Escape with Above Rubies

Peace River

By: Jaclyn M. Hawkes

The Goodreads Blurb: His chivalry was strangling her. He thought he was helping her—and in truth, he was. She was in desperate straits. But as honorable as he was, he was also breaking her heart.

Her attraction was drowning him. When World Champion rodeo cowboy Rossen Rockland and his friends rescue a young runaway who has been abused by her foster father and take her home to his parents’ ranch, he expects her to turn out to be a pain in the neck. And sometimes she is.

It doesn’t take him long to figure out that she has way more than her allotment of troubles—and far more than her share of gifts. Lovely, talented, and ravingly brilliant, Kit Star is too young, unbelievably humble, and oh, so loveable. Knowing that she needs his protection and time to grow into her potential, Rossen also figures out that what she really is, is a pain in the heart.

The second book of the Rockland Ranch Series, which started with Peace River, Above Rubies can also stand alone. It features the characters you meet in Peace River, but the focus is on the newly introduced Kit Star. Also remember that this is a LDS contemporary romance series. Which means its a clean romance and has religious aspects to it. I enjoy that, but its not for everyone.

Kit Star is another girl with a troubled past that doesn't let it define her. I love the strong female roles that Jaclyn M. Hawkes writes. Kit rises above her past and lets faith conquer fear. I so respect her for that. Some of what she deals with I don't know if I could handle the way she did.

Rossen plays a much larger role as well. I enjoyed getting to know him better. He is the kind of guy I want in my life. Who doesn't love an intelligent cowboy?

The story was well written and its a pretty fast read. Both characters were beyond stubborn which got a little frustrating and I also felt that they communicated with everyone but each other!

Still if you want a clean contemporary romance with musical talent, strong women, overcoming trials, and powerful messages to share then go get Above Rubies!!

Check out Above Rubies at Goodreads or Amazon!

Escape with Peace River

Peace River

By: Jaclyn M. Hawkes

The Goodreads Blurb: The police didn't understand the danger, but she did. Her father had always been abusive, but now, with a ten million dollar Thoroughbred farm on the line, and a powerful bookie leaning on him, her father had become out of control. But how do you get away and take a world famous stallion with you? Carrie was getting desperate when a handsome and honorable but thoroughly cynical rodeo cowboy from Wyoming happened to show up with a horse trailer. He didn't ride a white horse, but he was definitely a knight in shining armor. He'll protect her from the mob, but can she survive falling in love with a bull rider?
First I want to make readers aware that this is a LDS contemporary romance. So if religious aspects or mentions are unappealing to you then don't read this book. I felt that the religious aspect was well written and it added another dimension to the characters. Being a Christian myself I felt it made the characters more realistic to me and think that it doesn't detract from the overall story, but adds to the theme of the book.
This book had a lot of things I enjoyed. I read it on a plane ride where I was delayed and had to sit on the tarmac for over and hour. It was the perfect escape from the diaper smelling plane I was stuck on. I loved horses and enjoyed reading about the cowboys and horse events. Being a horse back rider I could tell immediately that Jaclyn Hawkes was also a rider. She was so realistic when writing about the experience of traveling to horse shows and caring for horses.
I loved Carrie and could see why she had so many loyal friends. Despite the many things that go wrong for her she had this quiet personal strength that I really admired. I felt that she was a wonderful example of persevering through life and the trials we are given.
The reason Peace River lost a star for me is I couldn't quite accept that depiction of the police. While I know that sometimes police forces don't intervene when called upon, it seemed to me that I couldn't understand why they weren't getting involved here and if that was realistic or not. I also found it strange that she mostly stayed in Carrie's perspective, but occasionally would throw in another point of view and it wasn't always a smooth transition.
Overall if you want a enjoyable clean romance that has horses, hot men, and religious tones take a leap of faith and give Peace River a chance.
Check out Peace River on Goodreads and Amazon.