Tracy’s review of Larkspur Road (Lonesome Way #2) by Jill Gregory.

Fifth grade teacher Mia Quinn expected a tranquil summer in her hometown of Lonesome Way, Montana, sewing for her quilting group’s exhibition fundraiser and caring for her rescued dog, Samson. But all her plans for a relaxing break are thrown out the window when Travis Tanner—the boy who broke her heart in high school—returns to town with his ten year old adopted step-son.

A former FBI agent, the boy Mia once knew is now well over six feet of male muscle—and he still has the power to make Mia lose her train of thought with just a glance. When Travis asks her to tutor his troubled son, Mia quickly discovers that the sparks between them are hotter than ever. As danger comes to Lonesome Way and family secrets come to light, will Travis and Mia realize that love can be even better the second time around?

When Travis Tanner was 18 years old he made a huge mistake – he broke up with his then girlfriend, Mia. He’s regretted the decision almost since that moment but he’s gone on with his life and career. Now he’s back in Lonesome Way – taking a leave of absence from the FBI, maybe permanently – and he can’t get Mia off of his mind. Of course she wants nothing to do with him but he manages to talk her in to tutoring his 10 year old son and things heat up from there. The pair can’t seem to keep away from each other after that and old feelings that they each thought were dead and buried come back with a vengeance.

This story is book 2 in the Lonesome Way series so when he had back there with Travis and his son Grady, we get to revisit the town as well as some of the characters that we met in book one which was very nice. The characters in this story were very engaging. I loved Mia and her dedication to both her job as a teacher as well as her stubbornness when it came to her great-aunt Winny. Travis was very strong and stable. He loved his son and was willing to go to bat for him and be there for him in a way that his mother and stepfather had not been. I had to admire his determination to take care of Grady as best he could.

There were a few different parts that were involved in the story. There was Grady, Travis’s son, who was in Lonesome Way for the summer. He was having issues at home with failing classes and fighting so Travis needed to deal with that. Then there was Mia’s niece who suddenly showed up at her house begging to stay the summer. We know as a reader that there’s more to that story – and even Mia knows there’s something strange going on with Brittany – but that’s not discovered until later. Then there’s Mia’s great-aunt Winny who has been apart from the family for many years and something happened between Winny and her sister, Mia’s grandmother, to cause a huge rift. When Winny gets hurt Mia wants to help the grouchy woman, but she also tries to figure out what happened in the past. While all of these stories were interesting they unfortunately made the romance take a back seat. It seemed that Travis finally talked to Mia and explained and apologized for what he’d done in the past and then they were together. We got scenes of them together but mostly sex scenes – which were great but they didn’t really grow the relationship any.

While there was a lot going on in the book and everything got solved and “righted” in the end it still seemed like at the end of the book there was something missing. Was it the romance? IDK, but I think so. So while I liked Larkspur Road it didn’t bowl me over. I’ll still be reading the next book in the novel about Travis and Rafe’s brother, Jake. He’s one of those guys that is positive that he won’t ever get married because love is not for him. Oh I love to see men like that fall. lol

Rating: 3.25 out of 5

The Series:

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place

This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Tracy’s review of Sage Creek by Jill Gregory.

After her marriage falls apart, Sophie McPhee returns to her hometown of Lonesome Way, Montana, planning to steer clear of men and focus on her new bakery, A Bun in the Oven. Who she doesn’t expect to see is Rafe Tanner, her first crush who now runs his family’s ranch-and who spent most of their childhood ignoring her. But is Rafe a changed man?


While Rafe – is stunned to discover that Sophie’s grown into an irresistibly beautiful woman, he’s been hurt too. They both have their guards up, but melt in each other’s company. Can they admit that home is truly where the heart is?

Sophie is devastated by the betrayal of her husband with another woman. Not only was he having an affair but he got his mistress pregnant – something she’d been wanting from day one of their marriage. She was always told it wasn’t the right time so to see him get another woman pregnant was just too much. Sophie heads home to pretty much lick her wounds and ends up throwing a baby shower for her best friend. Not only that but she almost immediately decides to start a bakery – something she had just sold in San Francisco.

When Sophie meets Rafe Tanner, her best friends’ brother that she’s had a crush on most of her life, she finds that her attraction to him hasn’t lessened with time and space. Rafe is anxious to get near Sophie as well but he thinks that he may want more than just a fling – even though he knows that it’s unlikely that Sophie will want the same.

There is also a bit of a mystery stalker in the picture as bad things keep happening to Sophie’s truck and they can’t quite figure out why. There were quite a few story threads running through the book that really took the focus away from the romance. I’m sure that the intention was to give an overall view of the town and the people in it but it really ended up detracting from all parts of the story.

While I like Sophie as a character for the most part I didn’t quite understand her. She was so very focused on having a baby that it almost was running her life. It was in her thoughts constantly – both from her ex-husband and of course her best friend being pregnant – and it got to be a bit much. I understand wanting children but feeling like you can’t be a complete person without them overshadowed, to me, even the romantic relationship in this story.

Rafe was great and I really liked him as well. I loved that he was a great father and really looked out for his daughter and his family. He hesitated at first with his decision to chase Sophie but once he made the decision and the fact that he wanted her in his life permanently he didn’t hesitate. A really good hero.

In the end it was a cute book and I might read the next in the series and I’m a bit curious as to what happens with Rafe’s brother.


Rating: 3.25 out of 5

You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place

This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format.