Guest Review: Lydia’s Twin Temptation by Heather Rainier

Judith’s review of Lydia’s Twin Temptation (Divine Creek Ranch #8) by Heather Rainier

Lydia Webster is stranded in west Texas, waiting tables to earn money to escape Fort Stockton and the clutches of her lecherous boss. Circumstances have brought the professional chef to west Texas and left her high and dry.

Distance means nothing to Chance Carlisle when he recalls the beautiful waitress’s smile and blue eyes. His brother Clayton doesn’t believe in long-distance relationships, even though he is attracted to Lydia, too. Chance offers her a position as their chef, but it’s Lydia herself who he wants. Despite numerous disruptions, the attraction between Lydia and Clayton grows, along with her love for Chance, until passion blazes out of control like a Texas wildfire.

Lydia had longed for life in a small town and loves Divine, but there’s just one catch. Her overprotective brothers live in Divine, and there’s going to be hell to pay when they find out why she’s there.

This is the 8th novel in the Diving Creek Ranch series and while it contains additional information about characters that have appeared in preceding novels, it is a stand alone novel. It continues to enthrall readers with the characters of this little community in Texas where love abounds in some very unusual configurations. It continues the story of Lydia Webster, a character that made her appearance in a previous story and is connected to other residents of this little town.

It is a story about a woman who knows her own mind, has gone after the education she wanted in order to be a professional chef, but who has finally come to the end of her resources. Due to a car that has peetered out and a wallet that is empty, Lydia finds herself waiting tables in order to save enough money to move on. But her plan is foiled by a boss who wants her for himself and who has done all sorts of dirty dealings to keep Lydia where he wants her. She has kept herself away from him, and when Chance Carlisle keeps on coming back to see her, she begins to think his attraction to her isn’t a passing thing.

The Carlisle brothers are identical twins who had long ago decided that they wanted to share a wife. Yet their romantic alliances of the past have never proved to be women they could both feel connected to. That is, until Lydia. Offered the position as ranch chef and housekeeper for the brothers, Lydia knows that she is falling for Chance, but she really doesn’t know much about Clayton and worries that he will not want her there. Clayton is as attracted to Lydia as his brother but has never acted on that attraction to the extent that Chance has. Add in Lydia’s worry about the reaction of her two over-protective brothers who live in Divine, and you has the stuff of a crisis-laden novel all mixed up with the search for security and finding one’s place in the scheme of things. There are some others in the story that keep things hopping so this is not your simplistic romance novel.

One of the chief characteristics of this series and of this book as well is the sense the author is able to convey that Divine, Texas is a real place with real people who have real human situations, relationships, crises, and happy endings. There are still those in town who refuse to accept the right of others to live their lives as they alone choose. Yet it must be something in the air or water, because there are a number of romantic triads and more that seem to flourish there. These two brothers are kind and generous, protective and caring of Lydia, trying very hard to be sensitive to her feelings, answering her questions, letting her set the pace of their relationship. They are alpha to the core, but they are not uncomfortable with that personal quality and find that giving Lydia what she needs is just as important as always being the “big man around the house.” Being cowboys, there are a few bruised chins and black eyes, but somehow they all fit in this story.

I am a confirmed Heather Rainier fan and I have read all the novels in this series. I don’t find that the quality of the writing has waned nor has the intensity of the story lines or the romance content. These are erotic romance stories and even for this heroine who has never thought to be in a triad, the romance is powerful in its caring and sometimes its gentleness. Even though Lydia’s brothers are acting like the big bad brothers, there is still that sense that they love her enough to make her mad if it means that they will protect and care for her.

So if you like strong women and great big scrumptious cowboys who aren’t afraid to be who they are, you’ll like this story and all the novels in this series.

I give it a rating of 5 out of 5

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This book is available from Siren Publishing. You can buy it here in e-format.

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