Annemarie Garrett had a clear plan for her future. Getting pregnant at eighteen by a man twice her age wasn't part of it. Shifting directions at the unexpected fork in the road, she moves across Wyoming to secure a future for her son from the wealthy rancher who fathered him. But a gift of five hundred acres unwillingly given isn't the boon it seems. Annemarie knows nothing about ranching, and this barren tract of land is just a stone's throw from a man and his family who hate her and everything she represents.
With six older brothers ahead of him in line for his family's ranch, Gabriel Collins knew from a young age that he'd have to find his own way in the world. Now he's a master electrician with a successful business. Something is missing, however, and when Ms. Garrett calls in desperate need of his expertise, he finds out exactly what. The indomitable young mother, her adorable little boy, and their struggle to turn Garrett Ranch from a money pit into a profitable operation might just be the family and the cause he didn't know he was searching for.
Suzie O'Connell grew up in a small town on the Kitsap Peninsula in Western Washington, but has called the mountains and valleys of Western Montana home for well over a decade. She has been writing stories since she was old enough to know how (the first she can recall was penciled in the second grade, about the mouse who went to the sea) and completed her first novel, Summer Angel, before she graduated from high school. After high school, tired of the endless rain, she attended college at the University of Montana-Western and graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Writing. She is currently working on a Masters of Education and teaches high school English.
Suzie considers herself to be a rather quirky individual with ecclectic tastes in music, movies and books. She listens to just about anything, including pop, rock, country and techno and her favorite movies range from Grumpy Old Men to Lord of the Rings to Moulin Rouge to Pirates of the Caribbean. When it comes to reading, she prefers fantasy, science fiction, romance and literary fiction.
She firmly believes it's healthy to laugh at yourself, that best friends are worth far more than their weight in gold, and that home truly is where the heart is.
When she isn't writing, teaching or studying, Suzie enjoys playing in the mountains with her husband Mark, their daughter Maddie and their energetic golden retriever Reilly. She is also a hobby photographer, specializing in landscapes.
This was Book 1 in the Two-Lane Wyoming Series and was a free offer on Amazon. Rating: sensual scenes and language [mild profanity]. I had to buy this… you understand… I could not let this pass. The title just grabbed me.
At the tender age of just barely eighteen, Annemarie Garrett made two mistakes that cost her dearly. The first was to trust a smooth talking, tall drink of water and let him seduce her. The second was to trust in her protection which let her down and led to an unplanned pregnancy. That tall drink of water turned out to be twice her age, married with kids of his own and wanted nothing to do with her or ‘her problem’ after she confronted him with the consequence.
Skip forward several years and we find Annemarie and son Cody living on a spread she called Garrett Ranch. Actually, it was five hundred acres of useless scrub brush, rock, with no access to water, or appropriate grazing land. Annemarie did the best she could with what she had. The house was a fire trap or money pit and reminded me of the movie The Money Pit with its slogan ‘Home Crap Home.’ Throwing electrical breakers on a daily basis was becoming old and dangerous. She needed help.
Gabriel Collins, master electrician, grew up with six older brothers and no hope of getting any part of the family ranch. So, he went out on his own trying to make a name for himself establishing his electrical business. When he arrived at the Garrett Ranch… he found things worse than he imagined and better than he imagined when he met Annemarie. You could feel the chemistry between them.
Our author did an excellent job establishing the chemistry between our main characters. It was a slow simmer before going into a full-on rolling boil. I hate when authors jump straight into bed with characters without establishing a relationship between them. That was what got Annemarie into trouble in the first place and she was a bit gun-shy where men were concerned.
What I liked: I loved young Cody, Annemarie’s five-year-old son. He was adorable and made the story. You just knew Gabe, Annie, and Cody would make a great family. They hit it off from the start. Cody adored Gabe and Gabe adored Cody and he adored Annie [his pet name for her]. I could hardly wait before they made it official.
So, where was the angst? Well, with the SOB that got her pregnant in the first place. When paternity was proven, Annemarie demanded he take responsibility for his child. Thomas Grant Jr. had to fess up to having had an affair and producing a child. His wife believed him when he said it wasn’t his fault. Was it ever? Thomas Grant Sr. adored his grand child and forced Junior to set aside a parcel of land for Cody’s future. Junior… of course picked the worst section of the Grant Ranch to sign over for Cody. It had a house with subpar wiring [it was a fire-trap]. There was a barn, dilapidated out buildings, and had a fencing problem. The worst was the washed-out access road to her house that Grant neglected and Annamarie couldn’t afford to fix. It forced her to travel a longer route across Grant property that took her right past the main complex at the Grant Ranch. Yeah, sign him up for father of the year.
