Series: Fortune, Colorado #1
Pub Date: April 21, 2015
Welcome to
Fortune, Colorado—where the air is clean, the men are rugged, and the all the
good ones… are bachelors.
Born into the
infamous Charlemagne equestrian empire, Shannon has been raised to do whatever
it takes for the family business. Even if it means going undercover and digging
up dirt on a competitor. It's easy enough when she believes he's a bad guy
whose success seems too good to be true. In fact, Shannon's excited to put the
aggravatingly sexy Irishman in his place and get back in her father's good
graces. All she needs is to stay focused on the goal … and out of Sean
Muldoon's arms.
From stealing a thoroughbred racehorse from the Irish mob to striking gold in
the mountains of Colorado, there's little Sean hasn't experienced. But when it
comes to resisting his hot new stable manager, he's out of luck. With the mob
hot on his heels, keeping Shannon off their radar is all but impossible, and
he's not about to put her in danger too. Sean wants Shannon, but how can he
offer her a future … when he can't even guarantee tomorrow?
This was a light fun start to a new series set in smalltown Colorado. Our male lead, Sean, is truly swoonworthy - a Black Irish lad with coal black hair, striking green eyes surrounded by lush lashes, and an applebottom to boot. I m pictured him as a rugged Colin Farrell. And Shannon, the auburn-haired freckled lass, well that's me of course. We are just missing that she should have a head full of unruly curls like me. Oh, and I don't come from money and privilege, or know a thing about horses. But that's okay, I would be willing to practice riding on with Sean.
The characters in this story, both main and secondary, were engaging and likable. Future books and love interests were set up well in this first installment. As for the main characters, Sean had an interesting back story but I think we could have delved into it a bit more to give this story and edge. When I think of bare knuckle boxing in Ireland, I think Brad Pitt in Snatch - very gritty. In contrast, this story was pretty wholesome with a tad of heat in the sex scenes. The overall drama and resolution was too PG for me. But that's just my dark and twisted brain.
I can say one thing. This was a quick and happy read. I enjoyed the book enough to continue on with the series. The next book, Talking Dirty, will feature pub owner, Jake, and the town librarian, Apple (who I picture as Bernadette from Big Bang Theory).
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Author Info
Jennifer
Seasons has been a lifelong writer and reader. She lives with her husband and
four children in the mountains of rural New England. An enormous yet lovable
dog and the world's coolest cat keep them company. When she's not writing, she
loves spending time with her family outdoors exploring her beautiful new home
state, learning the joys of organic gardening, and—if she's lucky—relaxing in
her hammock under the trees with a really good book.
Giveaway
“Be prepared to use the ladies.” Her sister pointed at her chest.
Shannon
Charlemagne released a groan and bit her tongue, her patience already on the
verge of deserting her. Her sister’s rather unhelpful suggestion about her
breasts at this particular moment had that patience packing its bags and
furiously scribbling a Dear John letter on a sticky note.
The crap
her family put her through.
Pushing
away from the hood of the rental car she’d been sitting on, Shannon glanced at
the entrance to a horse ranch in the mountains outside Fortune, Colorado, and
sighed heavily. Where would she be without her patience? It was her armor, her
protection. Losing it would be worse than being thrown to a bunch of wild
jackals with bacon-wrapped sausages strung around her head like a Christmas
wreath. And with the insanity she was about to fling herself into, she needed
it more than ever. Not for the first time, she wondered how she’d been roped
into such a stupid situation.
Oh, that’s
right, because she could never really put her foot down and say no when it
mattered.
If she
had a dime for every time her family obligated her to something against her
will, she’d be richer than Oprah and living it up on Martinique with a French
cabana boy named Pierre.
Sometimes
she really wished she were part of a nice, average, normal family. One where there weren’t so many expectations to live
up to the legacy that was her family birthright. So much pressure to conform. She
was a Charlemagne—the oldest and most prestigious family in all of American horseracing.
The most renowned and well-respected family in the industry.
Yeah, it
was like that. She was one of those
Charlemagnes.
Which
ultimately meant that, as much as she balked (which wasn’t as much as she’d
prefer, granted), deep down she was a good girl who was loyal to a fault and
never went against her father. No matter how overbearing and authoritative he
might be. She understood her duties and responsibilities to the Charlemagne
name.
Didn’t
mean she had to like it, though.
Sighing
again, Shannon pushed back a clump of her light auburn hair that had fallen
loose from the braid she’d hastily made that morning and resigned herself to
her ill-conceived fate. Her father had asked her to do this. Good idea or bad,
it didn’t matter. He’d said it was important for the family—crucial even.
And that’s
why, even though she disagreed with pretty much every aspect of his request,
she was currently standing on a gravel road in the Colorado mountains about to
do something not entirely on the up-and-up. She and her sister were squinting
against the brilliant afternoon sun as they gave the plan one last run-through
before she set off alone into the great unknown.
Still,
there were limits to what she was
willing to do, family or not.
“Why
does everything always have to be about sex with you?” Shannon asked. She
pointed a finger at her breasts, giving her sister a slight frown. “You know
these ladies only come out for very special occasions. They’re highly
selective. And this, shall we say, undercover
job I’m about to partake in, certainly doesn’t qualify.”
“Does
too,” Colleen scoffed. “Your boobs come out far too infrequently, if you ask my
opinion,” her sister added, somehow managing simultaneously to sound both
affronted and amused. Colleen didn’t usually wait for anyone to ask her
thoughts. She just spoke her mind. Whether or not her opinion was wanted was,
often, a toss-up.
“And why
would I do that?”
“Because
I’m practically a doctor? As an upcoming graduate of Harvard Medical School, it’s
my almost-professional opinion that you don’t have nearly enough sex.”
Shannon
laughed outright at that. There her little sister went saying crazy things
again. “Thank you so much for caring about my love life and well-being, but I
think I’ll be fine.”
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