By Kate Noble
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Release Date: April 3, 2012
If I Fall picks up right where Kate Noble’s previous book, Follow My Lead, leaves off (though you certainly do not have to have read Follow My Lead before reading this one) with Sarah Forrester suffering betrayal and humiliation at the hands of her fiancé, the Duke of Rayne. He fell in love with someone else and Sarah graciously let him go. However, she quickly became known as the “Girl Who Lost a Duke”. In order to save face and protect her heart, Sarah collaborates with Lady Phillippa Worth, the reigning leader of the ton, to create a new persona and soon becomes the Golden Lady—the woman every man wants and every woman wants to be.
Sarah’s childhood friend, Lieutenant Jackson Fletcher has been at sea since he was sixteen. He returns to London to await new orders and is anxious to see the people he has always considered family—the Forresters. However, his dear friend Sarah is nothing like she used to be. Gone is the funny, sweet, endearing girl and in her place is someone cold, snobbish, and condescending. Jack must work hard if he’s to crack through Sarah’s façade. His hard work backfires and thrusts him into a dangerous situation that involves murder, top-secret information, and Sarah.
From the moment I closed the last page of Follow My Lead and witnessed Sarah Forrester’s heartbreak, I wanted her to have her own happily ever after. She certainly deserved it. She was a likable secondary character who became a loveable heroine in her own book. I completely understood why she put up a front and acted the way she did after The Event...why she felt the need to reinvent herself. And I simply adored how persistent Jack was to bring back the “old Sarah”.
Even when she was cold as ice to him, Jack had discovered that there was nothing that made him more awake than the presence of Sarah Forrester.
An uncomfortable realization, that.
During this process, Jack discovers something about himself that he didn’t realize and must come to terms with his own inner struggles. When he’s hit with news that he had dreaded hearing upon his return to London, he turns to the only person who understands him: Sarah. These two are so perfect for each other and I couldn’t have asked for a better hero for Sarah. Their story is filled with lovely prose, tender moments, and a very nice twist at the end. If I Fall is another terrific historical from the talented Kate Noble and if the excerpt in the back is any indication, we will soon be blessed with another. This one joins all of Ms. Noble’s
previous books on my keeper shelves and, like the others, is one I highly recommend!
~Andrea
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CATCH ME A COWBOY
By Katie Lane
Publisher: Grand Central
Release Date: March 27, 2012
For the last nine months, Shirlene
Johnson used retail therapy to deal with the death of her husband. But due to her shopping sprees and lack of financial
management, Shirlene finds herself without any funds and evicted from her posh
mansion. Never thinking she would have
to live in her childhood home – a dilapidated trailer, Shirlene faces the fact that
this tiny trailer is her new home. The
memories of her alcoholic mother and her not-so-fun childhood seem to haunt her
as soon as she pulls into the dusty driveway. Shirlene finds her luck turns from bad to
worse when she discovers four runaway children have taken up residence in her
childhood home and the town’s biggest redneck jerk is living right next
door. Now, not only does she have to
try to set things right with the bank and try to get her home back, but now she
finders herself the caretaker of the four children while trying not to succumb
to the rippling muscles and sexy smile of her neighbor, Billy “Bubba” Wilkes.
Billy Wilkes came to Bramble to
settle an old family score. Believing
the long ago death of a relative in the dusty streets of Bramble has cast a
curse upon his family, Billy and his brothers are determined to cancel the
curse once and for all and that begins with the demise of the town. Befriending the town’s people and acting
like the biggest redneck in Texas, Billy has gained the trust of pretty much everyone. Except his new neighbor Shirlene. Billy is usually on task and in character all
the time, but he finds himself lost in Shirlene’s eyes (and her curvatious
body). Soon he realizes Shirlene has slipped
behind his guard and found a spot in his heart.
But will she understand his motives once his secret is out?
Shirlene is a woman down on her luck
but determined to do the right thing and to live her life on her terms. She’s a “go get ‘em” kind of gal and I
really like her spunk. The sarcastic yet
flirty repartee between Shirlene and Billy had me giggled frequently. Billy’s one liners and pet names for Shirlene
are just priceless. While the sarcasm
and humor is fabulous, the sweet, soft moments are just as great.
This is my first Katie Lane book,
and I must say it won’t be my last. This
book is such a fun, light read. If you
need a giggle or two interspersed with some sizzling sexual tension, then this
one is for you!
~ Buffie
