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Barlow-Barretts #1
Bittersweet
Can love survive a night he can’t remember but one she'll never forget?
Anna Barlow is giving herself a fresh start, leaving everything about her old life behind. With a new name, a new career and a new look, everything about her has changed since the night her daughter Becca was conceived. Anna finds out just how different she looks when an emergency farm call brings her face to face with her baby’s father...and he has no idea who she is.
Chris Stevenson is on hiatus from the world of competitive show-jumping. He’s returned to the family farm to get his life back in order. Nothing’s been right for the past year... not since the night that has remained a blank in his memory. When he meets the area’s newest veterinarian, Chris feels two things—instant lust and that he’s met her somewhere before.
As they struggle to reconcile the night he can’t remember, both Chris and Anna must learn to trust each other and the idea of what family really means.
Anna Barlow is giving herself a fresh start, leaving everything about her old life behind. With a new name, a new career and a new look, everything about her has changed since the night her daughter Becca was conceived. Anna finds out just how different she looks when an emergency farm call brings her face to face with her baby’s father...and he has no idea who she is.
Chris Stevenson is on hiatus from the world of competitive show-jumping. He’s returned to the family farm to get his life back in order. Nothing’s been right for the past year... not since the night that has remained a blank in his memory. When he meets the area’s newest veterinarian, Chris feels two things—instant lust and that he’s met her somewhere before.
As they struggle to reconcile the night he can’t remember, both Chris and Anna must learn to trust each other and the idea of what family really means.
- GenresContemporaryRomance
202 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 29, 2012
I reviews this book for TwoLips Reviews:
Starting over, Anna Barlow is determined to leave everything about her childhood behind. A new name, a new career, and a new look—everything about her has changed since the night she became pregnant with her daughter Becca. Anna finds out just how different she looks when an emergency farm call brings her face to face with Becca’s father…and he’s clueless about her identity.
Taking a break from the competitive world of show-jumping, Chris Stevenson has returned to the family farm to straighten out his life. Everything’s been wrong for the last year…since the night that he can’t remember anything about. When he meets Anna, the area’s newest veterinarian, he feels an instant attraction and yet has the feeling of déjà vu.
As Anna and Chris struggle to reconcile the night Chris can’t remember, they’ll have to learn to trust each other and discover what family really means. Bittersweet by Laura Browning is a loosely connected sequel to her previous book, Winning Heart. Both books take place in the horse farm district of North Carolina among the rich and hard working show horse circle. While this book introduces us to several new characters, there are several characters from the previous book who make an appearance, including Chris Stevenson, one of the main characters in this book. While it’s not necessary to read the previous book in order to read this one, I think it helped me see some of the character growth taking place. Once again Ms. Browning’s writing style captivated my attention and drew me into the romance and action of her story.
At the beginning of this story, we are introduced to Anna Barlow, a young, single mother, who’s starting life over with a new job in a new town. The newest veterinarian in an established practice, she’s on call when an emergency at one of the practice’s largest clients brings her face to face with a man from her past, Chris Stevenson. He doesn’t seem to remember her or the night they spent together, which resulted in the birth of her daughter, Becca. As Anna struggles to reconcile the woman she was in the past with the woman she is now, she’ll have to face everything she thinks she knows about Chris and that one night in her past. While she originally planned on staying away from Chris, Anna can’t deny the attraction between them or the connection they already share. Will their second chance at love end bitter or sweet? Ms. Browning did a really good job developing Anna’s character throughout this story—she’s both emotionally fragile and outwardly hostile towards Chris, with good reason, until she realizes the past isn’t what she thought and the man she thought she knew is really very different.
Chris Stevenson is a champion horse jumper and breeder. The star of the show horse circuit, he is to horse jumping what Tiger Woods is to golf. His good looks have given him lots of female fans with fantasies of being the woman in his arms. All of this attention has made him somewhat jaded and has taken some of the joy out of his accomplishments. After a night of hard partying, he wakes up drunk and can’t remember anything that happened the night before. Deciding to get his life back on track, Chris decides to take some time off from the circuit, work with his horses, and reconnect with his family. When an emergency call to the local veterinary practice late one night brings Anna to his barn, he’s surprised to discover the new vet is a woman and that she’s strangely familiar. He knows he’s met her somewhere before, but can’t remember and doesn’t understand her hostility. Determined to discover what lies between them and hopefully discover what happened one night, Chris discovers the love of his life. Ms. Browning did a really good job developing Chris’s character—he’s young and good looking, and even though he had to work hard to get where he is, he’s immature and is focused on himself and only what he wants. As he gets to know Anna and spend time with her and Becca, Chris is forced to face who he is and learn what family and being a grown up is all about.7
The scenes between Anna and Chris are full of smoldering passion, intense physical attraction, and emotional angst. While Anna knows what’s taken place between them, Chris has no idea he’s Becca’s father. While at first Anna is determined to keep her distance from him, Chris is determined to discover all of her secrets and as they spend time together, he is even surer he’s met her before; he wants to know who she really is. When he begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together, they lead him back to the missing night of his life and the discovery that they’re the intended victims of a well thought out blackmail plan; he’s determined to shield Anna and Becca from harm. Ms. Browning did an excellent job developing the romance between Anna and Chris; while the attraction between them is hot and the sex is hotter, their emotional differences will take some real work. They have to get past Anna’s difficult childhood and discover who they really are.
