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Carsons & Delaneys: Battle Tested #1
Wyoming Cowboy Marine
Her father’s disappearance is a mystery.
So is her true identity.
Hilly Adams needs help, but Cam Delaney must determine if she is in trouble or if she is the one causing problems. When he follows the beautiful stranger, he saves her from a deadly fire and gunmen out for blood. But who exactly is Hilly? Is she connected to the Delaney family’s biggest rivals? And how is the former marine going to keep her from breaking down his carefully constructed barriers?
So is her true identity.
Hilly Adams needs help, but Cam Delaney must determine if she is in trouble or if she is the one causing problems. When he follows the beautiful stranger, he saves her from a deadly fire and gunmen out for blood. But who exactly is Hilly? Is she connected to the Delaney family’s biggest rivals? And how is the former marine going to keep her from breaking down his carefully constructed barriers?
433 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 7, 2019
165 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
About the author
Nicole Helm
308 books498 followersNicole Helm is the national bestselling author of fast-paced romantic suspense for Harlequin Intrigue and down-to-earth contemporary romance. Her Intrigues routinely land on the Publishers Weekly Bestseller list, and she’s received starred PW reviews for her contemporary romances. She’s written over 75 books, known for their emotional depth and happily ever afters.
Nicole also writes with Megan Crane/Caitlin Crews as Hazel Beck writing the Witchlore series, which began with SMALL TOWN, BIG MAGIC in 2022.
In her spare time, Nicole loves losing herself in genealogy research, watching Cardinals baseball, and hiking with her family. She lives in Missouri with her husband and two sons.
You can contact her via email: Nicole@nicolehelm.com
You can sign up for Nicole’s monthly newsletter at http://eepurl.com/V973n
Nicole also writes with Megan Crane/Caitlin Crews as Hazel Beck writing the Witchlore series, which began with SMALL TOWN, BIG MAGIC in 2022.
In her spare time, Nicole loves losing herself in genealogy research, watching Cardinals baseball, and hiking with her family. She lives in Missouri with her husband and two sons.
You can contact her via email: Nicole@nicolehelm.com
You can sign up for Nicole’s monthly newsletter at http://eepurl.com/V973n
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 22, 2020
Hilly Adams reports her father missing, but is alarmed to learn that there is no proof of his identity. Why Hilly would be shocked by this is strange, considering that her father was an anti-government conspiracy theorist who raised her completely off the grid. Hilly learnt to hunt for food and look after herself, and was home-schooled, apparently so well that she has the vocabulary of a private high school graduate. However, she has never interacted with another human soul her entire life, and is completely unfamiliar with the real word or how to operate in it.
Hilly makes the report to the sheriff's department's detective, Laurel Delaney. Laurel then asks her brother Cameron Delaney to investigate, as he wants to start up his own security firm and this would be the perfect case for him. I didn't understand why Laurel couldn't do more investigating on her own BECAUSE THAT'S HER JOB, or why she would try to hand it over to someone in a security business, not a private investigator. But anyway, our hero and heroine need to meet up in some way, don't they? Otherwise we wouldn't have a book....
Cameron reluctantly agrees, and when he follows Hilly to her house, he's just in time for them to narrowly escape a couple of thugs who burn Hilly's house down. Cam has reached the point where he wants to protect innocent but brave Hilly and figure out what's going on. He finds connections to The Protectors, an anti-government group that Hilly's father was likely connected to. Cam decides it's a good idea to go rogue and try to infiltrate this group with the aid of Hilly, despite the fact she has zero social skills, has no idea how the "outside world" operates, as she's basically been a recluse for twenty fucking years.
Why am I giving this 2 stars? It was ridiculous. And yucky.
I remember a Nicole Helm book I read (though I can't remember the title), where the heroine had been kept captive for multiple years by a serial killer. I was far more concerned that she receive appropriate psychiatric care and time with her family to recover from her ordeal than whether or not she found romance. I had the exact same feelings in this book. After being raised with zero interaction with anybody but an anti-government conspiracy nut for a father for TWENTY YEARS, the first priority for her should have been psychiatric care, and possibly some deprogramming as well!
Although Hilly has the vocabulary of someone who has a college degree, in all other respects she is basically a child. She can apparently look after herself, but generally has no idea how the outside world, that she mistrusts, works. She has zero social skills because she was never around another single human person other than her father for TWENTY YEARS. Emotions and feelings are foreign to her. Tingly sexual feelings are foreign to her. Once again, she is basically a child.
So I was more than a bit perturbed that Cameron Delaney found her so sexually attractive. Yuck, yuck, yuck. It would be like wanting to have sex with the titular character from the movie Nell. I'll say it again: YUCK!
Hilly's background as a sheltered recluse didn't ring true. Nor did the contrived way in which hero and heroine were forced to work together. Nor did the fact that Cam thought it appropriate to let Hilly tail along on his plan to infiltrate a dangerous group when she barely even knew how the real world worked, and would, in reality, have the same ideals as them, because that's what her father had raised her to believe! For TWENTY YEARS.
The story ends on a bit of a blah note, and then proceeds for more than 20 pages after the climax where it looks as if Cam Delaney will able to claim his child bride. Creepy.
