A Chick Who Reads: author: delores fossen

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Friday, October 1, 2021

Book Review: Texas On My Mind

Author: Delores Fossen

Title: Texas On My Mind

Publisher: HQN Books

Publish Date: Feb 23, 2016

Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb:

The McCord Brothers are the most eligible bachelors in Spring Hill, Texas. But these cowboys are about to get wrangled by the love of some very special women—the kind who can melt hearts and lay it all on the line.

Air force Captain Riley McCord has come home on medical leave to find one heck of a welcome reception. Every unattached woman in Spring Hill, Texas, wants to nurse him back to health. That includes his childhood friend Claire Davidson—the only person who understands how damaged he really feels. In high school, she chose his best friend over him. According to Riley's rules, that should make her off-limits forever. But when Claire suggests a no-strings fling, he can't refuse.

Claire always wanted Riley—but she also craved the safety and stability he couldn't offer. So she chose another path, only to end up crazier about him than ever. She's even convinced herself that this time she won't be devastated when he leaves. Yet once Riley realizes the depth of Claire's feelings—and his own—he'll have to make the ultimate choice: return to the job he loves or stay home for the woman who's always lived in his heart.

Review:

I'm seriously burned out on romance and this book didn't help matters. I'm not sure which killed romance more for me the main story aka Riley and Claire or the short story at the end Heath/Anna.

Either story combines the good ole boys that annoy me the most in reading, Cowboys and Super Military Dudes.

Groan.

Too much testosterone.

Oh and in Texas on my Mind there's the matter of Claire and her mommy issues, which are a big thing, as well as who the father of her son, Ethan is.

Truth be told, I started skimming at the end of the book and I'm not even sure if we got closure on Ethan's daddy.

The problem with this story for me is it just felt like so many other plot lines for the hero. Military guy suffers an injury and may end up having to become a civilian, and perish the thought, he might have to live like the rest of the world.

Nothing pulled me in here, which is why it took forever for me to read it. There wasn't even a lot of conflict other than the two exes that were really in the middle of the book. Nothing, and I do mean nothing made this book stand out for me.

The writing was fine. The characters were likable. Ethan was probably the best of the bunch. He was just adorable, but all young kids are in stories, at least for me. I wish I could say this was a great book, but for me it just fell flat.

Rating: 3 flowers

Thursday, October 11, 2018

TLC Book Tours Book Review: Lone Star Christmas

About Lone Star Christmas: Cowboy Christmas Eve (A Coldwater Texas Novel)

Series: A Coldwater Texas Novel (Book 1)

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: HQN; Original edition (October 1, 2018)
Synopsis:

A family crisis brings him home…

Just in time for Christmas

Cattleman Callen Laramie has no intention of returning to his hometown of Coldwater, Texas, until a Christmas wedding and a family secret convince him he has no choice. And when he’s reunited with his childhood crush, the girl who’d always been off-limits, Callen knows leaving might not be so easy this time.

Shelby McCall is as pretty as a Christmas snowfall, and Callen wants to kiss her under the mistletoe…and the Christmas tree…and the stars. But once Shelby knows the whole truth behind this homecoming, will their holiday fling come to an abrupt end? Or will she accept the gift of his heart?

Purchase Links

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Review: I have go to authors when it comes to certain types of books and when it comes to cowboys, it is always Delores Fossen. I was totally excited to see that she had written a holiday themed book, because those are my favorite types of books. Ever since I was in junior high, if there was a holiday romance, I wanted to read it.

Shelby and Callen have a relationship that was a long time in coming. They both had a crush on each other back when Callen was a foster at Shelby's family ranch. Their relationship is steamier than what I'm used to in Delores' books, in fact it seems that their relationship is all about sex. Love is declared, but there is no reason for it. There's no reason why they love each other, they just have good sex and that didn't even happen until midway through the book.

This book comes complete with a Christmas wedding and some super quirky characters, including a trench coat wearing flasher named Gopher. He was one the funniest parts of the book, along with Rosy, the cake toppers and the plethora of bridesmaids.

This book also has its share of family secrets and illness. It wasn't the easiest read for me at the current time of my life especially as the illness didn't seemed to be handled according to procedure. The mass, Buck had on his lung would not have been removed without a biopsy done first. I hate when medical stuff is off in books, mostly because I've dealt with so many illnesses from my parents that I know my stuff.

Then there's Rosy, Buck's intended. As a first book in a series, I wish I had more knowledge of the dad and Rosy, because even though she was sweet, she drove me bonkers. I wanted to know how they got together and why at this point in their lives they decided to take a walk down the aisle in such a big way.

Like Delores' other books her characters are all flawed individuals. Buck fostered Callen and his brothers years ago. Callen was the one brother that flew the coop. Again, I wish there was more back story given. Though some of it shows up to add a little drama at the end of the book.

I felt that there was much more that needed to be clarified and it needed more romance instead of jump your bones sex because Callen and Shelby just didn't feel like they were a forever kind of romance.

This wasn't the way I'd want to start a new series, but I do hope Callen's other brothers get more interesting stories, with better romance.

Rating: 3 flowers

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Book Review: Lucas

LUCAS

By USA Today bestselling author

Delores Fossen

A Texas Lawman will do anything to protect his son – even if it includes reuniting with the boy’s on-the-run mother…

Lucas Ryland has always had a way with the ladies. That is, until Hailey Darrow dropped him after a single night of passion. Then he discovered her unconscious body in a wrecked car with a fake ID and enough money to disappear. Unbeknown to him, the one who got away was leaving town with his baby…

Now Hailey is out of her coma, but still in danger. However, hiding her at his Silver Creek ranch ignites old passions and introduces new threats. Lucas must use every protective instinct in his arsenal to keep Hailey and their infant son safe. And to keep his body from remembering how good it felt to hold her in his arms.

Review: Delores Fossen writes a pretty good intrigue. This one, however felt a little too far fetched for me. Hailey is woman coming out of a coma and on the run to protect her baby. If Criminal Minds or any similar show had a romantic twist, this could easily have been a plot.

Guns are blazing, there are kidnapped babies, bombs going off, oh and a woman fresh out of coma, who managed to make doctors think she was still under for a week. Oh and did we mention that while she was in that coma she gave birth?

Yeah!

Fiction can be strange sometimes.

I've found that though Fossen's Intrigues are good, they lack something that you find in her longer novels. Romance is barely there even though Hailey and Lucas shared at least one night together and that night produced Camden.

It was hard to figure out who the baddie was in this one. There were a lot of possibilities in this one, with one of them being Hailey's sister, Colleen who had a baby with a pretty bad guy.

So yeah..a lot of action going on and everyone is after the children.

If you like thrillers, this is a great book. If you want something on the romantic side of thing, this might be one to pass on.

Rating: 4 flowers

DELORES FOSSEN is a USA Today bestselling author and an Air Force veteran who has sold millions of copies of her novels. She’s received the Booksellers’ Best Award for romantic suspense, the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, and was a finalist for the prestigious Rita. She’s written more than 50 books and has nearly 100 short stories and articles published in national magazines.

Friday, April 21, 2017

TLC Book Tours Book Review: No Getting Over A Cowboy

Author: Delores Fossen
Title: No Getting Over A Cowboy
Publisher: HQN
Publish Date: March 28, 2017
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: The golden cowboy of Wrangler’s Creek returns home to Texas to discover some old flames never fizzle… There are plenty of things Garrett Granger hadn’t counted on losing—his child to miscarriage, his wife to another man and the family business thanks to a crooked CFO. He also hadn’t counted on moving back to the family ranch, where he’s met by another surprise—former flame Nicky Marlow, who is renting his grandmother’s old house.

Nicky’s been rebuilding her shattered life since her husband’s death two years ago. But Garrett’s timely arrival in Wrangler’s Creek doesn’t automatically make him the missing piece of the puzzle. Even if he does seem to adore her two-year-old daughter… Even if seeing him again stirs up old feelings Nicky would gladly keep buried, forcing her to wonder if moving forward has to mean leaving everything behind…

Review: Delores Fossen is one of my favorite romance writers these days. I wasn't usually a cowboy type of girl, until I read her books.

This is Garrett and Nicky's story. Delores does a wonderful job at mixing family and humor into a story that you won't be able to put down.

Sometimes I wish I could write a review that really brings across how good this book was without giving away spoilers or just plain gushing.

So just trust me on this one. Delores Fossen delivers every time!

Rating: 5 flowers

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

TLC Book Tours Book Review: Holden

Author: Delores Fossen
Title: Holden
Publisher: Harlequin Intrigue
Publish Date: Feb 21, 2017
Buy:
Book Blurb: When a baby goes missing, a Texas marshal and a woman from his past discover there’s a whole lot more behind this kidnapping…

Holden Ryland certainly didn’t become a marshal just to end up busting his ex, Nicky Hart, for taking files from Conceptions Fertility Clinic. But only Nicky knows just what was really stolen: a newborn being held for ransom. A newborn who is kin to both her and Holden. The missing boy is only the start of a mystery that snakes through Texas, winding its way through their families. Bad blood may linger between them, but Holden can protect his nephew back at the Silver Creek Ranch. If they can lay their past to rest to rescue this child, is it possible for them to have a future together?

