Book Review – One Wild Night

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Book Review, Melissa Cutler, One and Only Texas series, One Wild Night

One Wild Night

A One and Only Texas Novel

by Melissa Cutler

Return to beautiful Briscoe Ranch Resort in Melissa Cutler’s next steamy installment of the One and Only Texas series, One Wild Night.

Get ready for the ride of your life…

A cowgirl at heart, Skye Martinez has a rebellious streak she’s determined to shake. Especially since she’s poised to take the reins of her family’s business at Briscoe Ranch Resort. It’s time for her to settle down and get serious about her future…right after one last night of fun with a handsome stranger she meets in the resort’s stable. But when a midnight horseback ride turns into a red-hot weekend with one of country music’s biggest stars, Skye’s world is rocked beyond her wildest dreams…

Gentry Wells rode his bad boy image all the way to the top of the country music charts. But churning out hits has dried up his creativity, and he can’t remember the last time his life was his own. Skye is a sexy distraction he can’t resist, especially since she breathes new life into his music. They bring out the wild side in each other, which is great for Gentry’s career—but a major threat to Skye’s. Too bad he’s fallen in love with her. With their hearts and futures on the line, can Gentry convince Skye to turn their joyride into a real chance to ride off into the sunset together?

“Melissa Cutler is a bright new voice in contemporary romance.” — New York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde

I really enjoyed seeing Gentry find his way.  He’s lost himself over the years as he’s fallen into being the bad boy of country music, but it’s just not him anymore (if it every really was all that much).  While struggling to find himself in his music again he’s roped into playing at a wedding where he meets Skye.  And things just click … in all sorts of ways!

Skye is also struggling between being the girl she thinks she should be and the freedom that her heart craves.  It’s not easy for her and a sexy man in boots is temptation she isn’t looking for.

While I liked Skye OK and I understood where her conflicts came from, it really was Gentry that held me.  And it definitely was entertaining seeing him convince Skye to walk on the wild side  🙂  Oh, I should warn everyone that they do put the wild in One Wild Night so those who like their love stories a little tamer might want to skip this one.  But if you are up for some spice then come join Skye and Gentry as they find themselves, each other, and a HEA that works for all their miscellaneous sides.

(While this is part of a series, it can easily stand on its own.  It’s my first full length book by Cutler and I had no problem keeping up.)

 

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Book Review – If Santa Were a Cowboy

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Book Review, If Santa Were a Cowboy, Melissa Cutler

If Santa Were a Cowboy

by Melissa Cutler

This Christmas, Santa wears a Stetson.

Paul Savage loves Christmas at Briscoe Ranch Resort, when he gets to take a break from being a back country guide to play Santa in the resort’s lobby and talk to kids about toys. The last thing he expects is his high school crush to come waltzing in as his new assistant photographer, wheeling a suitcase that’s more naughty than nice.

Kelly Walker is a disaster. All she’d wanted was to spice up her life by saying ‘yes’ to every opportunity, which is when the universe started pelting her with ‘no’s.’ So when she comes across a job listing for a holiday photographer working with the sweet, scrawny boy whose advances she’d laughed off in high school, she jumps on the chance to turn her bad Karma around by giving Paul a second chance.

Trouble is, Paul’s anything but scrawny anymore, and his cowboy swagger throws her grand plans for a loop—especially when he tempts her with a red hot proposition of his own. Kelly’s in way over her head, but as she gets swept up in the magic of Briscoe Ranch’s holiday charms—and Paul’s—could Kelly’s year of ‘no’s’ be leading up to the ‘yes’ of a lifetime?

I found this novella to be sweet with a middlin’ heat level … although, I gotta say that when you show up with a Nice suitcase and a Naughty suitcase that I’d expect that we’d at least get a little play with the things in toy chest? 🙂   I know that it falls in the whole Santa and Christmas thing but I was kinda hoping for at least a little more steam out of all the goodies she brought.

