Lonestar Secrets

Title: LONESTAR SECRETS
Author: Colleen Coble
Publisher: Doubleday
2008
ISBN: 978-0-7394-9860-6
Genre: Inspirational/contemporary

Shannon Astor swore she’d never return to the town of Bluebird Crossing, Texas. Her parents were killed there and she lived with a harsh uncle. After Shannon gave birth to twins, and one died, Shannon took her remaining daughter and went to school to become a vet. Years later, Shannon was offered a job in Bluebird Crossing, and she returns home to her uncle’s ranch, now hers.

A body is found on the ranch, that of the old ranch hand, but the death appears to be unsuspicious. But that is the least of Shannon’s concerns. A local rancher, Jack, a man Shannon despises, has a daughter who is identical to Shannon’s daughter. Same birthdays. Same clinic. And Shannon’s daughter, Kylie is adamant that Faith is her twin sister. Shannon had never told Kylie she had a twin.

But secrets are hidden, lives are at stake, and Jack and Shannon battle for custody of Faith. Shannon wants both her children, and Jack is unwilling to give up the one he has. What will it take to reach a compromise?

LONESTAR SECRETS is the sequel to Lonestar Sanctuary though it easily stands alone. The characters in Lonestar Sanctuary are prevalent in this book though. I wanted to read this book since I read the first one, and Colleen Coble ranked high on my must-read authors list. But I didn’t care for this series as much as I did her other series or stand-alone books.

Shannon is a strong woman, suspicious, and believing everyone is out to get her, while hauling herself up on her own boot-straps. She is used to taking care of herself, but will grudgingly allow close friends access to her life. She doesn’t like Jack because he’s the son of a senator and he did her wrong once years ago when he was eighteen. I can understand her attitudes as I’ve known other single parents who respond the same way, so I’d say that Ms. Coble did her research there, she is quite realistic. But I didn’t grow to love Shannon the way I wanted to. Jack on the other hand was a sweetheart who responded kindly even while he stood firm on the issues he believed in. Fans of Ms. Coble won’t want to miss LONESTAR SECRETS. Available from your favorite booksellers. 321 pages.