Loving a Lawman by Amy Lillard (Cattle Creek #1)
Released: July 5, 2016
Contemporary Romance
Signet
Reviewed by Mandi
Jessie McAllen has a reputation in the small Texas town of Cattle Creek as a wild girl. Impulsive, stubborn and comes from a family of women who cause trouble. Jessie works at the local diner/bar and when her man, Chase, comes back into town with another woman, she flips out. She runs to the parking lot for air, and some time later the police show up because Chase’s car has been smashed to hell. Everyone turns to Jessie for blame – granted, she is holding a baseball bat.
Chase and Jessie have been an item (more off than on) for years and years and years. Chase is a big playboy. A rodeo guy – let’s just say he doesn’t have the most respect for Jessie – but they’ve been together for so long, they don’t know how to officially be apart. When the police show up due to Chase’s busted up truck, it’s Chase’s brother Seth, the town’s sheriff who takes the call. Seth is very familiar with Jessie, as he has watched the train wreck that is Chase and Jessie for years. But secretly, very, very secretly, Seth has had a crush on Jessie. But knowing she is his brother’s girl, he has never made a move. This changes though when Chase takes off to go west, and Jessie very stubbornly refuses to say what really happened the night the truck got smashed. Seth feels protective over her, and now that his brother is out of town, Seth finally makes a move on Jessie.
To Jessie’s surprise, she becomes smitten with Seth. Seth is a very eligible bachelor, and Jessie watches all the single ladies try to woo him with casseroles. I think she is surprised that Seth goes for her. Jessie’s big dream is to save enough money to leave Cattle Creek for good. But a little fun romance with Seth before she leaves presents itself and she decides to go for it.
Something else happens which I’ll put under a spoiler tag, because it doesn’t happen until halfway into the book, but it then becomes the main focus of the book:
This book has a Maisey Yates feel to it – which is a compliment because I enjoy her books a lot. I liked the self-made, stubborn, feisty Jessie. She has a wild girl persona, but she really isn’t. She may have made a bad decision or two, but deep down she just wants people to accept her. Seth is the serious, mature, responsible sheriff. He is very close with his family, and his family has adopted Jessie as she has no one but her elderly grandmother to care for. His family can be overwhelming for Jessie, but she also loves their dynamic.
I enjoyed the feel of this small, Texas town. Everyone knows everyone else’s business. The police department is super small, so Seth is intimate with the town’s members. I even liked how Chase is portrayed – and how Jessie is “his” girl to start the book. Jessie doesn’t have a lot of self-esteem, so it made sense to me that she would stay with Chase, even though he used her and was a womanizer.
Seth comes along and has much more respect for her – they have nice chemistry and I definitely rooted for them to get together. However, I did feel like after a while Seth railroaded Jessie. He started making decisions for her – telling her he knows what’s best for her. And it happened time and time again. That rubbed me the wrong way – Jessie is an adult and maybe because Seth is older or that he thinks she screws up her life too much – he took control instead of having a more equal relationship. Also, when the above spoiler happened it was okay, but not my favorite scenario.
The ending was predictable yet there is a grand gesture by Seth that made me smile.
I’ll definitely read the next one – I think this author has a nice voice.
Grade: B-
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