But overall that was my only complaint – the characters are enjoyable, the story complete, and the ending works without feeling rushed.  The length of the book is helped by the fact that these two were friends (of a sort) years ago and even though they have changed over time the closeness they had helps give them a good foundation to work with.

I know that a lot of reviewers are complaining about the lie that Kelly tells, which is more of an omission because she’s embarrassed and doesn’t want him to know how she’s screwed up.  Which is totally understandable.  Here she is with a guy that had a crush on her when she was one of the most popular girls in school but he was a nerdy outsider and now he’s the one who is all hot with his life together while she’s feeling kicked around.  Why would you want to admit to that?  Especially with the embarrassment factor thrown in.  I’d find it hard to own up to as well.

Now, granted, he’s amazingly understanding and forgiving once everything does come out.  He’s not perfect but he’s still the sweet, nice guy he was all those years ago.  (Just now in an amazingly sexy package.)  You can totally understand why she wants a chance with him, and I appreciate that she wanted that chance before she found out what a hottie he’d become.  Makes her at least a little less shallow than she used to be  🙂

She’s not perfect, but Kelly is real.  And while there may be a little of him finally getting his dream girl in Paul’s reaction to her showing up, I’d like to think he’s the better man he seems to be and he truly does understand the real her and that’s the girl he’s falling for.

Book Review – Undefeated

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Bomb Squad series, Book Review, Melissa Cutler, Undefeated

Welcome to Destiny Falls, New York, home of Bomb Squad—an ice hockey team full of rugged military heroes. The team’s battling a losing streak, but the season’s biggest game changer is one player’s second chance with the one who got away…

Yoga instructor Marlena Brodie is always up for a challenge, and her new job of snapping Bomb Squad out of their rut is definitely that, even though it means being in close contact with Liam McAllister, her high school crush gone bad. She can feel the damage pouring off of him—but also a wild and sexy strength that calls to her.

The Army turned Liam McAllister into a man, but as a combat medic, he saw far too much to ever be whole again. He’s not interested in the civilian world beyond his job as a carpenter, but he never stopped wondering what might have been with Marlena—and it isn’t long before she’s crashed through his carefully constructed walls. He longs for a new beginning with her, but to be the man she deserves, he’ll have to step out of his defensive zone and score the most important play of his life…

I am one of those people who love a good soldier romance.  There is something sweet about someone who has gone thru so much and sacrificed for others finding their special someone.  And something even more so when it is a damaged soldier and Cutler’s series is just full of them.

Some may be put out by Marlena’s new age beliefs, and they are pretty prevalent, but I actually like her as a person.  She isn’t overly preachy and her attitude of acceptance definitely helps her deal with Liam and his issues.  But the best part is that she has some problems of her own and Liam helps her deal with those as well.  I love the give and take here – it isn’t one sided with one person doing all the helping – it is nice to see that they can support each other.

But Liam definitely has the lion’s share of troubles.  Coming home with PTSD and learning to live as a civilian again has definitely taken its toll.  He’s strong but I do like the fact that he recognizes he needs help and is willing to do what is needed.  He is a bit of a jerk though so you have to be ready for some moments when you don’t like him very much, but seeing his situation from his perspective and getting Marlena’s take on it makes him a very sympathetic character. 

While this is the second book in the series, I once again joined in the middle and didn’t have any issues – Undefeated can definitely stand on its own.  But saying that, Cutler does a fantastic job of giving her readers a great set of secondary characters between Marlena’s friends and the rest of the Bomb Squad.  And although we don’t get a ton of time with them, the appearances they do make definitely has me ready for more stories.  There are a lot of paths that Cutler can go down with these guys and I’m looking forward to seeing what she chooses.

If you are looking for a hard-hitting and emotional read, Undefeated is the perfect choice.  There are times when it got difficult to keep going but the characters grabbed me so I couldn’t stop – I had to know how they got to their HEA.