She doesn’t need a man But she could use a friend When the new director of security, Nick West, arrives at Gallant Lake Resort, Cassie Smith’s carefully protected life is turned upside down. The handsome ex-cop insists on teaching her self-defense, and as Cassie learns she can indeed make it on her own, she starts wondering if she wants to! But when Cassie’s safety is threatened, she must … threatened, she must choose: continue running from her past…or take a stand for a brighter future.
more
Jo McNally’s A Man You Can Trust is a heartwarming story about two people wanting a new life in Gallant Lakes. Nick West, an ex-cop, realizes that someone had hurt Cassie and teaches her self-defense. Cassie Smith just wants to be left alone, but at Nick’s insistence, she grudgingly accepts his offer. The lessons give back her self-confidence. She learns to trust a man again. As their friendship turns into love, Nick must let go of his painful past to move forward or lose Cassie. Cassie must choose between running or staying if she want a future with Nick.
I really enjoyed this romance. I bought this at a local store. I voluntarily chose to review this and I’ve given it a 4.5* rating. This is between 2 broken souls who seem to heal each other. Lots of little turns and twists to keep things interesting and made me turn the pages. Not for the under 18 readers.
A very nice sweet romance that actually deals with a serious realistic subject matter . Cassie and Nick must learn to trust each other while on the job and around their community of friends . It’s a quick read & you’ll be rooting for them from the first page! Love Jo’s books !
Nick West comes to Gallant Lake as the head of security at the resort. Cassie is the executive assistant to the owner at the resort. Both have come to Gallant Lake for a fresh start. Nick helps Cassie learn not all men are like her ex. The characters are relatable and the story flows effortlessly. You have moments that make you laugh out loud and make your heart smile.
Where is Gallant Lake? Who is Cassie Smith? Who is Cassidy Zettecci or Nick West? Nick happens to be one of my favorite male heroes I think. How and why does he get an idea of what is going on with Cassie? Who are Blake, Amanda, Nora, Mel, Cathy, and Don? How do they all know one another? What does Nick do to help Cassie? What happens when he finds out exactly what is going on? What happens that causes her to run? Where does she go? Read and see! ** I said this was realistic because you truly see these sorts of things happen in real life. **
RECEIVED THIS BOOK AS A GIFT FOR A FAIR/HONEST REVIEW and REVIEWER FOR Bloggin’ With M. Brennan.
I love Ms. McNallys books: Cassandra is a victim of a terrible crime and as moved to Gallant Lake, a small resort town. She running away from her ex-husband. When she meets Nick the new man responsible for resort security. Her boss wants her to show him around. One run with him sets her nerves him, and things get a little bizarre between them. He feels like she needs help so he offers to help teach her self defense. She doesn’t tell him much, but just that something happened to her.
Nick has come to Gallant Lake to Escape what happened to him on LA. He was a cop, and things went south one night. He’s seen enough victims and being around Cassandra changes something inside him. Soon there spending time together outside of work. But when he learns what really happened to her things get tense between them.
Cassandra and Nick have a mutual attraction toward one another and both have baggage.
Can they work the secrets she holds, or will it be a problem?
Thank you Harlequin for an ARC of the book.
I enjoyed this book, but at times I didn’t care for either main character. They were different in so many ways and pushed each other. They both have their baggage that they need to work through, some pretty heavy baggage! Can they overcome it?
This for me was an almost perfect book and that’s the reason for the four-star review. You’ve got a great story line, wonderful characters, and a beautiful setting. Cassie has fled her life and gone into hiding. She left her husband, finally, after he tried to push her down the stairs. This wasn’t her first domestic assault by him, but she was going to make sure it was the last. Normally, one would be able to go to the police and the courts with this kind of problem, but her husband happens to be a respected officer, so when it went to court, things happened with the evidence and a mistrial was called. In order to protect herself, she fled. After she set up a life, her husband found her, so she fled again. This time, she ended up in Gallant Lake, working at a resort. Nick has fled his job as a police officer after his partner was killed by a shot gun blast to the back from a man who had been arrested previously for domestic violence. He blamed himself, and in doing so, he felt that everyone else involved (from his partners widow, to fellow officers) blamed him as well. Nick has also ended up at Gallant Lake, as the new head of security.
Nick and Cassie are great together in my opinion. They work well as a couple and they work well together at work. As they get to know each other, they bring out the best in the other. I enjoyed the story, I enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed the writing. I think for me though, if you’re going to have suspense in a story, please make it suspenseful. I wanted the thrum one gets when reading the suspense parts, and it was lacking her. It was basically phoned in (when you read the story, you’ll understand). That’s the reason for only four stars for me. I did read it in one sitting, it is a fast paced story that will draw you in.
*I received an ARC of this story from Netgalley and this is my honest and voluntary review
“A Man You Can Trust” by Jo McNally is book one of the Gallant Lake Stories.
Cassie Smith is in Gallant Lake hiding from a tumultuous past, while Nick West is there for a new beginning.
Unfortunately, I could not connect to this story. In my opinion, the focus seems to be more on Cassie than Nick. I prefer a balance between both the hero and heroine and would have liked to have seen more depth in Nick’s character.
However, Ms. McNally does tackle a serious topic in her first book for the Special Edition line.
A heartfelt story of the consequences of domestic violence, the ripple effects it can have in the community, and how learning to live again is possible if a long and difficult journey for all involved.
There is this wholesome, solid vibe in the tale, the small community it is located in, and the people in the center of it. I loved the meddling friends and family, their support and loyalty, their curiosity and cheerful spirits.
Cassie Smith is a capable, smart, and sassy as she comes out of her protective shell she was forced to built to protect herself. She has secrets and for reasons is shying away from people, but the new man in the resort is not allowing her to hide, and the sparks are flying, all possible kinds.
I liked the energy and connection between Cassie and Nick, there was a fragile attraction but even more than that, there was a genuine friendship building in between them, no matter how much they fought against it. Nick is loud, funny, friendly, and outdoorsy, everything opposite to Cassie, yet they find a way to compromise, and learn to spread their interest as they dare to new challenges.
This was a sweet story about healing and finding your way again, finding your strength after being shattered. It has lessons of learning to forgive yourself, letting your past be history, instead of constant present hinderance of joy and love in your life.
An engaging and inspiring tale of life and love
~ Four Spoons