What do you think?
Rate this book
Kendrick/Coulter/Harrigan #9
Star Bright
New York Times bestselling author Catherine Anderson presents an emotionally compelling story about the hard as nails, fiercely loyal Harrigan family...
Faking her own death to escape her murderous husband, Rainie Hall takes refuge in the rural community of Crystal Falls, Oregon, where she starts work as a bookkeeper on a horse ranch run by rugged, dangerously good-looking Parker Harrigan.
Parker's word is his honor, and he can't tolerate liars. When he realizes that Rainie hasn't been truthful with him, he's furious, then concerned. Clearly she's a woman in trouble and if she'll trust him, he'll do right by her. But as their attraction blossoms into a deep and thrilling passion, Rainie fears that her mere presence could jeopardize everything the Harrigan family holds dear...
Faking her own death to escape her murderous husband, Rainie Hall takes refuge in the rural community of Crystal Falls, Oregon, where she starts work as a bookkeeper on a horse ranch run by rugged, dangerously good-looking Parker Harrigan.
Parker's word is his honor, and he can't tolerate liars. When he realizes that Rainie hasn't been truthful with him, he's furious, then concerned. Clearly she's a woman in trouble and if she'll trust him, he'll do right by her. But as their attraction blossoms into a deep and thrilling passion, Rainie fears that her mere presence could jeopardize everything the Harrigan family holds dear...
438 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2009
358 people are currently reading
1508 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Anderson
102 books2,960 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
(1)romance author:
Adeline Catherine was born and raised in Grants Pass, Oregon, USA. She always yearned to be a writer like her mother. The morning that one of her professors asked if she could use samples of Catherine’s creative writing on an overhead projector to teach was a dream come true. In 1988, she sold her first book to Harlequin Intrigue and went on to write three more before she tried her hand at a single-title historical romance. Nine books later, she did her first single-title contemporary.
Catherine married Sidney D. Anderson, an industrial electrician and entrepreneur. They had two sons, Sidney D. Jr. and John G. In 2001 she and her husband purchased a central Oregon home located on a ridge with incredible mountain views and surrounded by forestland honeycombed with trails. It was her dream home, a wonderland in the winter and beyond beautiful in the summer. She named it Cinnamon Ridge after the huge ponderosa pines on the property, which sport bark the color of cinnamon.
Sadly, Catherine lost her husband to a long-term illness in 2014. She has kept Cinnamon Ridge as her primary residence but divides her time between there and her son John's farm, where she has the support of her loved ones and can enjoy his horses, cows, and raise her own chickens.
Catherine loves animals and birds, both wild and domestic. She presently has two Australian shepherds, six cats, and a very old canary. She is very family oriented as well. Her older son has lived in Japan, Australia, and now resides in New Zealand. Catherine and her stateside family will celebrate Christmas on the north island with Sidney, his wife Mary, and their two sons, Liam and Jonas.
(1)romance author:
Adeline Catherine was born and raised in Grants Pass, Oregon, USA. She always yearned to be a writer like her mother. The morning that one of her professors asked if she could use samples of Catherine’s creative writing on an overhead projector to teach was a dream come true. In 1988, she sold her first book to Harlequin Intrigue and went on to write three more before she tried her hand at a single-title historical romance. Nine books later, she did her first single-title contemporary.
Catherine married Sidney D. Anderson, an industrial electrician and entrepreneur. They had two sons, Sidney D. Jr. and John G. In 2001 she and her husband purchased a central Oregon home located on a ridge with incredible mountain views and surrounded by forestland honeycombed with trails. It was her dream home, a wonderland in the winter and beyond beautiful in the summer. She named it Cinnamon Ridge after the huge ponderosa pines on the property, which sport bark the color of cinnamon.
Sadly, Catherine lost her husband to a long-term illness in 2014. She has kept Cinnamon Ridge as her primary residence but divides her time between there and her son John's farm, where she has the support of her loved ones and can enjoy his horses, cows, and raise her own chickens.
Catherine loves animals and birds, both wild and domestic. She presently has two Australian shepherds, six cats, and a very old canary. She is very family oriented as well. Her older son has lived in Japan, Australia, and now resides in New Zealand. Catherine and her stateside family will celebrate Christmas on the north island with Sidney, his wife Mary, and their two sons, Liam and Jonas.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 205 reviews
December 4, 2013
Sweet. Very sweet and a typical Catherine Anderson romance. A heroine in trouble, a handsome hero who changes her whole world, some teary moments, and a feel good ending. A nice change of pace read for me. Sometimes it's nice to clear the head and read about a slooow moving romance, told by a master storyteller. Catherine Anderson is excellent at telling a story, and making you believe in her characters and their feelings. The romance was slow to build, and the H/H didn't even actually kiss until almost page 300, but the feelings the H/H had for each other were true and there from the get-go, it was just a matter of time and you knew they'd eventually get there.
Rainie Hall is looking for a way out. Trapped in a marriage to a controlling, psychopathic, abusive S.O.B. who is intent on killing her, there's no way out for her--unless she could somehow fake her own death. (Think Julia Roberts in Sleeping With the Enemy). He would never allow her to just walk away or divorce him (he murdered his previous two wives and got away with it), so faking her own death is Rainie's only option. With the help of a couple of very good friends, she pulls a switcheroo while on a cruise with evil hubby Peter (where he's planning to kill her) and manages to convince the authorities that she drowned at sea. Now on the run and with some fake I.D., she shows up in the town of Crystal Falls, Oregon, broke and looking for work. Seeing an ad in the newspaper for a bookkeeping job at a horse ranch, she applies and gets the job. Her boss, Parker Harrigan is talkative, friendly, and sexy--but no way, no how is she looking for romance, and who could blame her after her demeaning experience with her rotten husband? But Parker has a way about him, and before long he finds out most of her secrets, and why she seems so jumpy around him. With Parker's incredibly loving patience, Rainie finds the woman that she used to be--the brave, sassy and sometimes willful girl that is her true self, and leaves the cowering church-mouse behind. Parker and Rainie's initial attraction develops into a sweet and tender love story, and has Rainie thinking she may have a wonderful future after all. But just when it looks like Rainie's life is turning around, she finds that she may not be rid of Peter just yet.
Wow. I haven't read a book with such a kind and patient hero as Parker Harrigan in quite a while--the guy was almost too good to be true. He took shy little church-mouse, afraid-to-give-an opinion Rainie and got her to open up, become the woman she used to be before her husband crushed her spirit, and restored her confidence in herself. Rainie transformed from a pussycat into a tiger--especially near the end of the book when she had a final showdown with her husband. I cheered to myself and said "you go girl!" While it's true that the physical side of Parker and Rainie's love didn't develop until late in the book, the emotional side was there early on. The pace slowed down somewhat for me about mid-book, because by that time you knew that Peter wasn't through with Raine, but it seemed like he was taking forever to make a return appearance. So I was anxious for him to return and get his comeuppance. Let's just say you won't be disappointed. Of course there wasn't a lot of heat in this one--the sex scenes were late in the book and were of the PG-13 variety--but the romance was certainly there. At times when Parker was being so sweet to Rainie it made me tear up, so this one definitely affected me emotionally. This may not be my favorite of all of Catherine Anderson's stories, but it was still a good romance and a good story about a young woman finding her true self again. A very solid 4 stars.
Rainie Hall is looking for a way out. Trapped in a marriage to a controlling, psychopathic, abusive S.O.B. who is intent on killing her, there's no way out for her--unless she could somehow fake her own death. (Think Julia Roberts in Sleeping With the Enemy). He would never allow her to just walk away or divorce him (he murdered his previous two wives and got away with it), so faking her own death is Rainie's only option. With the help of a couple of very good friends, she pulls a switcheroo while on a cruise with evil hubby Peter (where he's planning to kill her) and manages to convince the authorities that she drowned at sea. Now on the run and with some fake I.D., she shows up in the town of Crystal Falls, Oregon, broke and looking for work. Seeing an ad in the newspaper for a bookkeeping job at a horse ranch, she applies and gets the job. Her boss, Parker Harrigan is talkative, friendly, and sexy--but no way, no how is she looking for romance, and who could blame her after her demeaning experience with her rotten husband? But Parker has a way about him, and before long he finds out most of her secrets, and why she seems so jumpy around him. With Parker's incredibly loving patience, Rainie finds the woman that she used to be--the brave, sassy and sometimes willful girl that is her true self, and leaves the cowering church-mouse behind. Parker and Rainie's initial attraction develops into a sweet and tender love story, and has Rainie thinking she may have a wonderful future after all. But just when it looks like Rainie's life is turning around, she finds that she may not be rid of Peter just yet.
Wow. I haven't read a book with such a kind and patient hero as Parker Harrigan in quite a while--the guy was almost too good to be true. He took shy little church-mouse, afraid-to-give-an opinion Rainie and got her to open up, become the woman she used to be before her husband crushed her spirit, and restored her confidence in herself. Rainie transformed from a pussycat into a tiger--especially near the end of the book when she had a final showdown with her husband. I cheered to myself and said "you go girl!" While it's true that the physical side of Parker and Rainie's love didn't develop until late in the book, the emotional side was there early on. The pace slowed down somewhat for me about mid-book, because by that time you knew that Peter wasn't through with Raine, but it seemed like he was taking forever to make a return appearance. So I was anxious for him to return and get his comeuppance. Let's just say you won't be disappointed. Of course there wasn't a lot of heat in this one--the sex scenes were late in the book and were of the PG-13 variety--but the romance was certainly there. At times when Parker was being so sweet to Rainie it made me tear up, so this one definitely affected me emotionally. This may not be my favorite of all of Catherine Anderson's stories, but it was still a good romance and a good story about a young woman finding her true self again. A very solid 4 stars.
January 5, 2009
As much as I love Catherine Anderson's books, I must admit I was wary of this one. The last two books of this series just didn't do much for me, especially the last one, Morning Light, because of all the religious talk in it. It just doesn't appeal to me. I wondered if Anderson was shifting her writing to be more Inspirational, which for an atheist like me, just isn't my thing. So I was very happy and relieved when I read Star Bright and saw that it was much more typical of her past books. There's still some religion, but no where near as much as the last book (thank goodness!). This ended up being a great read. Probably not one I'd classify as a favorite, but still one I enjoyed a lot and didn't want to put down.
