Review: The Return by Erin Knightley

The Return (Sunnybell #2)
By: Erin Knightley
Publisher: BookShots
ASIN: B01LXT4MVE

Review:

Mack McLeroy's star was quickly rising in the professional rodeo circuit until a horrific fall from a bull nearly killed him. Faced with the loss of income and sponsorships, and unsure if he'll even be able to recover sufficiently to return to competition, Mack returns home to Sunnybell, Texas. If he can convince his old high school girlfriend, Ashley Montoya, to use her influence as the niece of his biggest sponsor to save his gig, he might just be able to salvage his dreams of rodeo fame. The only thing he didn't count on was Ashley's ability to hold a grudge...

Following the humiliation of discovering her boyfriend Mack cheating on her, Ashley Montoya was forced to set aside her teenage heartbreak and grow up fast when she became her ALS-stricken mother's primary caregiver. Despite the intervening years she was not ready to forgive Mack when he showed up on her doorstep asking for a favor, until the spark of an idea resurrects her long-cherished dream of becoming a competitive barrel racer. She'll help Mack with his sponsorship woes but only if he'll first use his contacts to help establish her career on the professional rodeo circuit. What neither counted on was the enforced proximity reawakening feelings each though long buried, calling into question the hard-fought dreams each holds dear.

Last year I read Learning to Ride, the first Sunnybell novella and Knightley's first foray into contemporary romance. While I enjoyed it, I had some issues with the unhappy career woman trope and the hook-up between the hero and heroine which felt forced, lacking the characterization I'd come to expect from Knightley's historicals. The Return is a much stronger and more enjoyable contemporary offering. If Knightley continues to pen contemporaries of this ilk I'll happily follow this line of her career trajectory with interest.

I love a good second chances romance, and Ashley and Mack are well drawn characters, sketched with Knightley's trademark warmth and nuance. I did feel that their ages were somewhat deceptive -- Ashley and Mack have each lived a LOT of life for early twentysomethings, and their respective voices often translated older and more world weary than their actual ages on the page. That minor issue aside, is a much stronger contemporary offering from Knightley. There is history in this romance, believable romantic tension, and organic conflict, making this short offering an entertaining, satisfying way in which to while away a few hours. While I suspect I'll always gravitate towards Knightley's historicals first, she's proving to be increasingly adept at penning enjoyable contemporaries, and I look forward to seeing this series continue.

About the book:

With beating hearts and bated breath...

Ashley Montoya was in love with Mack McLeroy in high school--until he broke her heart. When an accident brings him back home to Sunnybell to recover, Ashley's determined to avoid him, but Mack can't stay away. And the more she's with him, the more she can't help but to fall into his embrace...

BookShots Flames

• Original romances presented by JAMES PATTERSON
• Novels you can devour in a few hours
• Impossible to stop reading

Review: Learning to Ride by Erin Knightley

Learning to Ride (Sunnybell #1)
By: Erin Knightley
Publisher: BookShots
ASIN: B01C37XFO0

Review:

When an unexpected chance at promotion sent Madeline Harper to sleepy Sunnybell, Texas, to oversee the successful completion of her company's latest merger, the farthest thing from her mind was becoming involved with a local. Sunnybell was just a stop on her way up the corporate ladder, and one she intended to make the most of -- but she didn't count on a cowboy with a smoldering gaze making her forget every one of her rules of engagement. And when her anonymous hook-up turns out to be Tanner Callen, local celebrity, she becomes more determined than ever to sever the connection. After all, for a city girl like herself a relationship with a thrill-seeking country boy is a recipe for heartache. But Madeline is about to discover that when it comes to matters of the heart, her best-laid plans may be the only thing standing between her and happiness.

Having read (and loved) several of Erin Knightley's historical romance novellas, I was excited to see how she fared with her first contemporary release. For those looking to discover new authors, James Patterson's BookShots are the perfect vehicle -- short, fast reads that are priced to sell. Learning to Ride is basically a Hallmark made-for-TV movie waiting to happen (sans Madeline and Tanner's initial spicy hookup of course). I've always liked that Knightley's historicals fell in the "sweet" end of the historical romance spectrum -- passionate, yes, but not explicit. And while this is certainly tame by the standards of many romance releases, the hook-up conceit felt awkward. Knightley seems to be in uncharted territory here, and it shows, however she is quickly in her element as Tanner and Madeline are forced to navigate the fallout of their initial meeting, as their undeniable chemistry wars with their disparate life goals and worldviews.

While Learning to Ride is your typical opposites attract romance, it underscores an issue I often have with this type of story, whether in books or on film, and that is the idea that a woman with a career either isn't happy or doesn't have anything resembling a healthy work/life balance. All too often it is the woman who gives up the career or the lifestyle FOR LOVE and I ask you, where is the equity in that? Now I realize that I am completely overthinking Knightley's storyline here, and Tanner and Madeline are perfectly likeable characters...but the tropes of their romance frustrated me. City = bad, country = good, etc. -- for once I would LOVE to read a story that flips these tropes on their ear and gives us a romance where the devil-may-care, nominally employed man gives it all up to move to the city for his career-driven woman.

In fairness, Tanner is willing to compromise with Madeline on the city versus country issue, but it ends up being essentially lip service as it isn't necessary for their relationship to progress. Both Tanner and Madeline are perfectly nice characters, and their interactions possess some of the hallmarks that I've come to expect from Knightley's writing -- well drawn, multi-faceted individuals sketched with warmth and humor on the page. Although the storyline is symptomatic of some of my general frustrations with romance tropes (particularly in a contemporary context), this was an engaging summer read -- and should Hallmark or Lifetime ever elect to make this story into a film, I would watch the heck out of that (which I fully realize is a double standard as regards my toleration of certain tropes in text versus film). Make it happen, networks! Now I'm off to read more historical romance, wherein discussions of a woman's career goals would be anachronism at its finest.

About the book:

She never wanted to love a cowboy. . . .

Rodeo king Tanner Callen doesn't want to be tied down. When he sees Madeline Harper at a local honky-tonk and everything about her screams New York, he brings out every trick in his playbook to take her home. But soon he learns that he doesn't just want her for a night and, instead, hopes for forever. . . .

BookShots Flames

• Original romances presented by JAMES PATTERSON
• Novels you can devour in a few hours
• Impossible to stop reading