It's easy enough to read, and not boring, which is what saves it from 1 star (though it probably deserves it.) But, yeah, the "romance" creeped me out and made me feel icky. A heroine as child-like as Hilly should not be the object of sexual desire!
Hilly makes the report to the sheriff's department's detective, Laurel Delaney. Laurel then asks her brother Cameron Delaney to investigate, as he wants to start up his own security firm and this would be the perfect case for him. I didn't understand why Laurel couldn't do more investigating on her own BECAUSE THAT'S HER JOB, or why she would try to hand it over to someone in a security business, not a private investigator. But anyway, our hero and heroine need to meet up in some way, don't they? Otherwise we wouldn't have a book....
Cameron reluctantly agrees, and when he follows Hilly to her house, he's just in time for them to narrowly escape a couple of thugs who burn Hilly's house down. Cam has reached the point where he wants to protect innocent but brave Hilly and figure out what's going on. He finds connections to The Protectors, an anti-government group that Hilly's father was likely connected to. Cam decides it's a good idea to go rogue and try to infiltrate this group with the aid of Hilly, despite the fact she has zero social skills, has no idea how the "outside world" operates, as she's basically been a recluse for twenty fucking years.
Why am I giving this 2 stars? It was ridiculous. And yucky.
I remember a Nicole Helm book I read (though I can't remember the title), where the heroine had been kept captive for multiple years by a serial killer. I was far more concerned that she receive appropriate psychiatric care and time with her family to recover from her ordeal than whether or not she found romance. I had the exact same feelings in this book. After being raised with zero interaction with anybody but an anti-government conspiracy nut for a father for TWENTY YEARS, the first priority for her should have been psychiatric care, and possibly some deprogramming as well!
Although Hilly has the vocabulary of someone who has a college degree, in all other respects she is basically a child. She can apparently look after herself, but generally has no idea how the outside world, that she mistrusts, works. She has zero social skills because she was never around another single human person other than her father for TWENTY YEARS. Emotions and feelings are foreign to her. Tingly sexual feelings are foreign to her. Once again, she is basically a child.
So I was more than a bit perturbed that Cameron Delaney found her so sexually attractive. Yuck, yuck, yuck. It would be like wanting to have sex with the titular character from the movie Nell. I'll say it again: YUCK!
Hilly's background as a sheltered recluse didn't ring true. Nor did the contrived way in which hero and heroine were forced to work together. Nor did the fact that Cam thought it appropriate to let Hilly tail along on his plan to infiltrate a dangerous group when she barely even knew how the real world worked, and would, in reality, have the same ideals as them, because that's what her father had raised her to believe! For TWENTY YEARS.
The story ends on a bit of a blah note, and then proceeds for more than 20 pages after the climax where it looks as if Cam Delaney will able to claim his child bride. Creepy.
It's easy enough to read, and not boring, which is what saves it from 1 star (though it probably deserves it.) But, yeah, the "romance" creeped me out and made me feel icky. A heroine as child-like as Hilly should not be the object of sexual desire!
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October 4, 2019So short on my reading goal this year, that I have to cop to having read this trash. Reading aloud for my coworkers’ pleasure. A fun romp to distract from our pitiful retail lives. Solid plot twists that never quit.
April 25, 2019
Been a long time since reading an Intrigue book but I'm hooked again. Love this story and am heading to Wal Mart tomorrow to look for the next book in the series. I couldn't put it down.
February 10, 2020
Reviewed at Keeper Bookshelf
Wyoming Cowboy Marine drew me in from the opening scene and never let go. One young woman is desperately searching for her missing father but she’s risking so much by asking for help, especially by walking into a police station. She and her father have lived off the grid for the majority of her life, she knows little of life outside of their small cabin and the clearing where she never steps outside of that safety zone. But this time she needs help, even if that fact scares and confuses her, especially accepting help from a man like Cam. And she’s going to need him for she is in far more danger than she realizes.
Cam and Hilly’s story is fast-paced moving along quickly through danger and discoveries. I can’t say that I was surprised by the resolution but I enjoyed the journey to get to that place – and there are openings now for the next stories which will come as the series continues. The Carsons & Delaneys: Battle Tested series continues the stories of the very long feud between founding families in Bent, Wyoming. You’ll run into characters from the earlier series. It’s not completely necessary to have read the Carsons & Delaneys series first, but it would help on background – and it’s a compelling, entertaining series that I would definitely recommend.
I enjoyed myself in this world, and since the series is over a year old now and I can binge right through to the end I’m definitely having a good time with this one. If you love a good Romantic Suspense with characters you’ll like and believe in then this is a series that you’ll want to check out.
I own a Kindle edition of Wyoming Cowboy Marine.
Wyoming Cowboy Marine drew me in from the opening scene and never let go. One young woman is desperately searching for her missing father but she’s risking so much by asking for help, especially by walking into a police station. She and her father have lived off the grid for the majority of her life, she knows little of life outside of their small cabin and the clearing where she never steps outside of that safety zone. But this time she needs help, even if that fact scares and confuses her, especially accepting help from a man like Cam. And she’s going to need him for she is in far more danger than she realizes.
