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The Throwaways #9
Tumbleweed
In this long-anticipated prequel to international hit THROWAWAY, Heather Huffman takes her readers on a journey of friendship, love and family ties. The message is clear: Never stop fighting for the life you believe in.
Longing for a fresh start and a place to belong, Hailey leaves behind her city life, trading her cubical for a struggling horse ranch in the Ozark Mountains. With her young son at her side and her family's skepticism echoing in her head, Hailey is faced with more work than she ever could have imagined and a troublesome neighbor. In the midst of it all, the last thing Hailey needs is romance - despite the undeniable, growing attraction for her handsome and charming boss, Ethan.
Just as Hailey finds her dreams tantalizingly within reach, her new world is devastated in a cruel twist of fate. She must find the strength to rebuild all she’s dreamed of - or risk forever drifting through life like a tumbleweed.
Heather Huffman fans will not want to miss this heart-warming introduction to Ethan and Hailey, beloved owners of the Tumbleweed Ranch featured in THROWAWAY and RING OF FIRE!
Longing for a fresh start and a place to belong, Hailey leaves behind her city life, trading her cubical for a struggling horse ranch in the Ozark Mountains. With her young son at her side and her family's skepticism echoing in her head, Hailey is faced with more work than she ever could have imagined and a troublesome neighbor. In the midst of it all, the last thing Hailey needs is romance - despite the undeniable, growing attraction for her handsome and charming boss, Ethan.
Just as Hailey finds her dreams tantalizingly within reach, her new world is devastated in a cruel twist of fate. She must find the strength to rebuild all she’s dreamed of - or risk forever drifting through life like a tumbleweed.
Heather Huffman fans will not want to miss this heart-warming introduction to Ethan and Hailey, beloved owners of the Tumbleweed Ranch featured in THROWAWAY and RING OF FIRE!
174 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2012
33 people are currently reading
295 people want to read
About the author
Heather Huffman
32 books572 followersHeather Huffman is a multi-genre author with publications in contemporary romance, romantic suspense, women's fiction, and even a new cozy mystery line launching summer 2021. Quirky, optimistic, and a bit of a wanderer, Huffman cares deeply about causes pertaining to social justice and women's issues and has spent the past decade working with various charities that fight poverty, empower women, and fight human trafficking. At the center of her world are her three grown sons, her Australian Shepherd, and a spoiled puppy she shares entirely too many pictures of. Learn more at heatherhuffman.com.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 10, 2020
A delightful story of taking a chance on your dream with Hailey and her son, Aaron moving to the Ozark Mountain area to a horse farm. A humor filled tale with Hailey and her off balance approach to things. Ethan, who wouldn't love him, such an easy going, accepting man desperate to turn the farm's fortunes around. I loved the interactions and dialogues with the characters and the unfolding relationships within the story. Well done Heather Huffman, you tell a heartwarming story.
February 20, 2019
Loved it
I love the mountains too so I totally connected with Hailiey. But she got her dream to live there while I didn’t. One of the best books I’ve read
I love the mountains too so I totally connected with Hailiey. But she got her dream to live there while I didn’t. One of the best books I’ve read
May 13, 2012
I received this book as an Advanced Read Copy in a Goodreads giveaway. This book is a prequel to Throwaway, which I haven't read. It is apparently an introduction to the characters of Hailey and Ethan and how the Tumbleweed Ranch featured in Throwaway was started.
I didn't love this book and I didn't hate it. In my opinion, it skimmed the surface. Maybe I would've liked it better if I'd read Throwaway first, but I found this short (178 pages) book shallow and not interesting enough to get me to read the next book.
Hailey takes a job at a ranch in the Ozarks, where she feels at home among the horses. She is attracted to Ethan but doesn't trust herself in relationships because she's made poor choices in the past. There are problems with a neighbor. There's a tornado, which destroys Hailey's cabin, Ethan's cabin and a large part of the main house. The owner throws in the towel. Hailey throws in the towel and returns to St. Louis with her son, having rejected Ethan's proposal of marriage, still not trusting him or her choices of men. She lives with her parents, starts to (finally) pull her life together, has some meaningful discussions with her parents and returns to the Ozarks, now engaged to marry Ethan and partner with him to start the Tumbleweeds ranch.
Here are some problems I had with the story...
The character of the neighbor and the story behind the problems with him is never developed to the point where the character or the situation provides any tension, nor does it feel real. If the purpose of that part of the story was to build tension, it failed. If it wasn't the purpose, I don't know why it was there because it really didn't add anything to the story.
Hailey doesn't accept Ethan's proposal when they're both living on the same property, but after months of separation then she accepts it? Not to mention the brief amount of time these two knew each other before she returned to St. Louis. Maybe Hailey's poor choices in men were due to inadequate courtships.
This book isn't billed as "Christian lit," but there is a lot of Godliness here. Not that I have a problem with Christian lit, I just choose not to read it and if it's going to be a part of a story, I'd like some warning.
