Long and Short Reviews

Lucky In Love by Stacey Coverstone
Asylett Press
Contemporary
Full Length, Spicy
Review by Cherry Blossom

Jordan Mackenzie has left Colorado and her slug of a boyfriend for Tularosa, New Mexico, to claim the Lucky Seven Ranch--inherited from an aunt she met only once in her life.

Upon arrival, she meets two local men--outgoing, sexy contractor, Cole Roberts, who puts designs on both her and her house, and rugged rancher and neighbor, Wyatt Brannigan, who immediately involves himself in Jordan's life, and does his best to keep her out of trouble.

That trouble comes in the form of Addison Stillwell, a powerful land baron who will stop at nothing to get Jordan's ranch.

Settling into a new and challenging way of life, Jordan manages a herd of rescue horses, deals with an ornery goat, and discovers a family secret.

As she fights for her land and her life, Jordan realizes who it is that holds the key to her heart, but will she take a chance at becoming Lucky in Love?

♥ ♥ ♥

An unexpected inheritance from a great-aunt she didn’t even know existed brings Jordan Mackenzie to New Mexico. Small-town Tularosa is as different from her native Denver as she could hope, from the friendliness of strangers to the irresistible charm of two eligible bachelors who compete for her attentions from the moment they set eyes on her: the rugged rancher Wyatt Brannigan, and the successful contractor Cole Roberts.

But Tularosa isn’t paradise, and Addison Stillwell, the biggest landowner of the region, wants Jordan’s property. He will stop at nothing to frighten her away, not even risking her life in a hit-and-run accident. Like her great-aunt before her, Jordan isn’t about to give in to threats. She likes her new house, the beauty of the desert, and the attentions of the local men.

Before she can settle into her new life, she will have to solve the mystery of her great-aunt’s bequest, ward off Stillwell, and make a choice that could break one man’s heart. If she survives another attempt at scaring her off her own land.

In Lucky in Love, Stacey Coverstone weaves a delightful story that made me smile all the way to the end. She creates vivid characters and positions them against a sharply defined background. The town of Tularosa, the diner, Jordan’s ranch, and especially Houdini the Goat, will remain with the reader long after the story is done. The New Mexico landscape itself becomes part of the narrative, as it enthralls Jordan with its colors and shapes.

Not to forget the love story between two adults with life experiences behind them, which is carefully woven and realistically presented. The reader cannot help but share the characters’ emotions and cheer them on – but to say more would be to reveal too much.

Lucky in Love is a pleasant, easy, engrossing read, but for this reviewer, more attention to language, and greater suspense would have earned it more points. However, Stacey is still a debut writer, and well worth keeping an eye on. Especially if you like old-fashioned, rugged, handsome cowboys.