake is a billionaire rancher and real estate developer. He's building a new wing on his ranch house and wants only the best to decorate it. For him, that is Sierra, and he refuses to let anything get in the way of what he wants.

I really enjoyed their first meeting. From show more the moment he walked into her office, the sparks flew between them. Blake is determined that she will decorate his place, and she is equally adamant that what she does now is more important. Not only does Blake want her decorating expertise, but as attracted as he is to her, he also wants to spend time with her. Throwing caution to the wind, he writes a large check to her for the job, and an equal amount to her charity, if she will do it. He also promises the same amount to the charity for the next three years. Unable to turn away a donation of that magnitude, Sierra gives in. The negotiations between them were very interesting. Blake can't understand why she gave up such a lucrative profession to run a charity. His opinion is that people are only out for what they can get, and that she's naive for thinking that she's really going to make a difference. Blake is extremely cynical about people, starting from when he was a child. His father divorced his mother, married again and had more children, and paid no attention to any of them. He also cheated on his wives. Blake has harbored a great deal of anger toward his father and has spent the last several years taking quiet revenge by trying to put his father's hotels out of business.

Once Sierra arrives at the ranch and begins work, every time she and Blake are near each other the fire between them burns hot. Sierra doesn't want to get involved, as she doesn't see it turning out well, but she's helpless to resist. It's interesting to see that when they avoid his need for revenge and her charity work, they have a lot in common. They don't have a lot of time together, as both have to travel, but when they are apart they miss each other. Neither is willing to consider that they are falling in love because they are just too different.

I liked seeing Sierra try to convince Blake that his quest for revenge isn't worth what it is doing to him. She even invites him to go with her to a charity picnic, where he can see some of the good his donation is already doing. It becomes obvious to Sierra that he's not quite as hard as he thinks he is, which softens her heart toward him a little bit. I liked seeing Blake around her family, as he fit in better than I thought he would. But in spite of it all, he insists that she isn't going to change him.

Their differences become a much bigger stumbling block when Sierra discovers she is pregnant. Blake is all for getting married, even though they aren't in love, because he wants to be a full time dad to his child. He thinks that their passion and how well they get along is enough for a successful marriage. Sierra grew up with parents who loved each other and their children, and she refuses to settle for anything less. I really liked seeing her stand up to him and not be guilted into settling for less. By standing firm, Sierra forces Blake to actually think about what it is that's keeping them apart. I loved seeing the steps he took, and the difference it made to his outlook. It wasn't a warm and fuzzy experience, but it felt realistic. There was an interesting twist to the conversation that opened Blake's eyes to what was truly important in his life. It also brought an unexpected windfall into Sierra's life. I liked Blake's big moment at the end. The epilogue was a nice lead in to the next book. show less

Good book. Cade lost his younger brother and sister-in-law in a crash, leaving him as guardian for his niece. But Cade has no idea how to care for little Amelia and is terrified of screwing it up. After all, he didn't exactly have the best examples for parents while growing up. After several unsuccessful interviews to find a nanny, Cade accepts his best friend's suggestion of his younger sister for the job. Luke also warns Cade to keep his hands off Erin, who is suffering from enough show more heartbreak.

Erin is getting ready to start her post-graduate work, but has taken a semester off to earn the money she needs. She doesn't plan to give up the job she has until Cade makes her an offer she just can't refuse. Luke has warned her off any involvement with Cade, who is a known playboy. Still reeling from her own heartbreak, she isn't too worried, until she meets him.

The chemistry between Cade and Erin is intense from the moment they meet. They try hard to resist it, but it is a losing battle. Erin may still be recovering from her heartbreak, but she hasn't given up on the hope for a husband and family of her own someday. She also knows that Cade can never be that man. Cade has sworn off the idea of marriage for himself. Having witnessed his parents' terrible marriage and his father's inability to commit, he figures that he's far safer not taking the risk of hurting himself or someone else. Becoming father to little Amelia creates a huge change in his life. He's determined to be a better father than his own was, and Erin is the path to that goal - as long as he doesn't screw it up.

I loved seeing the development of their relationship. It doesn't take long to acknowledge their mutual attraction, but they start out successfully resisting it. Cade reminds himself of his long friendship with her brother and that he doesn't want to lose that friendship. He also knows of her vulnerability and doesn't want to add to her hurt. Erin reminds herself that he doesn't want marriage and she does. There are some terrific scenes of the two of them fighting the attraction that continues to grow as they spend time together with baby Amelia. But it's too strong to resist, and pretty soon they give in. Erin knows from the start that she's in danger of losing her heart to both Cade and Amelia, but she takes the chance anyway. Cade spends a long time trying to convince himself that the strength of their connection doesn't mean anything. I loved seeing Erin work on Cade's confidence in being a father, and also that he doesn't have to cut himself off from the prospect of marriage in his future. But when Erin's time is up, she knows she has to cut ties completely to have even a small chance of getting over her feelings. Meanwhile, Cade has to face the reality of Erin's departure and his feelings for her. Cade's big moment at the end was great, including some interference from Luke.

I really liked seeing the changes that Cade went through. His fears about taking care of Amelia were real, as was his desire to overcome them. His caution at the beginning was sweet and kind of amusing, considering how confident he was in everything else. I loved seeing him become more confident, and some of his scenes with Amelia were quite heartmelting. show less