GRR Reviews That Hollister Man by Margaret Desmond

Sage moved far from Boston, all the way to Hollister, Montana, to save her little brother, who was about to be recruited into a local gang. Her online friend had to go visit her daughter-in-law to welcome her grandchild into the world, and sold Sage the small restaurant and ranch. Sage did not expect to meet a rugged and handsome rancher... who's seriously miffed that the land he had eyed for years to complete his family ranch was sold to an "outsider". But as Sage and brother fits into the small town life, where she will be making pies, and her brother kept grumbling about returning to Boston when he turned 18, she started to figure out that perhaps that Hollister man (town was named after his great-granddad) may just be a lonely and slightly misunderstood guy...

Interesting slow-simmer romance between rancher and city girl, sort of opposite attract. Also a bit slow at times. Not too much threat. 3.5/5

GRR Reviews Her Wild Coast Rescue by Dakota Davies

Tim lost his brother in a huge train derailment fifteen years ago. Now, he's a mountain rescue tech, specializes in rappelling down helos, first aid, wilderness survival, and mountain rescues. He knew he wanted to give back, but as an EMT, he knew he had to harden his heart, if he had any after losing his brother. Until he rescued Matt, and his sister, Sarah, from a mountain. // Matt and Sarah were climbing McKenzie when he suffered a bad fall and major head injury. Sarah was a nursing student, and through her skills, Matt's condition is stabilized for rescue by Tim and his crew. Tim and Sarah felt an instant connection neither can deny. But does Tim still have a heart to give? And Sarah will be gone one day, when Matt's condition was resolved, one way or the other... Right?

A short novel (120 or so pages), there is actually quite a bit of plot. Rescue details are authentic, though it did sort of revert to "trauma leading to sudden realization" trope that has little to do with the FMC. One also questions how did Tim get his bedrooms skills if he's such a loner? ;) 4/5

GRR Reviews James by Shayne Ford

WARNING: Cliffhanger, every three books concentrate on one couple, series is up to 18 books.

Rain is the calm and plain sister of the family. But even she can't resist the draw of James Sexton, one of the Kings. They are rich, powerful, and it's rumored that any single woman who spent the night with them are changed forever in some way. Rain wanted to find out, even hand over her v-card, if she can find out James' secrets...  // James enjoys woman, and so does a few of his powerful friends. Sometimes. they even share. But when James encountered Rain, he decided not to share her... Would that be a wise decision for him? For her?

The book reads like a soap opera, with decisions barely make any sense. Rain claims to be the clear thinker of the family, but her mind goes to dirty places despite her holier-than-thou attitude toward her sister (who obviously is prettier and has more boyfriends). Rain wanted to investigate the Kings Mansion with her friend, and they joke/dream about what would happen to them if they got caught. And for a virgin, she sure knew a lot of moves once she got into bed with James. There really isn't much of a plot or conflict except some melodrama (where Rain's lecture just rubs her sister wrong, as they try to get on each other's nerves). Things just happen, and the couple reacts to them. It doesn't really make me want to read the next volume. 2/5

GRR Reviews Claiming a Cowboy by Daisy Gold

NOTE: 60-page novella

Chloe made all the arrangements to leave her parents for three months so she can visit her sister, married to a cowboy in Oklahoma and a new baby already. It'd be a good escape as her father was always haranguing her about why doesn't she get a better job, why doesn't that new son-in-law upgrade their house, and so on. But she does owe them after her illness which almost bankrupted the family. Right? Until she saw who came to pick her up... // Liam wasn't happy to pick up Chloe. While Chloe was the woman of his dreams, he had rejected her that night, because she's his brother's wife's sister, and too young and innocent (over a decade age gap). But Chloe, despite feeling humiliated, is determined to show Liam that the attraction is mutual...

