A Kiss on Crimson Ranch by Michelle Major
Released: July 15, 2014
Contemporary Romance
Harlequin
Reviewed by Mandi
Sara Wellens was a childhood star on a popular television show. As her sidekick’s career took off, Sara’s plummeted but the thing is – Sara never liked being an actor. Her mother forced her into the business at the age of eight, and basically ran the show, much to Sara’s dismay. Now as an adult, Sara finds herself in financial trouble after a production company she attempted to start fails, also financially ruining her best friend’s bank account. When she hears her grandmother dies and leaves her an inheritance, she jumps in the car with her BFF April and drives to Crimson, Colorado in hopes of some money. But instead she gets a ranch – a ranch that already has a man and teenager living in the house.
Former Bull-rider Josh Travers was close with Sara’s grandmother, and had plans to turn the ranch into a bed and breakfast/adventure resort. After she passes, he decides to go forward, and thinks the ranch will be ready for guests in about three months time. Things become more complicated when his thirteen year old daughter is dropped off after her supermodel mother needs a break. His daughter is heartbroken and not keen on living in a small town with her dad. When Sara shows up, Josh feels his life fall further into chaos. Much to his surprise, Sara decides to stay the summer at the ranch to help get it ready, in hopes that she can then sell the house to Josh and finally get some money to start paying off her debts.
I’m always a little wary reading books that feature actress or ex-actress heroines for some reason. I usually don’t get along with their personality. Sara has a big personality – she talks a lot, makes a lot of movie references, is stubborn and not afraid to voice her opinion. But it all worked for me. She has a very bad relationship with her mother, who still has big dreams of Sara being a star. She has a lot in common with Josh’s daughter who also is not looked upon as an actual human/daughter by her mother -rather, just a ‘thing.’ I think Josh’s daughter is written well – you can feel her hurt as she is abandoned by her mom and her desperation to win back her attention. Her outbursts at her dad make sense too.
Sara has to live with the fact that she is a D-list actress and still has to deal with tabloid lies about her life. People in a small town don’t always take kindly to her. We spend a lot of time getting the ranch ready for guests and Sara dealing with the possibility of starting a new life in a new town. All of this leads to a romance with Josh, but it definitely takes a backseat to everything else. It was almost like Josh and Sara get together because that was supposed to happen in the book, not because of super hot chemistry. I liked both of them, but there isn’t a lot of focus on the romance. And this book ends quite abruptly – I would have liked it to play out a little longer.
I liked the drama and conflict in this one, but I would have liked more romance too.
Rating: C+
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