Jared wasn't particularly interested in a good looking woman, all he needed was a housekeeper...not that he would pass up a bed partner. Coming up out of a hangover, the sombre [yet handsome?] rancher got a bit of a shock when he saw Glenna and she revealed her bruises.

Glenna was willing to learn what it took to live on the Kansas prairie if only she could provide the promised home for her blind sister, Mary. But her foiled attempts with her widow's disguise to gain money to support her sister raised many doubts in Jareds' mind. What was she up to??

Little by little the generous gestures by Glenna began to make a small impression on Jared. Just don't ask about "Janie".
Glenna's conclusion was that Jared had loved Janie very much.
Glenna took immediately to Lyden...the twenty month old son of Jared.

I loved meeting Jared's brother, Joseph and his wife, Cally. And their eight children, 17 year old John, 16 year old Charity, then 15 year old twins, Matthew and Mark [they picked them up in Topeka on their way to the ranch] then there is 14 year old, Luke who is quiet and musical, like his mother.
[grin] Jared figured that his brother must have needed a rest because the next set of twins are 10 year old, Peter and Paul. [chuckle, chuckle] then six years later, little 4 year old Annie is born, "she is a sweetheart" according to Jared and she wants to marry Uncle Jared when she grows up. Oh, yes, and Cally is expecting again. Whee! what a great family.

Joseph is 36 and Jared is 33 [boy, does he have a way to go - sibling competition, you know] Of course Glenna is only 24.

Glenna, being from Chicago [Jared's nickname for her was "city-girl"]just about had histerics when a rattlesnake appeared up from the floorboards and was heading for the baby. One of the many reasons why Jared kept telling Glenna that it was too dangerous for a blind child to live on the ranch. But Glenna kept trying to think up adjustments to make the ranch livable for Mary.

Oh, yes - it did take a while for Glenna to let her handsome husband into her bed.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - thoroughly enjoyable - excellent read and keeps you interest.

I was pleasantly suprised when I picked up the re-issue of this book in the American Hero series(Kansas). I do not usually read to many historicals, but I quickly became involved in the story of Jared and Glenna. Jared who runs an add in the Chicago paper for a wife who is suitable for prairie life. He makes it quite clear that he is not capable of love and his "wife" would simply be nothing more than a hired hand who was also responsible for raising his son. Glenna, answers the ad in the hopes of getting her and her little sister out of an abusive situation. This story did not have any weak moments and because it is not as long as your typical historical novel, reading it in one sitting was easily done. This is a story I would go back to again and again.

Clair Fletcher takes her first vacation in eight years to go to Elk Creek, Wyoming and make amends to the past. While she was busy becoming Chicago's most recognized account executive, her younger sister ran away from home. Kristen hadn't told Clair that she was pregnant when she insisted on dropping out of high school during her senior year. Hitchhiking across the continent had taught her about the dangers on her own, and the fact she couldn't care for herself, never mind a child. So Kristen agreed to a private adoption to Bill and Kim Miller, who would have adopted her as well, if she had let them. They helped her find college scholarships and make a good start after the baby was born. In their wills, they specified if something ever happened to them, Kristen be given a second chance at raising her son.

An icy patch of ice took the Miller's lives, leaving behind two-year-old Willy. When the lawyer attempted to fulfill their last request regarding their son, he learned Kristen had perished in a fire. Assuming that she was still estranged from her family, he notified the family of Kristen's death. Clair was shocked to learn that she had nephew. While her father was uninterested, Clair insisted on gaining custody of the child. But when she arrives in Elk Creek, Willy's guardian disarms her. Jace Brumley is a natural parent, easily handling the stubborn two-year-old whether it is in a doctor's office or working the ranch. He makes pizza from scratch, using his own home canned tomatoes. He had become daddy by default, since he was like a brother to Bill and made a solemn vow to raise the child in his place, should the worse happen. And it won't give the child up. Besides, there are far more pleasant things he would like to do with Clair than fight a custody battle.

