The Sweet Spot by Laura Drake
Series: Sweet on a Cowboy #1
Published by Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: May 28th 2013
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 336
Source: Own
Format: eBook
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A Love as Big as Texas . . .
Charla Rae Denny was the perfect wife with a perfect life, content to keep the home fires burning while her husband, JB, competed as a champion bull rider. Then their son died in a tragic accident-and everything fell apart. Divorced and saddled with a hill of bills and a failing ranch, Charla must now cowboy up to put her life back together.
James “JB” Denny doesn’t stay where he isn’t welcome. So when Charla shut him out of her grieving heart-and their home-a year ago, he took comfort where he could find it. Now after seeing beautiful Charla again, he wants it all back. She can’t work the ranch alone, and deep in his heart he knows he can be the man she needs. But after so much history and heartbreak, can JB convince Charla to take a risk and give their love a second chance?
The Sweet Spot isn’t a typical love story. Charla Rae Denny and James “JB” Denny were high school sweethearts who were married for long time until the death of their son and the resulting grief, guilt and anger tore them apart. JB sought comfort in his work on the professional bull riding circuit and ultimately in a woman half his age while Charla turned to prescription pills to numb the pain. Unfortunately, the terms of their divorce mean that they have to remain in close proximity. With JB on the road, Charla has to keep the ranch running in addition to caring for her elderly father who has Alzheimer’s and juggling their finances. Charla has been a housewife all her life and has no idea where to begin running a ranch but she is stubborn enough to try.
JB Denny tried to reach his wife after the death of their son but she was so lost in her grief that he gave up on her and his marriage and sought solace elsewhere. Working on the ranch keeps the memories of his missteps fresh but he wants his wife back and is determined to show Charla that he is a better man.
This one was hard to read for so many reasons. The loss of a loved one is one that some people never recover from, especially in the case of a child. Every emotion they went through was as real as can be – the anguish, the guilt, the anger, all of it. Charla and JB are not a young couple in the fresh bloom of love, but are forty-year olds who have been married for a long time and have slowly drifted apart. Their tragedy only magnified the fissures in their relationship and then shattered it. They both had to acknowledge and examine their roles in destroying what they had, something that requires a lot of introspection and personal growth. In the end their relationship is not that of the starry-eyed teenagers they once were but that of the mature adults they have become.
A bright spot in the book is the friendship that grew between Charla and Bella. Bella’s attempts at becoming a cowgirl provided much-needed humor. With The Sweet Spot, Laura Drake reminds us that love isn’t always hearts and roses, it comes with pain too.
SERIES ORDER
#2 Nothing Sweeter: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
#3 Sweet On You: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
About Laura Drake
Laura Drake is a city girl who never grew out of her tomboy ways or a serious cowboy crush. She writes Women’s Fiction and Romance.
Laura recently realized a long time dream of moving to Texas, and is currently working on her accent. She gave up a Corporate CFO gig to write full time. She's wife, grandmother and motorcycle chick in the remaining waking hours.
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