A Chick-A-Dee Christmas by Rosanne Bittner
This was a great Christmas story, and actually for me it became the pretty red bow to tie up the Outlaw Hearts series with. So many smiles and sweet moments mixed in with the ever present dangerous adventure of being a part of the Hawkner family. I'm always gonna love Jake, Randy, and their family. This story warmed my heart and filled me up!
The Christmas Stranger by Linda Broday
Woohoo! We get to go back to the Lone Star Ranch!! The Men of Legend series is one of my favs of Linda Broday's stories and getting to get another little bit of time with them is always welcome. Hank and Sidalee's story overwhelmed me with feel good! Despite it's short length, this felt like a full length book and their hea was perfectly done. And gotta give some lovin' to Beau -- he kinda stole some scenes.
A Texas Ranger For Christmas by Margaret Brownley
This is the first book I've read by MB and I'm impressed! Sadie and Cole's story swept me away with how simple and beautiful and heartfelt it was. This was another short story that managed to grab my attention and deliver the feel-goods and connection I need in my stories.
Father Christmas by Leigh Greenwood
Joe and Mary (haha, I'm ashamed to say how far I was into the story before I caught onto their names!) and Sarah's story totally sucked me in and gave me all the warm fuzzies I love to have. Plus good ol' Samson and the rest of the creatures made for awesome 2ndary characters. Sweet story and I'm looking forward to discovering more of Leigh Greenwood's books.
Working my way through the stories....
Outlaw Hearts book 4
Deep breath - wow!! What a story! The Last Outlaw stole my breath and wrecked my heart and mended it all and gifted it back to me better than before. This definitely is an intense, emotional, but yet beautiful and satisfying read.
Jake and Randy have been through so much, and this shows just how deep and strong their love for each other are, and how a deeply devoted relationship can carry the other through the toughest of situations. Jake has gown and changed for the better in his older years, and was finally able to find a way to defeat the demons that have been chasing him his whole life. Randy also was able to recover from the events of book 3 and become the strong matriarch of the family she was destined to become.
I'm just simply overwhelmed with this story - from the highs and lows, the sweet soft moments to the intensely terrifying ones, from the laugh-and-shake-my-head to the swoony-melt-my-heart moments - this book delivers it all! From the first pages of Outlaw Hearts to the last pages of The Last Outlaw - Jake Harkner and his Randy and their family will embed themselves deep within your heart and you will refuse to let them go.
I'm very much looking forward to one of the final glimpses into the Harkner's lives with the Christmas Story that's coming out soon! Jake and his sweet Sadie Mae?? I'm ready! haha!
Outlaw Hearts book 3
How do you know you've encountered a book that will leave you breathless and satisfied, but yet turn around and make you intensely crave more? When you start re-reading the book before you've even got a third of the way through! And that's what happened to me with the 3rd book in Jake and Randy's story. Seriously, I was re-reading entire chapters and going back through to favorite sections just because I just didn't want to leave that moment in time yet and wanted to make my escape into the Colorado mountains with the Harkners last as long as possible. And it was the best experience! I had a 2 week book hangover from Love's Sweet Revenge and I'm still having a hard time settling into any new books and having them feel "good enough" after this.
I am finding the older I get, the more I seek out and enjoy books written about older characters - whether they're starting over with a new relationship or if they've been together for decades and have some new trials to face together. That's one thing I love about Rosanne Bittner's books - she has this ability to write beautifully epic stories that span all ages and show that love grows more beautiful and strong as the years go by.
Jake Harkner at any age is an incredible force to be reckoned with. I can't tell you how many times I was swoonin' over how his presence flowed out of the book and throughout my house. The intensity he has towards loving and protecting his family is a sight to behold. He has done so much growing and changing - it's been a pleasure to be a part of his journey. I think I've lost a bigger part of my heart to him and not sure I'll ever recover -- or want to!
Randy still is my heroine soul-mate. I love her mix of strength, sassy, and vulnerability - the way she holds herself together, but yet is dependent on being held in return. She has this natural balance to her that while yes, she can take care of herself, she needs to be taken care of as well, and the people she's surrounded by sense that and give that to her. She in turn gives so much to her husband and family and the bond they all share and continue to mold and solidify is all in thanks to her. I want to be her.
I love the family dynamic with their kids, Lloyd and Evie, and their spouses and all the grandkids. Family and love is a huge theme and it's definitely shown and developed throughout the entire series, but even more so in LSR. I adored getting to have the 2ndary storylines of Lloyd and Katie, Evie and Brian, and their kids.
Rosanne Bitter has a way of drawing me so tightly into the story and painting her characters so realistically that for the time I'm reading, I'm fully invested in the story. I feel every emotion the characters are. When they hurt and struggle, I am in pain. When they rejoice, I'm on an excited high. When they play and joke, I'm laughing along with. When the worse happens, I'm feeling as abandoned and lost as they are. Very few authors can give me a new reality, and RB gives her readers that time and time again.
This is not a book to be missed, whether you read this alone, or after Outlaw Hearts and Do Not Forsake Me. Although you definitely will get a better experience if you start at the beginning, you will not be lacking anything if you jump in with this book first (and then go back and get the others, of course!). I am looking forward to many rereads of the first three books and am already getting anxious waiting for The Last Outlaw (book 4) coming Sept 2017. Thank goodness there's another story coming because my craving for more will finally hopefully be satisfied. (ha!)
Outlaw Hearts book 2
"Jake Harkner."
"You bet your ass. I own every beautiful inch of you."
"And I own you, Jake Harkner."*swoon*
This is definitely Jake's story - healing, forgiveness, redemption, beauty.
The ending was perfect in that you know it is a HEA for now, but you also know which door is open for the last book (Love's Sweet Revenge) in the trilogy. There's just a bit more to work through before Jake, Randy, and the kids and grandkids all get their forever HEA.
Thank you, Ms. Rosanne, for the escape you provided with Jake and Randy - I love them even more now than before. And I'll anxiously but patiently wait till September 2016 for Love's Sweet Revenge!
