From USA Today Bestselling Author Kathleen Ball A Sweet Contemporary Western Romance. A Fantastic page turner! A Fan Favorite."Kathleen Ball is a master storyteller! I love the stories she weaves."Can love blossom when everything around you is in shambles? Garrett O’Neill never intended the marriage to be authentic. He only married Callie Daniels as her mother’s dying request. He was to hold the land safe for Callie while she goes off to college. To him, Callie is just a young girl who was his constant shadow.
Callie Daniels is home. Home to her beloved ranch and home to the cowboy she cherishes. She’s waited for this day for four years. They can finally start their married life.
Sadly, her heart shatters, realizing Garrett never loved her. Their marriage is a farce and Garrett possesses an impenetrable wall around his heart.
Startling events take place on the ranch and to remain safe, they must work together. Cattle are missing, some are dead. Garrett is under suspicion of murder. No one is who they profess to be. Through it all, Callie refuses to give up on love.
Will Garrett admit he loves her before it’s too late?
Best-Selling, Award Winning Author of Contemporary Western Romance and Sweet Historical Western Romance.
Writing is my bliss and I try to write every day. I started with two publishers who I learned a lot from. Now I self publish. I like the control it gives me over release dates and book covers.
It took a few chapters to realize that I’ve already read this with a different title. I’ll attach that review because I’m too lazy to rewrite one for the same book. It was ok, I have a soft spot for Diana Palmer (the plot is very similar to Lawless), so I enjoyed parts, but was also dreadfully bored for a good chunk of the book. My biggest complaint was how long the conflict was sustained by miscommunication and assumptions. Chapters and chapters and chapters of back and forth because these two couldn’t communicate like adults.
Another murder in the same town as the other one. Garrett married the heroine and received some land. He thought he was too old for her so he pretended to date and he hired a skank as his housekeeper. But he actually didn't sleep around on the heroine. He loved her. I liked how they resolved everything, actually communicated and worked things out. There was a couple of secrets that came out but for the most part they were honest. He messed up hiring the skank because Sylvie tried to seduce him at every turn. then she ends up dead and there are so many suspects and hidden agendas, its just crazy. Very action packed last two chapters and the epilogue was awesome.
I must confess the plot was confusing. It started as OW drama but then there was a murder and mystery… then it became more confusing. The hero acted strange but never groveled enough. The heroine apologized for things that didn’t make sense. I liked Stamos. The Bailey character was like… huh? I do not know. It was confusing 🤷🏻♀️ But the writing was good
Callie returns home to the ranch after finishing college to face Garrett, whom she married in name only to protect her inheritance. He is older than her, but she is deeply in love with him, but is he in love with her? This a one of those stories where you want to knock the couple's heads together to bring them to their senses and confirm their love for each other, but then it'd be a much shorter story. In addition to the romance angle there are things going on at the ranch that they are trying to get to the bottom of, which includes Garrett being arrested for murder. As someone who lives in the UK the attraction of living in a ranch in Texas isn't immediately obvious, however the story manages to bring this to life. There is a teaser of the next book in the series at the end and I'm certainly looking forward to reading it.
Get your favorite drink and set in your favorite chair for this longer than normal read by Ms. Ball as you will not be leaving this gripping story until the end. A wonderful romantic suspense with plenty of action, mystery, and intrigue. Just when you think you have it figured out. No such luck, here comes another curve ball from left field changing everything. Everyone seems to have a hidden secret. You will even start to wonder who the good guys are, and who will get the girl. A few of the characters you will simply fall in love with. The old ladies from the tea and yarn shop have such good hearts. They mean well and they will do about anything for their small town. The original cowboys to the ranch were a tight group.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Great beginning of a new series by Kathleen Ball. Garrett and Callie had exchanged wedding vows but it was a marriage in name only. When she comes home from college, she finds him sitting “way too close” to the new gorgeous housekeeper. They had gotten married as a favor to her dying mother to save Callie’s family ranch. Her heart is broken because she truly loves Garrett. He feels he doesn’t deserve to be her husband because she’s so much younger than him and he feels she could do better. Troubles start happening all over the ranch. Can Garrett and Callie come together to figure it out and save their ranch and relationship?.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Cal has been married for a while to a man who saved her ranch after her mother was very ill. After finishing her studies, she goes back home. She is eager to spend time with her horses and work on the ranch. Garrett loves Cal, but she is so young and innocent that he tries to keep her away from him. I didn’t like Cal jumping to conclusions all the time. She behaved as a spoiled child: now I want you, now I don’t. However, I liked her love for the land and animals. I did enjoy the action and mystery, but I think there are several chapters and several jealousy scenes too many. All in all, I enjoyed the book a lot. I like the mysteries in Kathleen’s books. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Can they find love? I have to admit I had mixed feeling on this story. First off it is very well written and the characters are unique and interesting. There are some awesome twists and challenges. The story is so heartbreaking at times and it brought a tear to my eye once or twice. The story is a roller coaster ride of emotions. The heroine of tale was hurt so much I was really surprised the book ended so well. I am not sure reality would have such an ending. That said it is a very good book well written and will touch your heart. I did receive a free copy of this book from Booksprout and voluntarily chose to review it.
Callie is home, she's been away to college and now graduated, she's been in love with Garrett for years, he's her best friend, they got married before she went away, mainly to save her ranch, now they're going to merge the two together, she can't wait. But things aren't what she expects, Garrett seems to have a girlfriend, under the guise of a housekeeper, where does that leave her. Garrett feels guilty about how he's treating Callie, but she's a lot younger than him and he doesn't want her to be saddled with him. A lot of miscommunication before things are settled.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I think Garrett has the ability instead of taking two steps forward and 1 step back to take two steps forward and sometimes 3 steps back. He has one of the worse cases of foot in mouth diseases I know. Kathleen Ball has given Callie tough path forward in getting Garrett to acknowledge his love for her. He is too busy saving her from himself. Okay there really are some bad guys involved and it is hard for them to know who to trust. We are given romance, humor, danger and more than a few surprise twists that I doubt you will see coming. I really enjoyed this book.
This is a great start to the Sweet Lasso Springs series and I loved Garrett and Callie's crazy journey of love. The storyline is filled with intrigue, mystery, suspense, and a beautiful love story that had some interesting twists and turns along the way. Garrett and Callie marry for the land but she really loves him and he thinks he's too old for her. Their journey of love had me reading nonstop it was that good. Garrett is book one in the Sweet Lasso Springs series and I look forward to reading the rest of this series. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.
A great beginning book to this series. It has a lot twist and turns with intrigue, strife and romance. Garrett thinks he's to old for Callie. She's loved him as long as she can remember. There are so many complications in their lives. It all makes for an interesting read. I look forward to the next book in the series.
This book has everything you want in a good read! Wonderfully written characters, lots of mystery, drama and a little intrigue thrown in to keep those pages turning! A page turner is always exciting for me. Kathleen Ball writes page turners very well. She kept us guessing throughout! Job well done!
A great story that had great characters who seemed real in their feelings and struggles. I loved the setting of the ranch, horses, and cattle. A unique and original story. I received a copy of this book and all opinions are mine.
It is a very well written story, but the emotional highs and lows swing dramatically! Grab a tissue before you start reading. Definitely didn't see the ending coming, but am glad they made it there.
Was a great read from beginning to end and so hard to put down. This is a heartwarming, action packed and emotional journey filled with engaging charters, witty dialog, heart racing twists and undeniable passion.
I liked the way she makes the interaction of her people. Things get convoluted and it takes awhile to get it worked out. It's the way they it's handle things. Lord if real life could work the way they do in books.
Once again MS Ball hit the long ball with this book. It held many interesting sidelines while keeping to the main. Plot good and characters very interesting.
Scene of husband striking wife totally out of reason (and not in character with his other characteristics of making retribution for wrong done by others) downgraded rating.
The story is the first in the Sweet Lasso Springs series. It contains secrets, lies, deceit, surprises, mystery, suspense, danger, and second chances. For Callie, returning home to Texas comes with mixed emotions. She is glad to be home, confused why Garrett didn’t make her graduation, and then she is hurt by what she sees, and she is lost, not knowing what will happen with her future. Being away at college for four years hasn’t been easy, but she hoped to finally have a true marriage with Garrett, not one in name only—but maybe that is a pipe dream she will have to give up.
The story is a page-turning tale with mystery, suspense, and danger. A detective that has it out for Garrett, a housekeeper that likes to stir up trouble, ranch hands that don’t seem to fit in, and unexplained things happening at the ranch. This story has the good, the bad, and the evil of people.
Callie and Garrett are married and have been since she was seventeen, right out of high school, as requested by her dying mother, to protect her rights to the land. But there is more to it than meets the eye. Garrett is a man who doesn’t have much respect for his late father and the way he treated his mother—and the fact that there was a significant age difference played a role. That is what keeps him at arm’s length with Callie. He feels he is too old for her, and she has never had a chance to make her own choices for romance. But the fact is, Callie has been in love with Garrett for a long time, long before they ever married, and those feelings aren’t one-sided.
I loved the mystery and suspense within this tale, trying to decide who could be trusted and who is trouble. The on-and-off relationship between Garrett and Callie is a rollercoaster ride of indecisions, mostly on his part or because of him. He sends such mixed messages that keep her off balance. Sometimes he seemed sweet and caring and then would turn around and say hateful and cruel things.
Between the cut wires, mishaps with Callie, cattle-killing, and a murder at the property, the law would rather blame Garrett than look for the true culprit. Not everyone is as they seem, and trouble threatens Callie and Garrett's livelihood and home. What will happen between them?
Callie: Cowboy, you have my heart, always have, always will. Garrett: You are my heart, my soul, my best friend. I’ve been lost without you.