oil | Susan Baganz

Mom has been busy getting the garden in and wouldn’t log me on so I could post a review of her very own book! As a dog it’s hard for me to type in the password to her laptop.

Mom told me that her author friend, Loree Lough had posted this photo (on the right here) on Facebook and stated that it looked like the cover of a romance novel. Mom thought Loree should write it but then opted to make the attempt herself.

Whitney’s Vow is the end result. A romantic suspense which is a newer genre for mom although most of her Gothic Regencies have those elements as well as some of her contemporary romances. Her publisher gave it a different cover which I think looks great.

Let me tell you a little about Whitney’s Vow. First of all Whitney was raised in a more affluent household but going to a public college cut her off from the purse strings of her parents and there she met Blake Anderson. They began their marriage on a beach along with four other friends from college.

Fast forward seven years and Whitney stays home at Rebel Falls Ranch in Montana, manages to make quilts, read books, garden and ride horses. Oh, and she’s a crack shot as well. Blake, however, is often gone for stretches of time doing some kind of undercover military operations with his team. Whitney is clueless about those operations, much less the actual day to day of running the ranch or their finances.

All of that comes to a head when she is informed that Blake is dead and that their beloved ranch is being forclosed on. The only way out is with an arranged marriage set up by her father. Whitney doesn’t want to remarry. She’s desolate…and vulnerable.

Blake is not dead and returns home just in time to stop the wedding and together they begin to unravel the lies and deception that brought them to that point. Whitney learns a lot about the ranch, and her husband’s military operations and undergoes a torturous journey to their happily ever after. Whitney becomes a part of the solution instead of a victim and I am happy to state she gets a dog too! (My favorite part!). Of course I’m biased and think you should read this book…but I will warn you, you might not be able to put it down! I give it five bones, because I’m a dog and that’s how I role!

Spatzle Baganz, book reviewer for the silygoos blog because that’s how we roll.

I was disappointed that I couldn’t snag a free copy of Becky Wade’s Undeniably Yours to review, but there’s always the library! Yay! I loved Becky’s writing in My Stubborn Heart and she has been nominated for some pretty awesome awards for that novel. Just rising to that level of awareness in this industry is an achievement in and of itself. The thing is, Becky deserves it. She writes phenomenal contemporary romances.

Undeniably Yours is totally different from My Stubborn Heart. It is not a sequel but an entirely new story in its own right and written with just as much compelling drama and romance. Meg Cole had no desire to run her father’s oil business and had an agreement that for ten years she could do her own thing. His death shortened that dream and put her at the helm of a business she had no skills or knowledge about. With the advice of her many staff members, she starts by cutting costs and one of those cuts was the Thoroughbred racehorse farm that was her father’s pet indulgence.

Bo Porter had worked hard in partnership Whispering Creek Ranch to make the Thoroughbred Farm a profitable venture and he’s just about to break even when the blow comes. He’s been fired and he has to terminate everyone, sell the horses and close the farm. Something about Mr. Cole’s daughter intrigues him though and he refuses her termination. He negotiates for six months in hopes that maybe she’ll change her mind.

The last thing either of them anticipated was falling in love and the complexities that would ensue. Throw a sociopathic ex-husband into the mix and Oil “royalty” and you have one major adventure! With Bo’s job on the line and their relationship hanging in the balance, Meg seeks God’s guidance as to how to juggle the career she despises with the opportunities it provides. Danger lurks as Meg pursues her passions and finds that helping others puts her at risk.

Undeniably Yours is a well-crafted romance with beautifully drawn out characters will keep you reading and rooting for Meg and Bo and Becky Wade doesn’t leave you wanting with her happy ending. This is a book I hope to read again.