A solid, sexy story from Jules Bennett. Colt and Annabelle were at odds from the beginning, and based on the circumstances who could blame Annabelle for her hatred. But sometimes attraction is a little too hard to deny. I would have liked to see more about their deepening relationship and stretched the book out a little more, but it was a great ending. Can't wait to read the next one.

4 1/2 STARS!

Webs of deception bring this story to life as the heroine suffers one betrayal after another from the people she loves most and yet keeps finding a way to get back up and move forward. Kicking off "The Rancher's Heirs" series, Jules Bennett draws us in immediately with the sorrow we are feeling for this woman who is struggling to pick up the pieces of her life, and she continues to take us on a ride of romance, laughter and happily-ever-afters! She sets the stage well for the future stories, and leaves us ready to jump into Nolan & Pepper's story! I can't wait to see what's next.

Rancher Colt Elliott enjoys his life and the fruits of all of the labor he's put into it. He learned well from his father and has gone on to run the ranch well in his absence, but now he wants to prove to himself and everyone else that he can do more than just hold his own ... he wants to grow and prosper! He needs his neighbor's land to do so, so he's happy to set up a sweet situation that hands it to him!

Annabelle Carter is coming home to Stone River, TX with her infant twin nieces newly in her care. She has been hit with a lot in her young life and just wants to be able to fulfill her dreams and live a good life for a change. When she learns her father has put her plans in jeopardy once again, she'll do anything to keep from losing their house and land to the wealthy neighbor ... even take a job as a ranch hand for Cole Elliott himself to pay back the money her father borrowed!

Neither want to give up on their dream, but they are both wishing for it on the same land. As they spend time together and actually start to like each other, it makes for an awkward situation with all of the secrets floating around. Will Colt realize before it's too late that he wants this ready-made family for his very own?

Colt is after his neighbors ranch and has set a plan in place to get it. What he didn't count on what was Annabelle. She has two infant girls to take care of and a handful of secrets. She's just moved back to the family ranch to grieve and save the ranch so she can open a bed and breakfast. Something that was her mother's dream. Only she finds her father has taken a loan from Colt. To pay him back she ends up working on his ranch. She thinks she's going to be paying the loan off but what she doesn't know is even after she does Colt will still own the ranch. Colt is one of those alpha males who is full of confidence and think he's got all the answers. He's attracted to Annabelle when he first meets her and thinks he can be with her and let her go once his secret is out. It's never that easy. As they get closer Colt realizes he's in a losing situation. Loved watching these two come together and seeing Colt slowly lose some of that cockiness. He's got to flounder some before finding his way to happiness. You have to feel for Annabelle. She's been through so much and still she's remains optimistic and tough. She doesn't let all the stuff she's been through keep her down. Can't wait to see what happens with Colt's three other brothers. We get to see his oldest brother as a secondary character and hear about one of the others in this book. Way to tease!

Find out more about Jules Bennett and this series here www.julesbennett.com

an ok read. irked at belle being mad at colt, when the only person she should be mad at is gambling dad.

An okay and average read.

Bella our heroine is returning home, she is now the mother of her sisters twin babies. Bella lost her sister and fiancé in a car accident, the two were having an affair. Bella returns to her family home and learns her father, who is a gambler, took a loan against the house to pay off some gambling debt. Bella is furious and fearful of losing the home she grew up in and also her and her mothers dream to turn it into a B&B. She learns her father owes their neighbors the Elliott's the money and needs to pay them off in a couple months or lose the home.

We open with Bella driving to the Elliots ranch in a furious state. As she enters their beautiful ranch she sees a gorgeous, shirtless cowboy coming out of a barn. Well she's so distracted she runs into a fence. The shirtless cowboy is our hero Colt Elliot who comes to her rescue and is completely smitten with Bella. He picks up right away she's angry and she lets him know she needs to speak to Mr Elliot but learns he's not available but Colt will pass her message. The following morning Bella is summoned back to the ranch and learns exactly who Mr Elliot is. Sparks fly between the two and Colt comes to an agreement with Bella that she'll work off the loan in the month ahead by working on the ranch for/with him (he wants her close to seduce her). Bella's father will watch the babies. Colt has secrets he's keeping from Bella about the loan and her father.

The story evolves with the two characters developing a friendship as well as lusting after one another. We learn about the fathers gambling issues, past relationship hurts/issues that Bella and Colt both endured and we get some glimpses of cute baby moments. Secrets are then revealed resulting in a lot of hurt feelings and broken trust. We have Bella and Colt learning to open up to each other and reestablish trust, opens and compromise.

I liked the story line and the romance in general. But I found the dialogue to be over the top at times as well as cheesy. The ending was to quick and abrupt. And the insta-lust was off-putting and in love in what, a week?!? A little much.