Judith‘s review of Eagles Run by Desiree Holt.
Her father was murdered by an unknown killer. Now Leah Morgan, the half-Commanche daughter of the owner of White Eagle Ranch, is faced with his unsolved murder, as well as two illegitimate half brothers who have each been left a share of the ranch. If not for Shane Duffy, the hot-looking, hot-blooded veterinarian, she’d be falling apart completely.
As she fights to retain control of the ranch and considers her heritage, Leah finds comfort in long nights of sweaty sex with Shane. And then there’s Grant Fallon, the geologist who wants to show Leah he can bring her more screaming orgasms than the hunky vet if she’ll just give him a chance.
But someone has an ulterior motive. Is it Shane? Grant? One of her half brothers? Leah might find the answer–if she’s not too busy chasing away the shadows in the arms of her lover.
Desiree Holt has written quite a number of steamy, sweaty, sexy volumes of erotic romance in a number of genres, not the least of which is Western romance. This particular book is the first in a two-book series and while it is not an extensive read, contains a fair amount of suspense and mystery to go along with the erotic romance.
The introductory paragraphs give you the gist of this book’s plot, but suffice it to say that Leah is at a critical crossroads in her life journey. She has really planned to continue on running White Eagle Ranch with her dad until he was murdered. Now she finds that she not only has to contend with the murder mystery, grief over her father’s death, but she also now cannot make decisions for the ranch without the say of her two half-brothers, previously unknown to her and who now own 2/3 of the ranch. The are willing to leave the day-to-day running of the ranch in her hands since neither of them have ever run a ranch before this. In fact, her father’s will is the first time that her dad had acknowledged either one of these men as his son. And Grant Fallon? That handsome, pestiferous presence that is supposedly a geologist that has been granted permission by her father to survey the ranch for possible minerals that could be mined? He wafts in and out of this story and is constantly putting doubts in Leah’s mind about the loyalty and genuine affection for her by boyfriend Shane. Now she wonders if any of these men really cares about her or do they just want her ranch?
Anyone who has read Desiree Holt knows that she can steam up the windows of your reading room as fast as anyone out there, but I’m not sure she gets enough credit for writing a darn good story. She has developed this plot beautifully, helped the reader to know not only the presence of each of these characters but also a bit of what is “making them tick.” There are a number of surprises and just the nature of the mysteries within this story is enough to keep the reader on the edge of their reading chairs. I was quite taken with the fact that by the time I was in the middle of the book I was not sure how Holt was going to resolve the issues and reveal who the “bad guy” really was. Well, she did it, and she did it well.
This is also about the hurt and fall-out that comes when a person engages in irresponsible relationships and is not willing to make amends when children are involved. Both these half-brothers stand as metaphors for many people who have been brought into this world because of a thoughtless roll in the hay by people who are not prepared to live with the consequences of their irresponbility. Now, they not only are victimized by their now-dead father, but Leah’s life has been turned upside down. There are indications that her dad would have done the same thing to Leah if her Commanche grandfather, a tribal elder, had not visited Mr. Morgan in full battle dress and demanded that he “make an honest woman” out of Leah’s mother. Not a very nice guy!!
I liked this book a lot and I am look forward to reading the next book in the series that is just newly available–Eagle’s Redemption. I have read quite a bit of Holt’s work and find her to be very creative and a writer who has managed to stay off personal “hobby horses” where themes and plots are concerned. I think erotic romance fans will find a lot to like in this novella, especially if your heart goes pitter-pat over those hunky Texas cowboys. I give this book a 4 out of 5 rating.
This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.
You can read more of Judith’s reviews at Dr. J’s Book Place.
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