Grab The Valentine Two-Step (Outlaw Hartes, #1) Formulated By RaeAnne Thayne Edition

listened to this book on Audible narration at,speed narration was good so it did not distract from the book, The voice actually reminded me of an actor that I never did figure out who! Lol!
I enjoyed this book the characters, setting and plot were real and believable.
I kinda felt like there were some holes that coulda been filled “three weeks later” happened a couple of times and the ending wrapped up quick, but overall, it was worth the read to me.

I see that its book one in a series, And actually bookis included with this recording, Bookhas had a name change, Im off to listen to bookI guess! : RaeAnne Thayne sure knows how to tug on the old heartstrings!
Another winner looking forward to reading more about Matt's siblings and their stories! Star Valley Winter is a fun, heartwarming book, and a pretty quick read too.
However, I don't think it's RaeAnne Thayne's best, Mostly because it's terribly predictable,

Right from the prologue you realize that Lucy and Dylan respectively, Matt's and Ellie's daughters are going to do everything they can to get their parents together, so it' not difficult to guess how it the story will unfold.
There's a bit of suspense added to the plot, but even there the list of possible suspects is small and, again, it's not hard to figure things out.


Also, it should be noted that this is a reprint from abook, originally called The Valentine TwoStep.


If you have read the original book, then it's pointless to buy this one, If you haven't read the older version and want to cuddle for a couple of hours with a nice romance book, then Star Valley Winter is a good option, as long as you don't expect a very original plot.
This is the first book about the Harte siblings and the book starts with two nineyear old plotting how to become sisters and their parents married.


Ellie moved to town threemonths ago, wanting to be her own boss finally by buying the vet practice in town along with her daughter Dylan but things have not been going that well since the traditional ranchers don't like that she sometimes even practices acupuncture.
She is called to school, to be asked to chair the Valentine's Day committee to raise funds since she's been nominated by her daughter along with her daughter's best friend Lucy's father Matt Harte, a rancher who she thinks is crazy with the methods she uses.


Matt managed to further expand his ranch's operation after he took it over after his parents passed, He enjoys his life, his works keep him busy, he loves his daughter Lucy and he doesn't miss having female companionshiphis wife ran out on him.
He sometimes does feel guilty that his sister Cassie seems to do so much for him and he's appalled when his daughter nominates him for the committee but gives in.


Their daughter's keep on bringing them together and Ellie even comes to the rescue once demonstrating her skills and ending in a kiss they both are shocked about.
The book was enjoyable, not highoctane passion but mellower, they both were waryEllie was raised in foster homes, Dylan's father was jerk.


The suspense element was fairly simple and obvious, A good read.

Rating. Matt Harte's daughter is shy Ellie Webster, large animal veterinarian, has a daughter, too, and she is a real gogetter.
The two girls each want what they don't have: one a father, the other a mother, Together, they scheme to get their respective single parents together, not realizing that it might be more difficult than they think.


Their plan, to have their parents plan the big Valentine's Day gathering designed to fundraise for the school library, goes slowly, but in the midst of their plans, someone is out to force Ellie to leave town and when her daughter is kidnapped, she knows that getting her daughter back is worth whatever the kidnapper demandseven if she refuses Matt's help, which he's happy to provide.
Along with his love, which he doesn't dare to declare when he's certain that Ellie doesn't reciprocate, Or does she, but is too afraid to admit it

But when Ellie's daughter proves she can take care of herself, other things also come to the forenot just who the kidnapper was, but how Matt and Ellie feel about each other.
If only they would say so, . . I thoroughly enjoyed this story, I was expecting strictly romance, but there was a little suspense thrown in for good measure, And acupuncture for horses Interesting, “Thats what I thought I wanted, A nice, safe, uneventful lifeSafe and uneventful are just other words for lonely, ”
Matt Harte A cute story, Ellie and Matt and theircrazy daughters that plan to get them together, Another enjoyable read that helps you forget the worlds problems Cute story, lots of twists and turns, Ellie and Matt are pulled together by their daughters to work on a school fundraising event, They seem to be at odds otherwise, Ellie is trying to establish her vet practice in town, and Matt doesn't appreciate her "alternate" medicine practices of acupuncture.


When a chance encounter leads Ellie to save one of his pregnant horses he gives her a chance.
However, horses seem to keep getting sick around her, It seems like sabotage but she can't prove it, I liked the banter between Ellie and Matt and the story moved quickly, The Valentine TwoStep: One young daughter and her friend try to set a parent up with each other, Will the lady vet want to live a life on the ranch, or will she be just like the exwife who wanted no part of that life

The Color of Courage: This story was not as good as the first one, but still a good, solid story.
Much like Ive been trying to find as many older works of Jill Shalvis, Ive decided to do the same with RaeAnne Thayne.
I always enjoy her stories and she has an extensive back library, This was my second dive into the authors past, This was the oldest of her works I found that was readily available, Ill admit, this one was at my online library and didnt have any holds on it, That meant that when my other books I had checked out had holds or werent able to be renewed for another reason I just kept renewing this oneover and over and over.
As much as I adore this authors Hopes Crossing and Haven Point books, I wasnt chomping at the bit to read her older works.
So, I had two days before this one is due backagain, Did I really want to just keep renewing the thing Its not too long of a book, I decided to try to squeeze it in to my reading schedule.


