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Matt Collingsworth: Texas charm, cowboy cache and totally loaded with male sex appeal!
Coming to a woman's rescue was all in a day's work for the billionaire rancher. Little did Matt know that the woman in jeopardy he'd jumped off his horse to save was working undercover, investigating him.
By way of his mother, no less!
Trouble had never looked so good to Shelly Lane. Exposing the Collingsworths was a golden opportunity to prove she had what it took to be a real agent. But she could not let Matt Collingsworth distract her. Even though the man could fill out a pair of jeans--oh my!
What Shelly had to do involved the highest national security and would in the end devastate the Collingsworth empire...and surely destroy her chances for a date with Matt.
- GenresRomance
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
19 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Wayne
187 books59 followersReal name: Jo Ann Vest
Pseudonyms: Joanna Wayne.
Joanna Wayne began her professional writing career with the release of her first novel, DEEP IN THE BAYOU, in 1994, but Joanna will be the first to tell you that the wheels were set in motion years before. She started reading at four years of age, the same age that she began making weekly trips to the library to check out as many books as they’d let her have, only to finish reading them all before bedtime. That love of books never waned.
Joanna was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana and was the middle child of a large family. She moved to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1984 when she married her current husband. New Orleans opened up a whole new realm of activities and she found the mix of cultures, music, history, food and sultry southern classics along with her love of reading a natural impetus for beginning her writing career. It was there that she attended her first writing class and joined her first professional writing organization. From that point on, there was no looking back.
Now, forty published books later, Joanna has made a name for herself as being on the cutting edge of romantic suspense in both series and mainstream novels. She is known for the suspense and emotion she brings to the page, as she takes ordinary people and thrusts them into life-and-death situations. She has been on the Walden Bestselling List for romance and won many industry awards. She is a popular speaker at writing organizations and local community functions and has taught creative writing at the University of New Orleans Metropolitan College.
She currently resides in a small community forty miles north of Houston, Texas with her husband. Though she still has many family and emotional ties to Louisiana, she loves living in the Lone Star state.
Pseudonyms: Joanna Wayne.
Joanna Wayne began her professional writing career with the release of her first novel, DEEP IN THE BAYOU, in 1994, but Joanna will be the first to tell you that the wheels were set in motion years before. She started reading at four years of age, the same age that she began making weekly trips to the library to check out as many books as they’d let her have, only to finish reading them all before bedtime. That love of books never waned.
Joanna was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana and was the middle child of a large family. She moved to New Orleans, Louisiana in 1984 when she married her current husband. New Orleans opened up a whole new realm of activities and she found the mix of cultures, music, history, food and sultry southern classics along with her love of reading a natural impetus for beginning her writing career. It was there that she attended her first writing class and joined her first professional writing organization. From that point on, there was no looking back.
Now, forty published books later, Joanna has made a name for herself as being on the cutting edge of romantic suspense in both series and mainstream novels. She is known for the suspense and emotion she brings to the page, as she takes ordinary people and thrusts them into life-and-death situations. She has been on the Walden Bestselling List for romance and won many industry awards. She is a popular speaker at writing organizations and local community functions and has taught creative writing at the University of New Orleans Metropolitan College.
She currently resides in a small community forty miles north of Houston, Texas with her husband. Though she still has many family and emotional ties to Louisiana, she loves living in the Lone Star state.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 17, 2015
I loved this book. It had action, suspense, and romance. I also loved Matt’s big happy family. Everyone truly enjoyed spending time together, and working together.
Shelly is CIA, and was on a case. Her mission was to find information about Matt, and his family. The first day she was in Colts Run Cross she was shot at. She was not sure if it was a random act of violence, or if it was related to her case.
Sample from Chapter 1
The sun was blinding when she stepped out the door of the small café. She fished in her handbag for her sunglasses and put them on as she crossed the street to her dark blue, nondescript sedan. She was opening the door when she spotted a black car rounding the corning, speeding toward her. Sunlight glinted off the barrel of a revolver as it slip through the open window. Her instincts and training kicked in at the speed of light. She searched the empty street for someone to warn, then crouched behind the car door as the sound of gunfire and bullets pinging against metal shattered the quit afternoon.
My favorite parts of the whole book:
“I love our life just the way it is. I love the way you kiss me as if you can’t get enough of me. I love the way you can’t keep your hands off of me when we’re together. I love the way we make love like there’s no tomorrow, and then minutes later, you’re ready to do it again.”
Shelly is CIA, and was on a case. Her mission was to find information about Matt, and his family. The first day she was in Colts Run Cross she was shot at. She was not sure if it was a random act of violence, or if it was related to her case.
Sample from Chapter 1
The sun was blinding when she stepped out the door of the small café. She fished in her handbag for her sunglasses and put them on as she crossed the street to her dark blue, nondescript sedan. She was opening the door when she spotted a black car rounding the corning, speeding toward her. Sunlight glinted off the barrel of a revolver as it slip through the open window. Her instincts and training kicked in at the speed of light. She searched the empty street for someone to warn, then crouched behind the car door as the sound of gunfire and bullets pinging against metal shattered the quit afternoon.
My favorite parts of the whole book:
“I love our life just the way it is. I love the way you kiss me as if you can’t get enough of me. I love the way you can’t keep your hands off of me when we’re together. I love the way we make love like there’s no tomorrow, and then minutes later, you’re ready to do it again.”