In Star Bright, Rainie Hall is a young woman trapped in a horribly abusive marriage to a man who just wants her money. When she realizes he plans to kill her, she has to make a move. Faking her death and assuming a new identity with the help of friends, she escapes to Crystal Falls, Oregon, and gets a job as a bookkeeper at Parker Harrigan's ranch. Rainie's past has made her completely unable to trust any man, but Parker's gentle ways and innate kindness draw her in before she even realizes it. It isn't long before Parker discovers that her identity is a lie, and over time he learns about the hell Rainie lived through. He can't help but fall in love with her. Getting Rainie to trust him, though, isn't easy. But eventually, she sees him for the good man he is. She wants a life with him, but in order to get that, she must first settle her past.
There's something about a Catherine Anderson story that just really sucks you in. She's a very gifted storyteller who can run you through an emotional wringer, yet leave you with warm fuzzies when you finish the last page. Star Bright is a wonderful tale about a woman rediscovering herself, her inner and outer strength, and the truly good man who helps her put her life back together. It's sweet and tender, sad and heart-rending, and everything in between. Anderson really makes you feel for Rainie and what she went through. And Parker...well, we should all be so lucky to meet a man like that. He was the perfect hero for this story, the perfect mate for Rainie.
There really wasn't anything I didn't like about this book. I didn't even mind that the physical part of their relationship didn't develop until pretty late in the book. It needed to go that way. Rainie had to heal before should could trust another man like that. The intimate scenes between them were very sweet.
From the great characters, the sweet romance, and the mild suspense, Star Bright was enjoyable cover-to-cover. I could make a mild case for the fact that the book has more than a passing similarity to Sweet Nothings in that both heroines were escaping evil husbands, and how they had to rediscover themselves after the abuse they went through. The premises were very similar, but the details completely different. There probably could have been a little more variance between the two, but I wasn't particularly bothered by it since Star Bright was such a good read.
I do wish there'd been a little more mention of the Coulters. Nothing too involved. Just a mention of how they were doing, babies born or whatnot. They were a great family to read about and I'd have loved an update on them.
Otherwise, this was a solid book through and through. From the first page it had me hooked and kept me reading until I finished. I considered giving this one five stars, but it wasn't quite as good as Phantom Waltz, my favorite book of hers. So I settled on four stars, maybe four and a half. For those of you who like Catherine Anderson, I think you'll really enjoy this book. And if you haven't read her and like emotional contemporary romances, then I'd highly suggest giving her a try!
NOTE: though this book is part of a series, it can probably be read as a stand-alone. I'd definitely recommend the other books, though, because this is a fantastic series. And without reading the others, you miss a lot of the family/character nuances.
In Star Bright, Rainie Hall is a young woman trapped in a horribly abusive marriage to a man who just wants her money. When she realizes he plans to kill her, she has to make a move. Faking her death and assuming a new identity with the help of friends, she escapes to Crystal Falls, Oregon, and gets a job as a bookkeeper at Parker Harrigan's ranch. Rainie's past has made her completely unable to trust any man, but Parker's gentle ways and innate kindness draw her in before she even realizes it. It isn't long before Parker discovers that her identity is a lie, and over time he learns about the hell Rainie lived through. He can't help but fall in love with her. Getting Rainie to trust him, though, isn't easy. But eventually, she sees him for the good man he is. She wants a life with him, but in order to get that, she must first settle her past.
There's something about a Catherine Anderson story that just really sucks you in. She's a very gifted storyteller who can run you through an emotional wringer, yet leave you with warm fuzzies when you finish the last page. Star Bright is a wonderful tale about a woman rediscovering herself, her inner and outer strength, and the truly good man who helps her put her life back together. It's sweet and tender, sad and heart-rending, and everything in between. Anderson really makes you feel for Rainie and what she went through. And Parker...well, we should all be so lucky to meet a man like that. He was the perfect hero for this story, the perfect mate for Rainie.
There really wasn't anything I didn't like about this book. I didn't even mind that the physical part of their relationship didn't develop until pretty late in the book. It needed to go that way. Rainie had to heal before should could trust another man like that. The intimate scenes between them were very sweet.
From the great characters, the sweet romance, and the mild suspense, Star Bright was enjoyable cover-to-cover. I could make a mild case for the fact that the book has more than a passing similarity to Sweet Nothings in that both heroines were escaping evil husbands, and how they had to rediscover themselves after the abuse they went through. The premises were very similar, but the details completely different. There probably could have been a little more variance between the two, but I wasn't particularly bothered by it since Star Bright was such a good read.
I do wish there'd been a little more mention of the Coulters. Nothing too involved. Just a mention of how they were doing, babies born or whatnot. They were a great family to read about and I'd have loved an update on them.
Otherwise, this was a solid book through and through. From the first page it had me hooked and kept me reading until I finished. I considered giving this one five stars, but it wasn't quite as good as Phantom Waltz, my favorite book of hers. So I settled on four stars, maybe four and a half. For those of you who like Catherine Anderson, I think you'll really enjoy this book. And if you haven't read her and like emotional contemporary romances, then I'd highly suggest giving her a try!
NOTE: though this book is part of a series, it can probably be read as a stand-alone. I'd definitely recommend the other books, though, because this is a fantastic series. And without reading the others, you miss a lot of the family/character nuances.
January 31, 2009
3.75 stars
I just couldn't get into this book much until the last 40 pages or so. I admit I think it was better than the last two in the series, but it was still on the dull side. I could just be in a mood because this is the third 'abused herione' book I've read in one week.
I feel the story dragged on and on and on and on.......while the heroine builds her self esteem, trains like Rocky, finally lets the hero make moves on her...then we wait...and wait...and wait for the bad guy to show and try to kill her so we can put him in jail and we can get on with our HEA.
I just couldn't get into this book much until the last 40 pages or so. I admit I think it was better than the last two in the series, but it was still on the dull side. I could just be in a mood because this is the third 'abused herione' book I've read in one week.
I feel the story dragged on and on and on and on.......while the heroine builds her self esteem, trains like Rocky, finally lets the hero make moves on her...then we wait...and wait...and wait for the bad guy to show and try to kill her so we can put him in jail and we can get on with our HEA.
March 28, 2009
Another great read from Anderson. Her books to me keep getting better and better as time goes on. I guess I am a little biased but I have not read a bad book yet from this author. The love stories are sweet and consuming and there is always an HEA
August 28, 2017
3 stars.
This one started strong. Ms Anderson writes heroines escaping from abusive relationships very well. However, I did find it draggy from about midway and the resolution seems to take forever to come around. One positive is that the strong religious elements from the previous 2 books were toned down in this until the end. I guess we can't escape it as the Harrigan family is supposed to be devoted Catholics.
This one started strong. Ms Anderson writes heroines escaping from abusive relationships very well. However, I did find it draggy from about midway and the resolution seems to take forever to come around. One positive is that the strong religious elements from the previous 2 books were toned down in this until the end. I guess we can't escape it as the Harrigan family is supposed to be devoted Catholics.
April 13, 2022
Exciting and haunting romance... bad guy gets it in the end!
January 21, 2025
Libby/kindle
I thought i was gonna really like this. It's got one of my favorite setups; an abused woman on the run, meets a great man and she heals and they get an HEA. But unfortunately, it let me down.
I had three main problems with this book.
1) the writing.
2) the characters.
3) the content.
The setup is okay, Rainie fakes her death with the help of her friends to escape her con artist:serial killing/wife beating husband. She gets her new ID and finds a nice little town to start over. She needs a job, so after buying a car, renting an apartment, and buying herself a thrifted wardrobe, and setting up her place with furniture(???) she applies for an accounting job at a ranch. We spend a lot of time on these details, which is fun i guess, but we don't find out how she managed any of the furniture moving by herself-but i digress...(oh and the author name-drops randomly throughout the story-which also bugs me (thrift store names, movie stars etc.)
Anyway, she happens to have a degree as an accountant, but her new ID obviously doesn't. So she is gonna have to lie.
She has her interview with Parker, a really rich ranch owner who breeds horses(he talks about it, but we dont see much with the horses-its fine, but annoying because its brought up, and then mostly goes away) is a bachelor, a hunk, and weirdly employs a lot of people, offers full benefits to all his employees( at least 10) and offers her 60k with full benefits a year to bookkeep for him. The man is rich, and in this book texting doesn't exist, but cell phones do, so maybe this was before Benefits were outrageously expensive(believe it or not-that time actually existed!)
getting back to my point, this man is bleeding money. But whatever. He is rich, and he likes loyalty. So he pays well to keep his people around.
Anyway, she finds out what a state his receipts are in, (shocking!) and starts tidying the office up, while sweating bullets worrying he will run her job history and find out she lied(personally, i would have had her friends get some burner phones, and pretend to be the school/former employers, but she doesn't do that-she says she is hoping he forgets about it, and waffles between regret over not applying to flip burgers instead, because apparently she thinks that a chain company is less likely to run her background than a small business owner-i would think the opposite, but okay. Maybe I'm wrong here.)
Cut to the inevitable. He finds out, confronts her, she starts to run, he talks her into staying.
Then starts a slow journey of bringing her out of her shell.
Thats all fine. They have some odd conversations, which brings me to one of my gripes here. The language is odd. He drops his g's. So he always sounds twang-y. But this is Oregon. He also just says phrases and words things in such strange ways. It's just always off a bit.
Can we go off on a slight tangent here while i describe the layout of his barn/stable? Im a card carrying member of the horse girl club. (I know, gasp! The horror!) I grew up riding. Ive been around the block. His stable is apparently setup with stalls at the front. Usually there is a breezeway isle for walking.
Anyway, it's described like an obstacle course that he has to escort her through everyday when she shows up. I will come back to this in a minute.
Then he has an attached indoor arena area. Now, i haven't been around a lot of those, because i don't live in a 4 seasons area, but I've been in a few. Usually there is a separated fenced off area along one side for spectators to stand or sit or walk by while horses are in the arena. Anyway, he apparently doesn't have that, so he escorts her through the arena while employees lounge horses, and finally we arrive at the office, which contains computers, files and an adjacent full kitchen(fridge stove sink dishwasher-why? No idea. They use the sink, and the fridge.) and a bathroom. Why is this a big deal to me? It's just the weirdest layout ever to me. Why is the office located here? Why doesn't it have its own entry from the exterior? So he can escort her everyday i guess.
