Author: Joyce Zeller
Publisher: Camel Press
Date of publication: September 2013
Romance writer Maddie Taylor is fed up with New York City.
She is getting nowhere with her latest manuscript and does not believe true
love exists outside of her imagination. When a friend, Jonah Spartman, dies and
wills her half of his Arkansas cattle ranch, she sees the chance for a new
beginning. Jonah has also left behind two orphaned great-grandsons desperate
for affection and an accounting book in the red.
The other half of the failing ranch belongs to Gideon Spartman, Jonah’s
grandson, who believes all capacity for love was torn from him during his tour
of duty in Afghanistan. Rugged and sexy, Gideon is the enthralling physical
manifestation of the hero in Maddie’s current manuscript. He is far from happy
to be sharing an inheritance that is rightfully his. As she senses the need
behind Gideon’s rough and unwelcoming exterior, Maddie acknowledges her own
yearning for love and family.
Jonah’s will requires Maddie to stay on the ranch for three months. When that
time is up, will she return to her comfortable but emotionally barren existence
or embrace the challenges of her new life, which include cattle rustlers and
drug dealers? Maddie’s choice proves to be far from simple.
My thoughts:
Maddie's Choice was an enjoyable read. I thought the characters were interesting and kept me engaged. Maddie and Gideon are both looking for the same thing, they just don't know it yet. At the ranch, they both find a family and a home. Gideon is a war hero who has major PTSD. While I was surprised that the character wasn't seeking help for it, given his intense episodes, I thought the subject was handled pretty realistically. I liked Maddie's little excerpts of the romance novel she was writing. It was cool to get a glimpse inside the mind of a writer. I do recommend the book. With romance, cattle thieves, and a big chocolate loving bull nicknamed baby, how can you go wrong?
Enjoy this excerpt:
Glancing up, he saw Maddie and Abe approaching at a near run. The
urgency in her step, and that look on her face—a mix of worry and fear, like
she expected trouble—alerted him.
He got the picture. Blabbermouth Mark was telling him something
he wasn’t supposed to know until she got here to explain, because she didn’t
think he’d approve. She was playing him. She was going to try to talk him into
doing something she was sure he didn’t want to do. Damn. He was going to
enjoy this, but it nettled him a little. Her opinion of him was pretty low if
she thought he’d object to a birthday party for Abe. And why the hell should he
care what she thought?
Because you want her, stupid. But to get her, she has to return
the want. For sure, giving her a hard time isn’t going to get you anywhere.
Eyebrow raised, head cocked to one side, he watched through
narrowed eyes as she slowed her pace to a saunter and replaced her worried look
with a casual smile.
“Why, Gideon. What a nice surprise to find you here,” she said.
He stared without commenting, liking the little flicker of doubt
in her expression.
“But Maddie,” Mark said, “you knew he was here. Remember we saw
Uncle Gid’s truck outside?”
She glanced at Mark, clearly exasperated, not saying what Gideon
knew was on the tip of her tongue.
Abe said it for her. “Shut up, Mark.”
Sighing, she gave Gideon a falsely sweet smile and fluttered her
eyelashes. “I see that Mark told you about Abe’s birthday party.”
“What about it?” He wanted to laugh. He barely managed a glare.
She gazed at him, trying to hide her unease at his response.
“Well, it was the funniest thing,” she said, brimming with false enthusiasm,
waiting for him to smile in return.
Eyes narrowed, he studied her. His silence was making her fidget.
Damn, she had a beautiful mouth—that lower lip distended
softly in a coaxing pout. He imagined taking it between his own lips and
pulling on it gently. She’d taste as sweet as strawberries warmed by the sun.
Her voice faded. He was lost in a sensual haze that would have him agreeing to
anything as long as he could taste that mouth.
“Doris Potter and Genevra Wilson are going to do most of the
planning, but I worry about where we’re going to put all those people. Is there
some way we can set up tables?”
All those people? Tables? He tried to remember what she’d said,
but he hadn’t heard a word. Alarmed, he demanded, “How many people have you
invited?”
“Uh, well, I guess most of the town. Genevra said the Spartman
barbecue was an annual tradition, perfect for Abe’s birthday party. It’s two
weeks from today, but all we have to do is supply beer and sodas and the
barbecued beef,” she said.
He stared at her, aghast. “Hell, Maddie, we can’t do this. There
could be two hundred people here. Do you know what that would cost? We can’t
afford a party like that right now. We’re low on cash this time of the year.”
Her hand was on his arm, patting it soothingly. Sparks of
electricity shot along his flesh, clear to his brain, took an awesome bounce
and shot toward his groin.
“I’ll pay for it, Gideon. The party is my idea, and I can easily
afford it. It’s the least I can do. After all, we’re partners, aren’t we?”
Easily afford it? Irritated because he suspected, vaguely, that
his manhood might have been insulted, he geared up to retaliate, but then he
caught the cruelly disappointed expression on Abe’s face and changed course. If
she wanted to pay for it, why not? How much money did she make, anyhow?
He’d almost accepted the idea when reality hit him. He couldn’t
host a party for the whole town. He didn’t know shit about parties or where to
begin. He’d make a damn fool of himself. Ask him to kill a man with his bare
hands, lead a strike force, or take out a target with a rifle at a thousand
yards—yeah, he could do that—but throw a party with the whole town looking on?
God, no.
About the author:
Joyce Zeller has written
articles for a magazine and a cooking column for a chain of suburban newspapers
north of Chicago. She has written five books and published two, The Hidden
History of
Eureka Springs, and Accidental Alien, a work of science fiction,
both available on Amazon. Her short story, “Love is a Seed,” is featured in
Embrace: A Romance Collection, (2012 Goldmine Press). Joyce has served in the
United States Army. As a professional perfumer (School of Perfumery, London,
England) and an aroma-therapist, she made custom fragrances in her store. Her creation,
Mountain Air, was declared the Arkansas Sesquicentennial Fragrance in 1965. Her
latest achievement was getting elected as Alderman to the Eureka Springs City
Council. Maddie’s Choice is a romance with her favorite theme, that being human
is a lonely business, but for everyone there is somebody to love. It’s a matter
of finding them. There will always be kids and animals in her books, and
always, humor, “because life without humor is unthinkable.”
