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For makeup artist Grace Barrett, Hollywood isn't the land of golden opportunity. It's the land of difficult divas, cheating boyfriends and unemployment. So when her great-aunt offers her a free place to stay in Jackson Hole, Grace thinks she'll spend a little time in the sticks to figure out her life, and then move somewhere exciting to live out her dreams. But it turns out that there are a few more thrills in this small town than Grace was expectingÂ….
Cole Rawlins is a rugged Wyoming cowboy born and bred. Yet he can't help but be drawn to the fascinating big-city girl who moves in across from him. He wants to get close enough to Grace to see past her tough facade, but if he does, she might see the real Cole. The one with a Hollywood history gone bad. As they discover a sizzling attraction, it becomes harder for him to keep his demons at bay—and those fires from long ago may burn them both.
They'll need more than scorching-hot passion to make this opposites-attract affair work. But if they can learn to trust one another enough to reveal their secrets, they just might have a chance at forever.
"A hot and funny story about a woman many of us can relate to...."
—Salon.com on Crazy for Love
"[A] hands-down winner, a sensual story filled with memorable characters."
-Booklist on Start Me Up
"Dahl smartly wraps up a winning tale full of endearing oddballs, light mustery and plenty of innuendo and passion."
-Publishers Weekly on Talk Me Down
"Sparkling, special and oh so sexy-Victoria Dahl is a special treat!"
-New York Times bestselling author Carly Phillips on Talk Me Down
Dayumm, Ms. Dahl can write a good Cowboy story!!! Cole Rawlins is our
mentally and physically broken but oh so sexy hero. In his late
thirties, this cowboy is done with his partying, has experienced
heartaches, realizes his mistakes and is now ready to get his life
straightened out. However, with his recent leg injury, it will take time
before his plans take place. But as they say, “things happen for a
reason” and he would not have met the city girl next door if he had not
moved in at the Stud Farm. Twenty-eight year old, starving make-up
artist, Grace Barret recently had her heart broken. Starting anew, she
moved out of Los Angeles to “passing through” Wyoming, stays with her
aunt then plans to head to Vancouver hoping for a job. Grace is jaded
due to hardships and betrayals in her past. She has learned to harden
her shell to ward off any friendships or relationships to avoid any
heartbreaks. But Wyoming has a way to soften any heart, in this case in
the form of a hot cowboy! This city-girl-meet-the-cowboy story is one I
could not put down. Grace was super funny and it was easy to relate to
her, being a city girl myself. Like her, I don’t know what the
difference between an elk and a deer is or what a pronghorn is. Grace’s
reactions to her new surroundings, her attraction to the cowboy next
door, and how she dealt with life in general were all believable and
justifiable. She's a survivor! The same goes for Cole, how many of us do
things and later regret them? Most of the time that very mistake is what
straightens us out. Cole is super hot with his cowboy self and a man
more than willing to take care of his woman. I LOVE the fact that he
knew what he wanted and went for it. Cole and Grace’s sexual tension
was strong and when they finally got together…super hot! I don’t care
what anyone says, if Cole where to come to me and “slap me like he
dismounts a horse”, I would not care. What I like about Ms. Dahl is
that she can always deliver a steamy story but not forget the romance,
the laugh-out-loud realistic moments and the endings always leaves me
light hearted. She is consistent in delivering a great contemporary love
story. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a feel-good, sigh
inducing, gush-bucket-filling and laugh-out-loud story. Per Goodreads,
there will be an anthology called BE MINE: Jennifer Crusie, Victoria
Dahl Shannon Stacey. Looks like Dahl's novella will be about
Jenny(Grace’s friend) and will be released Jan.22, 2013. Yay me!!! *ARC
provided by publisher
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.My Review:
This was such a great book and a great start to this series. Grace and Cole are both such wounded characters. I *heart* them!!
Grace ended up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming as a result of basically running from her life. She's spent the last ten years in California and none of those 10 years has been very good, but in the past year, things have gotten significantly worse. So she runs to Jackson Hole where her great aunt has an apartment where she can live for free while licking her wounds.
Speaking of licking wounds, we come to Cole, Grace's next door neighbor. This is a cowboy who is looking at a busted up hip and the loss of his lifelong dream and plans because he may never be able to ride again. He sees Grace as trouble and definitely the kind he is drawn to, which he knows is a really bad idea. He's made that mistake before and never plans to put himself in that place again. But again, this is a romance novel, no one is able to get away from that pesky chemistry.
This book is just a sweet, romantic, emotional ride. I loved it. I loved the depth that the Wyoming landscape offered to the story. I loved the main characters and all their emotional scars. I loved the side characters and what they added. I loved the Stud Farm and the Saloon and I really loved Grace's aunt. The sex in this book was incredibly hot because Grace and Cole have a lot of anger built up (and let me tell you, that bum hip didn't hold this cowboy back AT ALL...whoa!)
I received a complementary copy of this book in return for an honest review.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.krb45
Posted May 3, 2013
Not very good. I read the first half and wondered why! Skimmed the second half to see how it ended.
Sorry I purchased this one.
Story line was weak and characters not well developed. Hard to identify with them.
Anonymous
Posted April 4, 2013
I liked her other series, but so far I dont care for this one. It was not well written and it is hard to relate to the characters. I was very annoyed through most of this book - I actually skipped paragraphs when ever my irritation sparked.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 5, 2013
I love Victoria Dahl's stories. This one did not disappoint. I loved Cole and Grace. Looking forward to Merry and Shane!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Nacole
Posted September 24, 2012
lacking plot but funny
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted September 22, 2012
Whimsical and Steady. Great book and excellent writing. Found myself reading it at my daughters soccer practice instead of watching.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Close Enough to Touch is the first book in Dahl's new series based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It stars two main characters, Grace and Cole, who are just chock-full of major issues. Grace is on the run from her life and her past, for reasons it takes a really long time to reveal to readers, and Cole is trying to recover both from an accident several months before and from family issues that are thirteen years old. Neither is really big on trust or honesty, which tends to be a stumbling block for relationships. For a lot of the novel I wasn't totally sold, either on Grace, who is pricklier than your average porcupine, or on their ultimate chances as a couple—it just seemed as if they'd never get to the point where either could really truly meet the other on equal footing. By the end, though, Dahl managed to pull it off fairly believably, enough that I am planning on picking up the next book in the series. It's not obvious from this one who book two will feature (Shane? Eve? Jenny? Grace's friend Merry who came for a visit?), but there's enough interesting people in town to fill up several future novels.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted September 22, 2012
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Overview
For makeup artist Grace Barrett, Hollywood isn't the land of golden opportunity. It's the land of difficult divas, cheating boyfriends and unemployment. So when her great-aunt offers her a free place to stay in Jackson Hole, Grace thinks she'll spend a little time in the sticks to figure out her life, and then move somewhere exciting to live out her dreams. But it turns out that there are a few more thrills in this small town than Grace was expectingÂ….
Cole Rawlins is a rugged ...