Spun Out (Blacktop Cowboys #10)
by Lorelei James
Blurb:
Years in the Army
equipped Bailey Masterson for many things: target shooting, rappelling off
cliffs, dodging grenades. She's lived through horrors that still give her
nightmares. But nothing in Bailey's life-or-death training prepared her for
caring for the tiny terror that is five-year-old Olivia Hale. Or how to control
her raging attraction to Olivia's father, Streeter, the rugged, green-eyed
cattle rancher who undermines her every move even when he stars in her dreams.
Streeter Hale has
room for only two things in his life: his daughter and his job. He doesn't
date. He doesn't get attached. Not anymore. So not only is Streeter stunned by
Olivia's improved behavior after just a few days with Bailey, he's downright
floored by his immediate attraction to the woman. But with secrets in her eyes
and a body that doesn't quit, Streeter begins to worry that Bailey Masterson
might just be the one woman to heal his fractured family and broken heart.
One thing's for
sure--these two wrecked souls are spinning out of control as they desperately
try not to fall in love...
Themes: Contemporary,
Cowboys
Rating: 4.5 stars
Heat Rating: 
Review:
What an interesting twist on the old story of
a single father falling in love with the nanny/babysitter… but I guess we shouldn’t
have expected that Lorelei James would write too closely to the old
tropes. The Blacktop Cowboys series
began many years ago and I have been following it from the very beginning,
enjoying the shifts and different characters in this small group of friends and
family, but I never imagined these two would find their way to one
another. Streeter is the brother of one
of the first guys in the series, Tobin, and we have seen little glimpses of him
along the way, while Bailey’s sister was also a major character in another
story. Bringing the two together is a stroke
of genius and done so organically that you never one question it. While the story certainly does carry a dark
motif that underlies the love story, one that most people would be uncomfortable
reading about in a romance, it is certainly a huge fact a life in this day and
age and should not be hidden away from as if we are all ostriches with our
heads in the sand. Streeter is doing his
best to raise his little girl, but Olivia has become a five-year-old tyrant for
certain and he is at his wits end. Bailey
is on a little break from life as she tries to decide what is next for her,
staying with her sister and helping out around the ranch and store leads her to
be in just the wrong place –or right one—at the wrong time. Years in the army never prepared her for her
newest task as the leader of a kids camp and certainly never taught her how to
deal with a damaged little girl that is slowly capturing her heart or her
father that has capture her interest in so many ways. Streeter never felt this type of connection with
any woman and when Bailey offers a chance to explore the heat between them
while she is in town he jumps at the chance to have this woman in his life and
his bed. Passionate exploration and
sensual fun become so much more as they both have to fight to keep from losing
their hearts, but it just might be a losing battle, but will the truth of their
pasts and the tragic fears for their future keep them from fighting for one
another or can they prove to one another that they are willing to put in the
time and work to have it all once and for all. Streeter’s past is filled with
drama and tragedy, but he is doing his very best to make sure that Olivia is
cared for and happy now, even though he knows she has issues. He is obviously determined to give his
daughter everything he has, even to the detriment of his own life and
happiness, but when he sees that sometimes being happy himself is the best
thing for her as well he begins to loosen up a little. I loved seeing him find his confidence and he
definitely became a sexy beast in so many ways, where before he was a bit
unsure of his steps with Bailey. I
wanted to slap him more than once for being short-sighted and unwilling to see
through his pain, but thankfully his family and friends did it for me and kept
him from making the biggest mistake of his life. Bailey is at a crossroads and the poor woman
is becoming more and more lost. She has
a lot of issues and dealing with them is something she has always done on her
own and thought she had to do so. Seeing
her come to terms with her loses and dealing with her problems was painful,
having seen someone living through something very similar in real life makes it
even harder to read about, but seeing her finally reaching out to those she
loves for assistance gave me hope and made me happy that she was sharing. I loved seeing her in action at the kids’
camp and finding a bit of happiness with her family and friends, but the best
times were the quiet times she spent with Streeter and even Olivia as they
became a unit and learned their way into their future. I am looking forward to
seeing where this series goes next and what lovers we see fall next because James
has a way of making her cowboys so sexy and sweet that you wonder why you can’t
find one of your very own.
*ebook provided by publisher (via
NetGalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.
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