3.5 Stars-Didn't Connect

Lynnette Austin gives her readers a cute opposite attracts romance with Somebody Like You. I'm not a big fan of insta-love, however these guys were more insta-lust than love really.

Cash and Annie are from different worlds, she's the city girl to his country boy. Needing a break from her world, Annie finds herself smack dab in his and feels like it's a perfect fit for the moment. She isn't only in the small town to get away, she's on a mission as well.

Knowing she's going to be staying a while, Annie takes a job on Cash's farm as a ranch hand. The princess is going to get dirty and can't wait. She loves the fact that she isn't attracting any paparazzi in Texas, the only eyes on her are Cash's.

While the farm was his grandfather's, to become fully his, Cash has to be married by the time he turns thirty. Of course, this hangs over his head and effects every move he makes with women now. Trying his best not to form relationships, even when the perfect woman is right in front of him.

Cash and Annie felt forced and at times immature for thier ages. By early thirties, you would figure all the he said, she said stuff would be gone, as well as the threats of not seeing each other anymore when the slightest thing goes wrong. Which is what these two constantly did. While I'm all for angst, this came across as trite to me.

The book is well written, however didn't keep my interest. It was slow and for some reason that I can't pin point, I wasn't a fan of either character. It's a sweet, almost innocent romance, not quite up my alley, but I'm sure is a great fit for others.

Reviewed for Renee Entress's blog.

I was fortunate enough to get this current series (three books) all together. I began with Somebody Like You. I was pulled in to the small town like on Annelise's journey to her grandfather. She wanted to spend time with him and get to know him and help. She ditched her world and became a part of a community life that was unlike anything she had experienced before. She just never dreamed she would find and fall in love with someone that loved her and not her money. Cash was the answer to her prays and she was a dream he never imagined would happen.

The romance was sweet and small-town life was full of fun and gossip. I meet a cast of secondary characters that I wanted to learn more about.

From the get go I really liked Annelise. What’s not to love about a woman riding a Harley and is quite the firecracker? She may be an heiress that has been kept under lock and key most of her life, but that didn’t keep her from getting her hands dirty (and breaking every nail on those pretty hands, either)

Cash was easy to like as he cared a lot for people, even if he was being stubborn for the longest time about marriage to save his beloved family ranch and toss out his 20 something year old “grandmother”.

My one problem with this book is that it seemed to drag on in places. While I do love it, I think it could have been shortened word and page-wise and they should find out who she is a lot sooner than they did. Though, it’s not fair to say that only “Annie” was hiding something, so was Cash.

Having said that, Ms Austin’s writing is top-notch and kept me reading far into the night.

*Sigh* Can’t wait to read the sequel!

3.5 stars
This is a sweet story of two people who on paper don't belong together finding exactly what they need when they weren't looking.
I like both Annie and Cash and really liked them together. The fact that they both made jumping to conclusions an Olympic sport was my one big complaint and the thing that kept this from being a 4 star read for me.
Overall, this is well written and a unique take on the city girl/cowboy theme. All of the characters are well developed and the potential stars of future books are woven into the story in such a way that getting to know them does not detract from the main couple.
While Annie and Cash's romance takes center stage, they each have an interesting sub plot to add flavor.
I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the Maverick Junction series.

The synopsis drew me in and although the book was okay, it wasn’t great. While reading, I felt like I was playing an endless game of red light/green light; you know three steps forward, two steps back. At one point I wasn’t sure I was going to get through it, but because I wanted to know what happened to a minor character in the book, I kept reading. I’m also beginning to think I need to stay away from books set in Texas because I’ll admit when a book is so loaded with stereotypical descriptions and dialog, it turns me off.

Annelise Montjoy rides into town on her Harley in search of a long lost great half aunt. Her grandfather is dying of leukemia and is in need of a bone marrow transplant. When she meets Cash Hardeman, she doesn’t realize how much her life will change in the short time she’s there. I just had a very hard time liking these characters, they didn’t really treat each other with the respect they deserved and they were blatantly dishonest with each other numerous times. How in the world will you ever be able to trust the person you are with when they overlook the truth constantly?

I did find the story interesting especially Annelise’s search for her aunt. I also found her look and acceptance of the “real” world fascinating despite her upbringing. The entire town seemed to think highly of Cash and while he seemed like a nice enough guy, the fact that he withheld some really big things about himself from Annie bothers me greatly. I also had some issues with how badly he treated her on several occasions. The entire story seemed to drag and beat several issues to death over and over which I found annoying.

Anyone who likes stories about someone living outside of their comfort zone, this is a story you will enjoy. While I didn’t care for the constant back and forth between these characters, others might find their relationship interesting. For the first time in my life I’m going to say that this book would have made a great novella, it could have lost half of its words and been much better.