The Sheriff Catches a Bride

I enjoyed The Sheriff Catches a Bride. It was good but it didn't really wow me. Just a nice little love story. Cab was sexy and I really liked him. Rose was okay she was a push over for most of the book. I wanted many times to yell at her and tell her to grow up and stick up for herself. She did grow a back bone and that made her more likable. I liked the relationship between Cab and Rose although I wish Rose would have jumped in a little more than she did. She held herself back. Overall a good read.

2.5 stars<br /><br />More focus on the over encompassing cast of characters, including past and future heroes and heroines, and the small town relationship drama. Also a pretty big secondary storyline following a girl from Afghanistan trying to escape the Taliban, felt a bit out of left field. <br />This was my first foray into the series, which you could start here because there is nothing confusing but you won't feel emotional attachment to the characters.<br /> <br />Wanted the hero and heroine to spend more time together and didn't feel like I ever got to know the hero but writing was good and as a Kindle Freebie, it did its job of interesting me enough to look into other books in the series. <br />Takes place in Montana but still had a slight western feel.

First line…<br /><i>As her mother’s words repeated in her mind like a well-worn mantra, Fila Sahar struggled to right her clothing in the cramped bathroom of the Emirates-owned airplane she’d been traveling in for hours. She’d waited to escape from Afghanistan for over ten years…</i><br />Wait… the heroine is Afghani? Squees<br />No… where did she go? Dammit. WHY are there two storylines?<br />Rose works in the jewellers and each time she sells an engagement ring, she gets a ‘feeling’. Sheriff Cab’s mates trick him into choosing one and shove it on Rose’s finger and she nearly faints. That’s a strong reaction to a guy she hasn’t even dated but the big issue is she’s already engaged to Jason; six years and counting.<br />Cab is house-minding for Carl who has a lot of Persian carpets. Is that where Fila is trying to go? Wait, Claire’s mother ran a charity program for rescuing child brides from the taliban. Wtf?<br />Bloody sad that this book doesn’t ever suggest to a girl who is pregnant that a termination might be a good idea. The father of the baby is married, forty two and doesn’t want to help. She’s twenty one but works at a store and has no savings or support. It ought to be an option. Or at the very least going to talk to a professional about her options, both medical and legal. Planned parenthood clearly doesn’t exist in the made up Chance Creek.<br />This is very repetitive.<br />Oh great, Cab suggests learning to shoot ‘coz that will help make Rose more assertive. No, it won’t it’ll just make her still nervous and now armed - a fatal recipe.<br />Every woman in this is a doormat and all the guys are hideous control freaks. This isn’t romantic at all. Cab literally blames the serial killer victims.<br /><blockquote>Women, on the other hand, put two and two together and came up with a reason to buy two hundred Hummel angels and store them in a fancy cabinet for the next fifty years. They got in stranger’s cars and ended up dead. (p. 63).</blockquote><br />Omfg Rose has now built a tree house on private property and is squatting.<br /><br />When it switches pov it rewinds…<br />Like this:<br /><blockquote>She nodded and the knowledge that she trusted him— in this at least— set him on fire all over again.<br />“Are you sure?” He waited for her answer.<br />“Yes.”<br />***<br />Rose couldn’t believe how wanton she’d been this afternoon. Joining the game that Cab started. Stripping off her sweater, then her blouse, then her bra, then everything else. Baring herself to him. Granting three wishes to him. (p. 180). </blockquote><br />You hit pause and rewind in the middle of the sex scene. Wtf?<br />They get back to it but it reads… badly.<br />Jason just picked up Fila. *face palms* there’s coincidence and there’s ridiculous.<br />Emory has full on OCD, if Cab is the same, he can’t fix it instantly. You can’t tell one guy he needs professional help and tell the other he can fix it by himself. wtf?<br />Now when Rose and Cab see Jason (and Fila) on a street corner they run away. What are you, twelve?<br />Jason assaults Cab (the sheriff), gets arrested, and confesses that he’s spent six years studying engineering, has LIED about working and saving money for his and Rose’s future and he’s in uni debt up to his ears. Deceit - always a good basis for a relationship.<br />This is horrible. Sure, he should be proud of himself for doing a degree but you don’t reckon Rose could have been in on this decision? He’s left her in another state, harangued her for moving in with his father (without sharing sensible reasons why that wasn’t a good idea), never offered for her to go live with him, visits once or twice a year, calls her once a week (maybe), and he won’t let her go to art school because then he’d have to admit he isn’t earning the money so he runs her down for wanting to do Art as a career. Fuck you, Jason. He tells Cab he can get great jobs overseas and Rose probably can’t go with him. Jeez, I was an expat - that’s not how it works.<br /><blockquote>“I’m telling you I saw them. Four Middle Eastern men driving right through town, as bold as can be.” Cab resisted the urge to haul Kevin inside and lock him up in a cell beside Jason. (p. 238). </blockquote><br />I know I keep saying this but… wtf? I am now fairly sure there aren’t any black people in this imaginary town either.<br /><b>Omfg Hannah just stole a bison so that her idiot boyfriend can’t shoot it.</b><br />Bwahaha<br />Do you KNOW how big bison are?<br />Cody - the idiot boyfriend - naturally assumes that if she’s not home she’s cheating on him. Just shoot <i>him</i>, Hannah, it’d be easier.<br />The scene in the woods with four taliban hunting Fila, a loose bison, and a dozen armed local guys is just pages of confused people shouting each other’s names. It fails as an epic climax scene.<br /><blockquote>Better not to sleep than to let Rose venture into danger again. (p. 281). </blockquote><br />No Cab, no NO NO NO.<br />Oh Christ, now one of the heroes (Rob) wants to go bison hunting for real. One just saved your miserable life.<br />And Rose is being harassed by Jason and Emory to stick with the engagement (which she is totally allowing) until Cab sits down to add his silent bullying as well. Only then does she say ‘no’ to them.<br />Horrible…<br />I expected a cute cowboy romance and this is just a mess.<br />1 star<br />

