From bachelor to daddy… Shepherd’s Crossing is full of surprises Cowboy bachelor Jace Middleton was ready to leave Shepherd’s Crossing for good–until he learns his family’s unspoken secrets. Now Jace finds himself not only caring for his twin baby nieces, but working with beautiful, strong-willed designer Melonie Fitzgerald to renovate his grandmother’s run-down estate. Love wasn’t part of … Love wasn’t part of the plan…but Jace soon finds himself wishing Melonie could become part of his unexpected family.
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What wonderful Character. A book I could not put down.
I think what I liked most about this book was the fact that Jace was willing to set all his plans aside and take in his two little twin nieces who needed a home. Up until recently he didn’t even know they existed. In fact he also learned that the two people he thought were his parents were really his adoptive parents. He also learned he had a sister that was the twins mother and a grandmother ,who was a rich old lady he vaguely knew.
He agreed to give the twins a home although he knew nothing about babies. He was a cowboy and ranch hand who suddenly had to make a major adjustment in his life. He ordered 3 books about raising children and decided to do the best he could for the girls.
Jace had been hurt when his bride to be had left him at the alter so she could advance her career. He swore never to be involved with a career woman again. It didn’t help when the beautiful Melonie showed up at his house asking directions to his best friend’s ranch . She did extreme makeovers on old homes and his grandmother had hired both Melonie and Jace to renovate her house. Though attracted to Melonie he tried his best to hide his feelings because she just wasn’t the kind of woman he thought he needed in his life.
Will he be able to complete this project on his grandmother’s home and keep his feelings neutral towards Melonie? Will he be able to find the babies mother and get her to sign over legal guardianship of the twins to him?
All readers who enjoy reading the Love Inspired books will like this story. It’s Christian Fiction and clean read. I recommend it.
A friend recommended A Cowboy in Shepherd’s Crossing to me. I was not asked to review it. All opinions shared here are my own.
Excellent read by author Ruth Logan Herne from Love Inspired, Harlequin Books.
Jace Middleton, a confirmed bachelor, is out of work and out of patience. He’s leaving Shepherd’s Crossing for good.
Next thing he knows he has more work than he can keep up with; what with his grandmother contracting his services to renovate his run down home, and the surprise arrival of twin identical baby girls, his nieces. Now instead of trying to sell his family home, he decides to fix it up to give the girls a stable and loving home.
Melonie Fitzgerald is a designer who has come home for her sister’s wedding. When Jace and Melonie team up to design updates to his family home, along with his grandmother’s large dilapidated house, sparks begin to fly.
I highly recommend A Cowboy in Shepherd’s Crossing.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Just Read Tours and am not required to provide a positive review. All thoughts and opinions therein are solely my own.
Ruth Logan Herne writes such wonderful stories. They are so heartfelt! I loved going back to Shepherd’s Crossing – this time for Jace and Melonie’s story. But don’t worry if you haven’t read the first one, this reads well as a stand-alone.
I really liked Melonie. She was warm, kind, and thoughtful, yet strong and able to stand up for herself and what she believed. I also liked Jace. He had a lot thrown at him in a little time and he accepted everything with grace. I love how their romance blossomed and the dancing scenes- sigh! The twins were so fun! Ruth did a great job at giving them distinct personalities.
When I read Ruth’s stories, I can just feel her love of children shining through. I’m looking forward to the next story based in Shepherd’s Crossing!
3.5 stars.
Ruth Logan Herne has created a charming and somewhat dilapidated small town in Shepherd’s Crossing, Idaho, where people have known each other their whole lives but secrets that have been hidden quite well surface quite quickly. This book is book 2 in the series; I did not read book 1 and wish I had before picking up this story. There are secondary characters whose backstories I’m sure were explained in the first book. And the number of secondary characters and their pasts which weren’t so clear in this book got me a bit confused. Nevertheless the book is well-written with a very real faith lesson of forgiveness ingrained into the plot.
The characters of Melonie and Jace have pasts that they have a hard time grappling with but learn what forgiveness and sacrificial love mean.
I was given a copy of this book via JustRead Publicity Tours and was under no obligation to publish a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
When Jace receives news that shakes the foundation of everything he’s known about his family his entire life, his plans to leave town grind to a halt. With the help of newly arrived Melonie Fitzgerald, Jace accepts a job for his grandmother, renovates his family home, and learns the stresses and joys of fatherhood in a matter of days.
The moments with the babies are precious and sweet while some of the cluelessness from a few of the adults adds some humor to the situation. And Jace and Melonie? Well, the moments when they give into their attraction made me sigh (just you wait until they dance!) and the rest of the of the time, when they think they know what’s best for the other made me wish I could growl at them a little.
While not crucial to the overall story, I would have liked some more details as to why Melonie was committing to spending a year in Shepherd’s Crossing. I’m sure the details were given in the first book, which I missed, so felt a little on the outside of the situation in a couple places.
