Friday, December 21, 2012

VBT: Giveaway & Review ~ Ryelee's Cowboy by Kathleen Ball



Twenty-year-old Ryelee Snyder is pregnant and alone. Fortunately, she finds a job as a nanny to precocious four-year-old Rheenie Maloney. Life is perfect except for Horse Trainer, Clint Maloney. Ryelee feels his disapproval and is in constant fear of being fired.

Clint Maloney needs help with his daughter but he never bargained on Ryelee Snyder. The tall, gangly, girl is a menace. Clint spends too much of his time rescuing her from her latest mishap. Upon finding out about her pregnancy, Clint's feelings begin to change. He no longer views her as a nuisance but as a passionate woman with a generous heart.

Secrets, misunderstandings, and cattle rustling put an increasing strain on their relationship, until they finally turn from each other. Just as they seem to find their way back, Ryelee's part in the cattle rustling is unveiled. Ryelee fights unyieldingly to win the love of a lifetime.

Title: Ryelee's Cowboy

Author: Kathleen Ball

Series: Dawson Ranch: Bk 2

Publisher:
Secret Cravings Publishing

Genre: Contemporary Western Romance (Action)

Heat Level: Steamy

Length: 200 pages

Available at:



About the Author: 

Kathleen Ball has been writing for a little over three years. She has four published novels: The Lasso Springs series--Callie's Heart and Lone Star Joy are available now. Stetson's Storm will be available in February 2013 from Desert Breeze Publishing. She also has the Dawson Ranch series from Secret Cravings Publishing. Those titles are Texas Haven and Ryelee's Cowboy.

Kathleen lives in Texas and loves the fact that she can drive out of her subdivision and see cattle. She is a native New Yorker from Rochester, New York.

Kathleen is married and has one son who is a Marine. She started writing when she realized that she was facing an empty nest. Always an avid reader, she writes what she likes, Contemporary Western Romance.

Visit her at  www.kathleenballromance.com

Excerpt:

“It’s not good for the baby. Have you seen a doctor yet?”

Ryelee shook her head. “I didn’t want to spend the money.”

“Let me get some tea to warm you up, and we’ll have a good talk.”

Ryelee wondered what a good talk consisted of. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but at least he hadn’t thrown her out in the street. Maybe he would let her stay until she found a new job. She hugged herself as she sat on the couch, waiting.

Clint walked into the family room carrying two cups of herbal tea. He placed them on the coffee table and sat down next to Ryelee. “I feel as though I’ve gotten to know you a bit while you’ve been living here,” Clint began. “I find it hard to believe that Dottie’s accusations of you entertaining men are true.”

Ryelee took a sip of her tea. It warmed her. She looked into Clint’s dark eyes and weakly smiled. No one had ever asked for her side of the story before. She swallowed hard, and wondered if Clint would believe a word she said. Looking into his whiskey colored eyes again, she saw compassion.

“My father drinks and gambles a lot. After my mother died, he got worse. There were many times that I went to bed, my stomach hurting from hunger. More often than not we couldn't pay our bills. There were many nights that we had no heat. Thank God for our fireplace. Once there was a knock on the door, and two men pushed me aside and took both mine and my father’s beds. He’d lost them playing cards. Eventually the church gave me a mattress. They also gave me clothes. My father ran them off. They didn't come around anymore.”

Placing her teacup on the coffee table, she wondered how to go on. “Two months ago, he…he bet my virginity. He lost, and he demanded that I pay his debt. I was never so frightened. Who does such a thing? A man took me kicking and screaming to a warehouse or something. You can probably imagine what happened. It was the worst hell I’ve ever been through. The whole time I kept thinking why. What had I done to deserve this?”

“What did the police have to say?” Clint asked in a calm voice, but his face screamed outrage.

Ryelee felt like crumbling, but she gave him a shrug. “My father refused to allow me to go to the police. He wouldn’t even let me go to the hospital. I hurt so badly that I was bedridden for a week. He, the man, beat me pretty badly. I felt as though he had torn my insides. My father locked me in my room until I promised to keep quiet about the whole incident.”

Reviews:

“I have read Rylee's cowboy (loved it) I went through every emotions one could. happiness, fear, angry, scared, frightened, cried, laughed got excited (blush)where was the hubby when reading this? lol this book was awesome i can't wait for the 4th book of Kathleen Ball's she is a great writer she makes those us that don't like to read WANT to read!!! they are books you can't just put down anytime cause the second your free you pick it back up again and read it. I highly recommend these books of Kathleens as a Must read!”-- Lisa Tompkins - ***** STAR

“Kathleen Ball pulled at my heartstrings once again. In her typical way, this author crafted a story that touched every one of my emotions and pulled me so far into her story that I felt I was part of it.

My heart ached for pregnant Ryelee as she tried to move past her heartbreaking upbringing and make a life for herself. Her relationship with little Rheenie was heartwarming, and her love for Clint was tender. And though at times my stomach hurt for the way Ryelee was treated, I knew Ms. Ball would give us a romantic hero we could be proud of.

This reader has become a lifelong fan of Kathleen Ball and her wonderful stories, and I cannot wait for more.”-- ClassDreamer'84 - 5 Star


My Thoughts:

Ryelee's Cowboy is the second book in the Dawson Ranch Series. I enjoyed the first book so much that I was eager to review this one.

Kathleen Ball really has a knack for writing cowboy romances. Her heroes are strong, stubborn and of course handsome too. Her heroines (Ryelee in this book) are strong and loving.

The plot had some of everything. There was romance, drama, some mystery, and a heart wrenching tale woven together through out the pages of this book. I went through every emotion while reading it.

I was so caught up in the story that I had trouble walking away from it to do my housework!  

I recommend this book and series to all western romance fans.

I received a copy of Ryelee's Cowboy from CBLS in exchange for my honest opinion. I honestly thought it was really good and I'll be waiting for the next book.


If you like what you read, enter the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a copy for your self.

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I'd love to know what you're thinking. Please leave a comment!

4 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for hosting me-- Kathleen Ball

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  2. I love Cowboy stories!!!

    josiehink122026(at)gmail(dot)com

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  3. This looks like a really fun read. Thank you for sharing it with us and for the treat of a giveaway opportunity :)

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