I usually love to relax with a Cora Seton romance set in the favoured location of Chance Creek. However, I felt that the male protagonist( Sheriff Cab) was a bit old school in his thinking( women need to be protected from the evils of the world) and I felt that the female protagonist( Rose) rushed into a relationship way too fast after breaking a 6 year engagement. I also wished that CS had stayed away from the whole Middle Eastern terrorist subplot.

<i>"Rose, I made you a promise that I would back off and let you have some time. I told you I'd give you room to find yourself before I pushed back into your life. I lied. I don't want to back off. I don't want to give you space. I don't want to leave you alone. I love you. I want to spend my life with you. Take all the time you need to answer because I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here, wherever you are. I won't boss you around. I won't tell you what to do, but I'll be here. Waiting for you." - Cab Johnson</i><br><br>Take a look at the quote above, and tell me that Cab doesn't win the award for "Most Awesome Man of the Year"! Go on, try and prove me wrong!<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1392502823ra/8570404.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Life in Chance Creek is not as dull as one might think. While to an outsider it might look like a quiet and boring ranch town in Montana, to Cab Johnson, the town's sheriff, it's a place full of danger waiting to happen. The fourth of the Cowboys of Chance Creek, Cab is the serious, worrisome force that has to deal with sorting out trouble - and the messes that his three friends often find themselves into. He has a lot on his plate already, and having to look out for Rose Bellingham, no matter how much she occupies his mind, is a task that has him on his toes. Still, he can't help the overprotectiveness in her case, even if Rose already has a man that's supposed to care for her. As for the woman in question, she has her own demons to battle. The need for freedom and a fiancé in North Dakota are enough to deal with - diving headfirst into her mutual attraction with the big good sheriff would only complicate things further. But what are two people, meant to be, supposed to do when holding back proves to be too much?<br><br>As Morgan said in the 3rd book, <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/18907486.The_Cowboy_Imports_a_Bride__Cowboys_of_Chance_Creek_" title="The Cowboy Imports a Bride (Cowboys of Chance Creek) by Cora Seton" rel="noopener">The Cowboy Imports a Bride</a> , it was Cab's turn to settle down. And, oh, my darlings, wasn't yours truly impatient to get to his story or what? Cab has been my favorite character since book one, and Rose was an enigma I couldn't wait to solve ever since I found out about her "gift" - which was seriously awesome, somehow sensing which couples would make it in the long run and which wouldn't. Cora Seton has become an addiction of mine, I'm afraid, and this book didn't disappoint.<br><br>Rose reminded me so much of myself, it made me feel half of the times irked, and the other half ecstatic. I know I can relate to many female leads in the books I read, but Rose Bellingham seriously was my fictional self, no kidding! Her need for freedom, how she had a sixth sense in certain things, the way she couldn't pursue her dreams because those close to her thought arts would never bring her monetary profit, how she continuously rejected her own desires because she couldn't say no and defend her wishes and beliefs - and don't get me started on her extreme (no matter how futile) efforts to keep Cab away even if she wanted him, because she needed to find herself and straighten her life first! Her whole personality screamed at me through the pages! The way she let her parents dictate her filled my heart with pure sympathy. All this made it impossible for me to hate her when she treated Cab the way she did. It was unacceptable, I'll admit, and she was a real coward many times through the book, but she was just discovering how to be her own "boss", so she could be excused for not knowing the right way to do it and to make Cab understand.