Home at Chestnut Creek

Laura Drake has an uncanny ability to combine complicated characters, a compelling story, a hot romance, and a western setting, into wonderful novels! Nevada Street is on the run and winds up in the dusty down of Unforgiven, New Mexico. Joseph “Fishing Eagle” King is her coworker, who is wrestling with his own past. Sparks fly between these two, but the walls they’ve erected around their hearts seem insurmountable. This book has love, humor, and a bit of danger, but it’s the vulnerability of Nevada and Joseph that set my heart to soaring! Along with this book, there’s a bonus: the novel Wild Cowboy Ways by Carolyn Brown!

Nevada Sweet isn’t sweet. She’s mouthy, wears a chip on her shoulder, and is guaranteed to land herself in hot water when she loses her temper. She’s got a background ripe for trouble so she soldiers on alone, afraid to let anyone close. Darned if I didn’t love her, because I just knew there had to be more to her then meets the eye! Joseph ‘Fishing Eagle’ King is a quiet guy, fights for the underdog, is protective, matter of fact, and has the patience of Job. And I promise you, Nevada couldn’t be luckier, because the person to break through her hard shell needed all the patience they can find!

There’s so much I enjoyed about this book! The Navajo language and stories topped my list, striking a cord with coming to terms culturally about personal identity as well as how others perceive oneself. And seeing Nevada blossom under Joseph’s patient care and subtle nudging was a thing of beauty. Nevada was locked up so tightly, I spent a while wondering if she’d ever open up and come to the point where she could stretch her wings and fly in freedom. Happily, my patience paid off in more ways then one!

Home at Chestnut Creek was one of those reads that strikes a cord and resonates long after finishing. I found myself relating to Joseph’s cultural struggles and empathized with his dilemma. I cheered for every tiny milestone Nevada accomplished and kept my fingers crossed she’d have something good happen to her. The side characters were a riot, exuding small town charm, gossiping bodies, and full support for one of their own, and I couldn’t help but fall under Unforgiven’s spell. I can’t wait to see what’s in store next!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book from Forever Publishing. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Home at Chestnut Creek is the second installment in Drake’s Chestnut Creek series and it is a doozie! Both the main characters, Nevada and Joseph, are run through the wringer, stripped bare, and remade. They both have a tough, emotional journey to get to their happy ending. This story is well-written, with funny, endearing characters that make you feel like you are catching up with old friends. I was intrigued by Nevada’s character in the first book and I was happy to see her getting her own story and Drake found the perfect man to match her. This book tugs at the heart and is engaging from beginning to end.

Nevada is prickly, rude, brash, flighty, untrusting, and angry. She hides her vulnerability and fear beneath a tough, snarky exterior to keep people at a distance. Running from her past, she cannot let anyone get too close, let herself feel too settled or secure. She always has to look over her shoulder and be ready to run in a moment’s notice. However, she is tired of running, lonely, unsettled and just wants to be free of her past and have a normal life. When she stops in Chestnut Creek to visit an old friend and ask for a job at her café, she had no idea that her entire life was going to change. I enjoyed seeing Nevada’s character grow throughout the story. She was truly a lovely person at heart once she let her guard down and let others see the real her. I loved her interaction with Joseph and watching their slow friendship turn into something more built on a deep bond of trust, understanding and love. Their relationship was nicely paced throughout the story with believable bumps in the road and hardships they had to work through to get their happy ending.

Joseph is a troubled guy trying to get back to his roots, keep his promise to his deceased grandmother and live by the ways of his people while giving back to his community. He is trying his hardest to fit back in to the Navajo community where he was raised but because of past hurts from his youth, his guilt and haunted memories keep holding him back from his family and truly embracing all he can be. He is charismatic, easy going, and has a good heart. However, he still feels like an outsider in the Navajo community, no matter how much he tries to help out. He works as a cook at the café but has dreams and plans for more. When Nevada blows in like a tornado, he is intrigued by the quick-witted, spitfire. He glimpses the vulnerability she tries to hide underneath her rough exterior and wants to help. The closer they become, the stronger their bond and the feelings simmering beneath the surface grow to more. I love the comparisons Drake uses for Joseph to describe his ‘handling’ of her. They are a perfect fit for her personality and growth. I enjoyed the look into the Navajo community, their traditions, and language. I also love the name Joseph’s mother gives Nevada, it is very fitting.

Though Home at Chestnut Creek is the second book in the series it can be read as a stand-alone. I think it would be a more enjoyable reading experience to read the series in order to fully understand the background and characters but it is easy to understand and follow along, either way. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

*I received an advanced copy of this read from the publisher, via NetGalley, and I am voluntarily providing my honest review. Thank you, Ms. Drake, for a lovely story.

This is really a different type of Western Romance; the characters are so well developed. The insight into the Navajo culture was eye-opening. I got new insight into the area of the US always been portrayed as the barren wastelands of New Mexico. This is a recommended must read from me.

Loved this book, just the right amount of suspense, friendship, and steamy romance! I do think It would be fabulous as an audio book because there is some language in here I would love to have authentically pronounced vs how my mind guesses it, but it was a great read and I cannot wait for A Cowboy For Keeps to come out to follow up on this!

Home At Chestnut Creek is the second book in the Chestnut Creek series by Laura Drake. Since I am not reviewing for Amazon I am going to say it I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it! I got it last Tiesday on release day and I made it last as long as I could. Lol! This is Nevada Sweet and Joseph “Fishing Eagle” King story. Nevada is definitely not sweet! She has had a extremely hard life and her heart is buried under layer after layer of hard, protective layer. Her motto is don’t let anyone in, don’t let them get close so you don’t get hurt. She never had anyone to depend on except herself. She running from some very dangerous people and all she wants to do is stay alive. Joseph is just as complexed as Nevanda. He has said he will never marry a white woman. It was interesting learning about the Navajo culture. The research Ms. Drake did for this book really shone through. When Joseph offer to rent Nevada his Grandmother trailer, the two start to get to know each other and see past the shields they both have put up. As Joseph chips away at Nevada hard shell, he starts to have very real feeling for her and it going to take him confronting his past and his Grandmother past for him to move on. But, when the danger that Nevada been running from shows up in Unforgiven it going to take both of them to end it so they can have the happy ever after they so richly deserve. I so enjoyed getting to revisit Carly, Austin, baby Faith and Lorelie again. My favorite book of Ms. Drake has always been Days Made Of Glass. Her Woman Fiction book. If you haven’t read it you MUST! Home at Chestnut Creek is neck and neck with it. It is that good. So do yourself a favor and pick up both books in this series you will be so glad you did.

Heartwarming, fun, witty and engaging romantic journey that is filled with intriguing charters, exciting twist and undeniable passion. I really enjoyed reading this small town romance that had me glued to my e-reader from beginning to end.

I read about Nevada in The Last True Cowboy and I was excited to see that she got her own book. I love how Nevada is this sassy and hard @ss who will do anything to protect those she loves. I really liked how in this story Nevada starts to show her soft side but is not afraid to let go of her hard side either even just for a minute. I like Joseph too, he seem to deal with his own demons and trying to face those as well. I really enjoyed this book it was so fun to read but also so emotional. This book does have sex in it but over all is a decent read. I can’t wait to see where the author goes next in the town of Unforgiven and the small town of some crazy characters. if you are looking for fun read you won’t regret grabbing this book. It is told in a first person. I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley. I was under no obligation to post a review and have given my honest opinion.

Home at Chestnut Creek gets an enthusiastic 5 STAR rating on Amazon from me!!! I really enjoyed the author’s writing style. Like, “she heaves a sigh so big I can feel the breeze.” That’s not hard to understand at all now is it? It also made me smile and it wasn’t overdone.
Loved the main characters to pieces!!! Snarky Nevada was a hoot. Sure she had a wicked, mean tongue but it was also really funny too. Joseph is so right about her having no filter. I have to admit I smiled and laughed right out loud many times. And her rude T-shirt sayings were the Best! One of my favorites has to be, “Who left the bag of idiots open?” It must seem kind of odd that there was so much laughter in a story that also had so much danger and sadness but there it is. Joseph had some interesting insights when it came to Nevada. He really saw her and often thought of her as a wild bird that you had to handle carefully or she flew off. He also realized she had a whole lot of different sides to her and he is intrigued. He is also so patient with her but he also had boundaries that he didn’t want her crossing. So he was a bit complex as well in his own way. Joseph has some old wounds and shame that he just isn’t facing until he sees how brave Nevada is. Her courage pulls him up short.
There are good secondary people in the story and I have to add that I really enjoyed the Native American elements in the story.
And that quick peek into Lorelei’s story (she was in this book) has me thinking, “I’m so looking to read that book too.” So I will be looking out for “A Cowboy for Keeps by Lora Drake.”

I liked the idea of a Bonus Story that was included. If I was rating it separately on Amazon I would probably give it 4 STARS and that I liked it but with some reservations.
So, here are some of my thoughts about, ” Wild Cowboy Ways by Carolyn Brown.”
It had some good points and good characters. But maybe it wasn’t good to add it to the other book because I fell so far in love with the first book. It made it harder to compete. I guess I would have to say that I had mixed feelings about this one.
It did have good main characters and a good supporting cast of people. Deke was Allie’s best friend and often work helper. He sure added a lot to the story. He also added quite a few smiles too.
Allie’s mom was so far up her business trying to get Grady and Allie together. And that after a while it got kind of irritating to me. But her sister was so much worse.
Lizzy who is Allie’s sister got on my last nerve. It wasn’t too bad at first but over time I just wanted it to stop. The controlling, bickering from her was like a self-righteous little kid throwing a tantrum. She wanted Allie with Grady most of all. Grady was creepy and Lizzy just couldn’t/wouldn’t understand how much Allie disliked him. Lizzy wasn’t all bad though and it was good to see her redeeming qualities after all.
Riley, how bad are you? Let me count the ways. He is Allie’s ex who like a bad penny keeps trying to show up.
The gossipy community did have some interesting and some good people in it though. Irene is one of the good people in the story. Irene is the grandmother to Allie and her two sisters. She brings humor and sadness as she slides back and forth in her memories. And you never know what to expect coming out of her mouth other than some of it will be brutal honesty. At times she thinks that “Walter” is still living at The Lucky Penny ranch. Blake Dawson has quite the interesting first run in with her at the ranch that he now owns with his partners. Blake has quite the bad boy reputation and he is trying to live a better life. But that old reputation sure is bound and determined to follow him..

There is a good ending to the book and a H.E.A. for our M.C.’s.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

I was given the chance to read this Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley and I almost passed it up. Boy, am I glad I didn’t! This was the best written book!
Ms. Drake tells the story in the first person, with a dual point of view. That seems fairly difficult to do, but she did an outstanding job. The first person seemed to allow for a much more emotional tale, with each character’s emotions and thoughts laid right out there for the reader’s consumption. The letters that Nevada wrote to her dead mother were just another added layer of emotion.
I’ll gladly admit that I love cowboys in books. This was even more appealing, because the “cowboy” was Navajo and trying so hard to stay true to his people, even with his wider life experiences of the military. The romance between Nevada and Joseph was a struggle on both of their parts and that much sweeter for it!
I absolutely loved Ms. Drake’s writing style. I’ve already gone back to order the first book in the series and am looking forward to reading much more from her.