Stranded With the Rancher - Janice Maynard (HD #2329 - Oct 2014)

Series: Texas Cattleman's Club: After the Storm (Book 1)

For billionaire horse breeder Drew Farrell, the day starts with the usual argument with ornery neighbor Beth Andrews. But within minutes, he and the irritating beauty are huddled together in a storm cellar praying for their lives. They call a truce…and seal it with an unexpected kiss.

They emerge to a scene of utter devastation. Their passion to rebuild is only rivaled by the very personal passion they've just discovered…until Beth's past catches up with her, and a very different type of storm erupts….

Very good book with an incredibly intense start. Beth and Drew have lived next door to each other for almost two years. Drew is constantly angry with her because he had wanted the land she bought for her farm. Now the traffic coming to her farmstand is stressing his high priced horses and he really wants her to sell out to him, or at least move her stand. As he confronts her yet again, a huge tornado appears in the distance. They get trapped in her storm cellar for twenty-four hours while they await rescue. And in that twenty-four hours things between them start to change.

The intensity of the storm is described with heart pounding detail. I could feel the tension as first they raced for shelter and then as the storm passed directly overhead. Once the storm passed and they discovered they were trapped, Beth's fears were easy to understand. I really liked the way that they put their animosity aside in order to support each other. With that on the back burner I liked seeing them get along with each other. It then became clear that much of their animosity had hidden an underlying attraction. 

The devastation to the town of Royal was heartbreaking. I know it is a fictional town, but I've been reading TCC books for so long that it feels real. I loved seeing how everyone bands together to start the recovery process. Beth's property was heavily damaged, but with their new truce, Drew offers to let Beth stay at his home. As they work together to help the town, they grow closer and their attraction becomes too hard to resist. 

I loved their attraction and seeing them try to deal with it. I liked Drew and how he made sure Beth was taken care of. He's rich and handsome and used to getting what he wants, and he wants Beth. He doesn't think anything about the differences in their backgrounds, just that he is starting to care for her very much. I got a little frustrated with Beth. She fully admits her attraction to Drew, and even that she is also starting to care for him. But she can't stop thinking about their differences. She considers herself a plowhorse next to his thoroughbred. She is always sure that whatever they have will be over as soon as he realizes that she's just not good enough for him. I liked the fact that Drew didn't give up on her until he had her convinced that they could make it work.

I enjoyed seeing Drew's brother Jed from The Untameable Texan. We get to see Jed break the news to Drew about Kimberly and the baby, and then the fun of planning their wedding. I loved the idea they came up with for the wedding and the way it all came together. I'm really looking forward to the rest of this series and seeing how Royal works together for its recovery.

The Untameable Texan - Janice Maynard (HD - Oct 2014)

Series: Texas Cattleman's Club: After the Storm (Book .5)

Texas financier Jed Farrell always gets what he wants -- except when it comes to the one who got away, Kimberly Fanning. Now he's here to settle old scores with his high school sweetheart at their ten-year reunion. But when they end up back between the sheets, the man with a plan soon gets an unplanned baby surprise. Will old doubts and differences scuttle their second shot at a future together? The time for answers is running out as a storm literally brews on the horizon….

Very short prequel to the newest Texas Cattleman's Club series. Jed has come back to Royal for his high school reunion for one reason. He wants to see Kim again and finally find out why she broke things off with him after he left for college. He has realized that he's never forgotten her and feels that he will never have a successful relationship until he deals with his past.

Kim is surprised to see Jed at the reunion, and not very happy when he makes it clear that they will talk before he leaves. She had loved him very much, but felt that the differences between them were too great for them to have a future together. He was wealthy and had a great future ahead of him. She was poor and the only one of her family left to take care of her ailing grandmother. She was afraid he would throw it all away to stay with her, so she broke things off.

A couple dances together and they discovered that the old attraction was still there. Those dances led to a smoking hot night together, but she left in the morning before Jed woke up. Thanks to crises at work, it was six long weeks before Jed could get back to Royal and talk to Kim. All he had been able to think of was her, and he wanted a chance to convince her that they could have it all.

Kim had run because she was scared by the intensity of the feelings she still had for Jed. She still couldn't see a future for them because she was still hung up on their differences. But she turns up pregnant, and Jed is right there, insisting on taking care of her. He wants more than just to share parenting duties, and Kim has to decide if she wants to take a chance on the future she's dreamed of.

Just as they declare their feelings for each other, the sirens go off. In the distance is a monster tornado, heading straight for Royal. They know that things are going to change far more than they had expected.

I loved Jed's determination to show Kim how much he cared. The scenes in the doctor's office were sweet, as was his care for her when she passed out on him. I really wanted Kim to have more confidence in herself and their feelings, and fortunately it did come through in the end. For such a short story I thought it did well at developing the characters and setting up for the series.