His Wranglers fit him like a glove. A really tight, leaving nothing to the imagination, glove. Codie wants nothing more than to shove that Wrangler-covered butt straight into the mud.Ace Valentine has a smart mouth, a devil-may-care attitude, and those wicked eyes aimed directly at her.She doesn’t know what to do with that kind of attention. Especially not from the sweet-talking man that has no … sweet-talking man that has no problem charming every woman that enters his orbit—everyone but her, at least.
Ace isn’t sure why Codie Spears had her panties in a twist when it comes to him, but every snub and insult she hurls his way brings him closer and closer to falling for her.
He’s not sure what it is about the town’s bad girl that draws his attention, but every encounter they have leaves him wanting her until there’s nothing else left to do but have her.
The only thing is, she’s been convinced by everyone around her that she’s not good enough. Tell a person that she’s a piece of trash enough times, and eventually she’ll start to believe it. It’s going to take a lot of smooth-talking and gentling on his part to get her to see that she’s worth it. And once he has her where he wants her? Well, she’ll make a mighty fine rancher’s wife.
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Love this series from Lani. The cowboys are super fun 🙂 The book is very funny and very easy to read. The story line are all so good. (I read the first 2)
Codie returns to Kilgore, Tx to her home to take care of her grandfather. Codie was a troubled teen
and had built a bad rep. Ace Valentine, had a hard life surviving horrific odds with all of his siblings.
They meet at a cattle sale and the story of their relationship starts there. Codie is attracted to Ace
but he is not interested. The fun starts when Codie buys a bull at the auction. The attraction between
the two is felt by both but Codie fights it feeling she is not good enough for Ace. Ace Valentine,
falls for Codie and becomes her protector. Codie is still an outcast in a small town but she has
fought her way back to a new life with a college degree and 3 years working in Dallas. Ace and his
siblings turn their life around taking care of a ranch and each other. It was a short sweet read
with Ace Valentine getting the life he wanted and deserved.
Codie and Ace were just so sweet and perfect together. I really can’t get enough of them.
I had all these ideas of what I was expecting as I went into this book and they were totally turned on their head. I thought Codie was going to be a little bit fragile and delicate but I was really happy to discover she was such a strong, determined heroine. She just completely took names and kicked butt.
Ace was just perfection in a pair of wranglers. He had such a tragic backstory but he was so together and working to provide everyone he loved with a better future. And once he set his sights on Codie he claimed her and didn’t look back. I absolutely loved him.
These two were perfect together and I am really excited about the fact that there’s a whole series of these Valentine siblings. And even better is that the next one is Codie’s best friend Desi. So I am praying we continue to get a whole heap of the sweetness of Ace and Codie.
First one in this series and if this one is an sign this is going to be quite the series. Ace Valentine is quite the family man. He is trying to keep the ranch going and take care of his brothers. He runs into his neighbor Codie. Codie has quite the past in this town and she doesn’t want to relive it. But some things never change. Ace wants to get to know her better but he also has a past. Will these two be able to work past what is haunting them and work on what is in front of them? I absolutely loved these two. There are some tender moments, some laughing out loud moments. I absolutely love Lani’s books. She draws you in with her plots, storylines and characters. She makes each book so unique that you cant help but love each one. I cant wait to read the rest in this series. A great beginning to what I sure will be a great series with some hot cowboys.
When Codie Spears returns to town to help her ailing grandfather, she questions at times if she made the right decision. Codie is trying her best but when he asks her to tow her prized bull to an event, she finds herself getting help from Ace Valentine. Ace is all the things she should stay away from but after an eventful day she finds herself forming a friendship that might just lead to something more.
Ace is a bit of a hermit but he has worked hard to earn the respect of the town. When Codie needs some help, Ace offers her the help she needs. He didn’t expect to fall but he has and he plans to show Codie she is the one for him.
This had a lot more to the story, particularly the back stories for both Ace and Codie. I loved this one, a new series that is different from the authors other books. You can just picture Codie, she is a spitfire and a new favorite character of mine. A perfect way to start the series.
I’ve only recently started to read this author and in the past couple of years, I’ve had a feast. Now I feel like I know her style and her characters and feel quite knowledgeable. In Kilgore, Texas, I’m happy to say I’ve read about the Kilgore PD special motorcycle squad, the SWAT team and now we’ve entered into the farming realm, with the Valentine boys. Although, the heroine Codie Spears is a crime scene analyst, so we can now add CSI to the list of categories in the books!