An interesting twist ending complete with a grand gesture. Good attraction if a bit instant. Good short, even if the evil turned out to be flat. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews Want Me, Cowboy by Sinclair Jayne

NOTE: Part of Wilder Brothers series, Book 1 reviewed earlier

Luke Wilder can't believe he'd got into a fight at Grey's Saloon. All he wanted was a beer. Then someone pretty (judging by her scent) hugged him from behind. He turned around to offer her a smile, she turned white as a sheet and ran off. He wanted to apologize, only to get a punch in the face... from a brother Colt he never knew he had. But Luke is in town for business... talk with fiery redheaded bull breeder Tanner about her bulls joining the IBRA pro league // Tanner is fine being the "quiet" sister (her sister Tucker can take the spotlight). She wants to take over the family ranch and her bull breeding program is already producing results... multiple hundred-percenters (no bullrider made it to full 8 seconds). When IBRA accepts her bulls she would have shown her father she is capable and ready to take over the family ranch, despite NOT being a son. // Luke and Tanner definitely have chemistry, but it's not really proper for an IBRA rep to bed the bull breeder he's trying to recruit. Things got complicated when Luke's famous younger bullrider brother Kane and his mother also showed up in town. THEN Luke realized that he had slept with Tanner's sister Tucker five years ago... And Tucker is also in town...

Whew, it's like a soap opera, cowboy style. And let's just say there are more subplots I hadn't mentioned. You don't need to read Book 1, but you'd get more of the twists and subplots if you do read it first.  5/5

GRR Reviews Spring Texas Bride by Katie Lane

Waylon, as the sheriff of Bliss, Texas, knew he has big shoes to fill as the previous sheriff was his dad. Finding a stranger in town, Spring Hadley, visiting her brother, the town patron, was somewhat of a shock, as she's sassy, vivacious, and ditzy. When she somehow finagled her way to be his assistant, he saw a side of Spring that he never expected. And days seem brighter... // Spring is free-spirited... and absent-minded. When she forgot to lock the door to the sisters' store one night, and her take-charge sister Summer called her a ditz, she got into a huff and drove off with her new jeep and vintage trailer (bought off her small-time crook father, who may be going legit?) to visit her brother. Now the jeep's not in a good shape (her crooked dad sold her a lemon... surprise), and she needs money to fix things, which is why she needed the job... and to stay away from her sisters. Falling for the grumpy sheriff was not in her plans. Things took a weird turn when her dad suddenly showed up...

Nice, lots of twists and turns. A few characters are from the author's previous series making guest appearances, including the town itself. I think the darkest hour was slightly forced (let's just say a certain jeep and trailer went missing, and Spring was too embarrassed to talk about it.) But the overall charm is there. 4.5/5

GRR Reviews His Curvy Teacher by Sara Hazel

Lincoln knew love at first sight exists... He just fell for his daughter's teacher, Caitlyn, and BBW. Yes, he's a bit older, and she's a bit young, and she had some bad experience with her douche-y boyfriend who basically told her she's too "big". But he likes her BBW size just fine. But she also has a sister who hated her... and he'll need to protect her...

Eh... there are a lot of problems in the writing, and the story line is pretty juvenile. I am pretty sure there's a place where the author used "affect" instead of "effect", for example. And for a guy, his mind is extremely wordy. Sure, there's some heat, but this is average, at best. 2.5/5

GRR Reviews Just Say You Love Me by B Love

Jaxon has a governor for dad and a judge for mom, and he wants to do public service by becoming the next mayor, having made his fortune as an investment company owner. But he needs to soften his image with a wife... and he can't stand the woman his mother approves of. When he saw his waitress Luana, and later, also found her working for his social media campaign, he realized who he wanted... // Luana is about to become the first college grad in the family while working two part-time jobs AND an internship, and she wanted to go to law school. She knew how her brother, Lucas, sacrificed his own future for her when their parents abandoned them, and Lucas abandoned his own chance at college to raise her. When Lucas found himself even deeper in the financial hole, and had resorted to crime to stay afloat, Luana cannot abandon her brother... So she agreed to be Jaxon's fake wife in exchange for Lucas to be spared. // Jaxon and and Luana are nothing alike... but they have a common goal, and she believed in his vision. But can they love?

Nice, very nice. Occasionally the book got very... preachy, with some serious social message that can be somewhat controversial, but the push-pull between Jaxon and Luana is quite powerful. It's just that despite being 250 pages, the pace just feels... slow.

Category: Contemporary

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews Double Trouble by Deborah Cooke

Maralys is the "bad twin" compared to her twin sister, Marcia. Maralys is single after divorcing her no-good husband who ran off with her money, and since her sister has a great family, she can spoil their kids, and don't need any of her own. Her brother-in-law James is a famous lawyer in town. it should have been the perfect family, so Maralys was surprised to find that family disintegrating. James was fired when he found that he wasn't the biological son of the law firm's founder after more than two decades of service. Marcia just ran off leaving James with the twin boys, and Maralys had to help. Maralys found she's attracted to James, but worried about being a substitute for Marcia. Then she found out what secret James had been keeping for so many years...

