ASIN: B01D8IW382
Publisher: Harlequin Desire (September 1, 2016)
Publication Date: September 1, 2016
Sold by: Harlequin Digital Sales Corp.
Print Length: 224 pages
Blurb
It’s a quickie marriage to a rich cowboy from USA TODAY bestselling author Kathie DeNosky!
Blake Hartwell is a sexy-as-sin rodeo champion with money to burn and a way with the ladies, but to Karly Ewing he’s her soon-to-be ex! Their whirlwind affair ended with Vegas “I dos”—but saying yes was a mistake. So Karly heads to his ranch, divorce papers in hand, only to be stranded with the man she can’t resist! Will temptation lead them to happily-ever-after? Or will Blake’s secrets tear them apart for good?
Review:
Quite a story with a unique premise. Something I absolutely love! Originality!
Blake and Karly fell in love quickly, and married at the same speed. Where? Vegas, baby – of course 🙂
But everything that happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas, especially when the groom is the multi-millionaire owner of a ranch in Wyoming and the wife has a budding career in city-slicker Seattle.
It’s obvious they’re more than just physically attracted to each other, and they were both eager to start their lives together. However, when Karly returned home to pack up and move to be with her new hubby, she got scared. Thanks to her mother’s resentment towards her father in regards to the life she gave up to be with him, Karly got scared. She didn’t want to end up resenting Blake. She really did (and still do) love him. Letting her fear get the best of her, she tells him the marriage was a mistake and turned her marriage license into divorce papers.
From their first night together, Blake has known that Karly is his forever, but he refused to try to force her to stay married to him, no matter how bad it hurt him to let her go. She’d have to do it willingly. When she shows up on his ranch with unsigned divorce papers in hand (they got lost in the mail), he once again agrees to set her free. But when a flight crew strike strands her with him, he sees it as an opportunity to show her the life they could’ve had.
Karly quickly learns that she prejudged rural, “backwoods” Wyoming and the kind of life they could lead there. She’d also misjudged her hubby’s bank account (not that it matters to her, and thankfully for him, it really doesn’t). She’d assumed he worked at the ranch, not owned it and due to past gold-digging situations, he kept his wealth a secret during their week in Vegas (and during the wedding). He’d planned to tell her when she moved in, but she never showed up.
At first I didn’t think I’d like Karly. When she’s first introduced, the descriptions immediately led me to think she was probably some shallow airhead. How happy I am that that’s not the case. Sure, she shouldn’t have left him the way she had, but their union had been so quick, it’s understandable why she would’ve had second-guessed herself once she returned home. Giving the example her mother had set, her insecurities were understandable.
I admired Blake (and crushed on him, I must admit). Even though she couldn’t wait to reverse their marriage, he’d been faithful to her during their months apart, and once she arrived at the ranch, he took care of her like a husband should. Such a gentleman.
I was little perturbed with Karly and how she ran off after finding out Blake owned the ranch. She felt like he hadn’t trusted her with the truth; but hell, she hadn’t trusted him either. At the time she told him she was ending the marriage, she hadn’t been totally forthcoming, only giving him part of the reason she was backing out. So it was kinda double-standerish for her to judge him for not telling her the whole truth during their one-week together. She should’ve talked to him first, but then that would’ve made the climax a little bland, so after a few moments of eye-rolling I was cool with it.
DeNosky’s writing is beyond good. Her use of descriptions and the down-home dialogue were quite entertaining. The story was somewhat short (not novella short), but it was still very fulfilling. The fact that they had a past together (although brief) helped push the story along without seeming too fast-paced. The flow is really smooth, and I’d love to follow up with these two.
0: You won’t need any coffee to stay up for this one. It’s intriguing enough all on its own.
1: You’ll stay up late, but not all night. Brew one cup.
2: You’ll read as long as you’re not tired. If you are, two cups should do the trick.
3: I hope you got plenty of rest; you’ll need it, or at least 3 cups.
4: If the cable goes out, read the book. It’s better than nothing, I guess. Oh, don’t forget your brew!
5: Find anything else to do- it doesn’t matter what it is. Don’t waste your coffee. Too much caffeine is bad for you.
My rating: 1/2 cups of coffee