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Ranch Lovers Romance #1

Taking Back Tara

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In this heartfelt romance, Zane McKenna, a lonely rancher, pines for his ex-wife, Tara, who has experienced tragedy and misfortune since she left him for another man, a man who has since died. Now Tara is missing. Zane must not only find Tara on the Wyoming prairie before it's too late, but must help her overcome her shattered life and even recover her sense of self. He must also find forgiveness within his own heart and convince Tara to work with him to set things right between them again -- or he will lose her forever. A longer short story of 9,500 words. ***** "This is my first read by this author and certainly not my last. Taking Back Tara is a short story with a powerful message about love and forgiveness. Ms. Paludan has such an eloquence with words that will keep you captivated from start to finish. I look forward to reading more of her work." -- Kim Love

27 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 6, 2011

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Eve Paludan

73 books99 followers

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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Profile Image for Marcia Carrington.
Author 34 books218 followers
March 20, 2017
This is an enjoyable, interesting short story which explores the relationship between a divorced couple, and how they find common ground after all the events in their lives pulled them apart. The western theme is executed well, with an attention to detail and physical surroundings, but the story itself is of universal appeal.
Profile Image for Charlotte Liebel.
Author 2 books34 followers
May 30, 2012
TAKING BACK TARA (Ranch Lovers Romance)

by Eve Paludan [Review Charlotte M. Liebel]

In the romantic drama, ‘Taking Back Tara’ by Eve Paludan, a traumatic case study without benefit of psychotherapy develops. Zane McKenna enters a mid-life crisis when he loses his best friend and lifetime male companion--his father. This void in his, otherwise, fulfilled life causes him enormous pain. A close relationship between he and his beautiful wife abruptly plummets his psyche into the depths of depression. He loses his sense of responsibility and balance for living.

As he falls deeper into his cave, he creates a depth of isolation and despair for his soulmate Tara who endures for over two years in silence. She is devastated at her continuing daily loss of unity from the love of her life. In fact, her life is without a family or neighbors in a wilderness where not another soul cares whether she lives or dies. Then, one day, a stranger moves to the nearby property and begins to mend her broken dreams. There is no going back.

Fast-forward two years. We learn about the total loss of Tara’s hopeful new life. Traumatic casualties have overtaken her to the depths of unbearable despair. She lived through a house fire and more tragedy. She’s living alone in pitiful squalor in a small trailer without comforts of heat in winter and running water. Except for her beloved horse and her two skills-trained dogs, who left with her in her broken marriage, she’s out of touch with reality. Her life and beauty have suffered and, one day, she disappears.

Unbeknown to Tara, her former love is recovering his life on the adjacent property. He watches over her and her property in case she needs him. In fact, an angry Zane keeps his distance until that moment when he senses an urgency to look for Tara who has mysteriously vanished. He’s on his horse and ready to ride every inch of acreage on her land to track her down.

The story of ‘Taking Back Tara (Ranch Lovers Romance)’ by Eve Paludan has the effect of choosing a language of love that most men and women understand. Delightful and refreshing words of endearment spring from the tall, tough, handsome Zane who is learning to express his love. A woman reading closes her eyes and imagines this man speaks to her. A man does the same and hears his voice in the middle of a tender scene. Why Tara leaves Zane is not clear to him. Who effected the miracle of change in Zane to become a non-drinking, gentle, tender-hearted person is a miracle to Tara. Some wonderful interaction between this couple starts an intervention.

‘Taking Back Tara (Ranch Lovers Romance)’ by Eve Paludan is a Kindle eBook Edition available at Amazon Online Bookstore.


Profile Image for Dana.
91 reviews4 followers
August 31, 2013
I have a Saturday Afternoon Review for you ...Taking Back Tara By Eve Paludan .. I don't normally read western Love Stories, HOWEVER I am a Huge fan of Eve Paludan so I want to read anything I can get my hands on .. and true to form she did not disappoint! Tara was a bad girl! She cheated on her husband Zane with a Local Poet, Left Zane and Married this guy.. BIG Mistake.. Poet was not so forthcoming and true in what he was .. Now Zane was not such a great catch at the time either , he had lost his father and went on a drinking binge that lasted two years.. So yes Tara and Zane had problems. The unthinkable happens and Tara's Poet husband was killed and her home is destroyed in a fire along with part of Tara's Face...After an accident can Zane and Tara work things out? Can Zane get passed what Tara did? can Tara get Passed what Zane did? What do they have to do to get back to each other and are they Meant to be together? Well read this story and find out! Its a short read I read it in an afternoon.. I give this book 5 lariats You'll know what I mean.. Well done Ms. Paludan I can't wait to read the Tara book!!
203 reviews
December 19, 2011
It was pretty bad.. The writing was iffy, it wasnt horrible but it wasnt good either.. Parts of the story (very short story) didnt make sense---
SPOILERS-- She has an ankle with torn ligaments, went down a ravine her horse rolled over her multiple times, she was out in the cold for two days with no food, or anything.. He takes her home, she gets in the shower and then they eat one meal and then go for 3-4 rounds of sex.... She even rides one time... with a hurt ankle.. Also seems like she is apparently anorexic or pretty near anyway.. I didnt like it at all She cheats with their poet neighbor (she was just going to hear him speak) and never came back.. They divorce and she marries the other guy.. The other guy dies and during that time the "H" is getting in touch with his feminine side (he read everything of hers that she left in their house to get to "know" her better.) He is the one who is doing everything so that they can have another chance..
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Chantal Boudreau.
Author 71 books89 followers
September 13, 2011
I’ll start by briefing you on this story, although I can’t say much without giving a lot away because it’s a shorter work, less than 10k. It begins with a cowboy, Zane, who arrives to pay a visit with his ex, Tara, only to find she is missing, as are her horse and dogs. We discover that they have a complicated history, involving a second husband who had wooed Tara away from Zane, a tragic event involving a fire and the discovery that Zane has held on to some of the dreams that they had together while they were married.

Let me begin by saying that while I do enjoy the occasional western, I’m generally not a fan of romance. Going into this, the two things that kept me interested was that this was a short 19 pages and it was written by someone whose writing I have enjoyed in the past. The intro was promising. It had me intrigued; the characters were quirky, the background story seemed very unusual, and the descriptions were not flowery and overdone as is typical with most romances. Instead, there was a subtle and inviting realism to the narrative. A few pages in, and I was swept away

The only thing disappointing about this story is that it wasn’t long enough. I would have been happy to read a full novel with such fresh, earthy and vital characters. It sucked me right in, and I was moved by their very human imperfections and their satisfying familiarity. The tale kind of felt like the culmination of a much longer story - certainly a 5 star read.
Profile Image for Kerry.
43 reviews
September 3, 2016
Down loaded this in error what a waste of money. Didn't read very well, conversations didn't flow. Was very surprised to find that the author had won prizes as it read like a self published book and I have read quiet a few of those and a 100 times better.
Profile Image for Christi Corbett.
Author 7 books27 followers
February 4, 2013
Taking Back Tara is a journey of forgiveness, and the exploration of raw honest emotions as a couple falls in love all over again.

I highly recommend!
Profile Image for Zane Yates.
Author 8 books9 followers
June 3, 2014
This one pulls at the heart string, several times. I totally enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is not afraid to shed a tear.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews