Reclusive. Grumpy. Irresistible.Dr Jake McBride loves two things in life. His people, and chicken cheesy-crust pies. Returning from Iraq, he’s done with medicine and strangers… in fact life. He knows all about trauma, and plans on dealing with his, his own way. His needs are simple, solitude and working on his new career as the town recluse. The only problem with that… well two actually, are the … well two actually, are the interfering towns folk of Lake Howling, and Branna O’Donnell. He’s damn sure that her return means nothing to him… until it does!
His first mistake was kissing her. His second was doing it again.
Branna O’Donnell is burnt out and needs a place to stop running. Strange how that place is back where she’d once been happy. Settling in to small town life again comes with complications and the biggest has a serious attitude. Once the town golden boy, Jake McBride now wears a permanent snarl, not that anyone but her seems to notice the sexy doctor has changed.
Sharing a bed complicates things but no way is Jake leaving Branna alone until they find who is threatening her, and even then he’s not sure he’ll be able to walk away. He can feel himself changing, and it’s all on her, but when her past comes calling with it comes the realization that more than lust is involved. He’s not sure he can be her hero but he knows he wants to try.
If you enjoy your small town romance sizzling with a side of crazy, then Lake Howling is for you. Meet the real authority in town – the local book club – and Jake’s interfering hot friends. Swim (or skinny dip!) in the ice cold lake, then warm up with coffee and a mystery muffin at The Hoot Café. Plenty of feels and LOLS, all wrapped up in a town that will have you packing your bags to head there, from the very first page.
BOOKS IN THIS SERIES
A Promise Of Home
The Texan Meets His Match
How Sweet It Is
It Only Took You
Don’t Look Back
A Long Way Home
Then Came You
Faith and the Rock Star
more
I loved this small-town romance. Both hero and heroine had plenty of baggage to work through to get to their well-deserved happiness. An excellent read.
Steamy and Emotional
If you like small-town romances with a touch of mystery, you’ll love this book. This is Branna and Jake’s story and it’s an emotional one. They both have a lot of baggage and some trauma in their past. He was a medical doctor who gave up medicine after a bad experience in Iraq. All he wants is solitude and a simple life. She lost her Mom at a young age and was emotionally abandoned by her grief-stricken father. She decides to move back home when her friend Georgie leaves her home to her and it just happens to be next door to Jake. Just like Jake, all she wants is solitude. Sometimes fate brings two people back together. their back and forth banter was hilarious at times. There are some strong secondary characters as well and they add some mystery to the mix. The storyline is well written and entertaining. The characters are strong, well-developed, and likable. Be warned there’s a lot of four-letter language. Steamy and guaranteed to set your Kindle on fire.
Branna returns to Lake Howling to claim her inheritance from her best friend, mentor, and substitute mother. Branna is knocked down by a boy on a bicycle and injured, but she won’t admit to how badly she is hurt as she heads to her new home. Her lawyer’s secretary runs into hometown hero, Jake McBride and guilts him into checking in on Branna on his way home. Jake is veteran and former doctor who suffers from severe flash backs and cannot work as a doctor any more. He does recognize how severe Branna’s injuries are and he drags her to see his mom. Jake can also recognize Branna’s extreme fear, but knows that having his mom treat her is the best thing for Branna.
Branna is used to being alone and having only herself to rely on, but the longer she stays in Lake Howling the more she starts gathering people around her only Jake isn’t sure that Branna sees that. Soon it becomes clear that someone is trying to either scare Branna off or get rid of her permanently. Branna’s estranged father shows up, an old enemy becomes a new friend, an old friend becomes a better friend and a kindred spirit is found in a little neighbor boy.
Read the book and see if Branna and Jake can help each other heal and form a relationship, see if Branna can reconcile with her father and see if she can help the little neighbor boy.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own
Thoroughly enjoyed this and I don’t often read contemporary!
Characters full of depth. A steamy romance. Family drama. And enough suspense to keep your heart in your throat. This is not only a great romance but a page-turner as well. I could hardly put it down. As soon as I put it away, I wanted to pick it back up and read it again. I love a romance that can also make me care about what ELSE is happening in the character’s lives.
This book is a keeper. Strong characters and good story flow. The plot centers on an Irish woman who moves back to her high school home. Definitely a story to be re-read time and again.
I really enjoyed this book (except for the excessive use of the “f” word) which is offensive to me, so I would have to skip paragraphs. Also i could have done without the sexual situations, which I also skipped.
What a sweet book and I’m now looking into reading the rest of the series. This is the first in the series and follows two damaged souls to their HEA. Jake is an Army doctor who has decided to stop practicing medicine because of the things he’s seen during the war. Branna is his old school mate who returns because she is bequeathed a house by her friend. Both gravitate towards each other but can they overcome their issues? I liked how the book actually ended up expanding out to include more about the characters in the small town but even though it was the first in the series, it didn’t draw it out to much to make the book plodding. I overall liked the characters although I felt like there were times when their feelings and overall representation didn’t feel genuine to the story. Overall, a great intro to the author and the narrator, Heather Prince. She did a great job and while I always prefer a dual narration, she did pretty well playing all the different characters.
Great book
Home is where your heart is…
Branna O’Donnell has returned to Lake Howling, Oregon to live in the house she inherited from her dear friend and mentor, Georgie. It was the one place she felt loved after the death of her mother and the alienation from her father when she was a teenager. Branna wants peace and quiet but her wish for anonymity is impossible in the small town where residents still remember her as a teen and want to bring her back into their small town ‘family’.
An encounter with a bicycle brings Jack McBride back into her life. He was her high school crush and he is even better looking now that he is in a man’s body, but Jack is no longer the friendly, caring guy she used to know but is now as anti-social as she is. Something drastic must have happened in his life to change him so profoundly and make him walk away from his career as a doctor to become an auto mechanic.
The storyline has some beautiful love scenes along with mystery and action. Wendy Vella has created characters with interactions that are believable and the subjects the story deals with are realistic. I received a free copy but my review is honest and voluntary.
A lovely story with complicated characters in the kind of small town I’d love to visit (or move to!).
Branna O’Donnell has no clue as to why she’s inherited a friend’s house. But being back in Howling give her that feeling of belonging that she has craved for. Running into dreamboat Jake brings back all of the lost feelings of family she loved during high school. That both she and Jake are haunted by their traumatic past histories serves as a way for them each to find a love that only Howling can offer. Ms Vella has a smooth delivery with her story and her character’s dark past only serves to intrigue a reader’s interest further. Very enjoyable book!
I loved this book and cant wait to read more in the series. The characters were real and the town and people made me want to visit. Characters had some baggage but don’t we all. Learn how to deal with problems and let people into your life. Enough suspense to not want to put down my IPad. Looking forward to reading more about Annabelle and her future.
This is the beginning of an amazing series where the characters are well-rounded and love conquers all problems.
Great story of two confused and wounded souls finding peace, purpose and love in a small town. Entertaining characters, surprise happening towards end of story and happily ever after for all.
Small town romance. Good story. Would give it 5 stars except too much explicit sex.
I love these characters so much I have now read the whole series and I’m ready for more! Lake Howling is a paradise I would love to live in.
Good story and believable
So well written, I feel like I know these people, but I also want to live in that town.
Really enjoyed the characters in this book. I will recommend this as a great read