Trial by Fire

BA Tortuga

Mar 2016 · Dreamspinner Press

About this ebook

One Aussie. One Texan. One baby. One hell of a fight.

When his sister and her husband are killed in an accident, Aussie cattle station owner Lachlan McCoughney rushes to Texas to rescue their infant daughter, Chloe. He expects to find his niece living in squalor with the Sheffields, a rodeo family.

Instead, Lachlan finds Holden Sheffield, a salt-of-the-earth cowboy running a huge business operation. They want to explore their mutual attraction despite the many problems thrown their way, and together, they must find a way to give Chloe a new family and find a love that spans thousands of acres and two continents.

Ratings and reviews

✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ FIVE-STAR ✩ REVIEW ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ > > Judging a Book by its Cover < < Super cute… stoic, serious looking cowboy holding a small infant. Synopsis sounds truly enjoyable. > > Looking Deeper < < POV ~> Third-person Setting ~> Texas, USA, with Epilogue in Australia Holy cow, what was not to like about this one? Hot cowboys, a baby, animals, some sweet moments, mystery intrigue, action, sexy times, meddling parents… yes! Lachlan is a wealthy and successful cattle rancher in Australia. He’s been searching for his sister since the day she disappeared. Suddenly, late one night, he receives a call from the investigator that he’d hired. She’s been found, but she’d recently died in the US, leaving behind an infant daughter. Holden’s family runs a major livestock operation, from rodeo rough stock to a Mustang Rescue and cattle ranching, not to mention various training facilities. When his twin dies suddenly, he’s named little Chloe’s guardian. He has no idea what he’s doing but he trusts that Landon and Adelaide knew what they were doing in naming him, so he’s determined to do his level best to make sure that baby is safe, loved, and provided for. Never did he expect anyone to show up from the other side of the globe to contest custody. No one ever expected a traitor in their midst but when potentially fatal attacks on ranchland occur and Chloe goes missing, they know it was one of their own. Excitement, drama, turmoil! Lachlan and Holden have great relationship dynamics that slowly develops and there are so many C-blocked moments that it’s truly endearing. The secondary cast is a big one here, with both sets of parents, Dez, Ryan (who I kept feeling like I should have already known… he felt like an already established character somewhere), the ranch hands, emergency personnel, feebs, and local community/neighbors. How it got packed into two and a quarter hundred pages is beyond me. I love all the Aussie lingo thrown in there but think that the book would have benefitted from having an intro page with “translations” for some of the words and phrases used. The story was packed full of content and entertaining cast members and the plot flowed smoothly. The writing style is super easy to read. There were several conflicts along the way, all of which were addressed and resolved by the end, providing a solid and satisfying conclusion with very little predictability. Overall, I think this was my favorite book by BA Tortuga to-date and can’t help but wonder if she’ll ever write a story for Dez and/or Ryan. . Rating: [R] ~ Score: 4.5 ~ Stars: 4.5 ========================== ⭐ ⭐ **** Disclosure of Material: I purchased a copy of this book from the Publisher and am voluntarily leaving unbiased and unsolicited feedback. I was not asked, encouraged, or required to leave a review - nor was I compensated in any way. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising". ***** ⭐ ⭐