Kentucky Home by Sarah Title
April 18, 2013
Contemporary Romance
Kensington

Reviewed by Mandi

When I received this review request I first noticed Sarah Title is a debut author, which I am always eager to try and then the horses on the cover drew me in. Giddy up.

This one very pleasantly surprised me. When it first starts we meet Luke, who is the hero’s brother. Luke left his family’s Kentucky horse farm to move to DC and explore other adventures. He met Mallory at a business function and they became fast friends. Luke is somewhat of a manwhore, but him and Mal never take their relationship to that level. Based on my first impression of Luke’s personality, I wasn’t too keen on him. But things take a good turn in this book.

Mal had been in an abusive and controlling marriage, until one day she couldn’t take it anymore. She called Luke for help, he grabbed her and decided to take her to Kentucky to give her some breathing space while she tries to get a divorce from her husband. They pretend to be engaged when they arrive at his family’s farm (I’m not really sure I ever figured out why they had to pretend to be engaged but I went with it.)

Luke’s family is a little shocked that he came home with a fiancé. At his family home is his gruff father Cal, who refuses to upgrade the farm in anyway, so it’s been losing money. Libby, the family’s cook/housekeeper and adopted mother of sorts since their mother is dead, Katie, Luke’s younger sister and Keith, Luke’s brother and the hero of the story. Keith was once on track to become a veterinarian but then his pregnant wife died (three years ago) and he now spends his time just working on the farm and occasionally ugly crying over his dead wife (I love a hero who can give a good ugly cry).

Mal doesn’t make a great first impression as she has never been on a farm and isn’t used to their hard work and general lifestyle. The second day they are their, Luke leaves to go explore a business opportunity, leaving Mal to fend for herself for days and days. Mal, determined to make herself useful starts following Keith around (much to his dismay) and eventually wins over the family and Keith’s heart (it’s really cute y’all).

Let’s take a moment to get a grasp of the kind of man Keith is:

It was all Mal could do to stifle a gasp. He was a big guy, a real-man kind of man. The kind who split wood for fun, or whatever people in the country do to show how strong they are. His strength radiated from under his plaid flannel shirt, sleeves rolled up to reveal powerful forearms. His jeans were well worn, distressed from use, not from the factory, His brown hair was darker than Luke’s and shaggier, like he needed a haircut. It suited him. Mal blinked, shocked by his careless, unconscious manliness.

Well then.

Keith’s first impression of Mal is some fancy city girl who is another of Luke’s bimbos. But he soon realizes, while she is still quite naive about farm life, she is a hard worker and has a wonderful personality. While she may not know what she is doing on the farm, she never whines or comes across as immature. For that I liked her. The first task she gives herself to prove herself to him is to muck out the horse stalls. The humor in this book isn’t really in your face but it sneaks up on you.

“I think I can move a wheelbarrow. It’s not like driving a stick shift.”

Keith considered her for a moment; obviously, he was not impressed by her physical strength. “Ok, just don’t fill it.” He kicked the wheelbarrow like an old man kicks the tires of a car, showing off, testing it out.

The wheelbarrow fell over.

She thought maybe Keith was blushing a little as he bent to set it to rights. Man, he looked good in those jeans. She shook her head. Focus on the manure pile.

“Thanks,” she said, thinking about poop.

But this book isn’t all about shoveling poop! Eventually these two start to fall for each other, and Mal has to come clean about her real relationship with Luke, which I really ended up liking. They are truly good friends for each other. Keith and Mal’s romance is quite sweet and sexy. No sex on a horse, but close *wink*

I enjoyed the supporting characters of the whole family too. My only complaint is Mal’s soon to be ex-husband Michael. I felt like if this were a movie he would be an over-actor. Meaning, he seemed too much like a caricature. His personality seemed too forced. And the ending with him was a bit dramatic for my tastes.

Overall this is a really cute and fun story, It’s sexy and made me laugh and I’m definitely looking forward to more from Sarah Title.

Rating: B

Also have to note that this book is an ebook only from Kensington and priced at $3.49 (at the time this review posts), which I think is a wonderful price point for a debut author (and full length novel).

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