Ah, the twin-switcharoo, but with several good twists upon the theme. However, the ending was wrapped up a bit TOO neatly, IMHO, and forgiveness given too quickly. Yes, there's quite a bit of betrayal involved. James and Marcia knew they aren't right for each other, but apparently both are too ashamed to admit it and dragged it out for way longer than they should, but it **sorta** makes sense, once you read the story, which I am NOT spoiling.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: "Bad" twin falls for her sister's husband after her sister ran off and family disintegrating fast...  Was she just substituting?

Overall Rating: 5/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews The Littlest Cowboy (The Texas Brands) by Maggie Shayne

Sheriff Garrett Brand managed to raise his brothers and sisters after their parents died, and all of them turned out to be respectable citizens. Garrett is an honorable man, and when he found a baby left on his front porch, his first reaction is anger... Which of his no-good brothers (and there are FOUR of them) was the father? It was to his shock to find out that the baby was named after him when he hadn't been with a woman in like... forever! However, it's the Memorial Day weekend, and nothing can be done until Monday. Then a disheveled but spitting angry woman showed up in the middle of the night, demanded his name, punched him in the face, and accused him of killing her sister and stealing the baby?!?!?! // Chelsea was already confused and shocked after losing her sister and found her little nephew is missing. The only clue seems to be the name and address... and it had to be the no-good cowboy her sister left with... right? However, the more she stayed with the Brands family, the more confused she got. The Brands are good people, and Garrett couldn't hurt a fly... What's worse, whoever killed her sister is after the baby... and her. However, the bad guys don't understand they are up against the Brands, a family that knows how to pull together in the times of trouble.

Okay, there is a too-stupid-to-live moment. Moreover, it's a HUGE one. The rest is Hollywood ending. I won't spoil the TSTL moment. The meeting is at least, somewhat novel, and the conclusion, well, I did say it's Hollywood ending already, quite satisfying. But due to the TSTL moment, this is not getting top marks.

Category: Contemporary / Romantic Suspense

Primary Plot: Surprise baby, then a spitting mad woman, and an evil nemesis makes trouble for a local sheriff and his family

Overall Rating: 4/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews Stay With Me (Last Frontier Lodge) by J.H. Croix

Stay With Me is a pretty trope-ish romance about a young woman, forced to relocate, caught the eye of a guy who's too busy to fall in love, then had more responsibilities on top of him. However, the darkest hour was not dark, and the ending was merely tolerable.

Jessa just had her apartment burned down around her, and she barely saved a few meager belongings. With nowhere else to go, she headed toward Alaska to join her family. A minor fender bender led her to meet Eli, the manliest of man that made her heart go peeter-patter. Eli is way too busy to consider romance, yet he definitely noticed Jessa. Eli is busy running away from the bad influence of his abusive father and making money as a charter fishing boat captain. Things got complicated when Eli's younger brother somehow found his way to Alaska and Eli had to file for permanent custody of him, keeping him away from their father for good. But did Eli just overwhelm himself with all these responsibilities, even as Jessa is contemplating whether to stay in Alaska permanently, or move back to Seattle?

The insta-lust is there, but they resisted themselves for a while. The ending was okay, not one of author's best, as there doesn't seem to be much of a darkest hour.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Can a displaced woman newly arrived in Alaska convince a charter fishing boat captain to take a chance on her? Is she leaving?

Overall Rating: 3/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.

GRR Reviews A Baby For The Bride: Mail Order Bride by Cassandra Michaels

NOTE: The book had been pulled from Amazon for "bonus content". The link is to Goodreads.

A Baby for the Bride is a pretty BORING short story, now with 97% more "bonus content" inflating the page count to 1988 (actually story is maybe 60 or so pages).

Mary Kay feels plain compared to her sister, who's already married with kids. She really really wanted kids, but she needs a husband first. She got the courage to put herself up in a mail-order bride ad, only to find there's a new cowboy in town who is looking for a bride. And he looked forward to court her. And they had a wonderful courtship... Then he revealed a devastating secret that sent her reeling... Can she still have her happily ever after?