All in all, I'm lukewarm about this book. The Kindle book is also a lukewarm price at $2.99. I find it a bit much for what amounts to half a book but it's a heck of a lot more reasonable than the paperback, which is $9.95.
I didn't love this book and I didn't hate it. In my opinion, it skimmed the surface. Maybe I would've liked it better if I'd read Throwaway first, but I found this short (178 pages) book shallow and not interesting enough to get me to read the next book.
Hailey takes a job at a ranch in the Ozarks, where she feels at home among the horses. She is attracted to Ethan but doesn't trust herself in relationships because she's made poor choices in the past. There are problems with a neighbor. There's a tornado, which destroys Hailey's cabin, Ethan's cabin and a large part of the main house. The owner throws in the towel. Hailey throws in the towel and returns to St. Louis with her son, having rejected Ethan's proposal of marriage, still not trusting him or her choices of men. She lives with her parents, starts to (finally) pull her life together, has some meaningful discussions with her parents and returns to the Ozarks, now engaged to marry Ethan and partner with him to start the Tumbleweeds ranch.
Here are some problems I had with the story...
The character of the neighbor and the story behind the problems with him is never developed to the point where the character or the situation provides any tension, nor does it feel real. If the purpose of that part of the story was to build tension, it failed. If it wasn't the purpose, I don't know why it was there because it really didn't add anything to the story.
Hailey doesn't accept Ethan's proposal when they're both living on the same property, but after months of separation then she accepts it? Not to mention the brief amount of time these two knew each other before she returned to St. Louis. Maybe Hailey's poor choices in men were due to inadequate courtships.
This book isn't billed as "Christian lit," but there is a lot of Godliness here. Not that I have a problem with Christian lit, I just choose not to read it and if it's going to be a part of a story, I'd like some warning.
All in all, I'm lukewarm about this book. The Kindle book is also a lukewarm price at $2.99. I find it a bit much for what amounts to half a book but it's a heck of a lot more reasonable than the paperback, which is $9.95.
January 3, 2013
This was a real interesting book. I thought it would have more ties and links with the book that it said it was connected with and that it shared the same town but it didn't which was kind of a bummer for me. Anyways, it was fast read and I really enjoyed the storyline of a tumbleweed of a girl finally settling down and making something of herself and proving her family wrong....even though they never thought she was wrong. I highly recommend this book and it's one that I'm glad I discovered on Goodreads.
March 24, 2021
A brilliant read
Tumbleweed is a well rounded book strong characters and a can't put down storyline. I have reread this book many times as a favourite go to. Tumbleweed can be read on its own but features in other books written by Heather Huffman a nice way to introduce the characters and find out what eventually happens to them in further books.
Tumbleweed is a well rounded book strong characters and a can't put down storyline. I have reread this book many times as a favourite go to. Tumbleweed can be read on its own but features in other books written by Heather Huffman a nice way to introduce the characters and find out what eventually happens to them in further books.
January 21, 2013
Not as good as Heather's other books. This one just didn't draw me in quite as well. Not enough action and suspense. But Heather is probably my favorite author, and I am always waiting for her next book!
February 10, 2013
I loved it so much...sigh
July 1, 2012
I thought the ending was to abrupt... I wanted a little more. I still enjoyed it!
August 2, 2012
I liked this book, however, it was a little more tame than her other novels. I felt like this book could have used a little more action/drama in it.
August 27, 2012
This wasn't heather's normal book in my mind. Not a lot of social issue here, just a nice, sweet romance novel. PG rated.
April 19, 2013
I liked this book but not as well as the other ones...but as with all her books I am ready to read another one.
October 9, 2012
9/27/12. I liked this book because it moves along quickly. A cute romance.
October 28, 2012
I liked it, but it didn't seem complete when I finished reading. Unlike her other books, there wasn't a social issue addressed. It was still a sweet love story.
December 28, 2012
I love her books. They are quick reads, which is kind of nice :) her characters are great, and I like that the endings are happy! I mean come on its a book! I want the ending to be happy!
March 30, 2013
Awwwww loved this x
July 23, 2013
This was a great book about starting over and the emotions that go with it.
October 17, 2013
Not all that just felt obliged in completing the series so I read it but was a bit disappointed with the of action compared to the other two books.
January 29, 2015
This is good as a standalone, but is a prequel to another of her books. I am now rereading the other book, but enjoyed this one as well
July 9, 2015
Fun read
It was a fun read. It had a predictable plot but romance is always fun and you don't have to think much about it.
It was a fun read. It had a predictable plot but romance is always fun and you don't have to think much about it.
November 17, 2015
Absolutely loved the banter, which is hard to carry off on the page.
Hailey came off as a flake and a bit whiney regarding her family - for reasons of her own.
Ethan was a dreamboat.
Hailey came off as a flake and a bit whiney regarding her family - for reasons of her own.
Ethan was a dreamboat.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews