The Christmas Cowboy Hero (Heart of Texas #1)
by Donna Grant
Blurb:
’Tis
the season for ex-Navy SEAL Clayton East to come home for the holidays―even if
the mood at home is anything but festive. His father is ill. The East Ranch is
in financial trouble. And now it’s on Clayton, the prodigal son, to make sure
his family doesn’t lose everything.
Headstrong
Abby Harper is like a mother to her younger brothers, who she’s helped raise
since she was a teenager. Keeping them in line is no small task while she’s
also working toward her college degree. And now that one of her brothers has
been arrested for stealing cattle at the East Ranch, Abby is at her wit’s end.
But there is a silver lining: Clayton East. He believes in second chances, and
is willing to give one to her brother this Christmas. Letting beautiful
Abby―and the inescapable longing in his heart―off the hook, however, is a whole
’nother story. Could it be that the woman of this local hero’s dreams has been
back at home all along?
Themes: Contemporary
Rating: 4.5 stars
Heat Rating: 
Review:
Donna
Grant, one of my favorite paranormal authors, has taken another shot at a
contemporary series, set in the steamy and sexy landscape of a Texas cattle
ranch and this time she scores big. Her
last foray into contemporary was not my favorite series, but I really liked
this book and can say for sure that I am removing her from the typecasting of
“paranormal author”. This series is set
on the East Ranch and revolves around the East family, focusing on the sexy
oldest son Clayton, a former Navy SEAL who has returned home to help his family
when some strange goings on leave his family in dire straits. Being home for only a short time Clayton soon
uncovers a cattle rustling operation has been eating into his family profits and
when he catches one of the rustlers red-handed is determined to see him brought
to justice, despite him being just a kid.
But when the kid’s older sister and guardian comes to bail her brother
out Clayton finds himself too intrigued to press charges, instead proposing an
alternate solution for punishment. Soon
Abby and her brothers are both pulled into the Clayton family and becoming more
and more integrated as members of the family, including the passion that is
becoming more impossible to deny between Abby and Clayton. Abby never imagined a man like Clayton would
give her the time of day, so when he pursues her, convincing her to not only
join the ranch but to give him a chance to steal her heart, how can she say
no? But then the awful truth comes out,
putting all the East family including the newest additions of Abby and her
brothers in serious danger. This story
grabbed my heart right away reminding me why I love Donna’s writing so much,
pulling me into the story and making it hard to come out to live my life in the
real world. I loved seeing Clayton come
to terms with his past with Abby’s help as well as accepting that having Abby
in his life would make staying on the family ranch forever as easy as
breathing. His skills from the navy came
in handy too, which made the story that much more fun and interesting and his
protective nature came out more than once with that sexy alpha behavior so many
of us love. Abby on the other hand was
so sweetly in denial at times that I wondered if she would ever accept that she
would be welcomed into the East family along with her brothers simply because
of the woman she was, not just because of what she could do for them. While it is definitely a departure from her
paranormal writing, this book gives us the heat, imagination, and sense of
familiarity in her heroes that makes Grant’s writing so enjoyable and I was
thrilled to have that back even without the sexy dragon shifters. I am looking forward to the next story in
this series and truly cannot wait for who might find love next as well as hoping
to see some of these characters again soon.
*ebook provided by publisher (via
netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.
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