Judith‘s review of Kenna’s Cowboy (Hearts of Fire, Book 4) by Nicole Austin.
Cursed with unusual abilities, orphan McKenna Fulton has always been different, an outcast. But she’s been Chosen. More a ccurately, she is one of the Chosen–eight individuals, four women and four men, selected at birth to guard slices of crystal–the Heart of Fire.
The whole thing is more than a little farfetched. Kenna can handle the part of getting down and dirty with the bad dude. She’s even okay with guarding a crystal. But losing her free will and being stuck with some guy, her destined mate, uh-uh. Not happening.
Local mechanic, Ryker Thomas is more than he appears and has his own set of abilities. Kenna wants nothing to do with the Southern charmer. So what if he has a matching crystal and the crazy thing hums and vibrates whenever they’re close together. That doesn’t mean she will toe the line. He can’t be the one she is supposed to be with. Fate wouldn’t be so cruel as to send her a cowboy when what she wants is a bad boy.
Author Nicole Austin has a long and celebrated record of titles that have been read and enjoyed by thousands. She has collaborated with other well-known authors and has entered into such a relationship in this Hearts of Fire series. This fourth book tells the story of the fourth couple to discover their destiny and begin their life together.
McKenna Fulton is a maverick–she gives that word new meaning. And her life up until now has testified to the fact that she is, for all intent and purpose, a square peg in a round hole. She is a loner that has shunned relationships except with her “sisters”, women with whom she was raised in the orphanage and who share her destiny as one of the Chosen. But Kenna’s big thing is freedom–personal freedom especially. She wants to be free to do what she wants, when she wants, and wherever she wants and with whom she wants. Not a comfortable stance in light of the fact that her future has already been decided. Add to that mix the fact that Kenna is not, and I do mean NOT attracted to cowboys. Ugh!! She likes the bad boy, biker, black leather kind of bad guy that is looking for a babe now and then and moves on. Suits her just fine. Yet the bad boy in this story is the demon that is seeking to destroy these eight Chosen ones and claim the Heart of Fire. By claiming this crystal he will be able to remain on the earthly plain and wreck havoc to his heart’s content.
Yet Kenna has enough sense to listen to her instincts that tell her that bad boy Wes is “off”–something is just not quite right and she shys away from him. When she goes to the aid of a woman she knows who is being abducted by Wes and two distasteful pals, she finds herself in trouble and it is then that her cowboy, Ryker, comes to her aid. It is then she realizes that he has the power of fire and by using that power in conjunction with hers, they are able to overcome these three and also save her friend.
This is a very readable story and exploring Kenna’s journey of acceptance of her destiny is the core of this novel. Ryker is a personable and likeable gentleman. He is living a quiet life because his “15 minutes of fame” lived in the raucous world of an ego out of control cost him the lives of his dad and his fiance. Now he is ready to accept Kenna and their obvious attraction to one another and what appears to be their destiny to be together. Yet there are not many surprises here. As a part of the series it tells the story of these four women who are raised together and how each four their destined mate. Kenna is certainly different than the other women and her set of issues is quite her own. But the plot is not unique. Be that as it may, Ms Austin takes this plot and crafts a storyline that is still interesting and a really nice love story. There is passion between these two, yet Kenna resists. Her almost obsessive need for personal choice keeps getting in the way.
I think the underlying issue here is that each of us does indeed have choices, yet sometimes those choices involve saying “Yes” to a future that may have already been prescribed for us by parents or even by our own talents. Each of us can fight as long as we choose, but I have come to believe that perhaps we sometimes fight the inevitable as in Kenna’s case. When she finally realized that Ryker was so perfect for her, that his ability to cherish her was something she had never experienced before, she had to choose whether she would succumb to her destiny or keep on insisting on her own life plan. As Americans I think we are so into personal freedom, that we often miss out on some really good stuff in our lives because it was someone else’s idea. Maybe not, but I often ponder this. This novel brings the reader face to face with this issue as Kenna’s story unfolds.
Ms Austin is a very good writer and has told this love story beautifully. The reader certainly has a very good acquaintance with the characters, and the other couples are brought into the story briefly as well. This can be a stand alone novel but I recommend that it will make more sense if it is read in conjunction with the first three books in the series. With lots of sizzle and some discussion of deeper life issues, this is a good read and one that romance fiction readers will enjoy. I give it a rating of 3.75 out of 5.
This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.
You can read more from Judith at Dr. J’s Book Place.
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