I am so glad I did, I loved this story. The chemistry between Ellie and Matt is off the charts amazing, Their prickly attitude toward one another is perfectly portrayed as two kids who have crushes and dont want to admit it to anyone, even themselves.
It was a lot of fun to read about their interactions,

Theres a bit of a mystery that occurs in this story, I dont classify it as a mystery myself because I think to most readers certain things are obvious so its really not as much a mystery to the reader as it is to the characters.
And there are some surprises along the way,

Ellie grew up knowing she could only trust herself, That it was almost dangerous to rely on anyone else, Her mother was a terrible role model for the little bit of time she was actually in her life, The father of her child is a flake, Everything Ellie has accomplished in her life has been done with absolutely no outside help or support, Its not surprising she has so much trouble letting Matt in all the way,

For his part, Matt has been burned badly, The difference between Matt and Ellie is that Matt will react and speak out of anger and realize later he overreactedand then apologize.
Ellie doesnt even see how brutal she can come across when she has her guard up so solidly against any sort of outside interference in her daily life.
There are no apologies or compromises when it comes to Ellie, That means this couple has some struggles learning to cope with each other, Plus, they have their daughters who are best friends to worry about in the whole scenario,

See my full review at sitelink wordpress. c .Stars Wasnt much of a valentine theme to this like I thought it would have, It was okay. Ive enjoyed books by this author before, this one just didnt hit the spot for me, Im about halfway through the reprinted version of thisnovel, I like the characters, the setting, and the supporting characters, What I cant stand is the heavyhanded, hick analogies that I can only hope were added by someone other then the author, especially coming from our heroine who was born and raised in urban California.
As I read I notice the occasional natural analogy like “, . . a reputation that had crumbled like dried leaves, and am then jarred by the far too frequent country redneckisms like she jumped like an armadillo trying to cross a superhighway.
I imagine the author writing she moved like insert analogy, And someone else does the inserting,

Here is a short list of examples that were even more jarring to read within the context of the book:
“Like a tractor with a couple of bad cylinders, the conversation limped along.
. . ”
“The alpha male in the family made her as edgy as a hen on a hot griddle, . . ”
“ turned her mouth as dry as a riverbed in August”
“, . . those knots in her stomach unraveling to quiver like plucked fiddle strings, . . ”
“ her daughters teacher always made Ellie think of a skittish palomino colt, . . ”

Very good "Parent Trap" type of story, Dylan Webster and Lucy Harte are fourth grade girls who have become best friends since Dylan and her mother moved to town.
They are such good friends that they've decided that the next step is to become sisters, But to do that, they're going to have to find a way to get their parents together, So without their knowledge, Ellie and Matt get volunteered to cochair the annual Valentine's Day school fundraiser,

To say they aren't pleased is an understatement, Matt is really busy as a rancher, and not much of a fan of Valentine's Day since his divorce, And to be paired with the big city vet from California, with the woowoo vet techniques No thanks even if he can't keep his eyes

off her.
But Lucy has been a different kid since Dylan became her friend, one who smiles and laughs more and isn't so shy.
When Lucy reminds him that it's also a way for them to spend time together, he can't tell her no.


Ellie isn't too thrilled either, Matt's made no secret of the fact that he doesn't think much of her as a vet, even though she's never treated one of his animals.
His attitude is mirrored by other ranchers, making it hard for her to get her practice up and running, She hopes that working on this committee will help ease her way into the community,

I loved seeing Matt and Ellie get tossed together, The two girls are pretty good at creating opportunities, and Matt and Ellie start to soften a bit toward each other.
When one of Matt's horses has a problem while Ellie is there, he agrees to let her look at the animal.
After normal techniques don't help, he allows Ellie to break out her acupuncture needles and is stunned by the effect.
Impressed by her passion for her work, he asks her to become the vet for his horses, Ellie is happy to have Matt's business as her practice hasn't been going so well, It isn't long before some of the other ranchers are following suit,

Between committee meetings, vet visits and their girls, Matt and Ellie find themselves spending a fair amount of time together.
There's an attraction that keeps building between them, but both try to resist, Matt was burned in love by his exwife, a city girl who never settled into ranch life, She made his life miserable before running off, and he isn't too keen on opening himself up to another woman, especially one from the city.
But there's something about Ellie that has her finding her way into his heart, Ellie works even harder at resisting Matt, She has worked a long time to develop the independence and ability to take care of herself, Long ago she saw her mother fall apart when her husband left her, She watched her mother spiral downward in her attempts to find a man to take care of her and swore she would never let that happen to her.
Then, after she ended up in foster care, every time she would start to care for someone she'd lose them.
Now she won't depend on anyone but herself,

Things start to get really complicated, as Ellie receives threats from someone who doesn't want her there, Matt wants to protect her, but Ellie is still afraid to lean on anyone, Their attraction is growing, as are the feelings underlying the attraction, As the threats and troubles for Ellie increase, Matt is torn between wanting to protect her and believing some of the things that happen are her fault.
He says some really terrible things to her, which reminds her of why she doesn't get involved, When a new threat hits way too close to her personally, Matt tries to be there for her, finally recognizing his feelings for what they are, but it's Ellie's fears that have her pushing him further away.
She has to be able to overcome them before she can have a chance at the life she would really like to have.
Her fears and what they were doing to her and her relationship with Matt were really emotional to read about.
Having her finally see it and want to do something about it was very satisfying,

The mystery of who had it in for Ellie really wasn't too hard to figure out, I was a bit surprised they hadn't suspected earlier, Each thing that happened was pretty creepy, but the last was definitely the worst, As scary as it was for Ellie, I loved seeing how everyone supported her, The resolution of it was especially well done, The Valentine Two Step

Love a story by RaeAnne Thayne, Have to say I knew who the bad guy was long before I was told, A good story with likeable characters, .