When Thomas Jr. saw Gabe hanging around Annemarie, you knew there would be trouble ‘cause Thomas had the attitude… ‘If I can’t have her… no one will.’ What a sleaze. His wife was no better throwing shade at Annemarie every chance she had. She was blatant and cruel. Her son was no better and bullied his half-brother who was half his age. Yeah, that acorn didn’t fall far from the tree. I am angry that Thomas Sr. didn’t rein in his toad of a son. He kept thinking he would get better while in the mean time Annemarie and Cody suffered. Nope… didn’t like that one bit.
This was a delightful story about family, loyalty, doing the right thing, and simply being a human being rather than a rattlesnake. I loved Gabe’s family and their support of him with Annie and Cody. That was sweet. Annie’s family adored Gabe and her together. Everyone was supportive except… Thomas Jr and he showed out big time. The comeuppance was deserved but I wanted more. Guess that was my blood-lust for his hide and my desire that his wife shouldn’t get off so easily. Although she is stuck with Jr. and that brat of a son. That should be pain enough… shame on me.
What I didn’t like: long stretches of what I would call filler. I enjoyed the characters but lots of dialogue and stuff… got in the way of the story. However, that was the way the author wanted to go so… I will leave it there. When the story ended, there was an excerpt from Once Burned a Northstar Novel. [3.5-stars rounded to 4]
The Road to Garrett is the story of two people who don’t have the best track experiences with relationships. Annemarie was abandoned by her son’s father after getting pregnant in her late teens. At the time she recognized she was pregnant, she also found out her baby’s father was a married, wealthy rancher with a wife and child already. Gabe is an electrician who has found his stride after a relationship with a toxic woman a few years back. His previous girlfriend stole all his money and racked up almost a hundred thousand in credit card debt. Ugh!
From the very first page of this book I was entranced with Suzie O’Connell’s ability to blend witty characters, realistic situations and a general sense of comfort all in one. Now, O’Connell isn’t an author that adds twists and turns. You pretty much get whatever the synopsis states. I personally find that to be a really good quality in an author. I don’t read small-town western romances for the action or the tension, I read them because they are comfortable and they make me feel good. This book was a little predictable, but I wasn’t anticipating anything earth shattering so that’s OK by me.
Two things really stood out about The Road to Garrett. One, these two people, Annemarie and Gabe, were so broken in so many ways that it was really beautiful that they took things at the pace they did. They took things super slow for the majority of this book, not only for themselves but also for Annemarie’s son. Annemarie even met Gabe’s family before they kissed (it was so sweet). And though they took things slow, their families were totally on board, giving their blessing and encouraging them to go for it. The second reason I adored this book is that when Annemarie finally decided she was ready for the big dive into sex, she went for it. She was the aggressor, she knew what she wanted and she went after it. Annemarie took charge of her sexuality, even though it had been awhile for her and she had limited experience. Seriously, go Annie go! Even in small-town, sweet romances, I like seeing characters that are comfortable with their body and sexuality.
Suzie O’Connell is an author that I one-click the heck out of. I have quite a few of her paperbacks on my shelves and I automatically buy whatever she puts out. The Road to Garrett was similar to her Northstar books in the feel and general pacing, but it was great to get a new town and a different set of characters from this author. I’m sure I’ll be rereading The Road to Garrett quite a few times in the coming months to recreate that warm, homey feeling I got throughout this entire Two-Lane Wyoming book.
Sweet sweet romance. Nothing feels as good as when you find your one true love and soul mate. I fell in love with the characters - what girl doesn't want to feel love and protected and that they are the only one! You won't be able to stop reading!
I count myself very fortunate, that I was gifted a copy of this amazing book in exchange for an honest review. This is the first time I have ever received a copy from the author in exchange for a review. I have purchased every book of Suzie O’Connell and would have done so for this book as well.
I am a fan of author Suzie O’Connell so I was anticipating enjoying this book. Suzie is the talented author of the Northstar series (which I encourage you to also check out). What I did not count on was this series being similar but completely different to Suzie’s previous novels.
So I sit here trying to think of what I enjoyed most about this book and I have to say that I enjoyed the whole thing… from cover to cover. The story just draws you in so much that you just can’t put the book down (which I didn’t and I was lucky that I received the book on a wet and rainy day). The Road to Garrett introduces us to Annemarie who is a strong, stubborn and independent woman; and to Gabriel who is a gentleman and country boy (or cowboy depending on where you live) at heart.
Suzie has a natural talent in writing that takes the reader on a journey. And that is probably what I love most about any book written thus far by Suzie and The Road to Garrett does not disappoint. This a heart-warming… inspiring…and at times sad… yet so full of family and love that it is a true romance novel because you are taken that journey in witnessing the evolving relationship between Annemarie and Gabriel; we get to know them both as they get to know each other. We learn their secrets as they share them with each other. And that is why it this book is both similar yet completely different from anything Suzie has previously written.
