Into the Fire

If you recall "Book Covers Week", this is the one posted on Valentine's Day. I love this cover. And, yes, Anne Patrick wrote a sweet little romance to go with it.

Here's the thing with the romance genre. There's a formula. Most successful romances stick to that formula and garner millions of readers with it. Renegade Hearts is a romance.

Jenny Holloway is a widow raising a young son (Zach) on a ranch that breeds Black Angus cattle and champion cutting horses. She and her deceased husband Rick inherited the ranch from his uncle and made it a thriving entity through their determination and hard work. When he died, his longtime foreman Buddy didn't think Jenny could hold the place together, but she surprised him and they became close friends. Now his son Gil has returned from his time in Iraq and needs something to do to keep his mind off his injury and those lives of his friends who didn't make it back. Jenny agrees to hire him.

Gil is no slouch in the looks department (see cover art) or in his learned skills from back when he and Rick were best friends as kids at the ranch. Jenny remembers Gil from their youth and immediately he demonstrates his usefulness. Zach is drawn to him and Gil responds with helping Zach any way he can.

Jenny resists any attraction she feels for Gil until she realizes she just can't anymore. She appreciates his hard work and enjoys the limited time they have together both sharing conversation they haven't been able to have with anyone else. But then sensitive issues rise up, vocal conflicts cause some anger, and then the one girl who broke Gil's heart shows up looking like a Vogue model, announcing she's getting a divorce. There's a devastating theft at the ranch, Jenny's longstanding feud with her father must be addressed, plus her sister's getting married.

Needless to say, because it is a romance after all, conflicts ease, question marks resolve, feuds end, and love is in the air. If Renegade Hearts was a movie, we'd all be cheering at the end. If you need a nice little escape and want a romance to provide it, I recommend Anne Patrick's Renegade Hearts. A feel-good story with likable characters in a lush setting where the landscape feels beautiful and the delicious smells of a ranch permeate the make-believe air.  

Father, please continue to bless Anne Patrick in every way. Meet her needs with your abundance as she continues to honor you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.