by Petie McCarty
GENRE: Romantic Suspense with Paranormal Elements
Blurb:
The Watchers Series–Book One
Fallen angels given one chance at redemption . . .
Come heaven or hell.
Cowboy Watch:
Someone is watching Kellen. She can sense it. But who . . .
Kellen Brand’s inheritance comes as a monumental shock—a rundown farm in West Virginia she doesn’t want and one paroled Watcher all her own, a fallen angel with a single chance at redemption. Seriously? A Watcher?
Only her eccentric mother . . .
Since Kellen vows that no sane woman would choose to live in Riverside, she’s on a mission to dump the old farm fast and to the first buyer who comes along. Unfortunately for her, the only buyer is spurned by a townful of objectors and one handsome cowboy—her neighbor, Luke Thornton. Luke must block Kellen’s farm sale or risk exposure of his own family’s secrets. He can ill afford his immediate and compelling attraction to his new neighbor.
Someone is watching Kellen, but not who she thinks. Someone deadly and intent on scaring her out of town. Or worse. Luke has a hellish choice to make—step in and rescue Kellen from her threats, or to protect his family, stand by and watch . . .
Excerpt:
Without warning, a gunshot sounded, and the bullet ricocheted off a tree about twenty feet away. The Appaloosa jerked hard at the sound of the shot and then reared, ripping the reins from Kellen’s grasp. She grabbed the saddle horn with both hands and concentrated only on staying in the saddle before the horse tumbled her off. The frightened Appaloosa reared a second time and bolted for open ground, leaving Kellen to hang on for dear life.
Two leaping strides and Lily had surged to a full-on gallop, streaking for the wide-open grassy hills. Thundering hooves sounded behind them, and Luke shouted for Kellen to stop. She was helpless, too scared to even glance back at him for fear her grip would loosen. The reins trailed beneath the Appaloosa’s pounding hooves as the mare continued her panicked race to nowhere. If the mare’s hooves got tangled up in the dragging reins, they would both go down.
A fallen tree appeared directly in the mare’s path, and Kellen let loose a scream as the sure-footed horse gamely cleared the tree trunk like a thoroughbred jumper. Kellen slipped to the right side of the saddle when the Appaloosa landed, and they raced on across the open field. One leg still straddled the saddle, and her other leg dangled precariously between the matched pairs of pounding hooves. She heaved her leg up as tight as she could to the mare’s belly and prayed it didn’t get tangled with Lily’s legs, but her muscles weakened with every stride and bounce she sustained. And still, the Appaloosa galloped, sheer adrenaline keeping the mare out in front of the mighty Windsor, intent on catching her.
Bred for endurance, the mare focused on putting as much distance between her and that gunshot as possible. Her powerful hooves hammered across the open pasture. Kellen’s arm and leg muscles burned, and she didn’t know how much longer she could maintain her balance. If she slipped off the mare, she would be trampled to death the second she hit the ground.
As that thought flashed through her brain, Lily hit a gully that waggled her stride enough to send Kellen further off-kilter. Her knuckles turned white from the pressure of her death grip on the saddle horn, and her legs had nothing left to give. She prayed that if she slipped further, she could muster hidden strength to push off and roll away from the deadly hooves.
The mare careened toward a small copse of trees perched on the side of a hill, and a fresh wave of terror slammed through Kellen. Low-hanging limbs would tear her from the horse. Suddenly, Luke appeared alongside. His long arm snaked around her waist and yanked her off the panicked Appaloosa. He slowed Windsor with each stride until he could bring the stallion to a stop and gently lower Kellen to the ground. Her legs gave way the second her feet touched solid ground, and she crumpled to the grass in a heap.
Before she could suck in a full breath, two strong arms lifted her, and Luke crushed her tight to his chest. She could feel his heart pounding out its cadence, as Windsor’s hooves had done moments before. A single sob erupted when she tried to draw a breath, and she clung to him with what little strength she had left. Her muscles quivered, and she didn’t care. For once in her life, she didn’t want to be tough. She just wanted this big, strong man to hold on tight.
My
Review:
Although
Cowboy Watch is the first book in Petie McCarty’s The
Watchers
series,
it’s actually the second one I’ve read! After thoroughly enjoying
the third book, Seal Watch (Cory and Sean's story), I couldn't wait
to dive into the rest of the series and meet the other characters.
Because each book stands alone with a different couple, you can
easily read them out of order.
Cowboy
Watch follows Kellen and Luke. Kellen returns to her hometown to
quickly sell the family house after her mother passes, leaving it to
her and her brother. However, the townspeople are deeply divided over
the sale—especially her incredibly hot cowboy neighbor, Luke, who
has secrets of his own to protect.
The
chemistry between Kellen and Luke is electric; every time they share
a space, you aren't sure if they are going to kiss or kill each
other! On top of the romantic tension, someone is watching Kellen and
trying to scare her out of town. Despite his reservations about the
house sale, Luke steps up to defend her every single time, unable to
bear the thought of her getting hurt.
Who
is targeting Kellen, and why? What is this small town hiding? The
blending of mystery, paranormal elements, and intense chemistry
completely mesmerized me from start to finish. It’s a charming,
captivating story that I didn’t want to end. I am so excited to
read the second book, Christmas Watch, to see where Rachel and Jake’s
story goes.
I
highly recommend this small-town romantic suspense to all romance and
mystery fans. Grab your copy of The Watchers
series today!
About the Author:
Petie spent a large part of her career working at Walt Disney World—"The Most Magical Place on Earth"—where she enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night, including her new series, The Cinderella Romances. She eventually said goodbye to her "day" job to write her stories full-time.
These days, Petie spends her time writing new tales for her Cinderella series, her new
The Watchers series, sequels to her Regency time-travel series, Lords in Time, and more contemporary romance standalones, along with her two previous releases—Any Fin For Love and Ambush in the Everglades.
Petie shares her home on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with her horticulturist husband and an opinionated Nanday conure named Sassy Smart-Assy, who makes a cameo appearance in Christmas Watch, Book 2 of The Watchers series.
Visit Petie at her website to get to know her, learn about her current projects, and discover her other published works.
Connect with Petie McCarty
Giveaway:
$10 Amazon/BN GC
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