Purchase Links

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Review: Delores Fossen is probably one of the most fabulous writers out there. She writes great contemporary romances and intrigues.

Holden however raises the bar for all writers for the Intrigue line.

There's not a lot romance going on in this book, but the story doesn't require it. Nicky and Holden have a past affair but that really has nothing to do with what's going on, and by that I mean, a missing senator, a shady fertility clinic and embryos that were implanted into surrogates so that when the babies were born the parents could be blackmailed. One of the babies happens to be the child of both Nicky and Holden's siblings who are now deceased.

The story was action packed with so many twists and turns that it was impossible to figure out who was involved with the Genesis project, that Nicky was investigating and gets the ball rolling on all the action.

There are so many people that could be involved too. Some of them are pretty surprising too. I can totally see this book being made into a tv movie

I really enjoyed this book. Delores Fossen never disappoints.

Rating: 5 flowers

Friday, January 6, 2017

TLC Book Tours Book Review: Those Texas Nights

About Those Texas Nights

Series: A Wrangler’s Creek Novel (Book 1)

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: HQN Books (December 27, 2016)

The Granger siblings thought they’d left their ranching days behind, until fate sends them home to Wrangler’s Creek, Texas—and into the passionate arms of those they’d least expect…

It’s some run of bad luck when Sophie Granger loses her business and gets left at the altar all in one day. Desperate to not appear jilted, Sophie begs Clay McKinnon, Wrangler’s Creek’s smoking-hot police chief, to pretend they’re having an affair. But Clay refuses, leaving Sophie to retreat to the family ranch to lick her wounds.

Hoping to leave his disreputable past behind, Clay moved to Wrangler’s Creek for a fresh start. But that looks unlikely when Sophie’s ex-fiancé shows up married to Clay’s impulsive kid sister. Overcome, Sophie resuggests the affair—but this time for real. Clay is hesitant. City-girl Sophie isn’t usually his type. But he can’t deny the desire she elicits—or his yearning to have her plant her cowboy roots for good.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

About Delores Fossen

USA Today bestselling author, Delores Fossen, has sold over 70 novels with millions of copies of her books in print worldwide. She’s received the Booksellers’ Best Award, the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award and was a finalist for the prestigious Rita ®. In addition, she’s had nearly a hundred short stories and articles published in national magazines.

Connect with Delores

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Review: Delores Fossen is one of those authors that always reinforces my love for romance novels. If I've been reading a few duds in the romance genre, I only have to pick up one of Delores' books and I'll feel so much better about the genre.

Delores gets that small town, country vibe so well. Her characters are fun and funny and there's always a touch of drama that keeps things interesting.

Sophie gets stood up at the altar, which sets the story in motion. She runs to the interim sheriff Clay McKinnon to convince him to have a pretend affair with her.

It gets better from there, because Clay's sister and Sophie's ex end up married causing loads of drama there. Add to it her Godfather has embezzled funds from her company which could have sent her and her brother to jail. So she's out of a job, an apartment and her accounts are frozen.

Then there's her mom and friend Mila who seem intent on interfering with her love life. Gosh, Sophie's mom has to be one of the most annoying moms I've encountered in a book in ages.

Its character's like these that make the book interesting and funny.

In the midst of this she's developing feelings for Clay.

Ahhh

One of the best lines is "Clay pulled off his shirt, and her girl parts shouted yes!"

The only thing that has me shaking me head, is how Sophie and Clay fall in love when they really never talk about anything about themselves. They just have sex and personal issues, Clay with something bad that happened in his past, and Sophie with her family's business troubles.

They had a sex a few times, and both are in love? I don't exactly subscribe to that, but I still found everything that revolved around their relationship to be hilarious, especially the antics with April and Brantley.

Truly a great romance by one of my favorite authors.

Rating: 5 flowers

Delores Fossen’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS

Tuesday, December 27th: Reading Reality

Wednesday, December 28th: Book Reviews and More by Kathy

Friday, December 30th: Books and Bindings

Monday, January 2nd: Books a la Mode – excerpt

Wednesday, January 4th: The Sassy Bookster

Friday, January 6th: A Chick Who Reads

Monday, January 9th: Books and Spoons

Wednesday, January 11th: From the TBR Pile

Friday, January 13th: Written Love Reviews

Monday, January 16th: Mom in Love with Fiction

Wednesday, January 18th: The Romance Dish

Friday, January 20th: Read Love Blog – excerpt

Monday, January 23rd: Stranded in Chaos

Wednesday, January 25th: Susan Peterson

Thursday, January 26th: What I’m Reading

Monday, January 30: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

TLC Book Tours Book Review: Blame It On The Cowboy

About Blame it on the Cowboy

Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: HQN Books (September 27, 2016)

Every cowboy has a wild side—all it takes is the right woman to unleash it…

All of Logan McCord’s carefully laid plans erupt the day he walks in on his would-be fiancée getting…well, not so carefully laid. Tonight, just once, Logan is acting on instinct. And that instinct is telling him to say “Happy to oblige” to the cute stranger looking for a no-strings fling with a Texas cowboy.

When chef Reese Stephens made her bucket list, she mistakenly thought she had weeks to live. Not that she regrets her one-night-stand with the gorgeous rancher. But she does regret leaving an heirloom watch as a parting gift. Tracking Logan down ;

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Review: Can I just say that when I'm in a reading slump there should be a new Delores Fossen book to pull me out of it.

I am truly thankful for this book.

I had been reading a whole lot of books that while being good books, didn't move me, or make me feel anything.

I like to be emotionally involved in my reading.

Blame It On The Cowboy was a book that made me happy.

Yay!

The premise alone was amazing and funny. Logan's longtime relationship went down the tubes in a spectacular way and Reese was living out a bucket list because she was told she wasn't going to be living very much longer.

Yeah...you know there's going to be something funny here.

Seriously, the whole thing with Logan's ex and her sexy affair with a clown will provide you with loads of laughs.

Then there's Reese's friend Jimena. She's very protective of her friend. She makes some threats involving cat poop and coffee that were highly entertaining.

The drama of the story revolves around Reese's colorful past. She has a juvi record and her parents were con artists, which doesn't usually make her look good. There are a lot of people trying to blackmail people in this book.

The surprising thing about this book was how little sex there was in this book. Lots of talk about it. (A lot involving the clown and its nose...and well...I don't want to spoil it for you).

Logan is a great hero. I loved that there wasn't a huge conflict between him and Reese to pull them apart, it was really more about cleaning up the people making her life miserable.

I will say that things did wrap up a bit too nicely, but hey, this is romance.

I adore the McCord Brothers series is one of the best I've read and this book didn't disappoint. I loved how Logan and Reese came together.

If you love cowboys and romance, don't pass this book up.

Rating: 5 flowers

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Wednesday, June 15, 2016

TLC Book Tours Book Review: Lone Star Nights

About Lone Star Nights

Series: The McCord Brothers (Book 2)

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: HQN Books (May 31, 2016)

No strings attached is pretty much Lucky McCord’s calling card in Spring Hill, Texas, but when family is on the line, this cowboy’s honor and heart are about to get lassoed, tied and branded

Every family needs its black sheep, and Austin “Lucky” McCord is happy to oblige. The bad-boy bull rider lives fast and loose, until his business partner leaves him an unexpected bequest. Suddenly Lucky is sharing custody of two children with Cassie Weatherall, one of the few homegrown women he hasn’t bedded. And not from lack of trying…

Cassie fled her messy past to become a celebrity therapist in LA. So why does it feel so right to come back and share parenting duties—and chrome-melting kisses—with a man she’s striven to avoid? Loving Lucky always seemed like a sure bet for heartache. But for this perfectly imperfect family, Cassie might just gamble with everything she’s got.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Review: I've done binge reading of certain types of books. The last few books were cowboy type books. I was really impressed with the characters in this book. Almost all the characters have some pretty interesting flaws.

Lucky McCord is a bit of a manwhore. He's also so darn lovable that you'll forgive him for it. Seriously, this guy is just downright precious, and that's a word I save for characters like Mia. Really. I do.

Cassie is a hot mess. She's a celebrity therapist who has some pretty nasty panic attacks and her father owns the local strip club called "The Slippery Pole." Her father is an absolute a-hole. I loved that her grandmother knew this about him, and I love how she puts the screws to him from the grave. Good on you Dixie!

When her grandmother passes away Lucky and Cassie find themselves guardians of two girls that are both pretty flawed too. The oldest, MacKenzie dresses like she might work at The Slippery Pole. These aren't the type of children you'd expect to draw an unlikely couple together to find love. (Though the youngest Mia, is really adorable with the magic stars). MacKenzie does a wonderful job at causing trouble for everyone, herself included. You will love both girls as the story goes on. They are kids that really need love.

There's more than a little bit of drama. (Some of it involving cats) The romance is slow at building even though there's a lot of tension between Lucky and Cassie. Oh there's also Cassie's ex-boyfriend, who gives the work jerk new meaning.

This book was sexy and funny and full of twists and turns, and Dixie Mae really has the last say in the end.

I especially liked that this book wasn't full on cowboy/western. That part of the story was really the backdrop here. This book was about the characters and all their fabulous foibles.

Delores Fossen is an author that will be on my must read list from now on.

Rating: 5 flowers