Fortune's Prince - Allison Leigh (HSE #2335 - June 2014)

Series: Fortunes of Texas: Welcome to Horseback Hollow (Book 6)

Once upon a time...

There was a beautiful princess, raised in riches but lonely of heart. When Amelia Fortune Chesterfield discovered her Texas roots, she hurried to Horseback Hollow, eager to find her past.

And there she found her future....

The prince wore spurs and a Stetson and was unlike any man she had ever known. In one magical night, Quinn Drummond transformed the shy, reserved girl into a passionate, feeling woman. But in the morning, the princess had to flee, tearing asunder their happily ever after. The prince, in his anger, retreated. Would a small miracle reunite the gun-shy cowboy with his lady love?

A fantastic, emotional conclusion to this year's Fortune series. Amelia is the youngest of the British branch of the newly discovered Fortunes. When she came to Texas to meet her new cousins she was immediately taken with their neighbor Quinn Drummond. His quiet strength and down to earth attitude really appeal to her. A dance at a wedding leads to a passionate encounter and a whole host of dreams. But when she had to return home she was blindsided by reporters claiming an engagement to a friend of hers and she was soon caught in an impossible situation. Quinn wouldn't take her calls or listen to her explain what was going on, so she had to take drastic measures.

I really liked Amelia. I found her to be a really strong, determined woman who wants to do the right thing. Because of who she is, she didn't just deny things outright to the reporters, but that put her into a situation where the engagement appears to be real. She had briefly considered going through with it, as she and James are friends, but once she discovered her pregnancy she knew it couldn't happen. She also wanted to tell Quinn face to face, hoping that they would be able to work things out. I loved her ingenuity in getting away from the reporters and making her way undetected to Quinn's ranch. She was devastated to find out just how angry he is and how unwilling to listen to anything she has to say. 

Quinn had thought that what he and Amelia shared meant something to her, but hearing of her engagement when she returned to England brought back terrible memories of his ex-wife. She had left him to go back to her old boyfriend, leaving him doubting his judgment in picking a woman to love. To have Amelia appear to do the same thing just made it worse. When she came back to see him he didn't want to hear what she had to say, not trusting her at all. When he finds out about the baby he wants them to marry, making sure that the baby has his name. Quinn's father had been illegitimate, never acknowledged by his father and he didn't want the same thing to happen to his child. Quinn also has a huge issue with the economic gap between himself and Amelia, again because of his grandfather's treatment of his father. He just couldn't see that Amelia didn't care about it.

Amelia is deeply in love with Quinn and would gladly marry him if she thought that he cared also. His constant anger with her has her convinced he doesn't care for her and she refuses to have a loveless marriage. She is also determined to stay in Texas so that Quinn is fully involved in the baby's life. I loved the strength she had in standing up for herself and her own needs, while at the same time trying to give Quinn what he needed.

Quinn is fighting quite a battle with himself. He wants Amelia with every breath he takes, but he refuses to believe that they have any chance of a future together. He is so hung up on their differences that he can't see how right they are for each other. I loved the way that he is so protective of her, even though he resists admitting the reason. It was great to see how many people tried to get him to see the truth. 

Besides the emotional trials of Quinn and Amelia working their way towards a happy future together, there were also some really fun parts. These usually involved the paparazzi and trying to get away from them. The first one that had me laughing out loud was when Quinn's sister helped Amelia get away at the hardware store. Jess was really getting into the whole thing. The other one was at Quinn's house when he went after them with his shotgun. Amelia was horrified, but Quinn was determined to protect her no matter what.

Falling for Fortune - Nancy Robards Thompson (HSE #2330 - May 2014)

Series: Fortunes of Texas: Welcome to Horseback Hollow (Book 5)

Christopher who?

As far as Christopher Fortune Jones is concerned, when he left Horseback Hollow, he left his past behind. No one needs to know that he grew up on a ranch, or that he never had any money, or that his father considers him a disappointment. Here in Red Rock he can simply be Christopher Fortune. Rich, powerful, successful Christopher Fortune.

Kinsley Aaron has secrets of her own. The biggest one is that she has a crush on her sexy new boss. She thinks maybe he likes her, too. But he never talks about himself, and he never lets her get too close. Is she a fool dreaming of tomorrow with a man who seemingly has no past? Just what is Christopher Fortune hiding?