So what did not I like about this book… In complete honesty, there is nothing that I did not like. Other than I read it too quickly and the journey ended too soon for me, as all the good books do and that is on me. There was nothing I did not enjoy about this book and that is why I whole-heartedly recommend this amazing book by the ever talented Suzie O’Connell. And if you enjoy this book, don’t forget to check out the other novels by Suzie because I know you will love them just as much as I did and still do.
I really liked this story. It was a warm romance of a young woman who made a mistake in believing in the wrong person and ending up with a special remembrance.
Annemarie, a very independent and intelligent woman, was trying to make a good life for her son Cody and herself by trying to keep up an old run down ranch. Her trust in men shattered by a hurtful past relationship. Can she ever learn to trust again? Can she care for anyone else again? Gabe, a hard working man who had been hurt and has no trust in women anymore. Can he ever find someone to trust and love him for himself? Gabe is a handsome honorable man that is rare anymore. Will fate bring these two together and will they give in to the attraction they find for each other or will their past keep their feelings from letting go of the wall their hearts have put up This is a heartwarming story that pulls you in and won't let you go. I was given this book for an honest review. I had it on pre-order anyways. I highly recommend this beautiful love story.
I really enjoyed this book It had great characters, a good storyline and it was well written.
This was the story of Annemarie and a Gabe. What starts out as a working relationship, turns into friends, turns into lovers and it was great.
Annemarie is a single Mom and doing her best to make a life for she and her son, Cody. She became a Mom at 18 from a brief relationship with a man who she thought she loved and who loved her. Little did she know that he was married! He went back to his life and left her to raise their son alone. Once she finished school she decided that he was going to give her son the chance he deserved at having a future and his own land. She did not realize how hard Tom was going to make it on her.
Gabe has lived in this area his whole life. Small town farm life is what he loves. Only problem...he can’t inherit the family farm since he is one of the youngest siblings. He made the decision to become an electrician and has been very successful. If it wasn’t for a past girlfriend/fiancé who took him for everything he would be twice a good.
Annemarie needs an electrician, he needs an accountant and the rest is history. I loved the way Gabe was with her and her son. He immediately became invested in the young boy and it was genuine. Their relationship built quickly, but he was a perfect gentleman. I loved the three of them together. This has romance, a great story, enough sexy time and a great ending. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gabe and Annie. It was pretty well-written, though it had entirely too many people in it The scenario had me repeating to myself, "yeah, right!" She had an affair with a married man (didn't know he was married), she got pregnant (while on the pill - though I'm sure since he was married he would have also used a condom) and ends up pregnant. The birth father is forced to recognize his son so he gives Annie a run-down ranch. Gabe is an electrician that helps her out. My problem with this was Tom (the lying, cheating married man) and all the people he knew. Everyone knew what he was like, everyone knew that Cody was his kid, but Annie was always being blamed by everyone. And the fact that Tom's father let Tom do the things he did, not acceptable. I also didn't care for Annie's forwardness, especially after Gabe said he wanted to take it slow. And I'm sorry, I don't see any young woman's family (parents included) encouraging her to have sex with someone.
Contemporary romance set on a working ranch with a young lady with her illegitimate son who returns to the father's ranch because he gives her part of his land as an inheritance for his son. Annemarie Garrett doesn't know how to work the ranch that has been given her for her son, but she is giving it all her time and effort to make it work so she has something to give her son when he grows up, although falling in love with a local electrician wasn't part of her plan. Gabriel Collins falls for Annemarie although they both take it slow because there is a little boy that has to deal with his mean half-siblings next door. Sweet romance with a young mom finding real love after being tricked by an older guy. It is super awkward when Annemarie has to deal with the cheating husband and his wife next door, but she deals with it only using dignity and tact, when I would have thrown my shoes at them. 299 pages and kindle freebie 3 stars
Single mother Annemarie and her son Cody find themselves at home in a run-down Wyoming ranch - next door to the rich, two-timing sleaze ball MARRIED rancher who led her down the proverbial primrose path. He refuses to acknowledge his son, but gives them the near-worthless ranch as his son's only support or inheritance. Gabe, master electrician and rancher from birth is called by Annemarie to fix the problematic wiring in her dilapidated cabin home, and this starts two people down a path of growing romance, growing dangers, and just plain growth. Annemaries is a gutsy lady, Gabe is the modern knight in shining armor, the road ends in HEA, and fans of modern western romance (slightly steamy) are gonna get everything they want from Suzie O'Connell's fine standalone novel.
This book was happily at the end of the Kiss Me, Cowboy set of books with 6 different authors, which, by the way, is amazing all in itself. The Road to Garrett was fabulous and heart-searching at the same time. A man who didn't want to take up his responsibilities, thinking that he could buy off the mother of his child with a piece of land, found his comeuppance at the hands of her and the man who would willing take on the responsibility of her child. I was held and taken for a trip from the very start. I was willing Annemarie on even though her every step was riddled with problems. One strong woman, a man who would do anything for her and a child who just wanted to be loved. Brilliant!
Heart Warming Romance Beautifully written love story. Set in Wyoming, it tells the story of a single mother with her five year old son. Struggling to cope with 500 acres of barren ranch land living in a dilapidated cabin given begrudgingly by the boy’s father. Gabriel Collins is an electrician who goes to the ranch to fix the wiring. Characters are well developed and likeable. Cody is a sweetie. Romance is not really my genre but The Road to Garrett had me crying by Loc 537. Very talented writer. Marvellously engaging story. I totally recommend this enjoyable book. Will be buying more books by Suzie O’Connell.
A very good, interesting and almost clean romance--a little sensuality and a few bad words--but they do not spoil the story. Anne and Gabe don'r have the best past for relationships.She fell for a smooth-talker and got pregnant at 18. Gabe got tangled up with a liar and a thief--twice with the same woman. Anne caught Gabe's attention and heart but he is a real gentleman and very protective of her, especially when the baby's dad tried to get possessive, out of jealousy, even though he is and has been married. A heartwarming story and one that was hard to put down--nothing dull about this one!! It has a good story line and the characters are beautifully defined.
I could almost smell the sagebrush and Wyoming dust in this lovely book. Set more securely in its location than anything else I have read in ages, the author was clearly writing about places and a way of life that she knows well and loves. I also liked the way the plot resolved realistically, without any melodramatic kidnappings, shootings, incidents of arson, or any other of the cheap dramatic tricks lesser authors use. I am thrilled to have found another superb writer in the Western Romance genre.
There were no billionaires or magic just a regular couple finding love. It kept my attention and I enjoyed the characters. The reason I gave it a 3 rather than a 4 is that it was a little slow; plus, the ex was too unrealistic that he wouldn’t let go. But I liked the descriptions of the ranch life and the H/h with the son were well developed. There were some tasteful sex scenes.
This book had potential but it was too instant love for me. This book was repetitive and mundane. And constant talk about their exes just bore me to no end. Cody the son of the heroine and the ending where she finally stood up for herself is what had me rate the book at two stars. Another thing that bugged me i get your describing Wyoming but it just went on for too long. This book felt more like a rough draft rather than a completed one.
This was truly a 'sweet' romance. Usually I would find this more in the toothache category for me, but the character development is so darn good, it sucked me right in until I felt like I was amongst friends. My kryptonite is character development mixed with real life, or at least plausible plots, and romances with strong heroes and tough as nails heroines. This story hit the marks with a dash of spice thrown in for good measure.
This was a wonderfully written at about standing up for what is right. Annie got pregnant while in college but finished and has her son. She felt his needed far roots and saw Cody's dad. Found out he was married. But Tom's father decided to give her some land, a house & animals. But now the electricity keeps going off and she meets Gabe, a dream come true.
This book was a sweet simple story and something to make you smile and read very quickly. I loved the premise of it and I loved the backstories between Gabe and Annie.. I wish there was more passion between the two.. maybe even a little angst. I needed more than just the diabetic sweetness between the two. I enjoyed it but it just needed a little more to make it 4-5 Stars
Great things can happen when you wait long enough for them.
This was a good story, I enjoyed it. A book about a cheating husband who's father makes sure that the child he produced out of wedlock and the mother receive justice. But not only that...It's her love story too and how she gets help setting things right.
A sweet story of love found between two people that had both been dealt a rotten hand and betrayed by their last partners. Throw in the cute and sweet kid, a ranch background and some steamy scenes and you have a satisfying book to get cozy with.
I loved the characters in this book, I found them strong, real and interesting. The story was well written and kept me interested to the end. It’s not the first Suzie O’Connell book I’ve read and it confirms that I really enjoy her writing style and I will be seeking out more books by her.
A sweet story but nothing really new here. There wasn't a crazy plot twist, no real "bad guy", no one to really root for or against, just a sweet story with a happy ending. I thought it was a bit short and the love story was a bit rushed but otherwise...sweet.
I gave this book five stars because it was the kind of book I really enjoy. It had a great story and a happy ending. I really enjoy this author and have bought many of her books.
The Road to Garrett was a refreshing read. I loved it start to finish. I loved that Gabe is all gentlemen and Annie is what Gabe needed. Cody is flat out adorable. Thank you Suzie for writing such wonderful reads. Blessings.