Why did I read this book? The cover DUHH I mean HELLOO hottie!! I used to read Harlequin all the time and I loved the books they put out so I'm kinda not sure why I quit reading the brand but anywho, Justin that boy is F-I-N-E, once you get set up there, Amanda, I'd be happy to take you to dinner. I mean he may be a little full of himself but damn his looks sure make up for it. There is a lot of sexual tension between these two, still. Justin paused to look over her lazily, head to toe. You connected with him a lot more than I did. He followed you around like a lost puppy. He's the type of man to go after something that he wants, I'm honest about what I want, what I need. I mean have I mentioned his looks? the flatness of his abs, the smoothness of his skin, the sheer masculinity of his hips and lower abs, and...that, too... Yep loved this book and I'd totally read about the other brothers. 0373754655 The Long, Hot Texas Summer by Cathy Gillen Thacker This book was given to me from Netgalley for an honest review. I found this book to be lighthearted and sweet. Even though it dealt with a couple of heavy issues it was still a light happy read. Here we have Amanda who is surprisingly a beautiful carpenter with a heart of gold. She is so strong willed and says what ever comes to mind, she doesn't seem to let anyone hold her down. Well except for maybe herself. I hated to see that she thought so little of herself and had such low self esteem. Then in walks a tall cool drink of water that is surely needed on a hot Texas day, Justin. Whooo what woman doesn't love her a stubborn strong willed man? But little do we know he is hiding some insecurities also. He hired her to do the carpentry work for his up and coming boys ranch. He has a hope to bring light to some troubled boys lives and little does Amanda know she is just the right person to help him, in more ways than one. It was sweet to watch these two grown to love and trust each other, including themselves. Like I said this was a quick light read for me. It was way different from what I am use to reading but I was still caught up in the story. I loved reading about these two characters. I think the author did a fantastic job with this whole book and I can't wait to read more from her. My song for this book; Stuck like Glue by Sugarland 0373754655 3.5 Stars
The Long, Hot Texas Summer is the 2nd book in the McCabe Homecoming series by Cathy Gillen Thacker. To be fair, I didn't read the 1st book in this series, but I don't think it affected this story at all. I never felt like I was missing something.
Justin McCabe has taken on a pretty ambitious project. He's building a ranch for troubled teens. His goal is to have somewhere for these teens to escape to and gain the confidence they may not have originally gotten where they are at now. It takes a lot of work and Justin knows he can't do it alone, especially when it comes to the carpentry. He's good at everything he does, but the carpentry is giving him more than a little bit of trouble. Hiring a carpenter will definitely make his life easier. But, he had no idea how much easier until Amanda shows up to change his life forever.
Amanda Johnson is used to be mistaken for a guy, at least on the computer, that is. As one of the master carpenters in her grandfather's business she was tired of being requested by men who wanted to ogle her or worse. So, the pictures of the carpenters came down off the website and her name was listed as A.G. instead of Amanda. So, it was no surprise to her when Justin was expecting a man to show up. She admired that he quickly recovered and made it clear he had no problem with her gender he just needed her help. They quickly fell into a routine and began to count on each other. Throw in the troubled youth that was sent to them to help and they quickly became a team. This all sounds wonderful, except it brings back old fears. It has all the makings of how she and her ex started out and lord knows that didn't end well.
I enjoyed this story. It didn't have a lot of depth and the connection between the couple didn't always ring true, but the plot and story was really good. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a nice, feel good story.
Thank you to NetGalley.com for the loan of this book in exchange for my honest review.
You can find this review and others at http://riverinaromantics.blogspot.com and http://tinar1121.blogspot.com 0373754655 This novel is from the McCabe Homecoming series, and I have not read anything else from the series. The Long, Hot Texas Summer stands alone just fine, but I will seek out other books in the series based on the author's writing skill demonstrated in this romance. The premise was goo, it a bit predictable. The pacing was even and the story well plotted. LHTS was a character driven book and I commend Ms. Gillen Thacker for creating such downright loveable characters, both the primary couple and the secondary players were outstanding. It was easy to root for the happily ever after and the ending was both enjoyable and satisfying.
All in all, a delightful, light romance. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
I received my copy from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
0373754655 Though a great Happily Ever After story with a wonderful idea of helping at risk teens, this book is still very cookie cutter. Boy wants girl. Girl wants boy. Girl runs away. Meddling family. Happily Ever After. It's your basic love story. I can appreciate the strength it took Amanda to change her thoughts and stop running. I really enjoyed seeing her and Justin work together to help Lamar. I like to see things about helping kids. It's always a good cause. It was nice to read a Harlequin that was not about billionaires or cinderella stories. It wasn't that hot and heavy, maybe there could have been more steam to live up to the Harlequin name. But if you just want a feel good story, this is a sweet way to pass an afternoon. 0373754655
I liked this book's storyline. I liked the food mentioned in the story, sounded delicious 😋. I liked Amanda's character. I loved ❤️ Amanda's job. I liked Justin's character. I liked the ending. 0373754655 When I read a category romance in one go, you know it's a goodie!
This has Justin McCabe going about building a ranch for teenage boys who need help. He hires a carpenter, and is surprised when said carpenter turns out to be a woman! There's an immediate attraction between them. They end up taking in a troubled teen, Lamar Atkins, who is to fulfill his community service obligations helping out on the ranch. As a result of selfish parents who found her to be a burden, Amanda lives a somewhat nomadic existence, fearful of getting kicked out of a place she loves. She must overcome this to find her home with Justin.
I enjoy an angsty romance as much as the next reader, but I also love the heartwarming ones! And Justin was my type of romance hero! Smart, big-hearted and six-feet-five tall! The connection they both develop with Lamar added an extra dimension to the heart of the story. Most refreshingly, Justin and Amanda didn't have just one obstacle between them that they kept banging on and on about. Their relationship progressed and changed as the book went on, continually upping the emotional stakes. And although this is obviously part of a series, we don't get sidetracked by back stories of characters from previous books, or set-up for characters for future ones. I really liked it. 0373754655 Don't have an opening quote for this.
I really disliked this book about a sexist, pushy hero who makes huge decisions without discussing it with the heroine - often decisions that affect her life greatly.
Thacker was also trying to convince me that Amanda was lusting after Justin every single second of every day, just constantly on fire for him and I was NOT buying it. Especially since she was so closed off and skittish.
That's another thing: why would you be so pushy and demanding and controlling with a woman who is so skittish? You need to be gentle and slow with her and not overwhelm her. Not try to take over her life.
TL;DR Just despised the hero. Ugh. The heroine was a bit immature, too, but wasn't as bad as the hero. The plot and 'characterization' were lame. Didn't want these two to end up together.
HOW'S THE SEX, CARMEN?
Even though Thacker has multiple, described sex scenes in this book, I didn't care because I couldn't stand these two together.
ROMANCE CATEGORIES
Contemporary Romance
STEM Heroine - She's a master carpenter
Non-Virgin Heroine
He Runs a Home for Troubled Boys, and he is a CFO; She is an Assistant Director at the Home, and is a Master Carpenter.
NAMES IN THIS BOOK
0373754655 I've never read anything by this author before and boy was I taken by surprise.
This book was a major disappointment. The cover and title are excellent and really drew me in, so I requested this book. The title and cover are completely misleading.
This book is boring, inconsistent, confusing and full of instalove.
In the beginning Justin and Amanda meet at the ranch. She is this super hot, long legged, smart, talented in many areas, carpenter that comes to work on his ranch. Justin wants to start a boys ranch for troubled teen boys.
While, Justin's actions are admirable, the writing and description of his accounts are BORING! The author forgot she was writing a romance novel and instead went off on what Justin's plans were, what Amanda was doing and then Thacker adds to the mix a trouble teen abandoned by his parents.
My first issue started with Amanda being this supposed brilliant cook. She made German style potato salad in a freakin trailer. Oh and the trailers kitchen was supposedly decked out and super stocked with all these fancy appliances. OK Super unlikely!
Has anyone ever made authentic German potato salad? It is a freakin process and I hate to say, stupid if one was to attempt it in a trailer.
Secondly, Amanda is super aware and on top of what Lamar, the teen, needs. She's perfectly flawed. She comes from a broken home and easily related to Lamar who is a troubled teen that acts out, etc. etc.
Thacker's writing was confusing at this point. Amanda is trying to stay away from Justin because he is offlimits but he suddenly wants her to be a counselor at the ranch. Um, NO. You have to be licensed to be a counselor and that made no sense and the whole ploy with Justin being off limits was lame.
Lamar was completely abandoned by this parents because he started acting out and skipping school. They washed their hands of their own freakin child and signed him over to the state where he went into foster care. His foster parents were even lack luster and he was sent to this ranch, in desperation, from the state.
Two things about this: The fact that Lamar's parents gave him away is appalling. I cannot begin to wrap my mind around this action. I cannot begin to ever understand how people can just give up on their child and get rid of it because they cannot put their big boy/girl pants on and parent.
Second, Amanda is suddenly there to help Lamar in such a way that he comes around and she even figures out the ultimate problem with him. Oh soo convenient.
I hated this instalove. There was no sexual tension in this book...at all. Thacker added sentences about how the characters wanted each other but oh well. Really? Then all of a sudden they are together and getting it on. At this point... the book was a complete bust. There was no hope in saving it.
I had thought that Thacker would, hopefully, set up the story really well with all her details on the ranch and then she would begin to set up the romantic side of the book. Nope!