Good story of a man who finally figures out who he is. Christopher had always felt out of step with the rest of his family while he was growing up. Ranching was never something that he wanted to do and he was constantly at odds with his father over it. When the family connection to the Fortunes came out, he saw it as his chance to escape. He left home, dropped the Jones from his name, and went to work for the Fortune Foundation.

I have to say that throughout the series Christopher has been my least favorite character. He has seemed rather selfish, wanting more than he has but I never saw him actually trying to do something about it. Even moving to Red Rock, he was using the family name rather than making the effort using his own abilities. At the beginning of the book, he is practicing putting in his office and thinking about how boring the job is rather than actually working. He's not putting any effort into it. He's also wallowing in all the material goods he has acquired. Then, to top it all off, when his brother and sister-in-law arrive unexpectedly all he seems to think about is keeping them away from his coworkers so they don't see where he came from. His actions when they went out to lunch were rather immature, as he appeared to rub their noses in how well he is doing. I loved seeing Toby call him out on his behavior and walk out on him.

Christopher has also been enjoying the female companionship that his name has brought. But the one woman he is most interested in doesn't seem to return the interest. No matter how much he tries to flirt with Kinsley, she keeps shooting him down. When she blasts him for not doing his job he starts to realize that she is very different than the women he has been hanging out with. 

Kinsley has worked hard for everything she has. She came from an abusive home, with a father who was also a charmer when he wasn't drunk and abusive to her and her mother. She has a distrust of men who seem to trade on their looks and charm to get what they want. She is attracted to Christopher but doesn't want to give in to it because of what she sees. When they are assigned to work on a project together, she starts to get to know the man behind the flirt. As she got closer to him and he opened up to her about his past, her feelings for him start to change and grow. 

Throughout the book we see Christopher start to grow into his responsibilities thanks to Kinsley's influence. I really enjoyed seeing her keep him on task. She also showed him the importance of learning about the people he worked with, all things he had never been exposed to before. The more time he spent with Kinsley, the more he wanted to be a better man because of her. I loved seeing him start to get really involved in the anti-bullying project they were doing. The more time they spent together the more his feelings for her grew. When he realized just how strong those feelings were it scared him. He had become so used to being in control that being vulnerable like that really freaked him out and he didn't know what to do. 

I loved the ending and seeing just how much Kinsley's love had changed him. His moment of clarity at the party, when everything finally came together for him was fantastic. I loved his speech and the way he really put himself out there. His solution for bringing together all the parts of his life was great. The only thing that would have made the ending better for me would have been seeing him take Kinsley back to Horseback Hollow with him and seeing the family all together.

A House Full of Fortunes! - Judy Duarte (HSE #2323 - Apr 2014)

Series: Fortunes of Texas: Welcome to Horseback Hollow (Book 4)

A family-focused cowboy falls hard for the most single gal in town!

Toby Fortune Jones has no problem with commitment. He's committed to his ranch, to his family and to the three foster children he's taken in! Lately, though, he can't seem to stop thinking about making a little time for dating. Specifically, one very particular, blue-eyed single gal…

Twenty-four years old and Angie Edwards still can't figure out what she wants to be when she grows up. She's tried her hand at everything -- even helping Toby out with his adorable brood on occasion. Folks in Horseback Hollow have called her the Queen of First Dates, but now she thinks she might have met her match in the sexy cowboy! Is she ready for true love -- and a full house?

Very good book.  I really liked Toby and Angie from the very beginning.  Toby is a young, single guy but family is very important to him.  When  he found out the three children were being sent to separate foster homes, he stepped up and took them in himself.  It's been a bit of a challenge, but with the help of his family he's doing pretty well.  The one thing he hasn't been able to do is carve out any time for a social life.  When Angie steps in to help him during a crisis, suddenly he can't get her off his mind.

