Gayle Kaye

Kiss That Cowboy - Gayle Kaye 3*

Kiss That Cowboy!
And hug him twice...

Candy, er...Candace Porter, a hotshot magazine writer, is out to prove that the image of the sexy irresistible cowboy is just hype with no basis in reality. But as Candy finds out, Tanner Carson sure is real -- all six feet of the hunky, loyal, straight-talkin' Texas cowboy. He's a horse rancher who's out to tame a pretty filly from Manhattan. But as East meets West in the toughest battle of wills the great state has ever seen, will Candy and Tanner find enough middle ground to let true love win out?

Cute story about two people who are very different finding their way past their own prejudices to be together. Candace is a magazine writer from Connecticut who has gone to Texas to write an article about the cowboy mystique. She believes it is a bunch of hooey and is determined to prove it. She's also very down on men, having been jilted recently by her fiancé. The story opens with her sitting in a cowboy bar, watching the people. As expected, not one of the cowboys produces so much as a flutter in her pulse. That is until she lays eyes on Tanner.

Tanner is a local rancher, just out for an evening of relaxation. His eyes are drawn to the woman in the pink cowboy boots, sipping a glass of wine. That tells him right there that she's an outsider, but that doesn't stop him from looking. Or asking her to dance. He had a bit of fun flirting and teasing her, but giving in to the attraction would be a bad idea. He'd been there and done that with a city woman and still had the scars to show for it.

Candace doesn't expect to see him again, but of course, she does. Accompanying her friend Darcy, the vet, she ends up at Tanner's ranch. It was funny to see Darcy trying to shove these two people together. Tanner finds himself disregarding his better judgment and trying to talk Candace into going out with him. Candace tries to resist, sensing that Tanner is going to throw a monkey wrench into her research for her article.

Candace was the stereotypical city slicker. Afraid of horses, disturbed by the bull riding at the rodeo, and believing that city life is the best life. She gets herself into a couple of amusing predicaments, from which Tanner rescues her. Spending time with him opens her eyes to some of the good qualities that can be found in a cowboy, and suddenly her article isn't looking like such a sure thing.

Tanner is the quintessential cowboy. He's charming, considerate, and protective. He's worked hard to establish his ranch. His softer side is highlighted by his care for his horses, and I loved seeing him with the new foals.

I liked the development of Tanner and Candace's relationship. There was no doubt of the attraction that flared between them from the beginning, but both had been hurt in the past, and they were wary of getting involved. It was fun to see Candace push back some of her fears when she thought Tanner needed help, and I liked Tanner's surprise when she did so. Candace was dismayed when she realized she was falling for him, especially since she hadn't been honest with him about why she was there. I ached for Tanner when he did find out, as it left him feeling even more betrayed than the last time. I also ached for Candace, who loved him but still believed that she didn't belong there. I liked Tanner's big moment at the end as he laid his heart on the line for her. The epilogue was pretty cute too.

How the Sheriff was Won - Anne Gracie 4*

The Wild West is about to get a little more wild!

One year. That's how long Jassie McQuilty has to stay in Bear Claw, Montana, before she can sell her great-uncle's newspaper. So while she's here, she might as well have some fun! When she literally runs into Sheriff John T. Stone, he has the word fling written all over him. He also doesn't want anything to do with Jassie or her big-city ideas. He was burned once by a woman, and doesn't plan on going through that again. But Jassie's determined to get her man!

Fun story. Jassie is a big city journalist who has inherited a small town newspaper from a previously unknown relative. But to claim the inheritance, she has to stay and run the newspaper for a year. She's not happy about being stuck out in the sticks for a year, but figures that she'll take her friend's advice and find someone to have a fling with. She's not looking for anything serious, having just been burned in a relationship, but some male companionship would be nice.

John T. Stone has been sheriff of Bear Claw for five years. He came to Bear Claw after being a cop in both Chicago and New York. He's been chased by just about every single female in the area, but he isn't interested. After finding out his wife had been having an affair with his partner, he isn't going there again.

The sparks fly between John T and Jassie from the moment they met when she literally fell into his arms. His reputation for avoiding commitments (I laughed out loud at the conversation between Jassie and Don about floozies) makes him the perfect subject for her fling, so she sets out to pursue him with single-minded focus. Meanwhile, John T is sick of being the focus of all those marriage-minded women. Unfortunately, his resistance to Jassie is pretty low, thanks to the attraction he feels for her. I had a great time seeing the lengths that Jassie went to to get John T's attention, and those he used to avoid her. I loved the scene of Jassie's first night in Bear Claw, and her attempts to come on to the sheriff when he thought she was a burglar in the newspaper office. There were also some pretty hilarious scenes involving donuts and vegetarian meals. Some of Jassie's stunts were a bit on the juvenile side (the robbery article in the newspaper, and its follow-ons) but I laughed out loud anyway. But she also showed a much different side the night of the bus accident. John T's resistance was pretty effective until that night, but his fears couldn't stand up to his protectiveness and admiration. I ached for both of them, especially John T, because he realized that he had fallen for her and her reaction was not what he'd hoped. I did like Jassie's big moment when she realized what her feelings really were, and her creative way of showing John T.… (mer)