"Now she's back in Texas. Her uncle’s heart is failing and Mandy has to convince him that surgery will save his life. She never dreamed the first thing she’d see when she stepped off the plane would be her biggest nightmare...the one man she’d never stopped loving."
Pages: 182 pages
Publisher: Self Published on February 2012
Form: E-book (from tour for an honest review)
Genre: Contemporary Western Romance
Series: Texas Hearts #1
Amazon: Buy / $5.47 (Kindle)
( EU price, click to see yours )Barnes & Noble: Buy / $ ??? (all books)
Smashwords: Buy / $ Free right now! (E-book)
Excerpt: Chapter 1
"Mandy Morgan swore she’d never step foot in Texas again after Beau Gentry left her for life on the rodeo circuit eight years before. He once promised he'd love her forever. But he'd abandoned their love for the rodeo and she hadn't seen him since. Now she's back in Texas. Her uncle’s heart is failing and Mandy has to convince him that surgery will save his life. She never dreamed the first thing she’d see when she stepped off the plane would be her biggest nightmare...the one man she’d never stopped loving.
Beau Gentry had the fever for two things: the rodeo and Mandy Morgan. But for Beau, loving Mandy was complicated by his father’s vendetta against her uncle and a promise he'd made to an old friend. Hank Promise, Mandy's uncle, was more like a father to Beau than his old man had been. The hardest thing Beau had ever done was leave Mandy behind for the rodeo. He can still see the bitterness and hurt on her face. It has killed him all these years to think Mandy had forgotten him...maybe even in the arms of another man. But now they’re both back in Texas, and Beau's going to do all he can to win back her love." ~ From Goodreads
I was excited to read this as I the contemporary western/cowboy romance genre! The blurb drew me in right away I loved the set up of Mandy and Beau having had a summer romance that ended badly and them seeing each other again, neither 100% willing to give in to their still simmering feelings. What I didn't except was that this story was sad, Mandy had a lot of bent up anger and hurt feelings, which with the heart failure waiting to happen with her uncle made her very somber. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, it's just that I try to avoid these type of romance plots because when I chill I want that big emotional love to take me away from the sadness and tediousness of day to day life. So to be fair, this ended up not being my kind of book - but read on there is more to this book!
I really enjoyed Mondello's writing! I liked what she did with the characters, she gave them real depth and emotions, real troubles and obstacles as well as heart warming moments. Even the supporting cast was very real. And this is why even though the story wasn't for me I'm giving 3 stars, I really enjoyed what Ms. Mondello did with her words.
The romance was like a dance, sometimes you get closer sometimes you step back. Mandy and Beau had a lot of package that wasn't easy unpacking, but no matter how long you put it off you have to unpack, wash everything and end up enjoy those clean clothes again - and that's all I'm saying to not give away too much.
If you love heart-achingly emotional second chance stories with a sexy cowboy and conflicted city girl set in small Texas town, then this is for you!
If you are dropping in today ( Wednesday 22nd, 2012 ), check out the Amazon and Smashwords links above to get Her Heart For Asking for FREE!
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