I really enjoyed seeing Toby handle being a single father.  Overall he's doing a fantastic job of it, though he does have a few challenges, especially with the little girl.  Pigtails and girly things just aren't something he's had to do before.  He's been somewhat familiar with Angie all his life - it is a small town after all - but he doesn't really know her.  Her willingness to help him out brings her to his attention, but he's cautious about getting involved with her.  She has a reputation of not sticking with anything or anyone for long and the kids don't need anymore loss in their lives.  He's also been burned by women who get involved with him because of his Fortune connections, but then can't handle the idea of him having three kids.  I loved seeing him get to know her and learn about why she is the way she is.  He starts to really enjoy being with her and thoughts of her staying keep popping into his mind.  His attraction to her just adds to those thoughts.  I loved seeing the appreciation he developed for her and how much he came to care for her.  His fears about her not staying around make him think about pushing her away, especially when he runs into some potential trouble regarding his custody of the kids.  He really fights with his desire to do what he sees as the right thing and what he wants to do.

Angie has been known for flitting from job to job and date to date.  Her father used to tell her to think hard before making a commitment because once you did, that was it.  As a result her philosophy is that when she finds something that is right for her she'll know it and there's no sense wasting time on things that aren't.  I loved the way she sort of stumbled into helping Toby, just because she felt bad for the little girl who didn't want to go fishing with Toby and her brothers.  It was fun to see her doing girly things with Kylie and I loved the way she got her neighbor involved too.  She has had a lot of temp jobs and has learned interesting things from each one.  There's a great scene where one of her bosses calls her "Little Miss Google" because she seems to know something about everything.  I really enjoyed seeing her become part of Toby's family, even though she thought she was not anywhere good enough for him.  She has a terrific way of dealing with the kids where everyone ends up happy with whatever she says.  She's really attracted to Toby, but tries to resist.  The more time she spends with him the more she gets to know him.  She's really good at anticipating what he needs and is fantastic at making things easier for him.  There's some real emotional turmoil at the end, and I loved seeing the solution that she came up with.

Toby's family plays a big part in the story of course, as they are all very close.  I loved the family picnic and seeing how he tries to deal with their nosiness.  I liked the way that they all made Angie feel welcome, and how she was comfortable enough to be herself.  I also liked seeing the relationship between Angie and her mother and the influence that relationship had on Angie's attitudes as an adult.  I loved her relationship with her neighbor Mr. Murdoch and how her caring nature included him too.  The scene where he was doing the facial mask with Angie and Kylie was hysterical.

I loved Mr. Murdoch's feisty attitude and how his time as a Marine was made a part of his whole character.  He acted like so many of the retired Marines that I know that he felt entirely real to me.  The only problem I had was with Harlequin's failure to capitalize properly (marine instead of Marine, marine-corps instead of Marine Corps) but that is an ongoing complaint.  

Lassoed by Fortune - Marie Ferrarella (HSE #2317 - Mar 2014)

Series:  Fortunes of Texas: Welcome to Horseback Hollow (Book 3)

Can an independent cowboy be lassoed by love when he least expects it?

Liam "Fortune" Jones knows exactly who and what he is: the son of Deke Jones, born and bred in Horseback Hollow. He is an old-fashioned cowboy, committed to tradition and used to getting his own way. And he won't change for anyone -- not even for the sassy aspiring chef who's been tormenting his dreams….

Julia Tierney holds the distinction of being the only woman who ever turned Liam down. She's an independent lady with dreams way bigger than their rustic hometown. Every time she runs into that bullheaded rancher, they bicker. The man makes her nuts! But there's something about Liam that keeps roping her in and making her come back for more….

Very good book in which stubborn goes toe-to-toe with hardheaded.  Liam is one of the Jones kids and the only one who is resisting being part of the Fortune family.  All he can see is his mom's family trying to say that being a Jones isn't good enough for them.  He doesn't want any of "those people" coming to Horseback Hollow and changing the way things are done.  He's furious when he finds out that Julia is trying to get a member of the family to open a restaurant there.  He tries to convince her that it would be the beginning of the end to their town.  Not only does Julia refuse to see things his way, she tries to show him that he's the one who is wrong.

The sparks between these two were explosive.  They had known each other all their lives and had a bit of history from high school.  Liam had been the high school heartthrob who had gotten all the girls to go out with him - except for Julia - which bruised his ego a bit.  She had found him quite attractive and charming, but she refused to be one of a crowd and turned him down.  Even now they tend to bicker whenever they meet and it has only gotten worse over the issue of the restaurant.  

When Liam decides to try to get her to see things his way he first tries showing her the changes that have come to another town after a fancy place opened there.  What he didn't expect to happen was for the sparks between them to burst into flame when he kissed her.  His initial reaction is to use those flames for two things - to get her into bed, and to seduce her to his way of thinking.  Those plans don't last long in the face of the relationship that starts to grow between them.  