The darkest hour was solved very easily. it just requires a change of heart. The bonus content is meh.

Publisher changed ASIN by republishing the book. The old URL (no longer valid) is https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Bride-Mail-Order-Romance-ebook/dp/B07C8L9Q7X/ 

Category: Historical Western

Primary Plot: New cowboy in town wanted a bride, woman really wanted her own family, they were great, but he hides a secret... (meh)

Overall Rating: 2/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews The Texan Meets His Match (Lake Howling) by Wendy Vella

The Texan Meets His Match is a fun story though the pivot into romantic suspense seems to be way too low.

Annabelle Smith lives in Lake Howling, one of the small towns in Texas, and has her support network of friends, but with a mother who died young, and an alcoholic father, she ended up raising her baby brother by herself. When her baby brother fell to the dark side in Las Vegas, and fell into drug and gambling, she bailed him out twice and tried to get him to treatment. She just learned that her brother just cleaned out her bank account, money she saved up for a down payment on her own house, and maybe start a business someday. She's so angry, she refuses to take any calls from him, because he always somehow cajoles her into forgiving him. It was just then Ethan Gelderman came back to town. Ethan was the womanizer, the alpha whose little black book overflowing with girl's numbers. But the war had changed him. Ethan never wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, because his father had been grooming him since he's ten to take over the family business, and he resisted every way, including running off to join the military when he's 18. Now a self-made man with a fortune, he's back to attend a wedding. Seeing Annabelle brought feelings back, and Ethan will not resist a challenge. But Annabelle cannot let news of her misfortune spread among her circle of friends... She does not want any pity. When she found out her brother was in MUCH MUCH worse trouble than she ever suspected (the 25K he stole from her barely made a dent in what he owed to the mob) she had no choice but to accept Ethan's help...

The pivot into romantic suspense, IMHO, was way too abrupt, but actually plausible due to his army background. All in all, it's a good tale of admitting to faults so friends can help. The romance was actually nothing too special. It's about coming to terms with one's own limitations.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Self-made millionaire came back to town, had to romance a beauty whose brother is in serious trouble with the mob

Overall Rating: 4/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below. 

GRR Reviews Brides of Beckham: The First Four Books by Kirsten Osbourne

Brides of Beckham: First Four Books collection is a nice collection of mail order bride stories that did not break any new ground, but instead, relied on good characters and decent twists on the tropes with proper polish to deliver enjoyable stories.

Mail Order Mayhem -- when Maude was told by her family she must marry a repulsive man, she chose to become a mail order bride and went out west to be wife of an Iowa farmer instead. She fell for the strong handsome farmer, but does he feel the same? When her "fiancee" came calling, will she ever escape?

Mail Order Mama -- Emily's mother is marrying again, and the daughter won't be able to stay. With nowhere to go, Emily chose to marry herself out West, and married Benjamin, who has two children he's trying to raise alone. But Emily didn't know the two kids are hellions who had run off all nannies prior to her, or any prospects... But Emily will whip these two kids into shape... without violence... except she can't forget how Benjamin tricked her...

Mail Order Madness -- Susan can't live with her younger siblings anymore (there's like 11 of them and they are all hellions) so she joined mail-order bride agency and married herself out West to Texas to someone who didn't want kids. Except upon arrival... it wasn't her groom... but his brother... Her groom had died via a stray bullet two weeks prior, while she's on her way. But the brother offered to take his place and marry her... Except he has four kids. And they are NOT nice either. Can this ever work?

Mail Order Mix-up -- Ellen and Malinda had never been apart. When their papa died and the bank is repossessing the farm, they had nowhere to go. It happens that the two brothers in the same town out West in Colorado are both looking for mail order brides... Ellen wanted the sheriff, and Malinda wanted the banker. They arrived in the Colorado town and each immediately fell for one of the brothers... Only to find they each fell for the wrong one! But is the wrong one really the right one for them?

Each of these are definitely 4/5, with good polish in the plot and all the decisions make sense within context of the story, with some genuine agony in the decision-making. All in all, enjoyed it quite a bit.

Category: Historical Western

Primary Plot: N/A, collection, see above for summaries

Tropes: mail order bride, triangle, evil ex, single parent, family pressure, sibling problem, wrong twin/brother

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Home For Christmas by Patricia Kay

Home For Christmas is a holiday romance that featured two wounded people coming together around the holidays.

