Review - Emily's Chance (The Callahans of Texas #2) by Sharon Gillenwater

Emily Rose may be in the tiny West Texas town of Callahan Crossing for the moment, but it's just a rung on her ladder to success. Her work at the Callahan Crossing historical society will look good on her ever-growing resume as she attempts to break into the prestigious world of a big city museum curator. Little does she know cowboy and contractor Chance Callahan has decided that he can convince her to stay--both with the town and with him. As he helps Emily restore the town's history after a devastating fire, he also helps her uncover her own hidden worth and the value of love.

The second book in THE CALLAHANS OF TEXAS series, Emily's Chance is a heartwarming story of letting love take the lead. Readers will come away wishing they lived in Callahan Crossing.

Emily's Chance by Sharon Gillenwater was a gift given to me by the Easter Bunny this year (thanks mom!). I think I was overdue for a cowboy romance novel. This was a good one.

Much of the town has been ravaged by fire and Emily's trying to figure out what the point in staying is. Since her purpose of vising Callahan Crossing was to help get its small museum off the ground. Chance is hoping to give her a reason to stay, perhaps permanently. He fell in love with her the moment he saw her and it would just break his heart if she left so quickly.

Chance donates a building to the historical society to use for their museum and Emily and Chance's family/friends get on the ball finding donations for the museum since much was lost in the fire. Emily finds that the more time she spends with Chance and the people he loves the more she doesn't want to leave them. Sure, her DREAM job is head curator in a large museum, but what if her dream job comes at the expense of the man she doesn't want to admit she's falling for?

Chance. ::sigh:: Christian. Gallant and chivalrous and kind and gentle and.... I could probably go on and on about him. He's a loving son and a doting uncle. He works hard and does everything he possibly can to help everyone in need. He cares fiercely for his family and is bound and determined to sweep Emily off of her feet and have her join the family.

Emily is lovely and kind and stubborn as an ox. I guess the same could be said about Chance as well... they make a great pair. She's a new-ish Christian with a somewhat questionable past and definitely questionable people as parents. She thinks her life is leading her on one specific path and refuses to believe that maybe her path can change. At first. But she grows to love Callahan Crossing and the people in it. She starts to see them as family, not just a town she's working for. This little country town is a breath of fresh air compared to the big city life she's known before, and she comes to find out that maybe she doesn't really want to go back. The fact that one of the most eligible bachelors is in love with her doesn't hurt her decision making process. But she takes her sweet time realizing she loves him back.

This was a great story. I loved the history of the town and Chance's family. I loved their strong Christian roots and the way everyone was family to them, even out of town yuppies like Emily. I loved that they were all so amazing to each other in spite of struggles that they faced and that the whole community was so close-knit. It was great to see that everyone banded together to rebuild the town after a completely devastating fire that big wigs in the city thought they'd never recover from.

Books like this make me long for small town life like that. Where everyone knows everyone and even if you're different, and sometimes nosey, you're friends. Or at least cordial and able to get along. It makes me long for the country and the fresh air and the kind of community where you have spaghetti dinners and everyone shows up. Or if you need a place to stay no one is uncomfortable offering a couch or a room for as long as you need it. It's the kind of place where you make friends when you're little and they're still friends 30-40 years down the line.

I loved this book. I'd recommend it to anyone. The Easter Bunny definitely did a good job picking this one out for me.

Review - Catch Me a Cowboy by Katie Lane

Shirlene Dalton has it all: a dream marriage to a man who spoils her rotten and the most outrageous mansion Bramble, Texas, has ever seen. But when her husband unexpectedly dies, Shirlene finds herself right back where she started-in a rundown trailer on the wrong side of the tracks. Never the type to let a little bad luck and a whole heap of heartache get her down, Shirlene is ready to prove to the local gossips she can make it on her own... until she ends up living next door to the most tempting cowboy in town.

Billy Wilkes has a score to settle and a plan to wipe Bramble right off the map. But when his sexy, redheaded neighbor figures out what he's up to, his good ol' boy charm won't be enough to save him. With the town on his tail, Billy will have to come clean quick -- or kiss Shirlene goodbye.

I finished Catch Me a Cowboy by Katie Lane the other day. It's the 3rd book in the series and definitely did not disappoint. I wasn't sure how I'd like it without the main characters from the 2 other books being more front and center, but Billy (Bubba) Wilkes and Shirlene Dalton were definitely great leads.

Not only did poor Shirlene lose her husband but due to some bad financial management, she loses her house as well. Now, part of me didn't feel sorry for her. She had all that money that she just spent and spent and spent, knowing there wasn't anymore where all that came from. And yet she didn't stop spending. Part of me wanted to say, "Well, it's your own fault." But I know that sounds heartless. Another part of me feels sorry for her. She was depressed after the love of her life died and tried to fill the void with material things. And it just didn't work.

Bubba has let a family legend sour him on a group of people who've come to love him and trust him. People who didn't know they didn't have a chance as far as he was concerned. Or at least... that's how it started. Bubba didn't plan to have them grow on him. He didn't plan to become friends with them. And he didn't plan to fall in love with the spitfire living next door to him. Or the baggage that she picked up when she went home.

I loved Shirlene. She was definitely down and out, but put her heart and soul in to not letting anyone find out. She was determined to right the situation she was in no matter the cost. You've gotta give her credit for her guts and her persistance. And Bubba. He's full of surprises, some good some not, but his heart is the size of Texas. Even if he refuses to believe it.

This was a great book. A quick read and a fun one. I can't wait for book number four to come out later this year (I think)! I would recommend this to anyone over the age of 18 as it is an adult romance novel. But especially for adults who find themselves wanting to be swept away by love... or an incredibly good looking cowboy.

Teaser Tuesday #40

Thank you to MizB of Should Be Reading for giving us Teaser Tuesday every week!
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week's teaser comes from Catch Me a Cowboy by Katie Lane.

"Watch it Jesse." Bubba's deep voice had Shirlene's heart thumping against her ribcage. It lodged there when he suddenly appeared around the side of the trailer in all his shirtless glory. Since the air conditioner didn't work, she had figured he'd given up. Obviously, Bubba was more dedicated than she thought. Dedicated and wet...   p 134

Can't wait to check out ya'lls teasers!