The secondary characters in this story are well developed. I was especially happy to see that Wynter and Nelson Anderson, the main characters in Ms. Browning’s previous book, made an appearance. I also loved David and Liz Stevenson, Chris’s parents, who provided Chris and Anna with a lot of emotional support and occasionally some direction in regards to being a family. We also meet two of Anna’s older brothers, Seth and Brandon Barrow-Barrett and learn about Anna’s difficult childhood. We even meet Anna’s father, Alexander Barrow-Barrett, who was easy to dislike at first but made some emotional growth of his own. The antagonists in the story were also well developed and got the justice that they deserved.
After the mystery of Chris’s missing night is solved and Anna’s full identity is revealed, will Chris and Anna’s relationship last? And will they finally be the family they long to be? You’ll have to read Bittersweet to find out. I loved it and can’t wait to read what Ms. Browning writes next.
Starting over, Anna Barlow is determined to leave everything about her childhood behind. A new name, a new career, and a new look—everything about her has changed since the night she became pregnant with her daughter Becca. Anna finds out just how different she looks when an emergency farm call brings her face to face with Becca’s father…and he’s clueless about her identity.
Taking a break from the competitive world of show-jumping, Chris Stevenson has returned to the family farm to straighten out his life. Everything’s been wrong for the last year…since the night that he can’t remember anything about. When he meets Anna, the area’s newest veterinarian, he feels an instant attraction and yet has the feeling of déjà vu.
As Anna and Chris struggle to reconcile the night Chris can’t remember, they’ll have to learn to trust each other and discover what family really means. Bittersweet by Laura Browning is a loosely connected sequel to her previous book, Winning Heart. Both books take place in the horse farm district of North Carolina among the rich and hard working show horse circle. While this book introduces us to several new characters, there are several characters from the previous book who make an appearance, including Chris Stevenson, one of the main characters in this book. While it’s not necessary to read the previous book in order to read this one, I think it helped me see some of the character growth taking place. Once again Ms. Browning’s writing style captivated my attention and drew me into the romance and action of her story.
At the beginning of this story, we are introduced to Anna Barlow, a young, single mother, who’s starting life over with a new job in a new town. The newest veterinarian in an established practice, she’s on call when an emergency at one of the practice’s largest clients brings her face to face with a man from her past, Chris Stevenson. He doesn’t seem to remember her or the night they spent together, which resulted in the birth of her daughter, Becca. As Anna struggles to reconcile the woman she was in the past with the woman she is now, she’ll have to face everything she thinks she knows about Chris and that one night in her past. While she originally planned on staying away from Chris, Anna can’t deny the attraction between them or the connection they already share. Will their second chance at love end bitter or sweet? Ms. Browning did a really good job developing Anna’s character throughout this story—she’s both emotionally fragile and outwardly hostile towards Chris, with good reason, until she realizes the past isn’t what she thought and the man she thought she knew is really very different.
Chris Stevenson is a champion horse jumper and breeder. The star of the show horse circuit, he is to horse jumping what Tiger Woods is to golf. His good looks have given him lots of female fans with fantasies of being the woman in his arms. All of this attention has made him somewhat jaded and has taken some of the joy out of his accomplishments. After a night of hard partying, he wakes up drunk and can’t remember anything that happened the night before. Deciding to get his life back on track, Chris decides to take some time off from the circuit, work with his horses, and reconnect with his family. When an emergency call to the local veterinary practice late one night brings Anna to his barn, he’s surprised to discover the new vet is a woman and that she’s strangely familiar. He knows he’s met her somewhere before, but can’t remember and doesn’t understand her hostility. Determined to discover what lies between them and hopefully discover what happened one night, Chris discovers the love of his life. Ms. Browning did a really good job developing Chris’s character—he’s young and good looking, and even though he had to work hard to get where he is, he’s immature and is focused on himself and only what he wants. As he gets to know Anna and spend time with her and Becca, Chris is forced to face who he is and learn what family and being a grown up is all about.7
The scenes between Anna and Chris are full of smoldering passion, intense physical attraction, and emotional angst. While Anna knows what’s taken place between them, Chris has no idea he’s Becca’s father. While at first Anna is determined to keep her distance from him, Chris is determined to discover all of her secrets and as they spend time together, he is even surer he’s met her before; he wants to know who she really is. When he begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together, they lead him back to the missing night of his life and the discovery that they’re the intended victims of a well thought out blackmail plan; he’s determined to shield Anna and Becca from harm. Ms. Browning did an excellent job developing the romance between Anna and Chris; while the attraction between them is hot and the sex is hotter, their emotional differences will take some real work. They have to get past Anna’s difficult childhood and discover who they really are.