Codie was living in Dallas and moved to Kilgore to help her grandfather who had a heart attack. Helping him brought her into contact with Ace Valentine and you could say she was struck dumb by his behind:
“He was wearing a white t-shirt tucked into a pair of dark-washed tight—and by tight, I mean so tight I bet he had to jump and shimmy to get into them—jeans that were on the closest side to ‘snug’ as you could get.”
Thinking that the front couldn’t be as good as the front, she was struck dumb again when he turned, since he was gorgeous and big, as in over a foot taller than her. He helped her out, and as they spent some time together, he was attracted to this little spitfire with attitude and weird likes.
Both Ace and Codie have past issues and I loved how they meshed and fixed each other up. Ace lived through a horrific event in his youth and he’s really f-up. As in, he and his brothers are f-up and they will always be that way because there’s no way to forget what they lived. So they don’t need someone to try to “fix” them or pity them. Better to shy away from relations so they won’t end up disappointed. However, with Codie he found not only acceptance but admiration and support. She fixed the parts of him that could be fixed and had him smiling and looking forward to the future.
Codie used to be a terrorist during her teens, living in Kilgore. So much so, that her parents left town with her. Living in Dallas, she turned her life, got into university, studied criminal justice and was working at her ideal job as a crime scene analyst until her grandfather got ill. She still has the bad reputation she gained way back when and some of the residents trash talk her. She feels like she’s trash but Ace soon puts an end to this.
“And for anyone else wanting to know, I love Codie Spears, and she’s moving in with me,” Ace declared loudly. “And I don’t fucking care if y’all think she’s a troublemaker. She’s my troublemaker.”
I felt like Codie and Ace moved pretty fast from meeting to falling in love and even faster into moving together, but I figured that once Ace found a woman who accepts him, doesn’t try to fix him, helps him where he needs, he needed to grab her and not let go. He was rushing Codie and poor Codie didn’t know what hit her.
As with all LLV stories, I love the characters, who may be broken and f-up, but they are wonderful persons who fix each other up. I loved the rest of the cast of characters except for Marie who is the mean girl in this issue. It was entertaining, there’s a bull called Scooby who is responsible for getting Ace and Codie together, and later on there will be chickens, and longhorns. I just love the ambience of good will and support that transpires in these stories, and love how these characters fall for each other and accept their weirdness or quirks and consider them perfect. I think we’ll have a grand time with the rest of the Valentine boys and their close friends Jensen, Cold and Remy.
Sexy, funny, amazing characters to boot!
Do you love a story where broken people discover they are not as broken as they thought? Do you love stories where an individual’s fear does not get in the way of their passions? Well, welcome to “Herd That, Book One of the Valentine Boys”. With Lani Lynn Vale writing the story just know you are always in for a treat, along with lots of laughter and hotness.
Ace is the older of a hodge-podge of brothers that are still reeling from past trauma that scarred their lives. But Ace is also the alpha male that knows what keeps a family together. Strong, but broken, he is fighting demons that haunt him daily.
Codie is strong where it counts. She recognizes where her skills lie and admits where they don’t. Headstrong might be a word you could use for her, but smart also goes with that description.
Lani Lynn seems to love that Kilgore area and these characters fit the region well. Farms, ranches, wide open country, hard work are definitely attributes of the area. Of course what good is all that without romance from time to time. Opposites attract, but what if that attraction was there all the while. With this story you definitely will feel the heat between Ace and Codie, just like you can feel the hot weather in East Texas during the summer.
Great Job Lani Lynn Vale!
I love Lani Lynn’s books. Mainly, because I never feel as though I am reading a book. I feel as though I am in the midst of reality. Her characters are not always grammatically correct, they aren’t a caricature of what we think they should be. They are real!
Codie and Ace. The tragedy they have both suffered could/should make them angry and bitter. But what they do is cope. As we all have had to cope with issues in our lives. They each have their demons, but they learn to depend on each other. Codie is a city girl and Ace is a country boy. She needs him, and he needs her. Together they weather their storms with humor, determination, sexiness, and honesty.
I can’t wait for the rest of the Valentine boys and their stories because once again I know Lani is gonna bring the real!
And once again Lani Lynn Vale does not disappoint!! I absolutely love Ace and Codie’s story!!
I’m not a huge fan of the cowboy trope but this was a very enjoyable read.
Loved that Codie came home knowing she wouldn’t be happy but did it for her grandfather.
Ace may have thought he was broken but he didn’t close himself off when he met Codie. And their connection came through beautifully.
Thoroughly enjoyed seeing the SWAT team and always love seeing Luke.