Cam and Hilly’s story is fast-paced moving along quickly through danger and discoveries. I can’t say that I was surprised by the resolution but I enjoyed the journey to get to that place – and there are openings now for the next stories which will come as the series continues. The Carsons & Delaneys: Battle Tested series continues the stories of the very long feud between founding families in Bent, Wyoming. You’ll run into characters from the earlier series. It’s not completely necessary to have read the Carsons & Delaneys series first, but it would help on background – and it’s a compelling, entertaining series that I would definitely recommend.
I enjoyed myself in this world, and since the series is over a year old now and I can binge right through to the end I’m definitely having a good time with this one. If you love a good Romantic Suspense with characters you’ll like and believe in then this is a series that you’ll want to check out.
I own a Kindle edition of Wyoming Cowboy Marine.
May 23, 2019
This was a fascinating read about Hilly who’s trying to find her missing dad & apparently she’s been sheltered her entire life , therefore heading into
A town for help proves to be tricky. Eventually she learns to trust stranger Cam to help her & they manage to find there way to a region that leads to Holly’s dad! Lots of secrets come out during during a suspenseful ending that leaves the reader a tad surprised with the authors revelations!! This is my new favorite of Nicole’s Intrigue selections ! Bittersweet HEA that’s actually quite thought provoking If you begin to ponder the thoughts of living off the grid for 20 years ! Great read!
A town for help proves to be tricky. Eventually she learns to trust stranger Cam to help her & they manage to find there way to a region that leads to Holly’s dad! Lots of secrets come out during during a suspenseful ending that leaves the reader a tad surprised with the authors revelations!! This is my new favorite of Nicole’s Intrigue selections ! Bittersweet HEA that’s actually quite thought provoking If you begin to ponder the thoughts of living off the grid for 20 years ! Great read!
April 8, 2019
Wyoming Cowboy Marine
(Carsons & Delaneys: Battle Tested Book 1)
Nicole Helm
Left on her own when her father disappears Hilly Adams goes to the outside world for help, changes her mind, but Cam Delaney takes it upon himself to help her...even if she doesn’t want it.
A gripping story of a girl living off the grid who must take a risk and trust a stranger draws you in from beginning to end because you just have to know what is going on...just like Cam does.
Can’t wait to read the next one.
(Carsons & Delaneys: Battle Tested Book 1)
Nicole Helm
Left on her own when her father disappears Hilly Adams goes to the outside world for help, changes her mind, but Cam Delaney takes it upon himself to help her...even if she doesn’t want it.
A gripping story of a girl living off the grid who must take a risk and trust a stranger draws you in from beginning to end because you just have to know what is going on...just like Cam does.
Can’t wait to read the next one.
July 5, 2020
I enjoyed this story and the mystery around Hilly. I like how this started out and enjoyed Cam and Hilly’s journey to find her father. Even though this is the beginning of a new series, I felt at times I was missing something because of all the references to past events and connections between the characters. I will probably read this author again.
October 2, 2024
Wyoming Cowboy Marine
This is my first book by this author. The story is good if a bit confusing. I feel like Hilly! There are so many threads in this weaving, most of them are tied up nicely in the end. Family feuds, people made mad by revenge, somehow I can see it all happening. I hope there is another book about the families in this story.
This is my first book by this author. The story is good if a bit confusing. I feel like Hilly! There are so many threads in this weaving, most of them are tied up nicely in the end. Family feuds, people made mad by revenge, somehow I can see it all happening. I hope there is another book about the families in this story.
April 6, 2019
Interesting.
February 8, 2020
Hoy me hooked up for two days. Love the book 😍
September 3, 2020
This book held my interest from the beginning. Hilly’s situation was interesting. Lots of surprises and twists.
January 19, 2021
Great Story
I really enjoyed this story. Never read one where the main character was so in the dark and so brave.
I really enjoyed this story. Never read one where the main character was so in the dark and so brave.
July 2, 2021
Cute
While some parts of the book were very predictable as most harlequin books are, this one had a slight turn at the end which wasn’t expected.
While some parts of the book were very predictable as most harlequin books are, this one had a slight turn at the end which wasn’t expected.
April 8, 2022
This was good lots of action not a lot of romance
November 26, 2024
Quick read with enough questions to make it interesting; I didn't see the twist coming with the long-lost brothers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2025
Good read though it's hard to believe in this day and age that someone could be totally out of touch with practically every modern convience.
June 18, 2025
[3.5 stars]
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April 2, 2019Categories
Military Romance, Western Fiction, Thriller, Romantic Suspense
Miniseries
Carsons & Delaneys: Battle Tested
Military Romance, Western Fiction, Thriller, Romantic Suspense
Miniseries
Carsons & Delaneys: Battle Tested
Read
April 2, 2019Categories
Military Romance, Western Fiction, Thriller, Romantic Suspense
Miniseries
Carsons & Delaneys: Battle Tested
Military Romance, Western Fiction, Thriller, Romantic Suspense
Miniseries
Carsons & Delaneys: Battle Tested
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews