Stealing Hearts is a small town, cowboy romance story and is book one in the Wild at Heart series.
Paige is back in Wild Heart, Texas, after a break from her dream job due to her ankle needing rehab as well as breaking up with her boyfriend. After her stepmother tells her there’s no room for her at her old house she spends the night in her car before being abruptly woken up by Rhett, her older brother’s best friend.
Rhett is an overworked rancher and father of two boys who is doing everything he can to save his family’s ranch. Rhett promised his best friend Danny he would look out for Paige so when he sees her sleeping in her car he’s quick to throw her over his shoulder and take her back to the ranch.
It’s been a long time since Rhett and Paige have seen each other, and while there might be some lingering feelings of resentment, they both have an issue the other can help with; Rhett needs a temporary wife and Paige needs health insurance to rehab her ankle.
I liked the dynamics between Rhett and his brothers; they have each others backs but also like to annoy each other as only siblings can. I also liked the way the Walker brothers welcomed Paige into the fold and treated her like a little sister.
I enjoyed the addition of the sabotage storyline and there are just enough clues that you can work out who the bad guy is, if you want to, without it detracting from the overall enjoyment of the book.
Stealing Hearts has everything! Angst, steam, grief, a meddlesome ex, cute kids and a grumpy/sunshine dynamic. It’s an easy read as the story flows really well and the characters, while not perfect, have amazing chemistry and are really endearing, which made me want them to overcome their challenges so they could have their HEA.
– small town
– brother’s best friend
– marriage of convenience
– forced proximity
– age gap
– single Dad
– cowboys
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Publisher: Lex Martin
Format: paperback
ISBN: 978-1-950554-26-3
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Here’s the synopsis
I don’t remember a time when I didn’t love Rhett Walker, which is complicated since he’s ten years older and my brother’s best friend. After a falling out, we didn’t speak for years—until today, when he found me sleeping in my car, threw me over his shoulder, and dragged me “to safety.”
He’s grumpy and overprotective and even more handsome than I remembered. I’m shocked to learn he’s in trouble. Someone is sabotaging his ranch, which is thirty days from foreclosure. He needs a loan from a friend who won’t extend the funds unless he’s married. Only Rhett’s now a single dad with no plans to fall in love again.
When his brother suggests I marry Rhett for health insurance so I can rehab an injury, my first reaction is hell no. I can’t afford to catch feelings for someone who won’t see me that way.
But spending time at the ranch reminds me how much is at stake—the family business, the welfare of Rhett’s children, and the happiness of a man I’ve always longed for.
Rhett says we’ll keep things platonic in private, even though I’ll be sleeping in his bed. He refuses to mix business with pleasure.
Except when the lights go out in his bedroom, our chemistry is too explosive to contain.
Would it be so bad to fall for Rhett? Or will he steal my heart all over again?
One thing’s for sure—the clock is ticking on our divorce.
What Caz Read 