High Country Hideout by Elle James
Series: Covert Cowboys Inc (# 7)
Release Date: September 15, 2015
Publisher: Harlequin
Pages: 215
Source: book provided by BookTrib for review
Last hope or second chance?
Ranching was Angus Ketchum’s first love — until his last tour of duty shattered that dream. The wounded ex-soldier gets his second chance when he’s recruited to go undercover to protect a widowed ranch owner. But from the moment he meets Reggie Davis, Angus can tell holding on to her land and keeping her young son safe is taking its toll. Especially when someone threatens her livelihood and her life. As the attacks escalate, Angus must rely on his combat skills to keep Reggie and her boy alive. And he must rely on his commitment to the mission to keep their powerful attraction in check.
Review: Every once in a while I just want something a little different to read. My tastes vary pretty widely within the romance genre, but I find that I don’t read romantic suspense all that often. I think it’s because it’s hard to find that good balance of the romance and the suspense. In many ways, this book didn’t live up to my standards, BUT I did enjoy the story.
The story starts off with Angus, who is just out of the military after having been wounded and going through rehab, heading toward a Colorado ranch to go undercover to determine who is being some suspicious happenings. He’s not expecting Reggie, the ranch owner to be a beautiful young widow. Sparks fly from the moment they meet. I liked the two of these characters together. They both have issues, Reggie scared to fall in love again after losing her husband and Angus having to deal with the effects of war. Together they just click. When it comes to the romance, my only real complaint is that this story takes place over the course of less than a week and the relationship just moved way too fast for my tastes.
On to the suspense side… it had it’s moments. Ms James threw in a couple twists and turns, but I knew the minute the “bad guy” made an appears that they were the one. I was kept on my toes though on what was going to happen next and when Angus and Reggie would figure it out… and the story ended with a bang.
The secondary characters, in particular Tad, Reggie’s young son, added a little depth to the story. And the descriptions of the ranch and town were vivid enough to make me feel like I was there with the characters. Overall, I enjoyed this quick read and would be interested in reading others from this series.