Overall, Ruth Logan Herne welcomes readers into this story like family, inviting them to ranch and all of its chaos and warmth. Now I’m ready to find out more about sister number three (and heading back to read sister number one’s story too)
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
While this story had an interesting plot and definitely a fun, small-town ranch setting, I struggled to connect with the characters. It may be because this is the second book in the series. I did feel as if I was jumping in to a defined family dynamic and had to play catch up to determine who the players were.
I have enjoyed this author’s books in the past and definitely plan to read other books from her in the future, but for some reason A Cowboy in Shepherd’s Crossing fell flat for me. I was happy that things worked out for all parties involved by the end of the story, and the sweet twin babies added some cute scenes. But, I just could not get invested in this story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
A dying town. Injured heart. A chance for love
Life changed dramatically for Jace when the town eccentric revealed a long-hidden secret and he ended up caring for his twin baby nieces.
When Jace found out that he had been adopted, he assumed the worst – that his natural parents didn’t love him, and that his grandmother had rejected him for the color of his skin. Melonie had a terrible accident when she was a child and always felt that her father blamed her. I enjoyed the way the two had to work past assumptions they had made and learned to accept the truth that was being spoken.
The adorable babies added an “aww” element to the story. Neither Jace nor Melonie knew much of anything about babies so there were some fun expectations and dialog related to that. The way they both fell deeply in love with the twin girls was super sweet.
The story was complete and yet I felt that a few of the issues weren’t resolved. It was also clear in reading this that it was not the first book of the series. A number of things that were assumed. Not necessarily things that were critical to the enjoyment and understanding of the events, yet I felt a little like the new kid at a school everyone had attended all their lives. So do yourself a favor and read the first book of the series before you read this one.
Read with a Preview at AmongTheReads.net
I was given a copy of this book for free. I was not required to give a favorable review nor was any money received for this review. All comments and opinions are my own.
Ruth Logan Herne crafted another realistic story that is filled with characters facing unexpected challenges, cultural diversity, and shocking news that rocked their lives. Jace Middleton and Melonie Fitzgerald had made plans for their future but with the twist of events they found they had to turn their personal plans over to what God had in His will for them. Discover the precious gems of hope, trust, love, faith, grace and peace as these three dimensional characters did in this heartfelt touching story as they surrendered to God’s will and found forgiveness for the hurtful pain.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. I was not required to write a positive review but have expressed my sincere thoughts.
‘It takes a lot more than providing food and shelter to be a parent.’
Ruth Logan Herne takes her readers back to Shepherd’s Crossing in this second book in the series. Jace Middleton, a cowboy on a ranch there, is getting ready to leave Shepherd’s Crossing for good. Then he is completely blindsided by a family secret. A HUGE family secret. Suddenly his plans have just went sideways and he must plan a new future. And he finds himself having to work alongside a very strong willed designer, Melonie Fitzgerald to renovate his grandmother’s falling down home. And Melonie has some scars of her own.
Ruth Logan Herne writes in her characteristic shoot from the heart style in this one, as she does in all her books. Family is not something we get to choose. Sometimes we have to make a family out of what is handed to us. There is enough love to go around in this offering from Herne’s caring pen. Don’t miss this one.
*My thanks to the author for a preview copy of this book. The opinions stated here are entirely my own.
I honestly don’t know how Herne continually writes the kind of fiction that hits the reader right in the gut! Not only does she tackle cultural diversity in this story but familial as well. Both Jace & Melonie have the rugs pulled right out from underneath them and their worlds turned completely upside down. When a shocking truth comes to light, Jace finds himself an instant father to his young nieces he never knew existed. That’s enough to bring any man to his knees! However, he cowboys up and does what needs doing for the sake of little Ava & Annie. Melonie too, finds herself in Shepherd’s crossing on a ranch she never knew existed, willed to her and her sisters by her late uncle Chet. On the verge of a lucrative career that would have set her for life, she must now learn to live a different dream…or at least for the next year. When life gets its messiest, can these two not only learn to lean on God for strength but also work together for the same goal and possibly a more fulfilling future? One that they never seen coming?
This story encourages me that when life get tough, the tough get going; with the help of the Lord of course! I really enjoyed watching Jace and Melonie deal with the blows life hands them. They realize that even though things are at the roughest, they can rely on each other, lean on family & friends, and put it all into the Lord’s hands who guides them. For me, it was a hard read because it deals with a subject that’s all too real in my life right now. I’ve had the same hard questions Jace did in my mind, and the inner battle with wanting to do the right thing even when it’s not the easiest. One thing I can say for Herne’s stories, she gives me HOPE every single time through the lives of her characters! This book came at just the right time in my own life and encourages me to keep on keeping on, to lean on the One who holds my life in His capable hands, and let others in to help when the burden gets too much.
If you want an emotional read undercoated with hope, love and faith…look no further than “A Cowboy In Shepherd’s Crossing”!
*I received a complimentary copy from the author and was under no obligation to leave a positive review. *