Review: The Charmer in Chaps (Princes of Texas #1)

The Charmer in Chaps (Princes of Texas #1)

by Julia London 

Blurb:

Cimarron County knows the youngest son of the fabled Prince family as a womanizing hell-raiser, but Luca has another side to him. He intends to turn the overworked pasture land his father left him back to its natural beauty. There's just one problem—a woman with sparkling eyes and more fight than a barnyard cat is grandfathered into some acreage on his portion of Three Rivers Ranch.

After years of living in foster homes, Ella has exactly three things to her name: A dog, a pig, and the rundown house she just inherited. Luca may not remember her from high school, but she definitely remembers him. He is as seductive as he was then, but Ella isn't about to fall for his flirting—if only she could stop melting at his touch.

What begins as a game of seduction for Luca quickly turns into something more, but Ella has learned the hard way to trust no one but herself—especially when it comes to her deepest secret. Yet the closer Luca gets to Ella, the more he wants to be the one she leans on. For once, Luca is determined to do something right and give the woman he loves the home she deserves.

Themes: Contemporary

Rating: 3.25 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

A new contemporary series, set in the heat and beauty of west Texas, begins with a family in turmoil and a woman trying to find a place for herself in a world where she has always been alone.  I am a huge fan of anything with cowboys, animals, and country boys and was really looking forward to this story and while I did enjoy the story, there were a lot of times that the story drug too much for me and I found myself skipping sections.  This first in a series contains a lot of set-up to be sure, with a huge change for the Prince family that I can see will be the crucial setup for the next books in the series, but I almost wished that a lot of that had been done differently.  That being said the portions of the story that revolved directly around interactions between Luca and Ella were interesting, sweet and fun.  The romance between these two wasn’t one that sets first to the world, but instead begins as a slow burn and stays steady for years to come, providing heat and faith in an ever-changing and challenging world.  Luca Prince has lived a life of privilege, sometimes to his personal detriment, but he has decided to take a stand for his own betterment and find a way to make a real mark on the world.  I loved seeing Luca grown and change as a man even as he backslid a few times and had to work even harder to reach his goals, one of which came to include showing Ella that he was worthy of her love.  He has made a lot of mistakes in his life, but once he owns up to them and accepts that his mistakes are a part of his past that made him into the man he is, I loved him even more just as Ella did.  Ella on the other hand has struggled for every bit of happiness and achievement she has ever had in her life, so when she gets a chance at a home of her own, nothing will stand in her way, not even when other people look down on what she has been granted.  Ella has loved Luca from afar for years, but once she actually gets to know him she begins to understand that the love she thought she had was simply a girls love for the dream of a spoiled prince in a castle, but the true man draws her and shows her that true love is felt more deeply and can sometimes hurt beyond anything imaginable.  Luca is obviously lusting for Ella from the beginning and though she resists her old crush, she still feels the heat as well, but once they get to know one another then fire burns even more brightly.  It was fun to watch them circling one another, even as there was a lot going on in this book, both with them and with their family and friends, but the life-changing events they both dealt with in such a short time just proved that the love that developed between them could overcome anything if they allowed themselves to embrace those feelings. I can’t say I was overcome with need for the next story, but am looking forward to seeing the rest of the Prince’s find love themselves and see what they make of themselves now that their lives have irrevocably changed.  I still prefer Julia’s historical novels by far, by the Princes of Texas looks to be an interesting series for sure.

*ebook provided by publisher (via netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.