Quinn Riordan had been away from her hometown of Chagrin Falls for TEN YEARS, after losing EVERYTHING to her more beautiful sister, including her first ever love. But now, Aunt Fiona had a bad fall and her leg broken. She came back... Only to find her aunt has a boarder, Peter Kimball, a teacher in the local school. Peter doesn't understand how Fiona could love someone who stayed away for ten years, and seeing Quinn was a bit of a shock. She is actually quite likable. But Peter lost the two people he loved most and will not be able to love again, just as Quinn had to stay away. But with the upcoming holidays, can they let go of their hurts in the past, and see a way to embrace the future... and each other?

While the setup was old, the usage of Aunt Fiona was what took this story beyond average, as she's part-matchmaker, part advice guru, and part just plain old wiser woman. Add a bit of holiday magic, and it's a pretty cozy love story.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman went home after ten years away; fell for someone had had similar loss; can they share grief and heal with holiday cheer?

Tropes: holiday, return, sibling problem, grief, enemies to lovers

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews The Secret Santa Wishing Well by Nikki Lynn Barrett

The Secret Santa Wishing Well tries to infuse a bit of Christmas magic but the unclear motivation of an evil ex made the whole story confusing instead.

Jacob has a sister in the hospital with very aggressive cancer and no one knew how long she'd last even with the best treatment possible. But she wanted him to get some holiday spirit and volunteered him for Secret Santa at the mall. Jacob encountered a little boy Ben who made a very special wish... well, two wishes. Ben was Cheyenne's son. Cheyenne was struggling to raise two kids after her BF ran off, and the BF even refused to acknowledge the baby daughter. But Ben's own kind actions brought Jacob into her life, and the two were attracted to each other. Jacob was forever worried about his sister in the hospital, and Cheyenne is worried when her ex suddenly showed up demanding to reconnect with Ben, when her ex clearly has no idea how. He even brought his pregnant girlfriend along! Can the two let go of their ghosts of Christmas past and make a life together, when things took a turn for the worse for both of them?

I still don't get why the evil ex showed up. It really made no sense whatsover. Maybe I just missed something. Overall, the book has some good points, but mostly "meh". All in all I can only rate this average.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Can a mall's Secret Santa grant a wish or two for the boy and his single mom, also caring for a baby daughter?

Tropes: different worlds, single parent, holiday, triangle, sibling problem

Overall Rating:  3/5

GRR Reviews No One to Trust (romantic suspense) (Re by Katie Reus

No One to Trust by Katie Reus is a romantic suspense where a strong protector needed to protect a woman from a vicious drug lord, with a few twists along the way. However, a somewhat fizzled ending prevented this book from getting 5/5

Elizabeth Martinez can never turn her back on her brother Benny, no matter how much money he had "borrowed" or needed bailing out. However, this time Liz may not be able to help. Benny owed 100K to Miami's most dangerous drug lord Salas, but it's a vicious trap set by Salas to force Liz into marrying him to raise his family prestige. Liz has no intention of giving in to Salas, not that she had any better ideas. She didn't count on being rescued by ex-Marine and co-worker Porter Caldwell, with whom she had a quick relationship months earlier. When Benny stole evidence of Salas' crimes and hid it, Salas ordered a city-wide manhunt for Porter, Liz, and Benny. Porter and Liz are forced to get off the grid, as not even their employer, Red Stone Security, may be able to keep them alive against a gang armed with automatic weapons and more...

Without spoiling the end, let's just say it wasn't as satisfying as it could be, as it became a race to find some McGuffin. There's a twist at the end that's somewhat interesting, but all in all, the ending wasn't as exciting at the lead-up.

Category: Romantic Suspense

Primary Plot: Woman being chased by drug lord had to go to the one man she knew can help him; her ex lover

Tropes: evil enemies, sibling problem, family pressure, protector, woman in peril

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Modern Girl's Guide To Vacation Flings by Gina Drayer

Modern Girl's Guide to Vacation Flings is a "pseudo-guide" in that the guide was used as a backdrop for the romance, and it was pretty good except some of the comedy moments seems rather forced, but the slow-simmer romance was quite enchanting.