Let's circle back to the obstacle course breezeway. She apparently shows up at the most busy time in the morning. We've got guys and gals mucking stalls, feeding and exercising horses all willy nilly. They are flying around in a flurry of activity. Its hectic.
The timing just seems weird to me.
Am i weirdly hung up on the wrong details, yes, probably.
Let's move on.
So the story shuffles along in the minutia of everyday happenings, and spends a lot of time with the characters talking over takeout. (This is weird to me because he doesn't include his other employees, and he pays extra for delivery because of his location. It's the way the plot makes time for them to get closer, but i just think it's weird.) whatever, they (the employees) can feed themselves(have a separate bathroom, and never use that kitchen, and he is rich. So shut up. Besides, she eats like a bird. (Stop thinking about it!)
It's fine, but all the duties and tasks she is supposed to be working kind of stall out. She does a lot of filing. Well sorting piles of paper into smaller piles. It annoys me because the plot brings these things up, and then drops it.
This happens often. It makes a big deal about the business, the horses, the receipts/accounting, but then we forget all that. He eventually decides to adopt a Rottweiler puppy(monster) and dumps it on her. So now her official job title is puppy babysitter i guess. The pup pops in and out as the plot remembers. But he is oh so adorable, so it's fine i guess. (Sarcasm).
The middle really begins to drag. The dialog really starts to get super repetitive, and is kind of obvious. Now I'm not a writer, so I'm sure its extremely difficult to do it right, but i had such a difficult time with this i almost gave up on it.
It goes something like this:
so, THIS thing happened.
*listens. Continues on.
Really? Wow thats terrible.
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
Like bro? Do you listen? Did you hear this the first time? Because i did. And now i heard it in triplicate. And then the same thing gets repeated multiple times throughout the entire book.
The dialogue is written in an obvious way too.
Character A needs Character B to ask something so that Character A can say something specific. So of course Character B asks the most obvious leading question so Character A can say the thing.
It happens often. And usually involves the repeating of the same information in triplicate.
I almost gave up on this at 65%. But i kept going. Oddly it finally starts to pick up a bit, as the dangerous Villain threat plot starts to come to a head.
Im gonna talk a few spoilers here, because i have some questions.
So obviously, once the FBI ditches Rainie because 'the profiler guarantees that her SK ex will NOT be a threat to her now that she has her divorce paperwork (sure Jan) whew that was close! We're home free now!
Well, of course Rainie now decides to play her Stupid card for the first time in the book.
She decides that there is no way she can live out at the safe ranch now, so Parker can just stay with her in her crumby apartment at night until they can marry.
(Sure Jan! #strong female empowerment!)
Besides, she has been training with parker for self defense, so shes got this. No danger. Absolutely.
As you can guess, this turns into a dangerous situation. Big bad Peter( Peter/Parker-yeah, don't get me started...) shows up with a knife.
Earlier that day...
So, she has one of the family (Parkers family-father, 3 brothers/sister and spouses) following her home daily, to be safe, cause the ranch is in the boonies. So Rainie heads for home, followed by a brother, whose truck breaks down in a cell phone dead zone(of course) so, girlfriend apparently doesn't check her mirrors, and brother, instead of, oh i don't know-lay on the horn for a while, gets out, does some diagnostics, and runs up a hill to get cell service to call, not Rainie, but Parker to let him know he is stuck. This takes a while.
So, meanwhile oblivious Rainie hits the grocery store, and, still distracted by her Gooey-eyed cowboy plans for the evening, hops into her car, and starts heading home, when-gasp! Peter pops up from the back seat, and holds a knife to her throat, all the way home.
Here is where i have questions. So Peter thinks he's 4-D chess level smart, so he planned out this truck breakdown, and then the murder of Rainie. But, she doesn't grocery shop everyday. So my question is, how did he know she would go to the store, and he could sneak into her car. Maybe I'm overthinking this, and he simply followed her there in the car. (The book doesn't say.)
He somehow gets out of the car without moving the knife from her throat(okay, ninja) and gets through his whole plan, eventually she finds an opening, gets away and though things get a bit dicey, wins the day and gets her HEA.
Peter confesses, while drugged in the hospital, but the FBI guarantees he will be in prison forever now. (Sure Jan!)
Another small gripe i had, was this felt a little Christian Fiction sometimes. I looked around to see if i missed it, (and maybe i still am?) but i didn't find anything. I personally don't necessarily have a problem with that, but i tend to dislike religious themes in books in general.
Also the characters bring up things a lot, only to then contradict them. Example: the sister doesn't like swearing/foul language. She apparently gripes at everyone about it. She is hardly in this book, but she repeatedly uses curse words in those interactions. It's odd, because why bring it up, if apparently it isn't true? It happens a lot, i just cant think of more examples. It just makes the author look inept.
So, overall, the Love Story was fine. I liked Rainie and Parker together. Parker is pitched as the foil to Peter so that Rainie can learn to trust herself again. Its fine. Its sweet. Its convenient. I wound up skimming a lot to try and finish it.
I think it could/should have been edited down at least a third, but probably half. The pacing for the final conflict was odd. I think this is a seasoned author, with multiple novels, and a fan following. So i am probably not the correct audience. Im just a whole lot confused.
Ive read much better books with similar settings/tropes. This one was a miss for me.
I thought i was gonna really like this. It's got one of my favorite setups; an abused woman on the run, meets a great man and she heals and they get an HEA. But unfortunately, it let me down.
I had three main problems with this book.
1) the writing.
2) the characters.
3) the content.
The setup is okay, Rainie fakes her death with the help of her friends to escape her con artist:serial killing/wife beating husband. She gets her new ID and finds a nice little town to start over. She needs a job, so after buying a car, renting an apartment, and buying herself a thrifted wardrobe, and setting up her place with furniture(???) she applies for an accounting job at a ranch. We spend a lot of time on these details, which is fun i guess, but we don't find out how she managed any of the furniture moving by herself-but i digress...(oh and the author name-drops randomly throughout the story-which also bugs me (thrift store names, movie stars etc.)
Anyway, she happens to have a degree as an accountant, but her new ID obviously doesn't. So she is gonna have to lie.
She has her interview with Parker, a really rich ranch owner who breeds horses(he talks about it, but we dont see much with the horses-its fine, but annoying because its brought up, and then mostly goes away) is a bachelor, a hunk, and weirdly employs a lot of people, offers full benefits to all his employees( at least 10) and offers her 60k with full benefits a year to bookkeep for him. The man is rich, and in this book texting doesn't exist, but cell phones do, so maybe this was before Benefits were outrageously expensive(believe it or not-that time actually existed!)
getting back to my point, this man is bleeding money. But whatever. He is rich, and he likes loyalty. So he pays well to keep his people around.
Anyway, she finds out what a state his receipts are in, (shocking!) and starts tidying the office up, while sweating bullets worrying he will run her job history and find out she lied(personally, i would have had her friends get some burner phones, and pretend to be the school/former employers, but she doesn't do that-she says she is hoping he forgets about it, and waffles between regret over not applying to flip burgers instead, because apparently she thinks that a chain company is less likely to run her background than a small business owner-i would think the opposite, but okay. Maybe I'm wrong here.)
Cut to the inevitable. He finds out, confronts her, she starts to run, he talks her into staying.
Then starts a slow journey of bringing her out of her shell.
Thats all fine. They have some odd conversations, which brings me to one of my gripes here. The language is odd. He drops his g's. So he always sounds twang-y. But this is Oregon. He also just says phrases and words things in such strange ways. It's just always off a bit.
Can we go off on a slight tangent here while i describe the layout of his barn/stable? Im a card carrying member of the horse girl club. (I know, gasp! The horror!) I grew up riding. Ive been around the block. His stable is apparently setup with stalls at the front. Usually there is a breezeway isle for walking.
Anyway, it's described like an obstacle course that he has to escort her through everyday when she shows up. I will come back to this in a minute.
Then he has an attached indoor arena area. Now, i haven't been around a lot of those, because i don't live in a 4 seasons area, but I've been in a few. Usually there is a separated fenced off area along one side for spectators to stand or sit or walk by while horses are in the arena. Anyway, he apparently doesn't have that, so he escorts her through the arena while employees lounge horses, and finally we arrive at the office, which contains computers, files and an adjacent full kitchen(fridge stove sink dishwasher-why? No idea. They use the sink, and the fridge.) and a bathroom. Why is this a big deal to me? It's just the weirdest layout ever to me. Why is the office located here? Why doesn't it have its own entry from the exterior? So he can escort her everyday i guess.
Let's circle back to the obstacle course breezeway. She apparently shows up at the most busy time in the morning. We've got guys and gals mucking stalls, feeding and exercising horses all willy nilly. They are flying around in a flurry of activity. Its hectic.
The timing just seems weird to me.
Am i weirdly hung up on the wrong details, yes, probably.
Let's move on.
So the story shuffles along in the minutia of everyday happenings, and spends a lot of time with the characters talking over takeout. (This is weird to me because he doesn't include his other employees, and he pays extra for delivery because of his location. It's the way the plot makes time for them to get closer, but i just think it's weird.) whatever, they (the employees) can feed themselves(have a separate bathroom, and never use that kitchen, and he is rich. So shut up. Besides, she eats like a bird. (Stop thinking about it!)
It's fine, but all the duties and tasks she is supposed to be working kind of stall out. She does a lot of filing. Well sorting piles of paper into smaller piles. It annoys me because the plot brings these things up, and then drops it.
This happens often. It makes a big deal about the business, the horses, the receipts/accounting, but then we forget all that. He eventually decides to adopt a Rottweiler puppy(monster) and dumps it on her. So now her official job title is puppy babysitter i guess. The pup pops in and out as the plot remembers. But he is oh so adorable, so it's fine i guess. (Sarcasm).
The middle really begins to drag. The dialog really starts to get super repetitive, and is kind of obvious. Now I'm not a writer, so I'm sure its extremely difficult to do it right, but i had such a difficult time with this i almost gave up on it.
It goes something like this:
so, THIS thing happened.
*listens. Continues on.
Really? Wow thats terrible.
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
Like bro? Do you listen? Did you hear this the first time? Because i did. And now i heard it in triplicate. And then the same thing gets repeated multiple times throughout the entire book.
The dialogue is written in an obvious way too.
Character A needs Character B to ask something so that Character A can say something specific. So of course Character B asks the most obvious leading question so Character A can say the thing.
It happens often. And usually involves the repeating of the same information in triplicate.