As custody battles go, BABY BE MINE provides a rather light treatment, handling the emotions without the legal battle. Author Victoria Pade provides rather interesting and unexpected characterizations. Clair is not a natural mother and is clueless as to how to bond with her nephew. Her attitude that blood should supersede a currently stable home is gently, but effectively challenged as she learns to cope with her guilt about the past. Jace is a marvelous father who disregards his lawyer's advice because, while it might legally in the child's best interest, it is not in the child's moral best interest. His integrity and parenting skills make him an irresistible hero. Further, at no time does this stubborn two-year-old easily capitulate to the new strange woman in his life. Instead, he behaves just like, well, a two-year-old. Very highly recommended.

Ms. Pade has always been one of my favorite authors. She shines here as always!!!!

This is a humorous, heartwarming romance. After reading it, I searched for other books by Victoria Pade. I hope I will enjoy reading them as much as I did this one

Rand Colton is arrogant, strict and overbearing but he is a prestigous attorney and is used to getting whatever he wants, until he met Lucy Lowry. Lucy agreed to be his secretary only as a favor to her aunt. Lucy quickly laid down the ground rules for becoming his secretary, that the job would only be from 9 to 5. After all, she has a son to take care of and to spend time with. Rand was shocked but agreed because he was desparate for a good secretary.

Rand and Lucy work well together because Lucy could do anything he ask for and she stands her ground when they argue. Another good point, so she shows that the world doesn't revolve around Rand. As they work together, they discover that they're attracted to each other but they're both reluctant to pursue it and they each have their own reasons. Rand's reason is that he doesn't think he has the capability to devote all his time to family and Lucy's reason is that one, she doesn't trust any man, after the father of her son ran away when he discovered she was pregnant and two, she doesn't want to become Rand's passing lover.

They also work together to uncover an imposter that may be residing in the Colton household, the place where Rand's father lives in. The imposter has made an attempt to kill some of the family members and Rand discovers some interesting facts. I am definitely reading the next book, which is PASSION'S LAW to discover what would happen to that imposter.

I finished reading this book in about a day, at all crazy hours because FROM BOSS TO BRIDEGROOM is so interesting. I kept on wanting to find out what would happen between Rand and Lucy and would their reasons change for each other. I am really not disappointed with this book and the Colton series so far. I recommend the Colton series and FROM BOSS TO BRIDEGROOM to those who like romances that continue.

^_^ ~ Izzy

After 22 years of marriage and nearly 9 years of being divorced, Jimi Plain's family has decided she needs to start dating, and they give her a gift certificate to "The New You" dating service. Jimi is less than thrilled, as she's content with her life as it is, but she don't want to hurt her grandmother's and daughters' feelings, so she finally goes to The New You to tape her "Before" video. Once there, Jimi discovers her counselor's dead body, and Jimi soon learns that just about everyone had a motive for killing the woman.

The only drawback I had was the way Jimi interrogated all the suspects. At times it felt like a scene from "Dragnet", with Jimi constantly asking people leading questions, just as though she were a police officer. And what's more, the characters answered her questions without hesitation. This didn't seem believeable to me.

There are lots of fun and quirkly characters in DATING CAN BE DEADLY. I enjoyed becoming involved with Jimi and her family, and I look forward to further books in this series.

I really enjoyed this book! Jimi Plain is a fun protagonist, and the light-hearted tone fits the book perfectly. There is an appealing cast of supporting characters in Jimi's life that will make this a great series of mysteries.

This book was so slow that I had trouble staying awake.

I really enjoyed every minute of this book. The subplots were real and entertaining - not just filler like so many others. The main plot moved along very briskly with lots of murder along the way. The charactors felt like people I knew and having the story based in Denver was a refreshing change.

This is a very good mystery but as a former 20 yr. resident I find it very distracting to the story to read "public service" when the story is referring to the utility co. It should be Public Service which is the utility co. of the Denver metro area. The editor has done the author a disservice with this error. Buy the book anyway and know it is not a do-good organization responding to a murder scene!