To recap, Beth ran away from her life to get on a cruise as she can't bear to see her boyfriend dumped her for her younger sister, and they are going to get married. Matt was dragged onto a family vacation/cruise to celebrate his parent's anniversary and was getting set up with a woman she can't stand. When Matt asked Beth to be his pretend girlfriend (mainly because they met on the plane) to save his sanity, Beth accepted due to boredom but found herself attracted to the big family and found Matt to be a charming guy, and perfect for a vacation fling. But as time went on, Beth found herself more attached than she wanted... and Matt found himself completely smitten...

My problem is both the FMC and MMC did total mental flip-out into full-blown panic attacks relatively early in the book, which seems to be way out of character for both. Then the mental break was never discussed again as if it's just there for comic relief. But overall, it's a fun "forced fake BF/GF turned real" story.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman who ran away from her problems agreed to be fake girlfriend for a guy avoiding his own problems while on a cruise...

Tropes: fake engagement, resort (cruise), fling to a thing, sibling problem,

Overall Rating:  4/5 (rounded up)

GRR Reviews Dare to Love by Carly Phillips

Dare to Love is a contemporary romance with a pseudo-triangle as well a douchebag parent mucking up the romance. It does have insta-lust but otherwise the MMC and FMC push-pull is quite good.

Ian Dare is a billionaire with a broken family with half-brother, Alex, that he despised. When his half-brother walked in with Riley Taylor at a benefit dinner, Ian couldn't resist making a play for her, and their connection is instant, even though she wasn't into alpha guys. Riley grew up under an abusive father, made a break, and swore off all alpha males, but Ian was nothing like her father... or her friend Alex. Ian wanted a future with Riley, even to the point of hiring her for a job (which she was CERTAINLY qualified for) even as Riley found herself was drawn to this alpha but protective enigma called Ian... Riley desires a harmonious family and tried to reconcile Ian and Alex... then her father reentered the picture, threatening to blackmail her...

The pseudo-triangle was between Ian, Riley, and Alex, but it's merely a pseudo-triangle because Alex treats Riley like a sister (but Ian didn't know that). You'll figure out more about Alex and Riley's history as you read along. Plot isn't that new, but it is nicely polished.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Rich guy made a play for his half-brother's companion, and had to save her from her evil douchebag father

Tropes: sibling problem, evil parents, protector, woman in peril, blackmail

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Buck (Rope 'n Ride Series Book 1) by Em Petrova

Buck (Rope 'n Ride Book 1) is a "reluctant lover" story mixed with "reality TV" and cowboys. The FMC was ambivalent toward the MMC. She wanted to leave but was forced to stay by circumstances. It's way too angst-y.

Channing loved Buck, who's a real-life cowboy that swept her off her feet. But Buck and his family, the Calhouns, are on a quest to buy out their ranch from their cousin who wants to exploit its alleged mineral rights, and they have no time for romance. Channing had just made up her mind to leave... Just as a reality TV show swept in with an intriguing offer: The Calhouns are going to star in a reality TV show called Rope n' Ride, and that bargain includes Channing, as the audience expects a wedding at the end of the series. Channing reluctantly agrees to stay on and pretend to be Buck's fiancee, even as her life started to unravel as her brother got into some bad **** with some nasty individuals and owed a lot of money... and Channing and Buck, of course, can't keep their hands off each other despite her attempt to leave. And is there a way for Channing to help Buck with the ultimate end-run, helping them keep the ranch forever? Maybe she'll get the man and the ring after all...

Frankly, I *still* don't understand why she wanted to leave in the first place! The Channing was just way too... stoic? Passive? in accepting what comes. She's more acting like a "buckle bunny" (cowboy-speak for groupie who wanted a star cowboy for just one night of fun) She's not really struggling for something except when a sudden inspiration struck her and she came up with a way for the Calhouns to keep the ranch after all. All she does is sit in the background and join the temporary waitstaff at the venues. Really? That's her extent of abilities? Uh... Some parts are good, but I can seem to summon any sympathy for the FMC.

Category: Contemporary / Western

Primary Plot: Woman tired of waiting for a ring from cowboy reluctantly agreed to stay to help him and his family to win back their ranch from evil cousin

Tropes: reality show, on the rocks, disguise, sibling problem, ranch, evil relatives (cousin)

Overall Rating: 3/5