Julia has had dreams of having a restaurant for a long time, but they've gotten pushed away as she helped her parents with their business.  Bringing a new place to her town is like a dream come true for her.  She sees it as being a good thing for the town, a place that would bring some jobs as well as new visitors and lead to more new businesses.  She can't believe that Liam would be so shortsighted as to deny the town that kind of progress.  She is determined to change his mind.  I loved the way her arguments were always so well reasoned compared to Liam's wild assumptions.  The passion between them worries her because she can see herself falling for him and being heartbroken when he moves on like he's done with all previous relationships.

I really loved the interactions between Liam and Julia.  There is so much passion there that it's obvious that there's more going on than just a difference of opinion over the restaurant.  When they finally give in to their passion both of them start to change.  Julia starts to see that there is a chance for her to have the kind of life she has dreamed about with a man who understands her.  Liam is able to let go of his negative feelings about the Fortunes and see past his fears to a future with Julia, until she hears about his scheme and things blow up in his face.  I loved the scene in the barn with his brother as Toby tries to break Liam out of his funk by explaining things to him.  Liam's pride was pretty bruised, but I loved the way he got Julia's attention at the end.

A Sweetheart for Jude Fortune - Cindy Kirk (HSE #2312 - Feb 2014)

Series: Fortunes of Texas: Welcome to Horseback Hollow (Book 2)

It's love at first sight for one sexy cowboy--but has this Fortune met the only woman who just might slip through his grasp?

As Valentine's Day approaches, playboy rancher Jude Fortune Jones is convinced he has met the Woman He Is Going to Marry. (Again, his brothers tease.) But it is no joke to Jude. When petite brunette beauty Gabriella Mendoza arrives in Horseback Hollow, Jude knows he will never be the same.

Keep things light, Gabi tells herself. She is in no position to think about settling down, particularly with the hopeless-romantic cowboy. As a heart-transplant recipient, she has plenty of reasons to avoid getting too intimate with Jude--plenty of reasons to feel less than worthy of his love. How can she trust that the flirtatious Fortune is playing for keeps?

Good book.  Gabi has come from Miami to look after her father after he was in an accident.  She doesn't expect to meet someone like Jude.  He's so sweet and sexy, but she's not looking for anything permanent.  Meanwhile, Jude has finally found someone worth giving up his playboy reputation for, but she seems to be resisting.

I liked Gabi most of the time.  She has a great relationship with her father, even though she sometimes gets frustrated by his overprotective attitude.  She has a terrific sense of humor.  The first time she met Jude she was very attracted to him.  But as a heart-transplant recipient doesn't want to let Jude get too close.  She knows there's a chance that something could go wrong and she doesn't want to put him through that kind of pain. She also feels that she can't give him everything he deserves in a wife. So she tells him they can be friends for as long as she's in town, but that's all.  She is surprised by how quickly he comes to mean more to her than friends, but that love is what keeps her pushing him away.  I got really frustrated with the way that she didn't tell him everything about her health, and didn't give him the chance to decide for himself if he wanted to take that chance.  I did like the way that she took to life in Horseback Hollow.  Her enjoyment of the small town life made her long to move there permanently, but her fears sent her running.  

Jude was a sweetheart.  He's been playing the field for a long time, but did his best to make sure he didn't break anyone's heart.  When he met Gabi, he knew she was the one for him.  He doesn't understand her resistance to him, but he's willing to take things slow.  I really loved his persistence.  Slowly but surely he showed her how he felt.  There were so many really sweet and romantic things that he did with and for her.  I loved the way that he was completely accepting of her scar, showing her that it was not the turn-off that she thought it was.  Even when she finally came clean about her heart, he tried to convince her that his love was true.  I felt so terrible for him when she pushed him away, and so proud of him when he refused to stay away.  I'm looking forward to later books and seeing how things go for them.

Happy New Year, Baby Fortune! - Leanne Banks (HSE #2305 - Jan 2014)

Series: Fortunes of Texas: Welcome to Horseback Hollow (Book 1)

As she rings in the new year in Horseback Hollow, Texas, single mom Stacey Fortune Jones tries to count her blessings. She has an adorable baby girl, Piper; supportive parents; good friends. Best of them all is Colton Foster, her longtime neighbor from the ranch next door. He always seems to be around when she needs him. Trouble is, she may be starting to need him a bit too much.... 