We had the requisite mean girl that gets what’s coming to her and I adored the Valentine brothers.
Herd That by Lani Lynn Vale is the first book in her brand new series The Valentine Boys . Set in the outskirts of small town of Kilgore, Texas this series is ALL about the Valentine brothers. We met the Valentine sister, Georgia, in Nico’s book, Double Tap part of the Code 11-KPD SWAT series. As such, we get some more glimpses into Nico & Georgia’s HEA (swoon). But the VALENTINE BROTHERS – PHEW!!! Talk about good looking, full of personality, and totally ready for their own stories!
Ace Valentine and Codie Spears may have grown up in the same town but with him being a couple of years ahead of her in school and his family tragedy and her rebellious teen actions they never really met until the day she had to take her grandpa’s cattle to auction. Both suffering from preconceived notions of the other they quickly find their assumptions are wrong.
Codie is attracted to Ace – for sure – but doesn’t feel worthy of his attention. With everything she got into in high school her reputation precedes her as “trash”. Ace is pleasantly surprised by the firecracker five foot tall beauty that is Codie and is quite sure from day one that he will make her his. Convincing her of this without scaring her off is a completely different story.
For a Lani Lynn Vale book, this was mostly drama and danger free. The story was still insta-love but had a slower build to it. It was a pleasant change of pace from her Swat and PD books and I look forward to more of the Valentine boys in this format. Enjoy!
Whenever I can pick up another book by Lani Lynn Vale I get so happy. I’ve been looking forward to The Valentine Boys Series ever since it was announced! I finished Herd That in one sitting and I enjoyed this story!
Ace and Codie’s journey was filled with blushworthy, funny, and unexpected moments throughout. I liked getting to dig deeper with these two and that I felt so many different things with them.
I so enjoyed what the Valentine Boys brought to this story! I can’t wait for the rest of their books. So excited for Callum’s book to get here!
*I volunteered to read and review a copy of this book from Wildfire Marketing Solutions / the author*
Ace and Codie are by far one of my favorite Lani Lynn Vale couples ever. They are freakin’ adorable! Ace is a large and in charge, tight Wrangler jeans/cowboy hat wearing professional rancher on the one hand, while at the same time being a grey sweatpants and baseball cap sporting sexy workout hunk. SWOON! Codie is a tiny spitfire of a woman with a heart of gold. When her grandpa has a heart attack she returns home to take care of him and to help out on the family’s ranch. She is beautifully damaged and is trying to overcome her supposed past sins after being labelled the town’s troublemaking wild child in her youth. The chemistry between Ace and Codie is fire engine red hot and their happily ever after sweet. TBR this great read and enjoy. (I read an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review.)
Herd That is the first book in Lani Lynn Vales’s new series, The Valentine Boys.
Ace Valentine and his siblings have a horrifying past. But, they’ve come back to their home town to work the family ranch and to be closer to their sister and her family. He’s one of the town’s golden boys, even if he feels damaged and broken from the event that forever changed his life. And, while he wasn’t looking to ever settle down, one glimpse of the town “bad girl” has him wanting things he never thought was possible.
Codie Spears, has a reputation she wished stayed back in highschool. known as a troublemaker, she never quite fit in the small town she lived in, and when she left for college, she never planned on coming back. But, when her grandfather fell ill, she’s back only to find that nothing has changed in the years she has been gone. She’s still considered an outsider and treated like trash by the same people who treated her that way in highschool. But, this time, she has Ace Valentine in her corner, and he wants more han friendship from her. He wants everything.
I loved the start to this new series. I’m completely intrigued by the Valentine family, and you will be too once you get their backstory. I’m really excited this is only book one! I’m already in love with these siblings and how they’ve pulled together to support one another in the wake of tragedy. And, let me tell you, Georgia (the lone Valentine sister) and Nicko’s kids are HILARIOUS!!!! I mean, laugh out loud funny. Lani Lynn Vale fans will also enjoy seeing Luke Roberts and a few of his SWAT officers show up in this book as well.
As for the main couple, Codie is so sassy yet unsure. I adored watching Ace work to build up her confidence and to ignore what the town has been putting on her for years. He’s the perfect guy for Codie. And, he needs her just as much as she needs him.
4.5 stars for Herd That with a yeehaw that there are more books for the other Valentine brothers on the way!
I’ve read nearly all of Lani Lynn Vale’s backlist and it didn’t click with me that the Valentine boys series was based on the brothers of Georgia who was featured in Double Tap until reading the first chapter.
