Sunday, February 03, 2008

The Manning Sisters by Debbie Macomber

The Cowboy’s Lady

Taylor Manning is not sure what she thought when she agreed to go to Cougar Point, Montana to teach. She must have lost her mind! Yet her mind seems to drift when she spots rancher Russ Palmer. He seems to have all the right things except he irritates her to no end. Her thoughts keep going back to the same thing how she would not mind being the cowboy’s lady.

This was a sweet story by Ms. Macomber. The differences between Russ and Taylor made the story so much more real. Opposites attract a lot in life but they can never seem to make it work. I liked that a lot. It wasn’t that they hated each other but Taylor found herself rationalizing what could be wrong with the relationship instead of what could make it work.

Taylor kept banging things around in her head. Already hurt once before, she was determined not to go down that road. And the funny thing was that she wasn’t looking for anything, just wanted a break from it all to heal. Russ Palmer seemed to have other ideas. But even he took awhile to come around to the idea. Mandy, Russ’ little sister did her best to keep these two involved. She was a little stinker but I think she even realized that they would have to figure it out on their own.

I cannot wait to see what happens in the next story. These characters are making me laugh out loud and I hope the next one does too!

The Sheriff Takes A Wife

Christy Manning is only planning on helping her sister Taylor adjust to her life after baby. She can only take two weeks off, but her boss understands since he is also her new fiancé. Christy just gets in the door when Taylor tells her it is time to go to the hospital. Russ is nowhere around so she calls for Cody. Her heart does flips when she notices him the first time. But can she tell him that she is engaged before anything happens or will she find herself heart broken?

Ms. Macomber does it again! Oh my word, this story was so emotional. I could not stop reading it! Cody and Christy had so much to get through before they could make a commitment to each other. This was quite the roller coaster but I knew it would be resolved somehow whether it ended good or bad.

Christy had a lot on her shoulders. Her parents had always expected a lot out of her and now she was not sure what to do since she no longer wanted to live up to it. Cody had his heart broken once before but Christy seemed to be the one for him. Yet when he finds out what is really going on can he keep his heart together and his hands away from Christy.


I liked both these stories. They were very real to me and so full of heart. It was a nice clean romance and I needed that. Heat has its place but something sweet is nice from time to time. I cannot wait for the next book in this series to come out in August. This is one author who never disappoints.
Debbie Macomber/Romance/Sisters/ 528 pages/ 5 out of 5

Oh and I hope to finish a review book that I will count towards my romance challenge set up by my yahoo group AN2R. :)

Four Wives by Wendy Walker

Four friends live a life most women achieve for. Yet behind it all, there is self-doubt, marital problems, and personal integrity. They may have it all but it is something that they fight for every day. Love, Marie, Gayle, and Janie are good friends and they rely on each other for help. Well as much help as one can get without being truly honest. They figure someone wrong is going on each other’s lives but can never prove it. Each woman has to figure out how to be true to herself first before anything else can happen.

Ms. Walker has a compelling story in this book. She tells it straight for each character and I felt I got a really good glimpse into each life. She puts characters that are easy to believe and problems that almost everyone is affected by. I really liked that and I also liked how you got to see everything from each character’s point of view. It made the story that much more believable since these four women were fairly close.

Love Welsh is a prodigy child who has let her past sit and fester. Marie is a divorce lawyer and normally helps out the father in the situation. Gayle is pretty much a stay at home mom but she comes from a wealthy family, which her husband resents. Janie is struggling in her marriage because she wants adventure and her husband likes what they have now. They all have children that they take care of in some aspect. Gayle wants to be more involved with Oliver but her husband wanted a nanny. Love wants to keep snuggling her 7-month-old son but other mothers say to toughen up. I felt for all these women. They did their best at expressing themselves but felt like they were going in circles.

This is one book that any woman can relate to even if we do not share their problems. These four women are doing their best to find their place in their own world and want to be fulfilled whether they have a job or not. Ms. Walker really gets her point across that you have to be happy where you are even if that means you have to move out of the world you are in and into another. This is a good debut novel and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.

Wendy Walker/ Women/ Family/ Adult Fiction/ 368 pages/ 5 out of 5

I read this one last month but wanted to wait till the month of it's released to post to the review. Definitley a book to check out. :)

January Stats and Reads

My stats:
Total Books Read: 14
New Authors: 8
Fiction: 14
Non-fiction:
TBR: 0
Chunksters: 3
Books Reviewed: 7From the Stacks: 6Books I Bought: 11
PBS Sent: 3
PBS Received: 2Total Pages Read: 4, 392

Read:

Killing Fear by Allison Brennan 12-29-07 through 01-06-08 A
Three Weeks Last Spring by Victoria Howard 01-08-08 A
Blaze by Richard Bachman 01-08-08 through 01-10-08 A
Play Dirty by Sandra Brown 01-10-08 through 01-11-08 A+
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear 01-11-08 through 01-14-08 A+
Leftovers by Laura Wiss 01-14-08 A
Third Degree by Greg Iles 01-14-08 through 01-19-08 C
The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz 01-19-08 through 01-20-08 A
Peppermint Twisted by Sammi Carter 01-21-08 through 1-23-08 A
The Accidental Mother by Rowan Coleman 1-23-08 through 01-24-08 A+
The Art Thief by Noah Charney 01-25-08 through 01-29-08 C
Four Wives by Wendy Walker 01-29-08 A+
Dangerous to Know by Nell Dixon 01-29-08 through 1-30-08 A
Tough Cookie by Diane Mott Davidson 01-30-08 through 01-31-08 A+

I am working on number 2 of the month. I have 2 reviews to post though. :)