This book is quite lengthy. Mostly because Thacker really goes on and on about the ranch and how Justin wants to set it up and how there is a counsel and politics and blah blah blah. So boring. About 31% into the book, the reader learns that Justin is talking about counselors coming in. Finally!
The book has very little character development. The reader learns the most about Amanda because she is a god send to the ranch and she is just all knowing and amazing and HOT! Ouch girl! Justin's background comes into the book in a few sections but really, the reader learns nothing about him. The characters were boring and I didn't like how the author just added things about them here and there throughout the book to satisfy what was going on at that time.
The book ends like a romance novel, surprising I know. But it took a lot to get there. There is some angst, misunderstandings and such but not much.
Overall, 3/4 of this book is strictly about the set up of the boys ranch and not a romance novel. The characters are lame, the story is boring and dry and I disliked how the author wrote her book. Not recommended.
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 0373754655 Good book. Justin is building a ranch for troubled teens. He's doing very well except for the carpentry which is kicking his butt. He hires a master carpenter to help and is surprised when that turns out to be a tall beautiful woman. He's immediately attracted but the ranch is the most important thing. When they are also asked to supervise a teen's community service hours he also discovers she has a great ability to relate to troubled teens. The two of them make a great team both on and off the job.
Justin gave up a successful career to start this ranch. He had had a chance to help another teen and it hadn't turned out well which motivated him to do this. He is on a tight schedule to get everything done and knows he needs carpentry help. Amanda's arrival is a surprise to him but they quickly arrive at an agreement on her duties. Justin is attracted to her but accepts that the job comes first. Lamar's arrival gives him the chance to get a head start on his work with the teens but he soon finds himself having trouble with him. Justin is somewhat dismayed to find that Amanda has no trouble with Lamar but realizes that having Amanda there is a benefit. I really like Justin's determination to make a success of the ranch. He has put a lot of his own money into it plus his heart and soul. Amanda's arrival is just what he needs for the final push. I liked the way that once he recovered from his surprise he had no problem with her being a woman doing the job. He appreciated her abilities, though was a little jealous of her ability to relate to Lamar. I did not like the way that Justin's parents were less than supportive of his efforts. Every time we saw them they were telling him that he wasn't qualified to do what he wanted to do. Though they were big into charitable giving it seemed that they were far more interested in making money and were down on him for giving up a lucrative job to run the ranch. Justin's feelings for Amanda grew pretty rapidly. I liked the way that he understood her reservations and didn't push too hard to get her to reciprocate. There were a couple interesting twist in the decisions about who would be director of the ranch. I liked Justin's attitude about it and the way things worked out at the end.
Amanda was happy in her work as a carpenter working for the family business. She had had a troubled childhood with divorced parents who were more interested in their own happiness than in taking care of her. She took out her feelings in rebellious activities until custody was given to her grandparents. They gave her the love and discipline she needed to turn her life around. Those troubles caused problems with the wealthy family of a man she was engaged to so she broke it off with him. This has caused her to have some issues with getting involved with men with close and/or wealthy families. She feels the attraction to Justin but doesn't want to risk the same thing happening with him so she tries to push him away. She is surprised when her past doesn't bother him and starts to think that some kind of relationship might be possible. But she still doesn't think it can be anything long lasting and still tries to protect her heart. I loved the way that she could be a buffer between Lamar and Justin and tried hard to make each see the other's viewpoint. I loved her support of the ranch and Justin. She gave him the kind of support he should have been getting from his family. I loved the way that she helped Justin with the board and how she tried to do the job they asked her to do. I felt so bad for her and the way she felt about her part in the crisis. The way it was resolved was great and I loved the epilogue.
Lamar was a great secondary character. His attitude and actions were just what was needed to showcase what the ranch was about. He also showed the strengths and weaknesses of both Justin and Amanda. I was rather frustrated with both of them for their total cluelessness about what was causing Lamar's problems with school and some of the things that Justin and Amanda asked him to do. It was so obvious and they never figured it out on their own. 0373754655
Heating Up In Texas! When Justin McCabe hires a master carpenter to help build his ranch for troubled teens, tall, gorgeous blonde Amanda Johnson isn't quite what he'd imagined. But not only can she do the job, she has a thing or two to teach him about judging by appearances. And, more important, she has a knack for reaching the kind of kid Justin wants to help.
Amanda hadn't counted on her new boss-all strapping six foot five of him-being so utterly irresistible. Working side by side under the scorching Texas sun, the two of them make a great team-in every way possible. The heat of summer is no match for the sizzle they generate whenever they're together. But when a crisis forces Amanda to face her past, she'll need to make a heart-wrenching decision about her future...whether Justin is in it or not. The Long, Hot Texas Summer (McCabe Homecoming #2)
Summary Ó PDF, DOC, TXT or eBook ☆ Cathy Gillen Thacker
