Anna Jeffrey

I've been a fan of Anna Jeffrey's since The Love of a Cowboy showed up in my mailbox over 3 years ago. She has a way of combining romance and women's fiction--that is, romance, but with serious undertones--that really grabs me. Sweet Water is the kind of story I expect from Anna Jeffrey.

Marisa Rutherford has come home to take care of her mother, who has Alzheimer's, and finds herself in charge of not only her mother and her small diner, but of the entire group of misfits who call the tiny show more West Texas town of Agua Dulce home.

The town's already-shaky stability is threatened, however, when it's sold on ebay. Seems one man owned most of the town, and after his death, his widow took the easiest solution. Now everyone's coming to Marisa for help.

Terry Ledger is a real estate speculator, and he knows he's taking a risk by buying the town, but it's a risk that will pay off big, if everything goes well. All he has to do is deal with one woman, and everyone else will fall in line. The trouble is, she's an awfully hard woman to resist.

Sweet Water is full of realism--the inhabitants of Agua Dulce are eccentric, to say the least, but they're the kind of people who would cluster together in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere.

One example--they're realistically poor. None of this faux-poverty you see all the time in books or on TV--people who are "poor" but can manage to spring for designer shoes or last-minute flights or who have a secret stash of priceless heirlooms they just can't bear to sell. These people are making ends meet, but those ends are awfully frayed.

They're also realistic in their eccentricity, not caricatures or "types." And their relationships are likewise realistic. Marisa herself had been having an unstructured relationship with a state trooper...until he tells her he's getting married to someone else...the same day that Terry Ledger shows up in town.

Marisa and Terry are an unlikely couple, and they have a long way to go to make a relationship work, and that, too, is handled realistically. There's no whirlwind romance here. There's attraction and mistrust and growing respect and setbacks and compromises. It's definitely a love story I could believe.

Now to go look for Salvation, Texas. I expect to enjoy that one, too. show less

Marisa Rutherford has returned to the small town of Agua Dulce in desolate West Texas where she had lived most of her life to care for her mother who has developed Alzheimer's Disease and run her mother's café and flea market. Agua Dulce, population 10, and its surrounding land is a privately owned town with a motel, gas station, and cafe/flea market/hair salon. The kind of town that if you blinked while driving through, you'd miss it. The entire town is thrown into a tizzy when they find show more out that their town has been sold on eBay.

Terry Ledger is a wealthy real estate speculator who buys the town in an eBay auction and plans to develop the land and replace all the existing businesses with brand new shiny ones. Terry is the kind of developer we love to hate. He's out to get richer and is unconcerned about throwing these people out of their homes and jobs. Marisa is the town's unofficial mayor and she takes on the task of dealing with the new owner to make sure everyone is treated fairly.

Besides the fact I hated the hero's name (Terry), I really hated this guy at first based on my bias against Donald Trump types who are out to get rich on the backs of the sick, elderly, and those just barely scraping by.

When Terry first visits the town and meets Marisa there is instant chemistry between them. But he does not reveal his identity to her (another point against him for me). But his identity is eventually revealed and he gets to know the townspeople and sees them as human beings who need his help with this traumatic change in their life. However, Terry was a rather flat character and I wanted to see more emotion from him.

Marisa is a wonderful character who fiercely defends her town and its people while trying to run her mother's business and care for her ailing mother. Caring for an Alzheimer's patient at home I know from personal family knowledge is extremely difficult and stressful. Marisa comes across as a very caring woman but not a saint or martyr.

There is very little action but the story flows smoothly and I read it quickly. The quirky characters were realistic and enjoyable. The sensual tension between H/H slowly builds into a very steamy sexy love scene which was worth the price of the book :) Although I was a bit disappointed that SW did not lived up to AAR's grade, I still enjoyed it. (Grade: B-) show less

Joanna Walsh contacts photographer, Dalton Parker, estranged son of her good friend Clova, when Clova's second son is badly hurt in a DUI accident and she needs help running her ranch. Joanna runs a beauty salon and supply business in town and operates a free range egg business on a portion of Clova's ranch. When Dalton arrives he is overwhelmed by the problems facing Clova and suspicious of Joanna's influence. Joanna's soft spot for people in need often get her into things over her head. As show more these 2 feel their way and become attracted they each put up barriers and are not straight-forward with each other. I was not drawn to Dalton at first; he seemed self-centered and rude. He did grow on me somewhat as I got to see beneath the surface, but often acted without considering others. Joanna was the opposite and I felt a couple of well-placed questions could have cleared the air occasionally. I'm not a fan of women who talk graphically about men, including their partner's, amongst their friends. That turned me off in this book. show less

Originally posted at Bunny's Review



I have not read the first book in this series but that did not stop me from enjoying this second book. The author provides just enough information so readers will not become lost but are not overwhelmed with everything from the first book. I thought the book would go one direction but the author took the book in a different direction and worked out so much better than my thoughts.

Readers are quickly introduced to the whole Lockhart family. The family is show more waiting at a 5-star restaurant in downtown Ft. Worth for the new bride and groom, Drake and Shannon.

To say there is tension during this dinner is an understatement. Betty, Drake’s mother is an old bitty who believes no one is good enough for her children unless she hand picks them out. A woman who is only interested in her status to others than her children being happy, Betty believes she has an image to protect and will do anything to keep from allowing anyone into the family.

When I realized this book was about the second oldest brother Pic and that he already had a girlfriend I figured they would marry early in the story and have a major breakup shortly after the ceremony. Boy oh boy was I wrong. I will not go into when or how about Pic and his girlfriend, Amanda.

Pic’s mother does not like Amanda. She believes that Amanda is an upstart trying to get her hands on the family’s money. When Betty’s current plan fails she tried to send in a female that does not understand anything about a ranch or farm. Does not believe that killing a wild boar is just part of farm/ranch life, thinks it is wrong to drill for oil but not willing to give up her gas powered vehicle, this female is beyond understanding how or where food comes from. Her idea of getting more food is the local grocery. The thought that food has to come from somewhere else is beyond her understanding. To say this female is a witch with a Capital B is an understatement. She is someone that I would take, roll around in manure then pour sugar & honey over her tie to a tree where several nest of fire ants lived. That would be too nice for Zochi and Betty.

This story has a nice mystery rolled over from the first book. This mystery rolls over to the third book in the series. Readers do not know a lot except bad things are happening. I admit that I have my suspicion on who but I guess we will find out later in the series.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great contemporary read with some hot sex scenes that were well written. I recommend this book to any who enjoy contemporary romance especially cowboys.

The bunnies and I give this book carrots.

I purchased this book at Amazon 2014. show less