The secondary characters in this story are well developed. I was especially happy to see that Wynter and Nelson Anderson, the main characters in Ms. Browning’s previous book, made an appearance. I also loved David and Liz Stevenson, Chris’s parents, who provided Chris and Anna with a lot of emotional support and occasionally some direction in regards to being a family. We also meet two of Anna’s older brothers, Seth and Brandon Barrow-Barrett and learn about Anna’s difficult childhood. We even meet Anna’s father, Alexander Barrow-Barrett, who was easy to dislike at first but made some emotional growth of his own. The antagonists in the story were also well developed and got the justice that they deserved.
After the mystery of Chris’s missing night is solved and Anna’s full identity is revealed, will Chris and Anna’s relationship last? And will they finally be the family they long to be? You’ll have to read Bittersweet to find out. I loved it and can’t wait to read what Ms. Browning writes next.
July 13, 2017
Beautiful
What a beautiful well written book. I loved every page and wanted it to go on when it ended. Tears, smiles, ups and downs... also insight into the horse world. Thank you for writing this lovely book.
What a beautiful well written book. I loved every page and wanted it to go on when it ended. Tears, smiles, ups and downs... also insight into the horse world. Thank you for writing this lovely book.
January 1, 2012
Originally posted at: http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...
Can one night of passion lead to something more or will the flames sizzle in the light of day? Dr. Anna Barlow doesn’t wait to find out. After waking up next to her teenage idol, Chris Stevenson, she leaves and doesn’t look back. But she takes something away with her that night, and it will inevitably draw her right back into his life. When Anna finally confesses to Chris about their night together and who she really is, will he be able to love her in the light of day or will the past stand between them?
Chris Stevenson is used to women throwing themselves at him, but he isn’t used to waking up one morning not remember anything about the night before except for a feeling of loss and regret. That feeling carries with him for over a year until one night he has to call the vet on call for an injured horse on his farm. When he meets Dr. Anna Barlow, Chris is struck with this feeling of de ja vu and that he should know her from somewhere. The night of blankness in his memory only allows him pieces of the whole story, but those pieces keep pointing him to Anna. When the truth comes out, can the feelings he has for Anna last or are they destined to be nothing more than a one night stand gone…..right?
This was a great story; the characters were very well rounded and seemed so real they could almost live off the pages of the book. The story line is something that has been played before in previous movies and novels but not to the depth and intensity that Laura Browning makes the story. She is a great author, and once the book ended I was hungry for more. I hope she makes a series out of these characters, because the glimpses she gave into the lives of them makes me want to know more. Laura Browning is definitely an author to watch out for and someone to definitely add to your reading list. You will not be disappointed in this book.
Can one night of passion lead to something more or will the flames sizzle in the light of day? Dr. Anna Barlow doesn’t wait to find out. After waking up next to her teenage idol, Chris Stevenson, she leaves and doesn’t look back. But she takes something away with her that night, and it will inevitably draw her right back into his life. When Anna finally confesses to Chris about their night together and who she really is, will he be able to love her in the light of day or will the past stand between them?
Chris Stevenson is used to women throwing themselves at him, but he isn’t used to waking up one morning not remember anything about the night before except for a feeling of loss and regret. That feeling carries with him for over a year until one night he has to call the vet on call for an injured horse on his farm. When he meets Dr. Anna Barlow, Chris is struck with this feeling of de ja vu and that he should know her from somewhere. The night of blankness in his memory only allows him pieces of the whole story, but those pieces keep pointing him to Anna. When the truth comes out, can the feelings he has for Anna last or are they destined to be nothing more than a one night stand gone…..right?
This was a great story; the characters were very well rounded and seemed so real they could almost live off the pages of the book. The story line is something that has been played before in previous movies and novels but not to the depth and intensity that Laura Browning makes the story. She is a great author, and once the book ended I was hungry for more. I hope she makes a series out of these characters, because the glimpses she gave into the lives of them makes me want to know more. Laura Browning is definitely an author to watch out for and someone to definitely add to your reading list. You will not be disappointed in this book.
