Date published:
February
26, 2013
ISBN: 978-1455502448
Genre: Contemporary
Western Romance
Book format: Paperback
Obtained via: Publisher
Reviewed by
name and email address: Gina Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com
The last Conway
male who is foot loose and fancy free, Jake, has no desire or plans to head
down the marital road on the heels of his brothers, Josh and Quinn. Jake likes
the ladies and the resident veterinarian has no reason to change his wandering
lifestyle. That is, until he meets neighbor Meg Stanford.
Meg left Paintbrush,
Wyoming years before. Actually it wasn’t Meg who pulled up stakes and left but
her mother. The only reason she has returned to Paintbrush now is her father’s
sudden death. Estranged from him since childhood Meg never got over how he
turned his back on her. How could a father act like his once loved and
cherished daughter no longer existed? Be that as it may, she has a life, a very
full and fulfilling life, as a trial attorney in Washington, D.C. With her
father’s death she put her career on hold for a week—and one week only—to auction
off the ranch and all that goes with it. When she arrives, however, she discovers
she has a seven year old step-brother named Cory.
Bemused and
upset that Cory will not talk to her Meg is at a loss what to do. When Cory’s
pony, Shadow, is injured, she calls on Jake. Jake is quickly taken with not
only Meg but the sad little boy, Cory. When the Stanford ranch is vandalized
Jake quickly suggests Meg and Cory come to his family home until things settle
down. At the Conway ranch he can also keep a close eye on Shadow and make sure
the pony is healing. When the vandalism escalates and Cory disappears Jake and
his family do what they do best—they stand with each other. But is that enough to save a scared little
boy?
JAKE is the third
in R.C. Ryan’s Wyoming Sky series about three brothers who find true love when
they least expect it. I’m a huge fan of western romance, particularly
historical westerns but contemporaries, such as this series, are a real close
second. There is a certain romance to the west, something about cowboys and how they
live that makes them a combination of larger than life, but still so very
human. I like the Conway family—and not just the three brothers. Ms. Ryan gives
her readers a fantastic family with pretty much something for everyone. From
grandfather Big Jim to Cole, the father and the two women who have cared for
the Conways for years, Ela and Phoebe, they are the kind of family you want to
get to know.
This series is formulaic in a lot of ways – for the most part
the storylines are pretty much the same with different names for the heroes and
heroines and one story melded into the next. The version I read was an ARC so hopefully
some of the issues I saw were fleshed out in the final edits—things like Meg
goes back and forth how she viewed her relationship with her father as a child.
At one point is portrayed as cold and unfeeling and the next as loving and she
wonders how such a super dad could have turned his back on her. I also had a
bit of a time when she has Meg winning a big case by having a suspect confess
in a brilliant courtroom manoeuvre. Meg
is a private sector attorney—it would be a prosecutor who would have brought
down the suspect. A prominent attorney would be involved in a criminal case if
he or she were defending a suspect, not prosecuting them.
I’m not much for stories that “star” younger children, especially
when they are too cute or too precocious. Cory was a refreshing change because he
was down to earth and his emotions while dealing with his parents’ deaths and
meeting a sister for the first time were well done. When he disappears I
wondered why with all the law enforcement there no one used the GPS in the cell
phone to track the suspect.
Except for the love scenes, which are well done, JAKE is a cross-generational kind of read.
I wouldn’t have a problem with a pre-teen reading it—especially when it comes
to Cory and the things he is dealing with in his young life.
Each book is a standalone and do not necessarily have to be read
in order however, to truly enjoy they I would.
This is an objective review and not an endorsement of
this book.
No comments:
Post a Comment