Review: The Creed Legacy by Linda Lael Miller

I am a big fan of Linda Lael Miller's novels, both contemporary and historical.  Today I'm reviewing her latest contemporary, The Creed Legacy, released in July. I know, I'm behind in my reading, but this book was worth the wait. Like all of her books, this story has strong cowboys, spirited women and warm hearts.

Brody Creed has something to prove—he’s just not sure to whom. Most likely it is himself. Having made some difficult turns in his life, things didn’t always work out how he’d hoped. And he’s put up so many walls his own twin brother doesn’t know that Brody is a widower and lost a child as well. All his family and the town of Lonesome Dove know about him is that he roamed the rodeo circuit for a decade before finally coming back home. Maybe that’s how Brody should keep things, but then there is one little lady who deserves more of an explanation for how he treated her years ago. If she can forgive him, there may be hope to mend his sore heart.



Carolyn Simmons knows all about being a rolling stone. She just never thought she’d be on the receiving end of someone else’s moving on. Brody Creed broke her heart into little pieces once—when she was most vulnerable. She’s not about to go back for seconds, regardless of how attracted she is to the man. Once Brody had given her a taste of what being loved and part of a family could be like. That will have to suffice unless her little foray into internet dating pans out. Anything not to let Brody Creed get too close.


Once again Ms. Miller mines the hearts and souls of her characters to strike at their vulnerabilities so as to make them stronger in the end. Brody Creed acts a good game, but deep inside he is hurting and all the bravado in the world won’t cure that. Carolyn is scared to open up, yet afraid that loneliness is all she’ll ever know. Together these two must learn about trust before they will be able to experience love. Sweet and sensual, this romance is all about the healing aspects of true love.

Review of Creed's Honor by Linda Lael Miller

I'm a big Linda Lael Miller fan from her historical westerns through her romantic suspense period on into her contemporary cowboys. Here's my thoughts on her latest book in the Creeds Cowboys series.

Connor Creed doesn’t quite know how it happened that he’s spending his life alone on the ranch left to him and his twin brother. No brother, no wife, no family. Maybe some of it has to do with his twin stealing his girl way back when—the woman he thought he loved and the brother he thought he could trust—implicitly. Shows just how wrong a body can be.


Tricia McCall can’t wait to get back to her “real” life in Seattle after settling her father’s estate, such as it is, by selling the rundown camp and abandoned drive-in. Not that it didn’t fill her summers with a lot of fun when she was a child, but that was then and this is now. But, as she starts to live in the small town of Lonesome Bend, she can’t help but wonder if the man who has been stringing her along in Seattle is the “man of her dreams” or just someone she can “pretend” she’s involved with to avoid being involved at all.

When handsome Conner Creed starts turning up at Tricia’s great-grandmother’s house and the town social she’s helping out with and invites her and her friend’s daughter out to the ranch for a trail ride, Tricia can’t help but be intrigued, if cautious. After all, she’s got a life in Seattle to return to—a big city life, the kind of life she’s always lived (except for summers with her father after her parent’s divorce.)

Conner is well aware that anything with Tricia McCall is temporary. But loneliness and a bright and beautiful woman is too tempting a combination. He’s throwing caution to the wind—that is until his twin brother shows up after years of being away and throws a monkey wrench into everything.

Linda Lael Miller knows how to create strong yet vulnerable cowboy heroes that tug at your heart and your heart strings and Conner Creed is a prime example. And Tricia McCall is a good match for him—coming as she does with her own blind spots, especially when it comes to the men in her life. A book that will draw you in, hug you with its warmth, and leave you with a smile on your face. For me, nothing could be better.

Available at Barnes and Nobles

and Amazon.com



Counting Blessings

As someone reminded me, I haven't been very good about keeping up my blog. I still haven't figured out the key to making this routine. Just when I think I've got it, blogging goes sputtering off my radar. But I was reading Linda Lael Miller's blog today http://www.lindalaelmiller.com/blog/blog.asp
and she reminded me about one thing that should never go off someone's radar--and that is counting my blessings.

So while I sit polishing off a requested manuscript in between hovering over my teenager who is home with H1N1 flu, I decided to take some time and count my blessings.

So here's five things I'm grateful for today:

(1) My daughter is recovering from the flu--fever is down, sore throat isn't so sore, and she's beginning to talk about how bored she is--a sure sign of progress!

(2) That I have a request from a great editor for my contemporary manuscript and I'm almost done making it shiny and bright. I'd tell you more about it but I don't want to jinx it. :)

(3) That I have such a good husband who did the grocery shopping and cooked dinner last night so I could take care of my daughter and work on my manuscript. Did I mention how much I love him?

(4) That I'm able to work at what I love--both in writing and in my consulting practice.

(5) That it's a gorgeous day out and I'm going to get in some garden clean up later--maybe, hopefully.

Linda was right. It does make you feel so much better! Any blessings(s) you want to count? And sorry I've been away so long.....

Hook 'em with Your Best Shoot

What do authors Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, Eloisa James, Rachel Gibson, Linda Lael Miller, Jennifer Crusie and Elizabeth Lowell all have in common—besides best sellers?

Great openings. But could you tell who wrote which great hook?

Check out Liberty States Fiction Writers' Blog Read Around the World and see if you can match the author to their opening paragraph—I’ve included the answers at the end of the article so you can check yourself.