I almost gave up on this at 65%. But i kept going. Oddly it finally starts to pick up a bit, as the dangerous Villain threat plot starts to come to a head.
Im gonna talk a few spoilers here, because i have some questions.
So obviously, once the FBI ditches Rainie because 'the profiler guarantees that her SK ex will NOT be a threat to her now that she has her divorce paperwork (sure Jan) whew that was close! We're home free now!
Well, of course Rainie now decides to play her Stupid card for the first time in the book.
She decides that there is no way she can live out at the safe ranch now, so Parker can just stay with her in her crumby apartment at night until they can marry.
(Sure Jan! #strong female empowerment!)
Besides, she has been training with parker for self defense, so shes got this. No danger. Absolutely.
As you can guess, this turns into a dangerous situation. Big bad Peter( Peter/Parker-yeah, don't get me started...) shows up with a knife.
Earlier that day...
So, she has one of the family (Parkers family-father, 3 brothers/sister and spouses) following her home daily, to be safe, cause the ranch is in the boonies. So Rainie heads for home, followed by a brother, whose truck breaks down in a cell phone dead zone(of course) so, girlfriend apparently doesn't check her mirrors, and brother, instead of, oh i don't know-lay on the horn for a while, gets out, does some diagnostics, and runs up a hill to get cell service to call, not Rainie, but Parker to let him know he is stuck. This takes a while.
So, meanwhile oblivious Rainie hits the grocery store, and, still distracted by her Gooey-eyed cowboy plans for the evening, hops into her car, and starts heading home, when-gasp! Peter pops up from the back seat, and holds a knife to her throat, all the way home.
Here is where i have questions. So Peter thinks he's 4-D chess level smart, so he planned out this truck breakdown, and then the murder of Rainie. But, she doesn't grocery shop everyday. So my question is, how did he know she would go to the store, and he could sneak into her car. Maybe I'm overthinking this, and he simply followed her there in the car. (The book doesn't say.)
He somehow gets out of the car without moving the knife from her throat(okay, ninja) and gets through his whole plan, eventually she finds an opening, gets away and though things get a bit dicey, wins the day and gets her HEA.
Peter confesses, while drugged in the hospital, but the FBI guarantees he will be in prison forever now. (Sure Jan!)
Another small gripe i had, was this felt a little Christian Fiction sometimes. I looked around to see if i missed it, (and maybe i still am?) but i didn't find anything. I personally don't necessarily have a problem with that, but i tend to dislike religious themes in books in general.
Also the characters bring up things a lot, only to then contradict them. Example: the sister doesn't like swearing/foul language. She apparently gripes at everyone about it. She is hardly in this book, but she repeatedly uses curse words in those interactions. It's odd, because why bring it up, if apparently it isn't true? It happens a lot, i just cant think of more examples. It just makes the author look inept.
So, overall, the Love Story was fine. I liked Rainie and Parker together. Parker is pitched as the foil to Peter so that Rainie can learn to trust herself again. Its fine. Its sweet. Its convenient. I wound up skimming a lot to try and finish it.
I think it could/should have been edited down at least a third, but probably half. The pacing for the final conflict was odd. I think this is a seasoned author, with multiple novels, and a fan following. So i am probably not the correct audience. Im just a whole lot confused.
Ive read much better books with similar settings/tropes. This one was a miss for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 25, 2010
The story was fulfilling, enjoyable and entertaining up until the end, which was frustrating due to hero and heroine stupidity.
STORY BRIEF:
Peter studied, courted and married three heiresses. The first two died under mysterious circumstances. The third is Rainie. He beat and abused her. She believes he plans to kill her, so she fakes her death and runs away using a false identity. She gets a job as a bookkeeper for Parker, a horse breeder on a ranch. When Parker discovers she lied on her job application Rainie believes she must run again. Parker guesses her circumstances and convinces her to stay on, even though she will not tell him any details other than her real first name.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
Most of the book was wonderful. I loved how smart and careful Rainie and Parker were. I loved how Parker slowly charmed Rainie over time. I loved how Rainie slowly began healing and did some other things that I don’t want to give away as spoilers. One of my favorite parts was the role Loni played when she first met Rainie. As I was reading, I thought “I agree with two statements on the back cover of the book,” “heartwarming, gently sensual” and “emotionally involving, family-centered, and relationship-oriented.” I think a person who experienced an abusive relationship would find some healing comfort in this story. Parker is a perfect hero, gentle, loving, devoted, patient and also a strong protector.
A couple of times the book was a little slow, but during most of the book I had various good feelings. My problem was the end of the book. I was angry and frustrated at the stupid (and careless) things done by Parker, Raine, and the police. See Spoiler below.
DATA:
Story length: 408 pages. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 10. Setting: current day Seattle, Washington, and Crystal Falls, Oregon. Copyright: 2009. Genre: romantic suspense.
STORY BRIEF:
Peter studied, courted and married three heiresses. The first two died under mysterious circumstances. The third is Rainie. He beat and abused her. She believes he plans to kill her, so she fakes her death and runs away using a false identity. She gets a job as a bookkeeper for Parker, a horse breeder on a ranch. When Parker discovers she lied on her job application Rainie believes she must run again. Parker guesses her circumstances and convinces her to stay on, even though she will not tell him any details other than her real first name.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
Most of the book was wonderful. I loved how smart and careful Rainie and Parker were. I loved how Parker slowly charmed Rainie over time. I loved how Rainie slowly began healing and did some other things that I don’t want to give away as spoilers. One of my favorite parts was the role Loni played when she first met Rainie. As I was reading, I thought “I agree with two statements on the back cover of the book,” “heartwarming, gently sensual” and “emotionally involving, family-centered, and relationship-oriented.” I think a person who experienced an abusive relationship would find some healing comfort in this story. Parker is a perfect hero, gentle, loving, devoted, patient and also a strong protector.
A couple of times the book was a little slow, but during most of the book I had various good feelings. My problem was the end of the book. I was angry and frustrated at the stupid (and careless) things done by Parker, Raine, and the police. See Spoiler below.
DATA:
Story length: 408 pages. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 10. Setting: current day Seattle, Washington, and Crystal Falls, Oregon. Copyright: 2009. Genre: romantic suspense.
March 1, 2012
Bored me to tears. Nice idea, but I could not connect with the characters.
This is not the first novel by Ms. Anderson that I couldn't get into. I think it's just a personal preference.
This is not the first novel by Ms. Anderson that I couldn't get into. I think it's just a personal preference.
October 29, 2025
This is part of the Kendrick, Harrigan & Coulter series by the writer which basically means that several of the characters are cross-overs as each family has many siblings who then marry w/in the other families.
Each book is a self-contained story so you can read them out of order. The characters from the other books will make appearances as supporting characters but the story revolves around the protagonists.
Raine & Parker had good chemistry & dialogue. The story was good.
It drags a little in the middle but I was invested so I didn't mind.
Also, the H/h are instantly attracted to each other but it's a slow burn romance story as they become friends first before they attempt anything physical. It makes the reader want to keep reading so as to see how it'll all turn out.
Each book is a self-contained story so you can read them out of order. The characters from the other books will make appearances as supporting characters but the story revolves around the protagonists.
Raine & Parker had good chemistry & dialogue. The story was good.
It drags a little in the middle but I was invested so I didn't mind.
Also, the H/h are instantly attracted to each other but it's a slow burn romance story as they become friends first before they attempt anything physical. It makes the reader want to keep reading so as to see how it'll all turn out.
January 16, 2014
I picked this one up but never finished it, so I checked it out again with a new sense of determination. It's basically the same old story as 80% of Catherine Anderson's other novels, especially in the Kendrick-Coulter-Harrigan series. Poor abused broken beauty running from a horrible abusive life with flashbacks and references to the bastard who beat and raped her and threw her around like she was nothing., Handsome cowboy-racher comes to her rescue and slowly wins her trust, Love Ensues.
Rainie's tragic story is Molly Sterling's times ten. Rich bastard ensnared her, ruined her life, she ~couldn't do anything about it~ because he's rich and has influence and blah blah blah she ran away and now he knows she's alive. We don't just get the bits and pieces of the story put together by Rainie slowly confiding in Parker, we get an entire infodump from Loni after she shakes Rainie's hand. Rainie collapses and sobs about the whole thing to Parker and we find out the whole plot is basically half ripped off from Sleeping With The Enemy.
But Rainie herself isn't completely awful. Nothing special except for a part I won't elaborate on until later...no more or less than the standard Anderson heroine. Other than her awesome fashion sense, that is. As a wearer of flowy skirts and a fan of peasant blouses, I give her a thumbs-up.
Parker was your standard Harrigan Hero, didn't love him, didn't hate him. Though he made me want to slap him upside the head when he purposely baited Rainie just to force her to voice her opinions. Um, no. When you're faced with a terrified and insecure person, YOU DON'T DO THAT. Still, I didn't mind him. At least he didn't pull any of that crap again.
Peter Danning makes Rodney Wells look as harmless as a goldfish. No, I'm serious. Not only do we get to see him in action but the constant infodumping of Rainie's tragic, awful marriage to him recounts every horrible thing he ever did to her-he shoved her head in the toilet for cursing, made her lick broken glass for not liking his wine, convinced the police she was hysterical and then beat her up for calling them in the first place, beat her up for leaving the house at all, beat her up for blinking too loudly. And of course he's so damn powerful that the self-assured Rainie lost every ounce of gumption the moment he looked her way. And of course the whole damn Harrigan family wants to get in line to break him in half.
And of course there's puppies. There's always puppies. And a cat, which are rarer in these stories.
So Rainie moves in with the Harrigans and she and Parker fall deeply in love. The FBI makes the scene to help Rainie by...suggesting she use herself as bait for Peter. Uh, what? Yeah, that's gonna end well. Raine moves back into her place, Parker starts staying overnight and they have sex. Many times. And it's beautiful and amazing, of course. Peter never shows up, so Rainie figures it's okay to start moving on with her life.
But of course, we have to have some third act drama so Peter kidnaps Rainie, holds her at knifepoint and forces her into a bathtub where he forces wine and sleeping pills down her throat. And like the smug snake he is goes into all the details of how he's totally going to make her die and make it look like a suicide! Oh no! Will her handsome cowboy come rescue her in the nick of time?