<br><br>Speaking of Cab... Did I tell you he was my favorite guy since the first book of this series? Oh, I did?! <br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1392502823ra/8570405.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Well, he totally was. First of all, I love men that are so much larger than a woman - and I'm not talking about their beer stomachs, I'm talking about height, and big hands, and long, muscular legs, and strong backs with wide shoulders. And Cab was all that. It makes me feel so feminine - and I wasn't even there, Rose was the one enjoying this hot sheriff's attention! Another fetish of mine is a man in uniform or in a police position - which should worry me since I swore I would never look twice at a guy with the same occupation as my father, but whatever. Cab had that one, too. And a lot of other traits I simply find irresistible. He was always the one that talked less, and when it came to women, he was so shy and reserved and so far away from the spotlight, it was too cute to ignore. And in the sexual scenes, he was so talkative (damn, here comes another fetish!), yet still totally respectful of Rose, I had to dive for the tissues to stop my nosebleeds all the time!<br><br>Another character that is worth mentioning is Jason. While at first it was hard for me to even pity him because he was losing his girl and didn't even know it, when the story came to its end, the poor bloke had me sympathizing with him. It would be nice to see him have his HEA, too, but, as Carl, he wasn't one of the main guys, so I'm not putting my hopes up for it. Still... <br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1392502823ra/8570406.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Cora Seton has me completely hooked with her Chance Creek. I was never one for nature, and farm/ranch life, and all that, but I'm quickly changing my mind as I keep reading her books. It's all about family and love in that town, and while it has its ups and downs, it sounds like a damn good place to go live. Her writing voice might have a lot to do with that. It's her own, alright, but it does weird things to me, I tell you - like, make me wish for a ranch life, me, the ultimate anti-nature, 100% city girl! Her characters are all so different, and so real, and, as somewhat of a family saga, this series of hers is proving to be as heart-warming as coming home after a long, hard day would be - hell, it feels like home, too. Her sexual scenes never cease to impress me. Mrs. Seton doesn't just write sex - she cuts and sews it to fit the respective main couple of each book. The act, even in its hottest parts, doesn't feel dirty at all. It's hot and yet romantic, without being sappy, and it never gets repeating. It's equally "old school courtship" and "new times passion". Not to mention she's very imaginative - her strip pool scene shows exactly that, and no, I won't tell you anything more, other than it had me turning my heater off to stop myself from burning up. <br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1392502823ra/8570407.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>I'm looking forward to reading the next books. The Matheson boys were not exactly my cup of tea - and heaven knows I want either Fila or Mia with Ned to teach the freaking brute some gentleness - but I'm dying to know what this writer will come up with next. Now that she even added some gunfight action, I know that she can do anything!<br><br><i>***I was given an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinion stated in this review is solely mine, and no compensation was given or taken to alter it.***</i><br>

<a href="http://blushingreads.com/the-sheriff-catches-a-bride-cowboys-of-chance-creek-5/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">This review was originally posted on Blushing Reads</a> My Thoughts <br />I really like Cab Johnson! I do because he is such a good guy and so deserves to be happy! Cab is the Sheriff of Chance Creek and he is in love with Rose Bellingham even though she is engaged to marry someone else. Rose works at the local jewelry store and has a sixth sense about engagement rings. She gets a feeling when guys come in to buy one and can tell right away if the marriage is going to work. So Cab's friends go to work by taking a trip to the store and going in the store and picking out the ugliest rings ever. Cab thinks it's a miracle they even have wives and selects a beautiful ring that reminds him of Rose. Rob being Rob shoves the ring onto Rose's hand so they can all see how it looks which of course makes Rose almost pass out and the rest of the guys smug!<br /><blockquote>“Rose? You okay?” She looked like she was about to faint.<br />“Told you,” Rob said, grinning at Ethan.<br />“Son of a gun,” Ethan said, “You were right.”<br />“What are you talking about?” Cab was annoyed. “Get her some water, for crying out loud. Rose, do you need to sit down for a minute?” In a horrible flash he wondered if she was pregnant. She’d been Jason’s fiancée a long time. Maybe they hadn’t always been careful.<br />Rose stared at him wide-eyed. Growing worried, Cab tightened his grip on her arm and came around to her side of the case. “I think you need to sit,” he said again.<br />She shook her head and seemed to come back to herself. “I’m… fine.”<br />“Really?” Jamie said. “Because you look like you’ve seen your hus—”<br />Ethan whacked him on the arm.</blockquote><br />That would be wonderful if Rose wasn't engaged and didn't have everyone under the sun telling her what to do. She lives in a small house that is owned by her boss who happens to be her future father in-law and who happens to be a bit off in the head. Jason, her fiancée hasn't lived in Chance Creek since they got engaged. He left to go to college and build a future. Rose just needs a place where she can go and paint without everyone around. So she finds the perfect place in the woods and builds herself a little fort. The fact that it happens to be in the woods right next to where Cab is staying is just a coincidence. Her little hideaway though soon has company as Mia Start needs a place to figure out what she is going to do and  Hannah Chatham needs a place to hide what she has done.<br /><br />The love that grows between Cab and Rose is so sweet. Cab doesn't want to tell Rose what to do so much as he wants to keep her safe and love her. Rose is just learning what she wants and even if that is Cab she still has to find more of herself first. At least that is what she plans until life decides things need to get shaken up a bit.

Finally!!<br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1380222758ra/580724.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>I feel like this series is back on track!! I loved the first two books of this series, but it felt like it was getting derailed with corniness.<br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1389570241ra/8040991.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>I loved the attraction between the Sheriff and the girl who was supposedly taken... <br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1389570241ra/8040992.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Actually hearing a story of an Afghani woman gave the book some extra spice, but it was unexpected.<br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1389570241ra/8040993.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Only thing that got on my nerves was our girl whining about her parents and everyone "telling her what to do". Yes, Emory was a total creeper, but damn girl!! How old are you? You sound like a whiny pre-teen.<br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1389570241ra/8040994.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Glad to see the series back on track! Who's next???<br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1380222758ra/644221.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy">

Too much going on - including flashes of another woman's life, which were interesting - maybe more interesting than the purported heroine's. But as a result, the hero and heroine's relationship was given short-shrift. It wasn't adequately shown. In some ways, it was too much of a set-up of subsequent books with other couples. <br /><br />Also, <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="eea15e6b-857c-4110-8c88-e6784a30dcfc" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="eea15e6b-857c-4110-8c88-e6784a30dcfc"> it seems really implausible that Fila would have been followed there. </label>. That was too obvious a plot device. <br /><br />Also Fila's relative who died changed from her great-grandmother to her grandmother ...

I liked the plot. I love westerns and I love how the main character wasn't some damsel in distress. she could take care of herself and was fiercely independent.

Free on Amazon 08-30-18.