She's off-limits, Colton keeps telling himself. The tall, muscular rancher turns to mush every time he sees Stacey. But falling for his little sister's best friend seems wrong on so many levels. She's on the rebound. She's got a baby. She's...complicated. What's a big-hearted cowboy to do?

A new year and a new family of Fortunes to hang out with.  It starts with the wedding of Sawyer Fortune and Laurel Redmond from Change of Fortune, the last book in the previous series.  Both Stacy and Colton are at the wedding.  Stacy is his little sister's best friend, he feels that he has no business noticing how she's changed.  At the same time, Stacy had never before thought of Colton as more than a brother-type figure, but suddenly she's noticing how sexy he is.  As they start to get to know each other as adults they have to deal with their own growing feelings and fears as well as attention and interference from family and friends.  

I really liked both Stacy and Colton.  Stacy is raising Piper on her own as her fiance fled when he heard she was pregnant.  They are living with her parents as Stacy tries to get back on her feet.  Seeing Colton at the wedding opened her eyes to things she had never noticed about him before, and his New Year's kiss rocks her socks.  She's not quite sure what to do with these new feelings as she is determined to provide a good life for her daughter.  She's not really looking for someone since she has a hard time believing another man would happily raise someone else's child.  But suddenly Colton is paying a lot of attention to her and her daughter and it's having an effect on her.  I really loved seeing the two of them get to know each other, both with and without Piper's presence.  Stacy comes to see Colton for the nice guy that he is.  I loved the way she had Colton getting to know Piper.  There are a couple really funny scenes as he gets to deal with her on his own.  Since having Piper, Stacy has become pretty quiet and serious, wanting to make sure she does her best for Piper.  Being around Colton brings some fun back into her life and she's starting to get used to him being there for her.  But she worries about whether he would want to stay involved with her.  I loved the ending and seeing her happiness as Colton expressed his lovefor them both.

Colton has always looked at Stacy as just his little sister's best friend.  Seeing her at the wedding showed him a different side of her.  There's just something about her that he can't get off his mind.  But he has a couple problems.  He blames himself for her fiance's desertion.  He had pushed Joe into making a commitment because he felt Joe wasn't treating her right, and thinks that none of it would have happened if he had kept his mouth shut.  His other problem is that he is terrified of Piper.  He's never been around little kids and is afraid of doing something wrong.  I loved seeing the first time he got left alone with her and how he had to cope with everything.  It was so sweet seeing him try so hard to get her to stop fussing.  The picture of them asleep as Stacy found them was heartwarming.  I also loved seeing the way he took care of both of them when Stacy got sick.  It was a real indication of just how great a dad he would be.  Colton worries about getting involved with Stacy because he doesn't want to take a chance on hurting them if he can't handle things.  I loved seeing how much he wanted to make life better for her, as he saw that she didn't seem as happy as she used to be.  I loved seeing the things he came up with to give her some fun.  It was great to see his protectiveness as he confronted those who said things about her.  I also loved his face off with her ex-fiance and what came of it.  His love for both Stacy and Piper was just what he needed.

I loved the part that little Piper has in the book.  She is so well portrayed that I can picture her easily.  She is a real cutie, but she is also a typical baby.  We hear about the good things, but also about the colic and teething, about the diaper failures (poor Colton!), and about what a difference she has made in so many lives.

There are also the trials of living in a small town, as everyone seems to have an opinion about the developing relationship between Colton and Stacy.  I loved Stacy's horror at some of the comments her mom makes, and Colton's frustration with his mom and dad's statements about not taking advantage of Stacy.  But through it all the love and support that both get from their families is the most important thing.

As the first book in the new series there are some important things being set up.  We get to know more about Jeannie Fortune Jones and her family.  She turned down the money that her brother offered her as part of the Fortune family because she felt that was the right thing to do.  We learn that one of her sons has a great deal of resentment toward the other Fortunes because he feels that his family missed out.  Another son hasn't truly embraced being part of the Fortune family.  There is also a hint that all isn't well in Horseback Hollow when it comes to the Fortunes.  The new flight school has one of its planes crash and there is some question about whether it was an accident.  I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series.