Just Once
by Julianna Keyes
Release date: October 29th 2013
Contemporary Romance
Irresistible Reads Book Tours
Kate Burke is done making bad decisions. Thirty years old and belatedly determined to grow up, the successful travel writer and one-time party girl returns to work at the remote Ponderosa Pines Ranch to reassess her life.
Although her kitchen/cabin staff is lacking and the workload never relents, Kate’s main challenge is Shane Maddox, the ruggedly handsome and doggedly stubborn ranch foreman. Instantly at odds, they battle over everything from ceiling fans to bothersome bats—studiously ignoring the sparks they generate with each confrontation.
They can’t explain their explosive physical chemistry, but after a few frustrated weeks they can’t deny it either. Their solution? Just once. They’ll get past their inconvenient lust and move on.
Kate’s been trying to think with her head instead of her hormones, but is this just another bad decision in a lifetime of careless choices? Has she really changed at all?
Set in the striking and serene hills of southern Colorado, Julianna Keyes’ debut novel offers a sizzling and satisfying tale of unexpected chemistry and the power of second chances. Her characters will get under your skin and into your heart. Just once may not be enough for you either.
Author Spotlight: Julianna Keyes is a Canadian writer who has lived on both coasts and several places in between. She's been skydiving, bungee jumping and white water rafting, but nothing thrills - or terrifies - her as much as the blank page. She loves Chinese food, foreign languages, baseball and television, not necessarily in that order, and will go to her grave swearing that 'ain't' is not a word. She has volunteered in Zambia, taught English in China, and dreams of seeing pink dolphins in the Amazon. It'll happen.
What I say (review): Kate Burke and Shane Maddox are complete opposites and have totally different backgrounds; Kate is a somewhat bored, rich, travel writer and Shane is (at least, on first glance) a gruff, ranch foreman.
Kate is in a rut and fallen out of love with her once glamorous and exciting lifestyle and returns to work on a ranch she had left ten years ago. Kate is determined to be less spontaneous and reckless (I'll leave you to discover her motivations). This is difficult task when she is surrounded by seasonal workers, holiday makers and the uber hot alpha male that is Shane.
Shane and Kate spar from their very first introduction and after numerous attempts to stay away from each other they come up with the genius *ahem* ridiculous idea that if they sleep together once then they can move on from their mutual lust and forget about each other. I think you can probably guess what happens next, but I have to say I found their constant banter really entertaining.
Kate and Shane appear confident but both have their share of insecurities and are kinda lost. It was interesting to see the dominate alpha male faced with a strong and extremely wealthy female. I wonder how many guys would suffer from a bruised ego in similar circumstances.
The secondary characters were a fun addition and it was nice to see them go 'on a journey' throughout the book too. I did want to smack some sense into Brandon and Hailey at times.
Just Once is a fun, mostly lighthearted, contemporary romance which will have you dreaming of cowboys and summer!
3.5 Stars in my Sky!
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