Good book! Suspense, romance and a nice blending of family, their expectations and what you believe you know about them. Blackmail, public office and the matriarch who holds them all together. Good character developement and interesting story.

Just finished reading this and am in two minds how to rate it. On one hand I did enjoy it but on the other hand it was utterly frustrating and totally lacking in credibility. I say this because the story is based around a well to do family getting ready for Christmas. Amongst them, two high ranking police officers with their own personal tragedies, a city mayor father and a loyal can do no wrong matriarch, add another police officer family friend into the mix and a blackmail plot involving the head of the family and the scene is set. Yes there is a bit of mystery and a definite bit of romance but where this book falls down is the expectation that the readers will accept how three seemingly high ranking police officers allow the blackmail plot to play out!

I just didnt find this realistic in any way and was frustrated that I was expected to accept that these intelligent law enforcers would handle this situation in this way!

Having said all of that, I did enjoy the book and found it a very easy read.

Many thanks to Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest opinion.

Not quite my kind of book. This just didn't seem to have been edited, might not be so bad if it was polished up a little.

Take three police officers all with personal tragedy, a father being blackmailed and a family getting ready to celebrate the Christmas season and you have the perfect blend of mystery, family and a budding romance. The author takes you right into the heart of this beautiful family with all their quirks, problems and the love they share for each other. The story is "real", real emotions, real problems, and how they work together to solve them all. It's captivating yet a light read all at the same time. A beautifully written story.

This is the first novel I have read by Marsha, and I quickly started looking for her other books. I loved the story line, the characters and the real life family she brought to life in the pages of this book. I would highly recommend it.

A story blending romance and suspense with a recently wounded and medically retired cop and a strong heroine, both in their early forties. Yes, I’ve read this kind of plot before, but I always like to read it or rather its various possible deliveries. And I’ve enjoyed this story by Marsha R. West, it’s always pleasant to read a romance with older characters.
Both main characters suffered losses and are in a transitional phase. The hero, Scott, is still adapting to the loss of his career and debilitated physical condition. His initial outrage and despair are slowly replaced by acceptance and the will to find a new job, making the best of the new situation and of his skills. I really liked how the author handled this process. And he’s so attractive with the limp and the cane!...
There are plenty of indecisions in the romance and some inconsistencies in the suspense plot (seasoned cops/detectives forgetting to put the alarm on?!) but nothing really relevant to spoil the reading pleasure.
Other enjoyable aspects for me were the depiction of the familial relationships and the details about the setting, Forth Worth.

Meg Bourland was coming home for Christmas. She had had a traumatic experience recently and she needed her family around her. Her brother David was bringing his former partner, Scott McClaine with him to their Christmas celebration at her parent's house, too. Scott had saved David's life and in the process had injured himself so badly that he had to take a medical retirement from the LAPD.

Meg learned upon her arrival, and quite by accident, that her father was being blackmailed but wouldn't accept her offer of help. Meg was a SWAT officer in Atlanta and with David and Scott's help, she was determined to protect her family from this blackmail threat. As things began to heat up with threats from the blackmailer, things began to heat up with she and Scott, too. There was instant attraction but she was determined to not fall for another cop. Would you be able to let her guard down and take a chance with Scott? Would she be able to save her family from disaster?

Unfortunately, there was a little too much focus on the sex in my opinion. The story had drama all on its own and didn't need the graphic description of sex to keep my interest. The book needs to be reedited, too. There are quite a number of grammatical errors to correct.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like I must have read a different book than everyone else. I received a copy of this eBook from NetGalley. I assume, since the book was published in 2014, that what I received was the published version and not an ARC. There were over 93 extra words, missing words, grammatical errors, misplaced commas and run on sentences in this 396 page book. That is beyond excessive. In addition, you “break” up not “brake” up, it’s underwear not under-ware. Also, two different sizes of type were used in the same paragraph in more than one place. I really should have DNF’d early on.

There are SPOILERS in this review.

Meg Bourland is a SWAT team member in Atlanta, Ga. Her brother, David, is a cop out in LA. Scott McClaine was his partner. Scott took some bullets intended for David and has been medically retired from the force. Since Scott has no family, he is recuperating at the Bourland family home in Fort Worth, TX.

Joe Bourland is the Mayor of Fort Worth. His wife, Ellie, is very active in the community. When Meg and David discover their dad is being blackmailed, they get Scott to help them investigate.

I had a real problem with Scott’s character. I rolled my eyes at him constantly and wanted to yell at him to grow a pair, sac up, something. Yeah, he got shot in the leg and could no longer be a cop, but he wasn’t paralyzed or dead. His poor pitiful me act got old quick. It went on and on for over 90% of the book. It took Ellie calling him out on it and assuring him that Meg did actually have feelings for him to convince him to get over it.

Chuck creeped me out and made me a little nauseous. He wanted to “get it on” with his supposed half sister. We got to read his thoughts on this way too much in my opinion.

I did like that the characters are older, 40+. I liked the sibling banter between Meg and David. It was very realistic.

This is my first and last book by this author. I voluntarily reviewed a copy provided by NetGalley.

Really gripping story and plot was grear, fast yet smooth paced, just well written!!!