8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A satisfying experience readers won't soon forget, September 12, 2005
This review is from: Hard Case Cowboy (Mass Market Paperback)
Rhiannon O'Brannoch is a woman all too familiar with loss. Cancer had taken her mother and the IRA had stolen her father and fiancé. Most shocking of all, the father she barely knew had inexplicably cut her off and left the family farm to others. When her Uncle Fitz sends her a one-way ticket from Ireland to Arizona and asks her to come and live with him at Irish Heaven, his million-dollar ranch, Rhiannon knows this is her chance for a fresh start. Filled with rosy visions of the future, the first inkling of her true situation arrives in the form of a dead cow in the middle of the road and a tall, gorgeous cowboy accusing her of rustling.
Actually, the steer (not a cow) turns out to be alive (barely) but that's about the only good news awaiting Rhiannon. Irish Heaven is only worth a million on paper. In reality, the ranch is struggling financially and beset by cattle rustlers, and it's just the foreman, Redhawk Jackson, and her uncle left. Even more troubling, Hawk is letting her know in no uncertain terms that he considers the ranch to be his inheritance, not her's. As for Uncle Fitz, he is slowly succumbing to the insidious effects of Alzheimer's disease with no inclination to reveal who he intends to leave the ranch to. Determined to ease his mind and make a place for herself at Irish Heaven, Rhiannon rolls up her sleeves and dives into ranch life. Now, if only she can cry peace with the surly cowboy who makes her pulse race.
Redhawk Jackson is a man all too familiar with loss. A lost childhood followed by troubles with the law, Hawk's life would probably have been much different if not for Fitz O'Brannoch. Hiring him on his ranch when no one else would, Fitz became his mentor, the father he never had. Fitz proudly saw Hawk make a name for himself on the rodeo circuit and gave him a refuge when an accident left him with a bum knee. As foreman of Irish Heaven, Hawk finally knows where he belongs - caring for his fading friend and minding the struggling ranch with the understanding it will be his someday. Now comes this Irish temptress out to steal his inheritance from under him. Hawk isn't having any of it and is determined to ship her back to Ireland. If only he can convince himself that's what he really wants.
It's not long before Hawk and Rhiannon find themselves soaking in a water trough and getting under each other's skin. Hawk even proposes a marriage of convenience which Rhiannon vehemently turns down. This battle of the sexes is just beginning and, in the meantime, there's Fitz to care for, rustlers to catch and the emergence of a plot against Irish Heaven to unravel.
It is the main characters of HARD CASE COWBOY that bring the story to life. Rhiannon and Hawk have each known loss in its myriad forms and it motivates them to grab what they want, exposing their flaws to each other and their humanity to the reader. The tale starts with the two squaring off against each other but one can see their characters mature and evolve as the various subplots blend together and the story reaches its climax. Other characters provide contrast and texture, especially Fitz' poignant battle with Alzheimer's and the secrets he eventually reveals. Part battle of the sexes, part romantic suspense and pure emotional rollercoaster, HARD CASE COWBOY is one satisfying experience readers won't soon forget.
TheSchemer
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love those cowboys, September 11, 2005
This review is from: Hard Case Cowboy (Mass Market Paperback)
Hard Case Cowboy by Nina Bruhns is an interwoven tale of passion and intrigue.
Redhawk Jackson has finally found a place to call home. He loves working as the foreman on Irish Heaven ranch. But rustlers are bleeding the ranch dry. Add to the mix is the owners niece the fiery Rhiannon O'Brannoch.
Rhiannon comes to America to start over. She left behind in Ireland an ex-fiancé and the family farm that she didn't inherit. Her uncle said he needed her so off to American she went, but things aren't so easy for her in American either. The ranch foreman resents her presence. They join forces to save the ranch.
Rhiannon and Hawk's attraction sizzles from their first meeting. At times it has to be put on hold to get to the bottom of who is targeting Irish Heaven.
Hard Case Cowboy is rich in the cowboy life. You feel the trials of Hawk and Rhiannon as they fight to keep this way of life going. Nina Bruhns writes with such passion between the hero and heroine that you root for them to find their happy ever after.
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