He doesn't need to. Finally, Rainie stops being a trembling damsel and beats the CRAP out of the bastard. She knocks him out cold, calls for help, then passes out. But since it's from being force-fed sleeping pills and not post dramatic stress disorder, I don't roll my eyes. I DO roll my eyes over the fact that the asshole survived multiple blows to the head with a glass bottle.
And then we have our happily ever after and all is well.
This book...was really hard to read. Not just for the cliche formulaic business, but because Peter is such an overblown complete monster, he reads more like a Saturday morning cartoon villain had a baby with a Lifetime Movie abuser and set it loose on the world. He might as well have grown a twirly mustache and worn a black cape while going BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA the entire time he was shoving pills and wine down Rainie's throat. He never shuts up until Rainie finally puts him in his place.
That said, I would like to point out that I enjoyed seeing Parker actually teach Rainie how to fight. Not many Anderson heroes would encourage their lady to stand up for herself rather than sit there and tremble while they handled all the fighting. And even though learning how to fight doesn't stop Raine from being captured and nearly killed, the fact that she saves herself more than makes up for it.
As for everything else...I did somewhat enjoy the developing romance between Rainie and Parker, and her being integrated into the Harrigan family. And the fact that Rainie had two good friends looking out for her all this time.
So overall, this book was merely...okay. I liked that it stepped outside some of its usual conventions, but the constant infodumping of Rainie's Tragic Past and Peter's overall presence dampened my enjoyment of it.
Rainie's tragic story is Molly Sterling's times ten. Rich bastard ensnared her, ruined her life, she ~couldn't do anything about it~ because he's rich and has influence and blah blah blah she ran away and now he knows she's alive. We don't just get the bits and pieces of the story put together by Rainie slowly confiding in Parker, we get an entire infodump from Loni after she shakes Rainie's hand. Rainie collapses and sobs about the whole thing to Parker and we find out the whole plot is basically half ripped off from Sleeping With The Enemy.
But Rainie herself isn't completely awful. Nothing special except for a part I won't elaborate on until later...no more or less than the standard Anderson heroine. Other than her awesome fashion sense, that is. As a wearer of flowy skirts and a fan of peasant blouses, I give her a thumbs-up.
Parker was your standard Harrigan Hero, didn't love him, didn't hate him. Though he made me want to slap him upside the head when he purposely baited Rainie just to force her to voice her opinions. Um, no. When you're faced with a terrified and insecure person, YOU DON'T DO THAT. Still, I didn't mind him. At least he didn't pull any of that crap again.
Peter Danning makes Rodney Wells look as harmless as a goldfish. No, I'm serious. Not only do we get to see him in action but the constant infodumping of Rainie's tragic, awful marriage to him recounts every horrible thing he ever did to her-he shoved her head in the toilet for cursing, made her lick broken glass for not liking his wine, convinced the police she was hysterical and then beat her up for calling them in the first place, beat her up for leaving the house at all, beat her up for blinking too loudly. And of course he's so damn powerful that the self-assured Rainie lost every ounce of gumption the moment he looked her way. And of course the whole damn Harrigan family wants to get in line to break him in half.
And of course there's puppies. There's always puppies. And a cat, which are rarer in these stories.
So Rainie moves in with the Harrigans and she and Parker fall deeply in love. The FBI makes the scene to help Rainie by...suggesting she use herself as bait for Peter. Uh, what? Yeah, that's gonna end well. Raine moves back into her place, Parker starts staying overnight and they have sex. Many times. And it's beautiful and amazing, of course. Peter never shows up, so Rainie figures it's okay to start moving on with her life.
But of course, we have to have some third act drama so Peter kidnaps Rainie, holds her at knifepoint and forces her into a bathtub where he forces wine and sleeping pills down her throat. And like the smug snake he is goes into all the details of how he's totally going to make her die and make it look like a suicide! Oh no! Will her handsome cowboy come rescue her in the nick of time?
He doesn't need to. Finally, Rainie stops being a trembling damsel and beats the CRAP out of the bastard. She knocks him out cold, calls for help, then passes out. But since it's from being force-fed sleeping pills and not post dramatic stress disorder, I don't roll my eyes. I DO roll my eyes over the fact that the asshole survived multiple blows to the head with a glass bottle.
And then we have our happily ever after and all is well.
This book...was really hard to read. Not just for the cliche formulaic business, but because Peter is such an overblown complete monster, he reads more like a Saturday morning cartoon villain had a baby with a Lifetime Movie abuser and set it loose on the world. He might as well have grown a twirly mustache and worn a black cape while going BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA the entire time he was shoving pills and wine down Rainie's throat. He never shuts up until Rainie finally puts him in his place.
That said, I would like to point out that I enjoyed seeing Parker actually teach Rainie how to fight. Not many Anderson heroes would encourage their lady to stand up for herself rather than sit there and tremble while they handled all the fighting. And even though learning how to fight doesn't stop Raine from being captured and nearly killed, the fact that she saves herself more than makes up for it.
As for everything else...I did somewhat enjoy the developing romance between Rainie and Parker, and her being integrated into the Harrigan family. And the fact that Rainie had two good friends looking out for her all this time.
So overall, this book was merely...okay. I liked that it stepped outside some of its usual conventions, but the constant infodumping of Rainie's Tragic Past and Peter's overall presence dampened my enjoyment of it.
October 16, 2023
predictable, yes, but fulfilling
This was a first Catherine Anderson novel for me. I quite enjoyed it and found it charismatic with a suspenseful ending.
This was a first Catherine Anderson novel for me. I quite enjoyed it and found it charismatic with a suspenseful ending.
June 11, 2025
I really enjoyed this!
February 17, 2023
I read this book ironically... How could a book so long have so little space for real, independent character archs? I liked the beginning and her guts to run away, but why couldn't that be communicated in other aspects as well? Also, the dialogue was horrible... Like really bad. But hey, as a genZer who loves romance novels, I thought it would be funny to read one of these cowboy books. It was not. I've had my fill of stories like this from when I was 12 and reading wattpad... Definitely don't need anymore...
June 10, 2011
Rainie Hall was desperate! If she didn’t escape her abusive husband, Peter Danning, she was certain he would kill her, perhaps in the same way that he murdered his other two wives. Rainie’s friends help her and she flees to the small town of Crystal Falls, Oregon, a place where she hopes Peter will never find her.
With her borrowed funds rapidly dwindling, Rainie takes a job on a horse ranch run by handsome Parker Harrigan. Harrigan hires her as his accountant, but Rainie’s skittishness puzzles him. She seems to be terrified of her own shadow and men frighten her for some reason. Parker does a background check and quickly realizes most of what is on Rainie’s job application is a lie, a fable meant to deceive him into hiring her.
Parker is angry and upset with himself for trusting her. He was really beginning to like Rainie and eagerly looked forward to their impromptu discussions. When the truth comes out, however, Parker realizes Rainie is a woman on the run, someone desperately in need of a champion. Chivalrous Parker Harrigan would never turn from a woman in trouble.
Parker and Rainie contact the authorities, who stage an elaborate plan to use Rainie as bait to trap Peter Danning. The FBI has the serial killers’ monikers and present a web of entrapment to fit the profile. Unfortunately, Peter is a serial killer with a twist - a twist that may very well spell the end of both Rainie and Parker. Will Peter succeed in cornering Rainie despite the FBI’s precautions or will Rainie somehow find the strength to fight for her own life and for a love she cannot deny?
Anyone who has been involved in or has witnessed an abusive relationship will identify with the characters in this book. Catherine Anderson has captured the incredible amount of damage that can be done to those victimized by their abusers. The toll goes well beyond the broken bones and bruises and into the psyche itself. Normalcy is twisted into some dull aberration, trust disappears and concept of self is beaten down relentlessly until only a glimmer of the former individual glows in the farthest reaches of the mind. I applaud Ms. Anderson’s portrayal of the slow, gradual healing process as well and the incredible restraint and love that must be shown by those who seek to bring the victims back into the light.
With her borrowed funds rapidly dwindling, Rainie takes a job on a horse ranch run by handsome Parker Harrigan. Harrigan hires her as his accountant, but Rainie’s skittishness puzzles him. She seems to be terrified of her own shadow and men frighten her for some reason. Parker does a background check and quickly realizes most of what is on Rainie’s job application is a lie, a fable meant to deceive him into hiring her.
Parker is angry and upset with himself for trusting her. He was really beginning to like Rainie and eagerly looked forward to their impromptu discussions. When the truth comes out, however, Parker realizes Rainie is a woman on the run, someone desperately in need of a champion. Chivalrous Parker Harrigan would never turn from a woman in trouble.
Parker and Rainie contact the authorities, who stage an elaborate plan to use Rainie as bait to trap Peter Danning. The FBI has the serial killers’ monikers and present a web of entrapment to fit the profile. Unfortunately, Peter is a serial killer with a twist - a twist that may very well spell the end of both Rainie and Parker. Will Peter succeed in cornering Rainie despite the FBI’s precautions or will Rainie somehow find the strength to fight for her own life and for a love she cannot deny?
Anyone who has been involved in or has witnessed an abusive relationship will identify with the characters in this book. Catherine Anderson has captured the incredible amount of damage that can be done to those victimized by their abusers. The toll goes well beyond the broken bones and bruises and into the psyche itself. Normalcy is twisted into some dull aberration, trust disappears and concept of self is beaten down relentlessly until only a glimmer of the former individual glows in the farthest reaches of the mind. I applaud Ms. Anderson’s portrayal of the slow, gradual healing process as well and the incredible restraint and love that must be shown by those who seek to bring the victims back into the light.
July 7, 2012
it was a good little book, dont usually read these kind but my mom loaned it to me, she likes these kind
the girl was married to a bad man who only married her for her money. he killed his first two wives was going to kill her on the cruise ship, she got 2 friends to help her escape. he didnt believe she was dead, she moved to crystal falls, this is a series of teh family that lives on teh ranches there and she met the one single man that raised horses to be his accountant. she later confides in him after his sister in law was clairvoyant and read her story . they got the fbi involved and she filed for divorce. they followed her thinking he would come after her but he waited till they stopped following her, tried to kill her , but her new boyfriend the cowboy taught her to defended herself, she defended herself and he got arrested. she married the boyfriend and now im reading the book in the series from before this book that my mom gave me too. its the clairvoyant girl just meeting the brother ....
the girl was married to a bad man who only married her for her money. he killed his first two wives was going to kill her on the cruise ship, she got 2 friends to help her escape. he didnt believe she was dead, she moved to crystal falls, this is a series of teh family that lives on teh ranches there and she met the one single man that raised horses to be his accountant. she later confides in him after his sister in law was clairvoyant and read her story . they got the fbi involved and she filed for divorce. they followed her thinking he would come after her but he waited till they stopped following her, tried to kill her , but her new boyfriend the cowboy taught her to defended herself, she defended herself and he got arrested. she married the boyfriend and now im reading the book in the series from before this book that my mom gave me too. its the clairvoyant girl just meeting the brother ....
