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Men of the West #31
The Lawman's Noelle
The things you find under the mistletoe!
While running her own ranch, Noelle Barnes had encountered all sorts of surprises. But an unconscious cowboy? That was a first! Yet Evan Calhoun was no ordinary rancher. He was a lawman on the hunt for some rustlers. And with her tragic past, there was no way Noelle was going to trust herself to the long arms of the law…
From the moment he looked into her velvety brown eyes, Evan knew Noelle had secrets. Torn between admiring her independence and wanting to take care of her, Evan hadn't realized just what a hard task lassoing this cowgirl would be! Would a holiday proposal bring him all he really wanted for Christmas?
While running her own ranch, Noelle Barnes had encountered all sorts of surprises. But an unconscious cowboy? That was a first! Yet Evan Calhoun was no ordinary rancher. He was a lawman on the hunt for some rustlers. And with her tragic past, there was no way Noelle was going to trust herself to the long arms of the law…
From the moment he looked into her velvety brown eyes, Evan knew Noelle had secrets. Torn between admiring her independence and wanting to take care of her, Evan hadn't realized just what a hard task lassoing this cowgirl would be! Would a holiday proposal bring him all he really wanted for Christmas?
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 18, 2014
About the author
Stella Bagwell
409 books79 followersAt seventeen, Stella married her high school sweetheart: Harrell, and they had a son Jason. She began her writing career almost by accident. She was a hairdresser and worked in her sister's beauty shop. Ironically, Stella developed a severe allergy to hairspray and was forced to resign. With time on her hands, Stella wanted to do something creative. She remembered a high school English teacher telling her she could be a writer if she wanted. Although she always loved reading romances, she never thought to write one herself. Armed with that now notion and an old, manual typewriter, she went to work, attempting to create a story similar to those she liked reading. The result‚ her first book, purchased by Mills & Boon and issued under the Harlequin imprint. After that, she became a full time writer and today, has close to forty published novels. Her for the future is to continue writing romance novels as long as there's an audience to enjoy her work.
Next to writing, traveling is one of her most favorite activities. Yet, because the southwest is dear to her heart, she sets most of her books there in rough, rugged ranch country. She feels it's essential to know a place before writing about it; that philosophy gives her more reason to plan trips! The marriage has always lived in southeastern Oklahoma. But, they purchased a portion of a twenty-two hundred, acre ranch; they now make their home there. Before moving onto the ranch, she had a swimming pool in her back yard and spent most of her summer evenings in the water. Her husband has promised to put in another pool, but for now she has to make do with the creek that runs through their property. The closest town of three thousand is fifteen miles away; she says she loves the seclusion, living among the woods and horses and wildlife. The only thing she doesn't like is making the thirty mile round trip to the post office or grocery store. Worse still, is the eighty-five mile trip to get office supplies!
One of her greatest joys was to see Jason, her only son, graduate from college with degrees in math and physical education. He now lives in Port Lavaca, Texas, where he teaches high school algebra and geometry and coaches football and weightlifting. Family has always come first with Stella and she enjoys spending time with her son when he visits Oklahoma. Sometimes, she and her husband drive down to the Texas coast to see him. However, her mother, step-father and siblings all live nearby and they have routine get-togethers. In her spare time, she enjoys practicing violin and guitar, both of which she can play by ear. She claims to need years of practice before calling herself a musician. Stella also enjoys gardening and being outdoors.
Next to writing, traveling is one of her most favorite activities. Yet, because the southwest is dear to her heart, she sets most of her books there in rough, rugged ranch country. She feels it's essential to know a place before writing about it; that philosophy gives her more reason to plan trips! The marriage has always lived in southeastern Oklahoma. But, they purchased a portion of a twenty-two hundred, acre ranch; they now make their home there. Before moving onto the ranch, she had a swimming pool in her back yard and spent most of her summer evenings in the water. Her husband has promised to put in another pool, but for now she has to make do with the creek that runs through their property. The closest town of three thousand is fifteen miles away; she says she loves the seclusion, living among the woods and horses and wildlife. The only thing she doesn't like is making the thirty mile round trip to the post office or grocery store. Worse still, is the eighty-five mile trip to get office supplies!
One of her greatest joys was to see Jason, her only son, graduate from college with degrees in math and physical education. He now lives in Port Lavaca, Texas, where he teaches high school algebra and geometry and coaches football and weightlifting. Family has always come first with Stella and she enjoys spending time with her son when he visits Oklahoma. Sometimes, she and her husband drive down to the Texas coast to see him. However, her mother, step-father and siblings all live nearby and they have routine get-togethers. In her spare time, she enjoys practicing violin and guitar, both of which she can play by ear. She claims to need years of practice before calling herself a musician. Stella also enjoys gardening and being outdoors.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 31, 2015
A rancher named Noelle finds an unconscious lawman on her ranch and helps him get to the hospital.
She hates cops, because cops shot her 18-year-old brother to death.
This was a cute romance. I liked Noelle's plain, no-nonsense, hard-working, calloused hands attitude. I liked the dogs and horses in the stories. I love animals. The horses were named Lonesome and Driller. Only one dog was named, and she was Gracie.
The sex is nothing to get excited about.
I am so burned out on romance novels now. Time to switch to something different.
THREE REAL STARS, THREE ROMANCE STARS
Harlequin Special Edition December 2014
She hates cops, because cops shot her 18-year-old brother to death.
This was a cute romance. I liked Noelle's plain, no-nonsense, hard-working, calloused hands attitude. I liked the dogs and horses in the stories. I love animals. The horses were named Lonesome and Driller. Only one dog was named, and she was Gracie.
The sex is nothing to get excited about.
I am so burned out on romance novels now. Time to switch to something different.
THREE REAL STARS, THREE ROMANCE STARS
Harlequin Special Edition December 2014
December 21, 2014
Good book. Noelle is the owner of a small ranch, which she runs completely on her own. While checking her fences one day she came across Evan Calhoun, injured and unconscious. After reviving him, she's not too happy to discover that he's a detective with the local sheriff's department, but she can't just leave him. So she gets him the help he needs, delivers him to his home, and doesn't expect to see him again.
I liked Noelle. She is fiercely independent and determined to live her life on her own terms. Her parents have money, but were very self-absorbed people, and hadn't spent much time with Noelle and her brother Andy. As she got older she went along with her parents' wishes, including marrying a man they favored. After she discovered he had only married her for her money and as a stepping stone in her father's company, she divorced him. Around the same time her younger brother was killed, shot by mistake by a policeman. Heartbroken, she moved to the land left to her by her aunt and uncle. Her meeting with Evan disturbed her on a couple levels. First, she was attracted to him, feelings that she hadn't had since her divorce five years earlier. Second, he was a lawman, the type of person she had resented and avoided since her brother's death. He also comes from money, another type she has avoided because of her family experiences. Though she doesn't expect to see him again, she can't help but be happy when he comes to see her. Though her head tells her to stay away from him, her heart isn't listening. Over the next few weeks, Evan comes to see her more and more often, helping out on her ranch, and including her in things with his family. She starts to see a different side of him, and by extension all lawmen, and her feelings for him start to deepen. But she still sees a gulf between them, one that she doesn't see narrowing.
Evan is one of the Calhoun brothers, one that is somewhat out of step with his family. He has never been overly interested in the ranch, his dream has always been law enforcement. One of the cases he is working on involves cattle rustlers, and that's what he was working on when he was rescued by Noelle. He had been thrown by his horse, and if not for her he could have been in very bad shape. He had been drawn to her from the very beginning, even though she's nothing like the women he usually dates. He has been keeping his relationships very light ever since the end of his engagement. He had been burned by her, when it turned out she was more interested in his family wealth that in himself. Now he's extra cautious. I liked the way that Noelle's independence impressed him, even though it also worried him that she was so isolated. I liked seeing him pull her into his life and show her a bit of fun. Evan was nervous about the strength of the feelings he was beginning to have for her. He is thinking more about a permanent relationship with her, but can't see how that can happen with her refusing to leave her land, and him unwilling to be far from his own family.
Both Noelle and Evan are pretty stubborn about their own needs. I have to admit that I was more sympathetic to Noelle than I was to Evan, because of her background. Both of them had some serious thinking to do about what they really wanted for the rest of their lives. I loved seeing how they finally realized that nothing was more important than being together. The epilogue was a nice wrap up for the book. I'm looking forward to reading stories for Finn and Brodie.
I liked Noelle. She is fiercely independent and determined to live her life on her own terms. Her parents have money, but were very self-absorbed people, and hadn't spent much time with Noelle and her brother Andy. As she got older she went along with her parents' wishes, including marrying a man they favored. After she discovered he had only married her for her money and as a stepping stone in her father's company, she divorced him. Around the same time her younger brother was killed, shot by mistake by a policeman. Heartbroken, she moved to the land left to her by her aunt and uncle. Her meeting with Evan disturbed her on a couple levels. First, she was attracted to him, feelings that she hadn't had since her divorce five years earlier. Second, he was a lawman, the type of person she had resented and avoided since her brother's death. He also comes from money, another type she has avoided because of her family experiences. Though she doesn't expect to see him again, she can't help but be happy when he comes to see her. Though her head tells her to stay away from him, her heart isn't listening. Over the next few weeks, Evan comes to see her more and more often, helping out on her ranch, and including her in things with his family. She starts to see a different side of him, and by extension all lawmen, and her feelings for him start to deepen. But she still sees a gulf between them, one that she doesn't see narrowing.
Evan is one of the Calhoun brothers, one that is somewhat out of step with his family. He has never been overly interested in the ranch, his dream has always been law enforcement. One of the cases he is working on involves cattle rustlers, and that's what he was working on when he was rescued by Noelle. He had been thrown by his horse, and if not for her he could have been in very bad shape. He had been drawn to her from the very beginning, even though she's nothing like the women he usually dates. He has been keeping his relationships very light ever since the end of his engagement. He had been burned by her, when it turned out she was more interested in his family wealth that in himself. Now he's extra cautious. I liked the way that Noelle's independence impressed him, even though it also worried him that she was so isolated. I liked seeing him pull her into his life and show her a bit of fun. Evan was nervous about the strength of the feelings he was beginning to have for her. He is thinking more about a permanent relationship with her, but can't see how that can happen with her refusing to leave her land, and him unwilling to be far from his own family.
Both Noelle and Evan are pretty stubborn about their own needs. I have to admit that I was more sympathetic to Noelle than I was to Evan, because of her background. Both of them had some serious thinking to do about what they really wanted for the rest of their lives. I loved seeing how they finally realized that nothing was more important than being together. The epilogue was a nice wrap up for the book. I'm looking forward to reading stories for Finn and Brodie.
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January 12, 2016"Bagwell’s return to her iconic Calhoun series is an ingenuous home-on-the-range romance complete with small-town seasonal trappings. The noble, hunky hero and hurting stalwart heroine have some mighty hurdles, but their love story is definitely worth the effort" (RT Book Reviews, 4 stars).
Miniseries: Men of the West
Miniseries: Men of the West
December 18, 2014
Not bad, but not my favourite.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews