Unwrapping a Review of LUCAS, a Bad Boys of Dry River, Wyoming novel by Susan Fisher-Davis

Susan Fisher-Davis is one of my favorite clients from my editing business but sometimes, I don’t have time to edit all of her stories. Well, LUCAS is one that slipped by but she wanted me to read it anyway, so when she offered me a galley – I jumped at it! (that’s a proper use of the word by the way *wink*) LUCAS, book one in the Bad Boys of Dry River, Wyoming is a great setup to a new series and I suspect these Bad Boys are going to end up living in our dreams.

***eARC provided by author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for LUCAS:

Emily Walters needs help fast. Her ex-husband is being released from prison and Adam swore he’d never let her go. She knows he’ll come for her. Her only choice is one of the bad boys of Dry River, Lucas Taggart. Lucas raised a lot of hell when he was younger and never backed down from anyone. It's what Emily needs in a protector and a husband. She offers him half of her ranch in exchange for protection and marriage. Whispering Pines is one of the largest horse ranches in the States. Would it be enough to entice the brooding man?

Lucas Taggart isn't interested in marriage but he is interested in Whispering Pines and when he looks into Emily’s eyes, he knows it wouldn't be a hardship being married to her, as long as it's a real marriage.

When Adam shows up to claim the woman he still thinks of as his wife, will Lucas have to do the unthinkable to protect the woman he's come to love with all his heart? What happens if or when Adam is finally out of the picture? Will Emily still want Lucas around and will she ever return his love?

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Emily Walters is a woman in need – in need of a husband and protector. She was married once upon a time. She was married to a horrible man who verbally abused her and was a criminal on top of that. When he went to prison for embezzlement, she divorced him. Well, to say her ex wasn’t happy about that is an understatement. Now he’s about to get out early on good behavior and she’s terrified he’s going to come after her just as he pledged to do. The only one who can possibly make her feel safe is Lucas Taggert so when he agrees to marry her for half ownership of her horse ranch, she hopes it’s enough and that she hasn’t gotten in over her head with a man who says he wants a real marriage not just one in name.

Lucas Taggert can afford to buy his own ranch but he’s wanted one like Whispering Pines since he worked on it as a boy. Wanting to prove himself more than one of the Dry River Bad Boys, he agrees to marry Emily so he can do that and help her build Whispering Pines into something even bigger. Besides, being married to a beautiful woman wasn’t going to be a hardship, right? He didn’t figure on being so attracted to her or falling in love with her. Now he worries he might not be able to protect her like she needs and if this nightmare with Walters ever ends, will she still want him around?

Okay, I admit it, I wasn't too enthusiastic in the beginning about the premise of marriage simply because she needed a protector. After all, she could have hired someone to pretend to be her husband, right? But once they were married, the story picked up well as they got to know each other better. Emily's desire for Lucas was forged in a youthful crush, and Lucas definitely had the hots for her so as the relationship became more stable, falling in love just had to happen.

LUCAS, the first book in the Bad Boys of Dry River, Wyoming might not have started out with a bang but as the story moves forward, we meet some very interesting secondary characters, including the other Bad Boys who we will definitely want to get to know better. The secondary characters help pull this story together in that small town way where everyone knows everyone else and their business. It's because of this closeness you feel in this small town that Adam might have discovered too easily Emily and Lucas weren’t married had they not made it official, and that would have given Adam entirely too much power. As it is, Adam Walters is the kind of bad guy you really despise. I like that!

As her editor, I might have made a lot of changes, had her bring out Emily and Lucas’s characters a bit more but on her own, she did well introducing us to this new series and so I’m proud of Susan. She created a good solid start to a series featuring some dreamy Bad Boys who will be taking us in many directions while keeping close to the roots that make them who they are. Her next one in the series features Montgomery Bradford who we meet in LUCAS – so hang on to your hats, it’s going to be a very bumpy ride with these Bad Boys of Dry River, Wyoming.

Susan Fisher-Davis creates some down home, good-people characters in the Bad Boys of Dry River, Wyoming. It's not hard to imagine them as friends. LUCAS by Susan Fisher-Davis is a good read, and a great start to a brand new series. A series you’ll want to come back and visit again. She demonstrates just how sexy cowboys can be – and romantic.

Happy Reading Everyone!

LUCAS, a Bad Boys of Dry River, Wyoming novel by Susan Fisher-Davis, Secret Cravings Publishing, available now in ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

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