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2015
Enjoyed it, a lot of suspense in this one. A woman fakes her death and goes to Crystal Falls, Oregon to disappear "Sleeping with the Enemy" comes to mind.
She takes the bookkeepering job at Parker Harrigan's ranch and soon Parker and she become friends. Bottom line he finds out she's on the run and pledges to protect her. But what was really nice was he decided to empower her as well as fall in love with her.
Pretty little romance, a little less "preachy" than the prior two. Maybe the author got some negative feedback on her wrapping romance and religion. Didn't bother me but some might find it off putting. I like the inventive ways she's put a character in danger, never the same way twice though there have been a few repeat themes in the sense that an "Ex" is out to get our girl. Tried and true method.
This guy is particularly twisted, but all ends as it should.
Enjoy
Narration & Story 4
She takes the bookkeepering job at Parker Harrigan's ranch and soon Parker and she become friends. Bottom line he finds out she's on the run and pledges to protect her. But what was really nice was he decided to empower her as well as fall in love with her.
Pretty little romance, a little less "preachy" than the prior two. Maybe the author got some negative feedback on her wrapping romance and religion. Didn't bother me but some might find it off putting. I like the inventive ways she's put a character in danger, never the same way twice though there have been a few repeat themes in the sense that an "Ex" is out to get our girl. Tried and true method.
This guy is particularly twisted, but all ends as it should.
Enjoy
Narration & Story 4
February 11, 2012
Fearing for her life, Raine fakes her own death and runs from her psychopathic husband. She lands in Chrystal Falls living in a run down rental with an abandoned cat and good will furniture. Fast running out of money she gets a job working as book-keeper for Parker Harrigan on his ranch, but with everyone looking for her, her secrets are anything but safe, and if her husband finds her first he'll kill her.
This is really very good. I think it was a little long-winded towards the end but over-all it was a satisfying and enjoyable read.
This is really very good. I think it was a little long-winded towards the end but over-all it was a satisfying and enjoyable read.
April 13, 2015
Ok, I was surprised by this one, folks. Despite my usual hatred for any romance novels (there are far and few in-between that I might even consider reading, let alone like) this one was instantly on my favorite list.
Maybe because the romance wasn't over used, abused and the main focus?
Maybe because it had;
Cowboys
Horses
Abuse
Stronger than they think woman
Real, kind hearted men.
Western setting
And a ((potentially)) good villain.
More to come later. Maybe. Most likely.
Maybe because the romance wasn't over used, abused and the main focus?
Maybe because it had;
Cowboys
Horses
Abuse
Stronger than they think woman
Real, kind hearted men.
Western setting
And a ((potentially)) good villain.
More to come later. Maybe. Most likely.
March 3, 2014
Nem először találkozom már az "egy ágyban az ellenséggel"-féle történettel, s most is nagyon tetszett. Nem tudok nem elgondolkodni azon, vajon nekem lenne-e erőm megpattanni egy ilyen helyzetből...
Első Catherine Andersonom, és rögtön meg is hódított. (Azt hiszem, idén már nem olvasok új szerzőtől, mert így sem győzöm az újonnan felfedezett kedvenceket.)
Első Catherine Andersonom, és rögtön meg is hódított. (Azt hiszem, idén már nem olvasok új szerzőtől, mert így sem győzöm az újonnan felfedezett kedvenceket.)
July 20, 2017
Lorrainna (Rainie) Hall Danning had lost both her parents by the time she graduated from high school. She was on her own during her college years and fell for married an older, abusive man, Peter Danning. They were on a cruise and she had a friend who worked for the cruise line. She helped arrange Rainie get a new identity and get off the ship as Anne Pritchard. She was headed for Crystal Falls, Oregon.
She was in need of money and accepted a job as accountant for Parker Harrigan. He raised and trained horses. She was nervous and he could tell. He didn't take him long to figure out that she had been abused due to her reaction toward him. He wanted the truth of her background was afraid to push. He told her she could tell him in her own time and he worked on getting her to trust him. One of the ways he did that was to talk about politics and religion until her got a reaction from her. It did finally come. She was surprised when she spoke her mind that he didn't seem upset at all. He told her that he wasn't made that way. He was raised Catholic and didn't believe in hitting women or animals and hated those who did.
Peter had hired a private investigator to find Rainie because it came out that his 2 previous ex-wives had died under mysterious circumstances and left him large amounts of money. Now his current wife had gone missing. He was under suspicion by the police.
Peter's sister, Sam, had previously married an abusive man and told Rainie that everyone makes mistakes. That doesn't make you stupid. Sam was now happily married to a veterinarian. Their dogs had 8 puppies and Parker took one home. Sam told him that Rottweiler's make excellent guard dogs. He took the puppy to work and Mojo stayed with Rainie during the day while Parker was at work with the horses. He asked Rainie to go into town with him the next day to pick up some toys and things and have lunch with him. Rainie told him that it was too much like a date and tried to back out after having accepted. Parker told her that they were just friends and that he would come over and do some work at her place to where if anyone came after her, she would be safe. He knew how to weld and put metal bars on the windows and reinforced her door with steel. She slept well for the first time in quite a while. She hadn't even slept well while she was married because she was always fearful of her husband grabbing her in her sleep. She fixed dinner for Parker.
Parker knew he was becoming increasingly attracted to Rainie. He called and talked to his father, Frank, because of their religious beliefs. His father told him due to the circumstances, he could treat her like she wasn't married and date her if he chose to. Parker knew that it would take time and patience. She had to learn to trust him first. They would build a good foundation of friendship before it went any further than that. Rainie also knew that she was falling in love with Parker but she was married. She wasn't free or ready to trust her judgment of men yet. She needed to keep her distance.
Peter's private investigator had given him a list of women on the cruise and Peter told him to check out Anne Pritchard because Ann was Rainie's middle name. He was also waiting for a list of the cruise ship employees. The investigator told him that it would be another couple of days.
Rainie soon met Frank and Parker's sister-in-law, Loni. Parker had mentioned that Loni sometimes make him feel uncomfortable but he failed to mention that she was clairvoyant. Loni shook hands hesitantly to keep from seeming rude. She instantly knew Rainie's past. She told Rainie that Peter was looking for her and when he found her, he would kill her. She needed to tell Parker and ask for help. She told Rainie that she knew Peter was going to kill her when they were on the cruise and that he had killed his 2 previous wives. Rainie was frightened enough to go directly to Parker and tell him all about her past with Peter. It was difficult but she told him some of the things Peter had done and he didn't know how she survived. He let her talk until she fell asleep, then he called his family.
The family was discussing her problem when Rainie woke up on Parker's couch. The all agreed to help. Rainie moved into Parker's house. Loni worked with the FBI on child abduction cases so she volunteered to talk to them about Rainie and see if they were willing to help protect her too. Parker began giving Rainie self-defense lessons. Clint, Loni's husband and Parker's brother, developed a diet to help her build muscle tone. Rainie was slowly becoming more like the person she was before she met Peter. Parker didn't push things with Rainie and began performing sneak attacks to sharpen her reflexes. It soon became a game to the two of them and they learned each other's tickle spots. It was a couple weeks later when Rainie realized that she wanted to kiss Parker. Parker let her make the first move and Rainie was surprised to find out that she enjoyed kissing him.
Rainie met with the FBI and they were coming to the ranch house to talk with Rainie. She was relieved to find out that they believed her. They didn't have any concrete proof of his guilt and asked Rainie if she was willing to try and set him up. She was scared to death but didn't want Peter to do this to anyone else.
Rainie told Parker that she loved him the night before she followed the instructions of the FBI and filed for a divorce. Rainie then moved back to her apartment. Parker snuck over every night to see Rainie and she loved him even more for never pressuring her into having sex with him because he knew she wasn't ready.
It was 3 weeks later and Peter still hadn't made a move on Rainie. Rainie was working with Parker and she make contact with his eye. She later kicked him in the groin and Parker went down. It broke something in Rainie and she realized that she was free of Peter. She was ready to have sex with him when he came to visit that night.
It was 2 weeks before the divorce hearing when the FBI came to tell Rainie that they didn't think he would bother her after the divorce hearing. They would watch her until then and go away afterwards. The hearing came and went. Parker then asked his family to continue to watch over her.
Halloween came and Rainie was going to stop by the store and pick up some things she needed to bake and decorate cookies and make mulled wine. Parker called Clint to follow her home. Clint's truck broke down and he had to run a couple miles to get cell service. He called Parker immediately.
Rainie got back in her car after shopping and Peter was in the back seat. He held a knife to Rainie's throat and told her to head home. He had been watching her for weeks and knew that she had sleeping pills at home along with her favorite brand of wine. He was going to make her take too many pills and drink wine. She would fall asleep in her bathtub and drown. Peter had shaved his head and all the hair off, even his eyebrows were gone. He wanted to leave no DNA evidence behind.
Parker called and Rainie tried to tip him off to her problems by telling him that she was making fudge and dressing as a ballerina rather than a witch. Parker didn't catch on immediately. He thought about the conversation when he was in the shower. He then jumped out and called the police. He called her back to try and let her know that he was on to her message.
Janie was forced into her bathtub and he was forcing her to drink more and more wine. She pretended that she was passed out until he took the knife from her neck. She grabbed the wine goblet, broke it and stuck it in Peter's neck. She then hit him over the head multiple times with a wine bottle. He was out and she grabbed her phone. She called Parker and told him that Peter had fed her sleeping pills and made her drink wine. Parker called the police and told them that Rainie needed an ambulance too. She had passed out while talking to him on the phone. He arrived before the police and called them again. They assured him it wouldn't be long and they arrived to immediately pump her stomach. She would survive.
Peter wound up in the same hospital and the FBI told them that he was so angry at being taken down by her that he was ranting and raving about the murders he had committed. He talked about how he had killed his first 2 wives. He mentioned the poison he used on his first wife and about killing the man who he paid to mess with the brakes on his second wife's car. This was all done in front of his doctors and nurses. Peter was going away for the rest of his life.
