Friday, April 1, 2016

Back in the Saddle

Back in the Saddle

by Ruth Logan Herne   

Contemporary Romance
Waterbrook Multnomah 

The prodigal is coming home.

It's been a long time since Colt Stafford shrugged off his cowboy legacy for shiny Manhattan loafers and a promising career on Wall Street. But when stock market manipulations leave him financially strapped, the oldest son of legendary rancher Sam Stafford decides to return to the sprawling Double S ranch in Gray's Glen, Washington. He's broke, but not broken, and it's time to check in with his ailing father, and get his legs back under him by climbing into the saddle again.

He doesn't expect to come home to a stranger pointing a loaded gun at his chest---a tough yet beautiful woman that Sam hired as the house manager. Colt senses there's more to Angelina Morales than meets the eye and he's determined to find out what she's hiding . . . and why.

Colt's return brings new challenges. Younger brother Nick has been Sam's right-hand man at the ranch for years and isn't thrilled at having Colt insert himself into Double S affairs. And the ranch's contentious relationship with the citizens of Gray's Glen asks all the Stafford men to examine their hearts about what it truly means to be a neighbor.  And as Wall Street recovers, will Colt succumb to the call of the financial district's wealth and power---or finally the courage to stay in the saddle for good?

Advance Praise for Back in the Saddle:

"Heart and hope combine in Ruth Logan Herne's sweet tale of old wounds and ties that bind. Where faith and forgiveness are present, old scars can be healed and new love can bloom. Sometimes, you really can go home again."

---Lisa Wingate, national best-selling author of The Story Keeper and The Sea Keeper's Daughters
"As always, Ruth Logan Herne shoots straight to the heart withBack in the Saddle . . . the heart of the story and the reader. This is one cowboy love story you'll want to enjoy to the very last page."
---Debra Clopton, author of Kissed by a Cowboy

My thoughts: BACK IN THE SADDLE is a contemporary romance with a New York City stockbroker cooling his heels and working his muscles on a western cattle ranch after a deal went south on Wall Street. He's estranged from his father and brothers and hasn't seen them in nine years, which has to be difficult. Colt is healing, his dad has deep regrets and the housekeeper/cook seems to be running the whole shebang. What is up with that?  A little investigating reveals Angelina isn't what she pretends. Will Colt find his footing on the ranch or race back to NYC as soon as the cattle gate opens?  

BACK IN THE SADDLE is kind of slow moving, but it did steadily plod along. It was interesting to see these two strong willed characters -- and I say two, actually the whole family and crew are strong willed, try to do what they need to do and keep from butting heads in the process. Difficult, even for the most even tempered of the bunch. Angelina used her rolling pins multiple times to break up sibling warfare, but what about when she and Colt butt heads?  I also didn't care for the fact that Colt thumbed his nose at God and religion and Angelina never questioned this. Though I did admire the way she reacted when she first found out. 

If you like cowboy romances with an unlikely cowboy and a housekeeper/cook with secrets then don't miss BACK IN THE SADDLE.  Definitely not edge of your seat, tension filled romance, but rather a healing, a coming home, a renewing of a family. Ms. Herne is a talented author and fans won't want to miss this book. 3.5 stars. 

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1MyMU8l

 Meet the Author

Ruth Logan Herne has more than half a million books in print, including fifteen Love Inspired contemporary novels. Back in the Saddle is the first book in her new western romance series. Ruth is a founding member of Seekerville, a popular writing collective blog. A country girl who loves the big city, Ruth and her husband live on a farm in upstate New York.



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