With the world waiting to welcome her, Carly says goodbye to her friends, expecting to immediately leave the town where she has spent her entire life. She has already rented her house to the new doctor and his young daughter expected to arrive the day she is scheduled to leave town. He's a citified cowboy doctor with family connections in Elk Creek. It's the time in his life when he can appreciate the small town Carly wants to leave. He has taken the job as the town's only doctor when the doctor who had been there for generations, Carly's father, passed away. But Bax has bitten off a lot to chew when Carly injures her ankle and cannot leave town. Their living arrangements place them in close proximity and they spend their energy stubbornly denying their strong immediate mutual attraction. Carly is invaluable to Bax, giving him information about the townspeople and their quirks and he joins everyone else in town who want to talk her into staying. Her wanderlust is so strong that, even after they acknowledge their feelings to each other, she is still compelled to leave. Bax's solution is a good one, but she remembers her ex-fiance's reaction being similar and revolts. As soon as her ankle is healed, she's leaving, and that's that. Wrong.

Nice storyline, but the narrative about their attraction and how they fought it was so repetitive, by the time they got together, I was almost past caring. Without the unnecessary and repetitive sexual tension, the book would be half as long. We got the point in Chapter Two.

Character development was scarce, not only with the main characters, but definitely with the secondary characters. I had to go back to the beginning and find the passage that explained some family relationships. The writing lacked meat to it; the author missed some obvious chances to make the town and the people more interesting.

Worth a read anyway.

The story of a yound woman who lives in a very small western town and wants to "SEE THE WORLD". She hurts he ankle at the Bon Voyage party and has to delay departure. Tall, sexy and handsome arrives to move into her empty (but not empty)house. He tempts her to stay and her fears of being trapped in one place forever scares her to death. I enjoyed watching her fight her fears and the hero try to convice her that she could have it all. She could travel and still have love.

During one of the worst blizzards Wyoming has ever seen, Matt McDermot stops alongside a small, beige sedan to finds a woman with her head bloody against the windshield. When she comes to, Jenn Johnson only knows her name from the driver's license presented by her rescuer, yet she seems to inexplicably know the identity of all of the members of the McDermot's family.

In the wrong hands, the theme of amnesia threatens to grow dangerously tired as romance authors frequently use is as a plot devise. In the hands of Victoria Pade, however, this theme takes on a new dimension as she teases the reader with selective information and the growing heat between the heroine and hero. THE COWBOY'S GIFT-WRAPPED BRIDE is a sexy, lively read perfect to keep the blood hot on a cold winter afternoon. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this book. Good story

Two months ago at Christmas, Kate McDermot found herself descending into a pretty bad funk. While others were finding love on a family trip to Los Vegas, Kate was mourning the loss of a fiancé who eloped with someone else. Ordinary careful, cautious, and conservative, Kate needed to feel desirable, appealing and attractive. So when her brother unexpectedly arranges for her to be paired off with the sexy Brady Brown, she found herself enjoying his attention. Too much champagne and she confined her greatest secret. At twenty-nine, she's still a virgin waiting for her wedding night. Brady appreciates the specialness of her desire to be married the first time she makes love. Since they are in Los Vegas, it was simple to arrange for her dream's fulfillment. The next morning, however, Kate was mortified to find herself married to a stranger, regardless of how wonderfully intimate the previous day had been.

Now Brady's flying to her family's ranch purportedly for a fun visit. Neither he nor Kate confessed to their rash marriage, but he's actually bringing her the divorce papers to be signed. Unfortunately, fate has taken a hand in the matter, and Kate has another secret to confess. She's pregnant. And she still feels his magnetism. Despite that attraction, however, Kate has serious reservations about telling Brady about the baby. She'd seen first hand the results of shotgun weddings, and had no intentions of making Brady feel trapped. So she decides not to inform him of the pregnancy before the divorce is finalized.

Their marriage was the most insane thing Brady had ever done in his life. But she wasn't just another woman, and when she stipulated her desire to be married when she lost her virginity, it made a kind of drunken sense to fill her dream. But there's nothing more foolish than marrying your best friend's sister and then taking her to bed. Even if the lovemaking had been fabulous. Now he wonders when they put this fiasco behind them, if he'll finally be able to get her off his mind.

What a delightful dilemma Victoria Pade presents in COWBOY'S BABY. Sometimes fate has to take a hand when two people allow a hasty act to block their attraction, as Pade demonstrates with style. Unfortunately, the heroine's lack of confidence wears the plot down a bit; nevertheless, the airy tone still manages to hold the reader's avid attention. Recommended.