During the next two months, Parker located Rainie's grandparents. They had disowned her father when he married her mother. Rainie's mother had a record of drug abuse and prostitution and they didn't approve. They didn't know what had happened to him and knew nothing about Rainie. She had a large group of relatives to get to know. Her grandfather was at her wedding to give her away.
She was in need of money and accepted a job as accountant for Parker Harrigan. He raised and trained horses. She was nervous and he could tell. He didn't take him long to figure out that she had been abused due to her reaction toward him. He wanted the truth of her background was afraid to push. He told her she could tell him in her own time and he worked on getting her to trust him. One of the ways he did that was to talk about politics and religion until her got a reaction from her. It did finally come. She was surprised when she spoke her mind that he didn't seem upset at all. He told her that he wasn't made that way. He was raised Catholic and didn't believe in hitting women or animals and hated those who did.
Peter had hired a private investigator to find Rainie because it came out that his 2 previous ex-wives had died under mysterious circumstances and left him large amounts of money. Now his current wife had gone missing. He was under suspicion by the police.
Peter's sister, Sam, had previously married an abusive man and told Rainie that everyone makes mistakes. That doesn't make you stupid. Sam was now happily married to a veterinarian. Their dogs had 8 puppies and Parker took one home. Sam told him that Rottweiler's make excellent guard dogs. He took the puppy to work and Mojo stayed with Rainie during the day while Parker was at work with the horses. He asked Rainie to go into town with him the next day to pick up some toys and things and have lunch with him. Rainie told him that it was too much like a date and tried to back out after having accepted. Parker told her that they were just friends and that he would come over and do some work at her place to where if anyone came after her, she would be safe. He knew how to weld and put metal bars on the windows and reinforced her door with steel. She slept well for the first time in quite a while. She hadn't even slept well while she was married because she was always fearful of her husband grabbing her in her sleep. She fixed dinner for Parker.
Parker knew he was becoming increasingly attracted to Rainie. He called and talked to his father, Frank, because of their religious beliefs. His father told him due to the circumstances, he could treat her like she wasn't married and date her if he chose to. Parker knew that it would take time and patience. She had to learn to trust him first. They would build a good foundation of friendship before it went any further than that. Rainie also knew that she was falling in love with Parker but she was married. She wasn't free or ready to trust her judgment of men yet. She needed to keep her distance.
Peter's private investigator had given him a list of women on the cruise and Peter told him to check out Anne Pritchard because Ann was Rainie's middle name. He was also waiting for a list of the cruise ship employees. The investigator told him that it would be another couple of days.
Rainie soon met Frank and Parker's sister-in-law, Loni. Parker had mentioned that Loni sometimes make him feel uncomfortable but he failed to mention that she was clairvoyant. Loni shook hands hesitantly to keep from seeming rude. She instantly knew Rainie's past. She told Rainie that Peter was looking for her and when he found her, he would kill her. She needed to tell Parker and ask for help. She told Rainie that she knew Peter was going to kill her when they were on the cruise and that he had killed his 2 previous wives. Rainie was frightened enough to go directly to Parker and tell him all about her past with Peter. It was difficult but she told him some of the things Peter had done and he didn't know how she survived. He let her talk until she fell asleep, then he called his family.
The family was discussing her problem when Rainie woke up on Parker's couch. The all agreed to help. Rainie moved into Parker's house. Loni worked with the FBI on child abduction cases so she volunteered to talk to them about Rainie and see if they were willing to help protect her too. Parker began giving Rainie self-defense lessons. Clint, Loni's husband and Parker's brother, developed a diet to help her build muscle tone. Rainie was slowly becoming more like the person she was before she met Peter. Parker didn't push things with Rainie and began performing sneak attacks to sharpen her reflexes. It soon became a game to the two of them and they learned each other's tickle spots. It was a couple weeks later when Rainie realized that she wanted to kiss Parker. Parker let her make the first move and Rainie was surprised to find out that she enjoyed kissing him.
Rainie met with the FBI and they were coming to the ranch house to talk with Rainie. She was relieved to find out that they believed her. They didn't have any concrete proof of his guilt and asked Rainie if she was willing to try and set him up. She was scared to death but didn't want Peter to do this to anyone else.
Rainie told Parker that she loved him the night before she followed the instructions of the FBI and filed for a divorce. Rainie then moved back to her apartment. Parker snuck over every night to see Rainie and she loved him even more for never pressuring her into having sex with him because he knew she wasn't ready.
It was 3 weeks later and Peter still hadn't made a move on Rainie. Rainie was working with Parker and she make contact with his eye. She later kicked him in the groin and Parker went down. It broke something in Rainie and she realized that she was free of Peter. She was ready to have sex with him when he came to visit that night.
It was 2 weeks before the divorce hearing when the FBI came to tell Rainie that they didn't think he would bother her after the divorce hearing. They would watch her until then and go away afterwards. The hearing came and went. Parker then asked his family to continue to watch over her.
Halloween came and Rainie was going to stop by the store and pick up some things she needed to bake and decorate cookies and make mulled wine. Parker called Clint to follow her home. Clint's truck broke down and he had to run a couple miles to get cell service. He called Parker immediately.
Rainie got back in her car after shopping and Peter was in the back seat. He held a knife to Rainie's throat and told her to head home. He had been watching her for weeks and knew that she had sleeping pills at home along with her favorite brand of wine. He was going to make her take too many pills and drink wine. She would fall asleep in her bathtub and drown. Peter had shaved his head and all the hair off, even his eyebrows were gone. He wanted to leave no DNA evidence behind.
Parker called and Rainie tried to tip him off to her problems by telling him that she was making fudge and dressing as a ballerina rather than a witch. Parker didn't catch on immediately. He thought about the conversation when he was in the shower. He then jumped out and called the police. He called her back to try and let her know that he was on to her message.
Janie was forced into her bathtub and he was forcing her to drink more and more wine. She pretended that she was passed out until he took the knife from her neck. She grabbed the wine goblet, broke it and stuck it in Peter's neck. She then hit him over the head multiple times with a wine bottle. He was out and she grabbed her phone. She called Parker and told him that Peter had fed her sleeping pills and made her drink wine. Parker called the police and told them that Rainie needed an ambulance too. She had passed out while talking to him on the phone. He arrived before the police and called them again. They assured him it wouldn't be long and they arrived to immediately pump her stomach. She would survive.
Peter wound up in the same hospital and the FBI told them that he was so angry at being taken down by her that he was ranting and raving about the murders he had committed. He talked about how he had killed his first 2 wives. He mentioned the poison he used on his first wife and about killing the man who he paid to mess with the brakes on his second wife's car. This was all done in front of his doctors and nurses. Peter was going away for the rest of his life.
During the next two months, Parker located Rainie's grandparents. They had disowned her father when he married her mother. Rainie's mother had a record of drug abuse and prostitution and they didn't approve. They didn't know what had happened to him and knew nothing about Rainie. She had a large group of relatives to get to know. Her grandfather was at her wedding to give her away.
February 20, 2018
Lorraina Hall is on the run after faking her own death to get away from her husband, who she is positive is trying to kill her. Armed with a fake identity (Anna Pritchard), Rainie Desperately needs work in order to feed and clothe herself. Responding to an ad in the paper for a book keeper, Rainie finds herself working for Parker Harrigan. He's a handsome, straight forward man...
Parker Harrigan hires Anna on to be his book keeper for his quarter horse breeding farm. Immediately he knows something is not quite what it seems. Anna seems to jump whenever he moves too quickly. Parker doesn't like lying and hates it when people lie to him, so when he finds out everything about Anna is a lie, he's right pissed, but quickly realizes she only lied out of necessity. Soon he grows concerned of the threat Rainie's husband might still pose to her. But he's not a man of inaction...
This is another sweet romance from Catherine Anderson. It does have a bit of religious twangs about it as you read on. Most of it surrounds marriage and almost all of it is the Roman Catholic Church side of things. It's not heavy, but it's there, so if you don't like a religious flavouring added to your books, maybe pass this one by and know that you missed out on a pretty good story, for a romance.
I do love how Parker took it upon himself to teach Rainie how to defend herself, knowing that he couldn't be there to protect her 24/7. More often than not in most books, the man always saves the day and never thinks to train the woman for the possibility that he might not be there when shit goes downhill.
Parker Harrigan hires Anna on to be his book keeper for his quarter horse breeding farm. Immediately he knows something is not quite what it seems. Anna seems to jump whenever he moves too quickly. Parker doesn't like lying and hates it when people lie to him, so when he finds out everything about Anna is a lie, he's right pissed, but quickly realizes she only lied out of necessity. Soon he grows concerned of the threat Rainie's husband might still pose to her. But he's not a man of inaction...
This is another sweet romance from Catherine Anderson. It does have a bit of religious twangs about it as you read on. Most of it surrounds marriage and almost all of it is the Roman Catholic Church side of things. It's not heavy, but it's there, so if you don't like a religious flavouring added to your books, maybe pass this one by and know that you missed out on a pretty good story, for a romance.
I do love how Parker took it upon himself to teach Rainie how to defend herself, knowing that he couldn't be there to protect her 24/7. More often than not in most books, the man always saves the day and never thinks to train the woman for the possibility that he might not be there when shit goes downhill.
June 22, 2018
In order to save herself, she had to DIE. Rainie Hall never stood a chance against Peter after he broke everything inside of her. There is only so much a person can take before the inevitable end is near. And she knew that she wouldn't be coming back from her boat cruise one way or another.
Anna Pritchard had so much groundwork to lay and she needed a job, fast. Parker Harrigan turned out to be a smart mouthed cowboy who wasn't afraid to express his opinions. When Anna applied for the job on his Equine ranch as a bookkeeper, she felt overwhelmed with everything that is Parker Harrigan. She was a mystery to him and he couldn't just take her word at face value. He is a man of truth, a hardworking cowboy with no filter and come hell or highwater, he will get the truth because all he wants is to wrap Anna Pritchard in his arms and keep her safe.
In no time the situation becomes, complicated and after meeting a few of the Harrigan clan, serious decisions have to be made because he's coming and he's not going to give up the cat and mouse game. Thrills, chills and tears that spill, this read had me chewing at my fingernails. A beautiful story of a family comimg together to protect the people they love.
