The Texan

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review. Also my tags may have spoilers in them so be forewarned before checking out full review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:📔📔📔📔📔
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️🦸🏻‍♀️
Intimacy Level: 🔥🔥.5
Relationship Building: 💒💒💒
Heart & Feels:💞💞💞
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: 😂😂😂
Page Turner Level:📖📖📖
Narration:🎧🎧🎧
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨

First Impressions
The Texan is the second installment in the "Bitter Creek" series and this digs much deeper into show more the feud between the two families and this was one of the books I originally hadn't read the first time I read this series so it was a delight to finally get to Owen and Bayleigh's book. This book has multiple timelines that are happening. We have the primary timeline with Owne/Bayleigh and then we have the drama happening with Jackson Blackthrone (The Patriarch) and the love of his heart Ren and his wife Eve causing drama and then Shannon Blackthorne and Billy Coburn.

First Line
Owen Blackthorne stepped into the armadillo bar and found trouble waiting for him.

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Owen Blackthorne
The Heroine: Bayleigh Creed

Summary
Owen is a Blackthorne but is also a twin with his brother Clay and they have a special bond despite their lives becoming more loners in the wilds of Texas. Owen is used to doing things on his own, but there is something he is drawn to with Bayleigh Creed even though she hates him for what he did to her brother. But while working together to find Bay's younger brother, they end up caught up in a sinister plot dealing with VX mines and a dangerous gas that can kill you in seconds. But while on the hunt for the missing brother and finding out all involved in this plot, both Owen and Bay will discover a love that is worth fighting for despite the hate that their families are caught up in.

What I Loved
The plot line dealing with the bad law enforcement officers and the VX gas mines. I found that so fascinating and the author really handles the suspense elements so well here. I really was intrigued by seeing the forced proximity that our characters have to deal with. Owen is such a solid hero, he is strong and protective and a bit more reserved in some ways personally. He has this quiet strength that you imagine many of those in law enforcement have. I love his loyalty to his family and being a soldier for justice and truth. Then we have Bayleigh, she has suffered a lot in her young life but contains many of the bitter feelings for the Blackthornes. We see how she has to overcome that hatred to embrace the love for Owen. There is such honesty in seeing the character development for the heroine especially. She literally hates the hero but we see her o through some personal reflection, and some honesty about the feud and learning to overcome the hate and it showcased some powerful human elements that I found so admirable.

What I Struggled With
The multiple plot lines were a distraction from the actual romance involving Owen and Bayleigh. I do wish that there had been a bit more focus on their romance and less with the side plots which I do think probably could have been minimized a bit. While I am loving the actual serial plot involving the families....its like reading a western soap opera come alive, I still wanted more from the romance and other plot lines had you a bit invested a bit more at times. Especially with what is happening between the father Jackson and the mother Ren.

Narration
It was pretty decent. Not my favorite narration for this author, but not the worst either. It was really just average and not as compelling as how the first book was handled narration wise.

Overall View
The Texan was a riveting romance that digs deep into some heartfelt emotion, portrays some powerful suspense to keep you guessing and a inter family drama that stuns you into fascination and making you yearn for more...

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Contemporary Suspense
Character Types: Law Enforcement, Animal Vet
Themes: Heart/Emotionally Touching, Delicious Kissing/Touches, Danger/Suspense
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Family Feud, Soap Opera, Forced Proximity

Book Perspective
3rd POV

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Both

If you like these authors, I recommend This Book
J.R. Ward
Jennifer Ryan
A.L. Jackson

Recommendation For Reading Order
Yes---there is a serial plot line

Steam/Spice Explanations

Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.

Narrators:
Author show less

Overall Rating: 4.85
Action: 4.0 / Emotion: 5.0 / Romance: 5.0 / Sensuous: 2.5 / Suspense: 3.0 // Laughter: 1 // Tears: 3 / Teary: 2

The Texan: 4.85:
Joan Johnston again displayed her gift at storytelling by delivering an exciting, entertaining, enjoyable, engrossing re-read.

Hero: 4.50:
Owen Blackthorne: a capable, hunky Texas Ranger, who won hearts with his strength of character, his compassion, and his ability to overcome the almost debilitating blows he suffered during childhood.

Heroine: 3.50:
Bayleigh "Bay" Creed: a tiny spitfire of a veterinarian, who was loyal to her family and was willing to go toe-to-toe with Owen in spite of her vulnerabilities.

Story Line: 4.50:
Enjoyed the continuation of the Blackjack and Ren story interwoven show more between the romance that developed between their respective children, Owen and Bay. Also, loved the inclusion of the Billy and Summer story as a kind of prologue to the next book in the series. A bit disappointed that both these side stories took time away from Owen and Bay's story.

Action: 4.00:
Johnston included several entertaining adventurous action scenes as she detailed the terrain of Big Bend National Park as Owen and Bay traveled through the area in search of Luke Creed and several crates of missing VX nerve gas.

Emotion: 5.00:
Johnston really connected the reader to the characters in this book on a deep emotional level, bringing forth tears and laughter and feelings of love, hatred, dislike, compassion, and sympathy.

Romance: 5.00:
Johnston made sure that the reader was always aware of the undercurrents of romance the permeated the entire book. If she wasn't making sure Owen and Bay were physically and emotionally aware of the other, she was inserting the feelings of love that existed between Blackjack and Ren and then the depth of feelings in the relationship between Billy and Summer.

Suspense: 3.00:
While the aura of suspense did not take front and center stage, Johnston kept readers wondering who was behind the theft of the VX nerve gas canisters and how the relationships between {1} Owen and Bay, {2} Blackjack and Ren, and {3} Billy and Summer were going to end.

Sensuous: 2.50:
Although Johnston does not include extremely graphic, detailed love scenes, they are so well written that she projects a sense of sensuality, sizzle and emotional connection to the Owen and Bay.

Secondary Characters: 5.00:
One of Johnston's greatest skills is including memorable, well-developed secondary characters. This book is no exception. The most memorable secondary characters included: {1} Jackson "Blackjack" Blacktorne, the patriarch of the wealthy Bitter Creek family; {2} Lauren "Ren" Creed, Bay's mother and the love of Blackjack's life; {3} 'Bad' Billy Coburn, the Bad Boy who melted readers into a puddle of tears; {4} Summer Blackthorne, an unlikeable spoiled little rich girl; {5} Eve DeWitt Blackthorne, the detestable evil wife of Blackjack; {5} Dora Coburn, the suffering mother of Billy; {6} Sam Creed, the rarely appearing, paralyzed brother of Bay; {7} Luke Creed, the young, antagonistic brother of Bay, and {8} Clay Blackthorne, the seriously under-developed twin brother of Owen.

A more in-depth, detailed, spoiler-ridden review of The Texan appears at Wolf Bear Does Books (http://goo.gl/RInThD). show less

3.5 stars