I love how Lani’s book world is interconnected and all the books have ties to other stories, it’s one of the things that draws me back over and over again. Whilst I love her fireman, motorcycle club and military men, I’m already falling for her cowboys.
Ace Valentine is the eldest Valentine brother. He’s hardworking, responsible, determined, driven and incredibly sexy.
Codie is an intriguing character. She left Kilgore as a teenager with a reputation, and her reputation as a trouble maker precedes her when she returns to town. Although she’s no longer the troublesome teen she’s still a little spoiled, a tad distrustful and quite sweet and a tad quirky.
With Lani’s signature blend of heat, heart and humor I was completely captivated by this emotional and fun story from the beginning to end and cannot wait to see more of these characters and the other Valentine siblings.
I just love this author’s work, she never disappoints with each book filled with humor, sexy times, and the right amount of drama that has you turning the pages to see what happens. Ace and Codie each had issues they were dealing with and as the book goes on they help each other work through them. I loved this book and can’t wait for the next one.
Herd That introduces readers to a new kind of Lani Lynn Vale hero, and I have to say…I’m excited to see how Vale’s quirky and sassy heroines make the cowboys of Kilgore, Texas, fall to their knees.
Even though Vale deviated from her usual emergency services and motorcycle club alpha males, Ace and Codie’s story still has the familiar small town feel, heart, and steam that readers have come to expect from her. And these Valentine brothers definitely bring their own brand of cowboy suave and sexiness to Kilgore, Texas, and while the reason Ace and Codie’s lives cross paths wasn’t something Codie ever saw coming because she had no intention to return to her hometown, when Ace helps her and she continues to give him hell over anything and everything, he’s all in, working his amazing backside off, both on the family ranch and to make Codie his.
The small town settings that Vale creates illustrate the pros and cons of everyone knowing everyone’s business, and the gossipers have a field day when Codie returns to the place of her crimes. Codie’s high school days was definitely not a time where she walked the straight and narrow. And it seems, that the townspeople aren’t willing to let her forget her bad girls ways. The problem is…when everyone thinks something about someone else and isn’t afraid to share their feelings excessively, the person the gossip is about tend to either act out or become reclusive, and it’s clear that Codie is not someone to choose the second option, and I can’t say that I blame her.
Both Codie and Ace have to deal with their pasts in order to move forward in their present, and while Codie has a pretty big chip on her shoulder, Ace is all about wearing her down and proving to her that she’s so much more than she or anyone else thinks she is. And this cowboy is not about to let this woman get away, and since he’s so good at wrangling bulls, I never doubted he would be able to get Codie to see things his way, even if it meant tying her up for a bit;)
Supporting characters are always a strength of any Lani Lynn Vale series, and in The Valentine Boys, there are quite a few who not only add to Ace and Codie’s story, but also seem to be complex enough to have their own story written, which I’m hoping is the case, because while the focus should most definitely continue with the Valentine brothers, there is a cast of other personalities I’d like to hear more about.
I’m so in for Lani Lynn Vale’s take on tight Wrangler wearing cowboys, and if these Valentine brothers are anything like her other alpha male heroes, I can’t wait for every last one of them to have their stories told. Bring on book 2!
4 Poison Apples
What an emotional rollercoaster of a ride this was. Both Ace and Codie’s past seem to haunt them, and they both have a lot of work to get past them. I love how alpha and protective Ace was of Codie. He didn’t let her past get in the way of them. I loved the idea of a reformed bad girl, instead of the bad boy. Puts the perfect spin on things. Ace and his siblings past? Absolutely heartbreaking. I can’t imagine going through what they did, and not being affected by it. To see them succeed was heartwarming. There was the perfect amount of drama in this story, and oh how sweet karma showed up for some. This is definitely a must read!!!
This is the first book in the Valentine Boys series. I have to say that I feel like I’ve been waiting for-freaking-ever for these books! And I’m so happy and excited that we’re getting them now!
We first met all the Valentine boys in Nico and Georgia’s book. If you’ve read that book, then you know what happened to them when they were younger.
It was horrible and tragic. Something no one should have to go through.
If you haven’t read it, that’s okay. You will get filled in on what happened. But, you will want to go back and read it (and every other Lani Lynn Vale book). I’ve re-read it about four times now.
This is Ace’s story.
And boy is it a great one.
I absolutely love Ace and Codie.
They are perfect for each other. Both are trying to get past their past.
I can’t wait to read more!
“I have the patience of a saint. Saint zero fucking patience.”
“A book a day keeps reality away”