Anna Pritchard had so much groundwork to lay and she needed a job, fast. Parker Harrigan turned out to be a smart mouthed cowboy who wasn't afraid to express his opinions. When Anna applied for the job on his Equine ranch as a bookkeeper, she felt overwhelmed with everything that is Parker Harrigan. She was a mystery to him and he couldn't just take her word at face value. He is a man of truth, a hardworking cowboy with no filter and come hell or highwater, he will get the truth because all he wants is to wrap Anna Pritchard in his arms and keep her safe.
In no time the situation becomes, complicated and after meeting a few of the Harrigan clan, serious decisions have to be made because he's coming and he's not going to give up the cat and mouse game. Thrills, chills and tears that spill, this read had me chewing at my fingernails. A beautiful story of a family comimg together to protect the people they love.
July 29, 2021
TRIGGER WARNING: This story involves a woman escaping an abusive relationship and there is a lot of talk and flashbacks of moments in that relationship. These moments are disturbing and can be difficult to read and possibly triggering. Please read with caution if these are triggers for you and please remember to practice self-care.
There's just something about romance stories involving women escaping abusive relationships, rediscovering themselves and their power, and finding a healthy love that I just love reading. Rainie's story was very well written, her journey of healing and regaining her power and sense of self was inspiring. And Parker is the embodiment of how a man should be, especially in these situations. I love love love how he respected Rainie's boundaries and where her limits were regarding not only what she wished to share but also her physical boundaries. This story was impossible to put down, as you are constantly wondering how this was going to play out (the romance and Rainie's abusive ex). I also always love it when Anderson includes religious (often Christian) aspects to her characters but in a way that isn't intrusive or forced. It's natural and often leads to a discussion between characters about respecting each other's religious beliefs and practices. I could not put this story down and loved every second of it!
There's just something about romance stories involving women escaping abusive relationships, rediscovering themselves and their power, and finding a healthy love that I just love reading. Rainie's story was very well written, her journey of healing and regaining her power and sense of self was inspiring. And Parker is the embodiment of how a man should be, especially in these situations. I love love love how he respected Rainie's boundaries and where her limits were regarding not only what she wished to share but also her physical boundaries. This story was impossible to put down, as you are constantly wondering how this was going to play out (the romance and Rainie's abusive ex). I also always love it when Anderson includes religious (often Christian) aspects to her characters but in a way that isn't intrusive or forced. It's natural and often leads to a discussion between characters about respecting each other's religious beliefs and practices. I could not put this story down and loved every second of it!
March 19, 2019
Catherine Anderson - Star Bright
Ini tuh salah satu novel CA yang bener² pengen aku baca dari dulu, aku tergoda banget pas baca sekilas sinopnya, tapi ntah deh kenapa suka aku ulur² 🤔
Dan akhirnya hari ini pecah telor juga 🎉
Terlepas dari (yang menurutku) banyaknya bagian cerita yang gak penting² banget (yang menurutku-lagi-bikin buku ini jadi tebal) kayak misal tentang si kucing dan si anjing itu, aduh aku skip² aja bacanya, terus bagian Raini belajar bela diri dan pengintain Peter yang lama banget, cerita lainnya baguussss... Apalagi bagian klimaks nyelesain masalahnya, gak nyangka bakalan menegangkan.
Sukanya tuh CA khasnya itu cowok² yang manis, melindungi, rada melow tapi ttp jantan. Parker contohnya tuh, hatinya lembut banget, mau ngasih waktu dan perhatiannya buat Raini, gak maksa, dan malah melindungi. Ah, suka weh sama perhatiannya. Mungkin klo gak ada peran Lori, Raini bakal kesulitan buat percayain hidupnya sama Parker. Bagus banget Lori dorong Raini buat istilahnya menggantungkan hidupnya smaa Parker, buat ngasih Parker kepercayaan.
Kan jadi pengen kenal sama keluarga Harrigan yg lain deh.
Ini tuh salah satu novel CA yang bener² pengen aku baca dari dulu, aku tergoda banget pas baca sekilas sinopnya, tapi ntah deh kenapa suka aku ulur² 🤔
Dan akhirnya hari ini pecah telor juga 🎉
Terlepas dari (yang menurutku) banyaknya bagian cerita yang gak penting² banget (yang menurutku-lagi-bikin buku ini jadi tebal) kayak misal tentang si kucing dan si anjing itu, aduh aku skip² aja bacanya, terus bagian Raini belajar bela diri dan pengintain Peter yang lama banget, cerita lainnya baguussss... Apalagi bagian klimaks nyelesain masalahnya, gak nyangka bakalan menegangkan.
Sukanya tuh CA khasnya itu cowok² yang manis, melindungi, rada melow tapi ttp jantan. Parker contohnya tuh, hatinya lembut banget, mau ngasih waktu dan perhatiannya buat Raini, gak maksa, dan malah melindungi. Ah, suka weh sama perhatiannya. Mungkin klo gak ada peran Lori, Raini bakal kesulitan buat percayain hidupnya sama Parker. Bagus banget Lori dorong Raini buat istilahnya menggantungkan hidupnya smaa Parker, buat ngasih Parker kepercayaan.
Kan jadi pengen kenal sama keluarga Harrigan yg lain deh.
August 23, 2017
I simply love everything about the world Catherine Anderson has created for this passionate family. From book one I have been hooked. Aside from one small scene in one previous book.. There hasn't been anything I've not loved. She simply gives me real romantic moments. Real emotional connections and throws in the day to day struggles we all deal with. Work, family, finances etc. I love a little reality in my fiction because it makes me feel like I get to know the characters. Parker and Ranie were perfect for each other and Parker was absolutely the best kind of hero. I find myself deeply affected by abuse storyline. I survived my own and when I read about great heroes showing what real love is like well thats just special. I of course love how the author weaves in friendship and family and most importantly faith. There's not enough of that out there anymore.
I don't have the time to read like I used to so when I do I have to enjoy it and I'm so glad I've discovered this author and have so many of her stories to look to.
100% Safe.
Heroine was married but left him due to abuse which for me is as good as a divorce the moment he hurt her. So no cheating or other women drama at all.
I don't have the time to read like I used to so when I do I have to enjoy it and I'm so glad I've discovered this author and have so many of her stories to look to.
100% Safe.
Heroine was married but left him due to abuse which for me is as good as a divorce the moment he hurt her. So no cheating or other women drama at all.
August 5, 2018
Rainie Hall has been abused by her husband and the only way to break free from him is to fake her own death. She gets some help from her friends and finds herself in Crystal Falls starting her new life. She gets hired by Parker Harrigan owner of a ranch and hires Rainie as his new book keeper. Sparks fly between them but Rainie has lied to Parker with her new identity. Parker figures out her lies now he is trying to figure out who this young woman is and who is she running from. He works on earning Rainie's trust so she will come to know he is not her enemy but someone who cares. Meanwhile her husband has hired a private investigator as he doesn't believe Rainie is dead. He is looking for her and wants to kill her and have everything for himself. Parker will move heaven and earth to protect Rainie will he be able to save her before Peter shows up? This is a very good thriller and the characters are well developed.
January 30, 2018
I really like this author, and this romance is fun with two lovable main characters. Andersono is equal to LaVyrle Spencer and MUCH better than Nora Roberts and Danielle Steele.
Rating is really 3.5 stars, but upgrading as I truly loved the part where Parker trains Rainie to physically fight him and hurt him, so that she can be prepared in case her horrible Ex ever tries to attack her again.
I suppose this story wasn't for me.
I really did NOT appreciate the annoying Sister-In-Law with magical Psychic powers.
I got bored with the explicit romantic sex scenes which somehow were NOT sexy and had to skim most of the last quarter of the story for that reason. There were stupid decisions made by the heroine.
Bottom Line: if you like romances with some humour and good characters, take Catherine Anderson on the plane or to the beach.
Rating is really 3.5 stars, but upgrading as I truly loved the part where Parker trains Rainie to physically fight him and hurt him, so that she can be prepared in case her horrible Ex ever tries to attack her again.
I suppose this story wasn't for me.
I really did NOT appreciate the annoying Sister-In-Law with magical Psychic powers.
I got bored with the explicit romantic sex scenes which somehow were NOT sexy and had to skim most of the last quarter of the story for that reason. There were stupid decisions made by the heroine.
Bottom Line: if you like romances with some humour and good characters, take Catherine Anderson on the plane or to the beach.
May 28, 2023
This was another emotional, yet sweet, story from Anderson. I love how quickly Parker decided he cared about Rainie more than her deception. And I liked the growth Anderson showed in Rainie, of her learning to be strong and trusting once more. I was a little surprised that Mojo didn't play a part in saving Rainie from Peter, but I was also very happy as that probably would have meant him being injured. Parker was a fun character--he displayed all the loyalty and smarts that you expect from a Harrigan, but with his own unique quirks--like always talking. I also appreciate that he turned to his family more than once when he needed help or advice, and that the family just occasionally showed up to check on him. I look forward to spending more time with this family in future installments to this series.
March 19, 2025
Rainie Hall & Parker Harrigan
This was Sleeping with the Enemy for Rainie Hall as she escapes her husband on a cruise ship. He's a serial killer and she was about to become his 3rd victim. She escapes to Crystal Falls and answers an ad for a bookkeeper at Parker's ranch.
Parker offers her the job but notices that she is a very nervous person and starts to inquire about her references. Catching her in a lie was easy but it took a moment to realize she was on the run. Slowly he knew he wanted her but it would have to go real slow for her to trust him and be friends.
the conversations between Parker & Rainie were authentic as they both talk about their pasts, their losses and how they can be there for each other.
a good suspenseful ending when Peter got it good when Rainie outsmarted him.
This was Sleeping with the Enemy for Rainie Hall as she escapes her husband on a cruise ship. He's a serial killer and she was about to become his 3rd victim. She escapes to Crystal Falls and answers an ad for a bookkeeper at Parker's ranch.
Parker offers her the job but notices that she is a very nervous person and starts to inquire about her references. Catching her in a lie was easy but it took a moment to realize she was on the run. Slowly he knew he wanted her but it would have to go real slow for her to trust him and be friends.
the conversations between Parker & Rainie were authentic as they both talk about their pasts, their losses and how they can be there for each other.
a good suspenseful ending when Peter got it good when Rainie outsmarted him.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 205 reviews