rabck from Rhonder; two stories. In The Cowboy Takes a Wife, Desiree asks Carter to marry her to protect her and her daughter when her ex gets out of jail. But she never really tells him about the ex's abuse, almost getting all of them killed. In the Unforgiving Bride, when Falcon's friend drives home drunk and kills himself, the widow Mara blames Falcon. Now a year later, Mara's daughter has leukemia & Mara needs money for the treatments. She remembers that Grant said Falcon was rich, so she asks him to loan her the money. But a year of fast living have left Falcon broke, and the only thing he can offer is marriage for his medical insurance. Will that be enough? ( )

Carter - pretty dumb, The two of them lay out their requirements for the marriage, refuse to meet one another's requirements, and agree to the marriage anyway. Reasonable _only_ in the romance universe, with large doses of 'entirely wrong so must be right' and 'true lust equals true love' (can't even say great sex, they hadn't even touched at that point). I like 'abused woman learning to trust again' stories, but the whole thing is just too convenient. Every time she gets out of sight the bad guy shows up - admittedly foreshadowed that he knows the territory, but _that_ well? Enough to stay entirely out of sight, on a treeless plain, against people who are expecting him to show up? How did he get that motorcycle close enough to escape on, for instance? Just - too many conveniences, not enough character-driven events. And slightly over-explicit sex - first one made some sense since he was teaching her, later somewhat silly. Not bad, very far from wonderful. 2.5 stars - we'll see how Falcon stacks up. Falcon - oh, MUCH better. Similar forced marriage (for entirely different reasons), and a little bit alike in the previous marriage. But only a tiny bit - Grant, though no great shakes as a husband, wins easily over Burley. Falcon's changes - going from footloose bachelor to willing to take on major responsibilities - actually make sense in terms of his personality and situation; similarly, Mara's willingness to go along with his proposal makes sense as Carter and Desiree's actions don't. They also know considerably more about what they're getting into in the marriage, and the 'enemy' isn't so convenient in its timing (though it still strikes and retreats at interesting times). Overall, a solid 3.5 or even four - so the whole book averages a 3. I'd like to read more Hawk's Way stories - Carter is a peripheral member, Falcon is closer and we learn about several other members with their own stories. I'm interested. ( )

Not a big "cowboy" fan, but I really enjoyed these stories. I really enjoyed "The Cowboy Takes a Wife." Couldn't put it down. Would have liked it to be a little longer. The ending was too rushed, but still held my attention. ( )