September 15, 2019
My review originally posted on Romancing-the-Book.com is below
This was a quick and enjoyable read and not at all what I expected. The story revolved around the horse set in horse country, something I know nothing about, but you felt you were there with the masses by the descriptive phrases used throughout. There were a few different story lines taking place at the same time but it flowed effortlessly and kept you absorbed in the action. There were tears, laughter, romance which was quite steamy at times, conflicts and angst with lots of twists and turns until several happily ever afters were reached. The love of family was exhibited by the actions of David and Liz, Chris' parents, and they welcomed Anna and Becca into their fold because Anna needed to know what being part of a loving family felt like in order for her to let go of her past. You couldn't help but root for Chris and Anna to be able to show their love to each other no matter how many road blocks they put in their own way. I recommend this book to anyone who likes romances. Although I have not read books by this author before I will definitely look to read some of her other books in the future and hope they are as good as Bittersweet was.
Favorite Quote: Anna followed the Stevensons to Fincastle. As she drove past the main barn, she thought of Chris. A wave of longing shafted through her so strongly it was almost painful. Did he not remember how he had loved her that night?
This was a quick and enjoyable read and not at all what I expected. The story revolved around the horse set in horse country, something I know nothing about, but you felt you were there with the masses by the descriptive phrases used throughout. There were a few different story lines taking place at the same time but it flowed effortlessly and kept you absorbed in the action. There were tears, laughter, romance which was quite steamy at times, conflicts and angst with lots of twists and turns until several happily ever afters were reached. The love of family was exhibited by the actions of David and Liz, Chris' parents, and they welcomed Anna and Becca into their fold because Anna needed to know what being part of a loving family felt like in order for her to let go of her past. You couldn't help but root for Chris and Anna to be able to show their love to each other no matter how many road blocks they put in their own way. I recommend this book to anyone who likes romances. Although I have not read books by this author before I will definitely look to read some of her other books in the future and hope they are as good as Bittersweet was.
Favorite Quote: Anna followed the Stevensons to Fincastle. As she drove past the main barn, she thought of Chris. A wave of longing shafted through her so strongly it was almost painful. Did he not remember how he had loved her that night?
February 9, 2012
Reviewed By~JoAnne
Review Copy Provided By~Publisher
This was a quick and enjoyable read and not at all what I expected. The story revolved around the horse set in horse country, something I know nothing about, but you felt you were there with the masses by the descriptive phrases used throughout. There were a few different story lines taking place at the same time but it flowed effortlessly and kept you absorbed in the action. There were tears, laughter, romance which was quite steamy at times, conflicts and angst with lots of twists and turns until several happily ever afters were reached. The love of family was exhibited by the actions of David and Liz, Chris' parents, and they welcomed Anna and Becca into their fold because Anna needed to know what being part of a loving family felt like in order for her to let go of her past. You couldn't help but root for Chris and Anna to be able to show their love to each other no matter how many road blocks they put in their own way. I recommend this book to anyone who likes romances. Although I have not read books by this author before I will definitely look to read some of her other books in the future and hope they are as good as Bittersweet was.
Favorite Quote: Anna followed the Stevensons to Fincastle. As she drove past the main barn, she thought of Chris. A wave of longing shafted through her so strongly it was almost painful. Did he not remember how he had loved her that night?
Review Copy Provided By~Publisher
This was a quick and enjoyable read and not at all what I expected. The story revolved around the horse set in horse country, something I know nothing about, but you felt you were there with the masses by the descriptive phrases used throughout. There were a few different story lines taking place at the same time but it flowed effortlessly and kept you absorbed in the action. There were tears, laughter, romance which was quite steamy at times, conflicts and angst with lots of twists and turns until several happily ever afters were reached. The love of family was exhibited by the actions of David and Liz, Chris' parents, and they welcomed Anna and Becca into their fold because Anna needed to know what being part of a loving family felt like in order for her to let go of her past. You couldn't help but root for Chris and Anna to be able to show their love to each other no matter how many road blocks they put in their own way. I recommend this book to anyone who likes romances. Although I have not read books by this author before I will definitely look to read some of her other books in the future and hope they are as good as Bittersweet was.
Favorite Quote: Anna followed the Stevensons to Fincastle. As she drove past the main barn, she thought of Chris. A wave of longing shafted through her so strongly it was almost painful. Did he not remember how he had loved her that night?
April 25, 2012
Liked her Silkie's series more.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews