“Filled with humor, romance and a great sense of reality…the writing is moving and masterful…”

NO MAJOR SPOILERS

This book is set in Texas and is about a small-time writer having to fill a reporter friend’s shoes for a big-time interview. She accidentally makes a bet that neither the cowboy, Tru Monahan, nor the writer, Maggie Hope, have any intention of following up with. However, that part of the interview is aired and both Maggie and Tru are stuck.

Maggie bet Tru that he wouldn’t be able to get her used to the saddle. Her bosses and his publicists give them a deadline and Maggie goes to live in Wishing Springs for a month. There she meets lots of new friends, her past comes to haunt her, and she struggles with love.

Tru deals with his personal feelings about his family, Maggie, and personal medical issues. They both struggle with whether or not they should reveal their inner turmoil to each other, and in the end it all comes out.

This book was an interesting book to read. I liked the story and the characters were pretty cool. The nosy ladies from the hair parlor were a hoot, and I loved Tru’s grandpa. The way the characters were presented was nice and it was easy enough to remember who was who and how they were all connected. Clopton did a nice job of keeping it easy to read the story and connect with the characters.

Although the story was pretty nice, there were quite a few thing I didn’t care for. I did not like the romance between Tru and Maggie. From the descriptions, there was an instant attraction and they kept on making excuses, the same excuses, over and over and over again. It got a little old. Not to mention that their relationship didn’t feel real. The emotions were too extreme, and Tru was annoying in that he’d be all gooey for her and then in a split second he’d harden up. It almost had my head spinning to see him change so fast.

Also, Maggie met a person in the beginning of the book and, although she and Maggie became close friends, I feel that the way she was introduced was just random. I finished a chapter and all of a sudden there was this new character and I had no clue why. There aren’t any titles on the chapters so there weren’t any hints there. I actually turned back and flipped through the pages to see if I had made a mistake or forgotten someone.

It’s an interesting Hallmark channel type of book, but nothing that’ll make me want to read it over and over again. I give it a 6 out of 10 and recommend it to romance lovers.