June 28, 2008
Rating: 2.5 / 5
I had a really hard time getting into this book. It's not a bad book though, I just couldn't get my head into the story for two reasons.
First, I'm not a fan of false/secret identity stories. And that's a big theme in this book. Shelly goes to Texas as an undercover CIA agent to prove that Matt and the rest of the Collingsworths are funding terrorists. Everything about her was one big lie after another and I just can't get into a relationship built like that. When the book was over, I didn't feel like I really knew Shelly at all, and it seemed like Matt knew even less about her, yet he married her (which relates to a problem I had with the ending, I'll say more later).
Secondly, after having read the last 3 books about the Collingsworths and seeing what good, kind people they were, Shelly wanting to prove they are traitors comes off a bit silly and ridiculous. That's not really the author's fault exactly. It's just the way things were. But every time Shelly would think about how she was going to take them down, I rolled my eyes. Because being so familiar with the family, it was ludicrous to think they'd be capable of such heinous acts.
It would have been better if a book with this type of storyline had been first in the series instead of last. That way, the readers aren't familiar with the family and could more reasonably believe at least one of them was possibly a bad guy.
Those two things made this book difficult to get into. It wasn't until about halfway through that I was a bit more interested in the story. The ending, though, annoyed the hell out of me.
Near the very end, Shelly confesses her real identity to Matt and he stalks off. The book then moves right into the big finale. Matt and Shelly never talk again until the very very end, in the epilogue. There's no conflict resolution scene between them. Just Matt rushing to Shelly after the big finale and him gathering her in his arms without speaking to her, then end of chapter. I felt rather cheated. I wanted something where they talked and settled things between them. Instead it was just him thinking despite what she did, he still loved her. When the epilogue rolled around, I was like wait, they're getting married now? What happened to all the lies between them? As readers, we never even got to know what Shelly's real name was. It all just left the ending rather flat and incomplete.
The suspense angle was okay, but I have to admit, that I picked out the bad guy of this book (#4) in the first book of the series. So I wasn't surprised that who the antagonist turned out to be.
Bottomline, by far my least favorite of the series, but if you've been reading the series, it makes sense to read this one too.
I had a really hard time getting into this book. It's not a bad book though, I just couldn't get my head into the story for two reasons.
First, I'm not a fan of false/secret identity stories. And that's a big theme in this book. Shelly goes to Texas as an undercover CIA agent to prove that Matt and the rest of the Collingsworths are funding terrorists. Everything about her was one big lie after another and I just can't get into a relationship built like that. When the book was over, I didn't feel like I really knew Shelly at all, and it seemed like Matt knew even less about her, yet he married her (which relates to a problem I had with the ending, I'll say more later).
Secondly, after having read the last 3 books about the Collingsworths and seeing what good, kind people they were, Shelly wanting to prove they are traitors comes off a bit silly and ridiculous. That's not really the author's fault exactly. It's just the way things were. But every time Shelly would think about how she was going to take them down, I rolled my eyes. Because being so familiar with the family, it was ludicrous to think they'd be capable of such heinous acts.
It would have been better if a book with this type of storyline had been first in the series instead of last. That way, the readers aren't familiar with the family and could more reasonably believe at least one of them was possibly a bad guy.
Those two things made this book difficult to get into. It wasn't until about halfway through that I was a bit more interested in the story. The ending, though, annoyed the hell out of me.
Near the very end, Shelly confesses her real identity to Matt and he stalks off. The book then moves right into the big finale. Matt and Shelly never talk again until the very very end, in the epilogue. There's no conflict resolution scene between them. Just Matt rushing to Shelly after the big finale and him gathering her in his arms without speaking to her, then end of chapter. I felt rather cheated. I wanted something where they talked and settled things between them. Instead it was just him thinking despite what she did, he still loved her. When the epilogue rolled around, I was like wait, they're getting married now? What happened to all the lies between them? As readers, we never even got to know what Shelly's real name was. It all just left the ending rather flat and incomplete.
The suspense angle was okay, but I have to admit, that I picked out the bad guy of this book (#4) in the first book of the series. So I wasn't surprised that who the antagonist turned out to be.
Bottomline, by far my least favorite of the series, but if you've been reading the series, it makes sense to read this one too.
September 30, 2017
Another great book by Joanna. Another great read of Collingworth's
Matt and Shelly meet and fall in love. Inspite of her job.
They come together to find out who is trying to frame the Collingworths.
They are a great couple.
Matt and Shelly meet and fall in love. Inspite of her job.
They come together to find out who is trying to frame the Collingworths.
They are a great couple.
August 25, 2024
DNF
I couldn't get into this book even though I enjoyed the first three books and this book is such a yawn I was struggling to keep my eyes open so I don't think I'll bother reading the rest of the books in the series.
I couldn't get into this book even though I enjoyed the first three books and this book is such a yawn I was struggling to keep my eyes open so I don't think I'll bother reading the rest of the books in the series.
December 31, 2013
The cover and the fact it was a romance suspense drew me in...however once the opening chapter or two started with a shooting, and then I tried to read further, it was hard to draw me in...not sure what it was exactly.
July 8, 2013
great fluff read
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews