The Wyoming men are back In their quest for true love on the range, are these ranchers bold enough to open their hearts to the women under their protection? Ren Colter may own an enormous ranch in Wyoming, but he scorns his wealth. He’s closed himself off since his fiancee left him months ago, so he’s shocked when he allows Meredith Grayling to stay with him. He tells himself it’s only to protect … to protect the blonde beauty from a stalker, but Ren’s alpha instincts soon kick in. The last thing Merrie wants is a devastatingly handsome man like Ren lurking around her. He’s too experienced, too appealing for her already shot nerves. What she needs is just to get away from it all: the man haunting her waking dreams and the one hunting her like an animal. But no woman escapes this Colter cowboy
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Diana Palmer standard fare: mean, condescending, shaming hairy hero and weeble-wobble spineless, teetering on the edge of death heroine that paints psychically. This time the heroine is in danger and is sequestering at the H’s Wyoming ranch.
What’s different?
The H needs luvvins’ and shows it by shoving his mother out of his life, bedding and getting engaged to his half-brother’s rejects, and humiliating the heroine. He does squirm in shame over his treatment of the h especially when she’s almost killed.
The billioneiress is being stalked by a murder for hire, and she wants to buy an art gallery in Jacobsville, population 2,500 more or less, (StMargaret will know).
There is a contract killer with a work ethic despite his customer going to jail and being repentant. Who knew there was honor among assassins? The contract killer issue is resolved in a pretty funny plot twist via a Mob Boss.
The best is Mikey, the …I don’t what he is except he is the h’s brother-in-law’s cousin. He has Mob connections, calls the heroine baby doll and once served under the H in the military. What a small world after all. Mikey also has a big crush on baby doll and states repeatedly he wants to “take care” of the villain that tried to kill her much to the dismay of his FBI cousin.
“Damn!” he said, his lips compressed. “It’s old home week.”
They all turned as Mikey came walking toward them. He saw Ren and slowed just a little. He grimaced.
“Now, Captain,” Mikey began. “It was just a little lumber and a few nails…”
“You walked off with half the lumber in the supply shed to build a canteen at base camp,” he said gruffly. “And you installed two women of decidedly odd morals…”
“They were lonely,” Mikey protested. “The local cathouse had just closed and they didn’t have enough money to make it back to Spain.”
“What a bunch of bull,” Ren muttered.
Mikey grinned. “You have to admit, sir, that morale went up eighty percent.”
“So did STDs,” Ren shot back.
“Hey, that’s what they have doctors for, right?” Mikey said, his eyes twinkling.
He glanced at Sari’s red eyes. “What’s going on? Something happen to baby doll?”
I love this guy. Mikey, not the H.
Apparently Mikey has a book, Texas Proud, and is probably absolutely horrible to his own heroine.
The best part of this book, the mystery and the animals. The worst part of this book, the formulatic, predictable, overdone, storyline. Grumpy, relationship burned, toxic male. Virgin, horrible childhood, naive female. Now, once they figure things out and legally can fool around, they’re pretty hot together. But the best part really was the mystery, and that really involved the side characters and not the main ones
I’m not sure I’ve read Diana Palmer before since I always avoided Harlequin romances: 50 years ago, they were boring and silly.
I liked Wyoming Brave. While the plot was predictable, the supporting characters were great. They make me want to read the Texas books for their stories. I lost respect for Merrie, the love interest, when she heard a wolf howl, she ran away from the fire, near a cabin, into the woods and got lost. Huh? Why not just holler, “Here wolfie.” But I liked the other characters so I kept reading and Merrie developed into an OK character.
There were some good laughs along with some stupid thoughts, but in all, I wouldn’t mind checking out the Texas bunch.