And to celebrate the release of Return To Wayback today—I’m giving away a free copy of the book to one lucky person who leaves a comment today. So share your own favorite opening—or just tell which of the above author’s hook you liked best—or just say hi! Hope to see you there.

Montana Creeds:Tyler by Linda Lael Miller

Tyler is the youngest of the Montana Creeds—and he’s learned a lot from his two older brothers—mostly about how not to take on responsibility. But now both his brothers are married with families of their own and he’s not only estranged from them, but the odd man out on his own land.

Of course, Tyler has a lot to resent. His mother committed suicide when he was younger and now he learns his miserable father took the same path. It’s no wonder he just wants to be left alone in his time-worn cabin.

But when his former girlfriend, Lily Kenyon arrives back in town to help her ailing father, solitude doesn’t seem very inviting. And when he witnesses the abuse of a teenage boy, a boy that could be his own son, at the hands of a no-good “step-father”, Tyler makes room in his life for another damaged soul.

Lily has her own issues to deal with. Her husband’s mysterious death, her father’s critical illness and a daughter that needs structure and a sense of family. Given everything she’s dealing with, there is no reserves left to explore the remnants of a past relationship that had gone sour very quickly. That is until Tyler shows up on her doorstep in the flesh.

Will the past rip them apart or can they hold onto each other and face the future together?

This third installment of the Montana Creed series is hot, steamy and sexy but also filled with the emotional tugs that keep readers turning those pages. With compelling characters, difficult situations and strong emotions, this is a satisfying conclusion to a wonderful trilogy. Available today from HQN at bookstores everywhere and Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com.

Review of Montana Creeds: Dylan by Linda Lael Miller

In this second book in the series, Linda Lael Miller gives us bad boy Dylan Creed—the middle son of hell-raiser and less than sterling father, Jake Creed. Dylan is carrying around a lot of baggage from his childhood and he hasn’t exactly lived down his father’s legacy. But when the mother of his child, Bonnie, leaves the child in the cab of his pick-up while he’s playing poker, he has a chance to step up and be the kind of father the young toddler needs—the kind of father his own wasn’t.

Dylan returns to his home town of Stillwater Springs, Montana determined to do what is right for his daughter. Which means setting down roots and giving her the kind of stable home her wayward mother was not capable of. But Dylan doesn’t have a whole lot of experience or any role models to rely on. But he does know a very pretty librarian, his former love, Kristy Madison, who would make a great mother.

Years ago, Kristy had issued an ultimatum after his father’s funereal, one Dylan couldn’t comply with at the time. He needed space, needed time and needed to prove himself. She got engaged to a “responsible” member of the community and only recently did Dylan learn she hadn’t gone through with the marriage. But is she willing to pick up with him again and can he convince her it’s not just a mother for his child he needs—but a wife and partner in this enterprise called life?

Ms. Miller has once again created a charismatic cowboy, but not without faults. Self-absorbed, hard-headed and just a tad domineering, you can’t help but wonder if the self-conscious, quiet librarian will be up to the task of taming him. But like all Ms. Miller’s novels, it would be a mistake to underestimate the strength of her heroines. Romantic, sexy and with a mystery that will keep those pages turning.

Available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com

Review: Montana Creeds: Logan by Linda Lael Miller

Just finished reading Linda Lael Miller’s latest release, Montana Creeds: Logan, a contemporary western about a family that is related to the McKettrick family from another popular series of hers. I just love how these all inter-twine. Reminds me of what Anthony Trollope used to do with his novels back in the day.

Logan Creed, by society’s account, is a successful man. He’s got a gold-plated law degree, has a few rodeo buckles from his younger days and was a special ops soldier in Iraq, and survived. But he’s haunted by the death of his father with whom he had a complicated relationship, his falling out with his two brothers with whom he has no relationship and two failed marriages. He doesn’t feel very successful. So he’s come back to Stillwater Springs, Montana and the broken-down family ranch to, in essence, begin again. He plans to return the ranch and the Creed name to its former glory—both of which have been tarnished by neglect. Tackling that seems a heck of a lot easier than building relationships and learning how to care again.

Divorced, single parent Briana Grant, by most accounts, would not be considered successful. She can barely keep food on the table though she’s working hard at her job in a local casino, she can’t supply her sons with all the gadgets kids want these days, and she’s doesn’t have a home to call her own as she’s living in Dylan Creed’s house on the Creed family ranch as a “caretaker” though he’s doing all the caring for it—from over the phone lines as he’s traveling as a stuntman in the movies. But Briana has a warm and loving relationship with her two growing boys and friends who are willing to help her and by her own yardstick, she’s doing okay. After a childhood spent on the road and a wayward ex-husband, she’s trying to put down roots. What she doesn’t need is any more complications in an already complicated life. But then, Logan Creed moves in next door and all bets are off.

When break-ins start occurring and her ex-husband appears on the scene, things take an unexpected turn in a new direction for both of them.

No one creates sexy, complicated, Stetson-wearing heroes the way Ms. Miller does, and she hits the bulls-eye with Logan Creed. And when he comes up against an equally strong-minded but vulnerable heroine, the sparks fly. Talk about sexual tension! In fact all the characters in this book are so well drawn that they will seem both familiar and yet intriguing from the two young boys, to the new sheriff to an ex-husband that you actually root for in his troubled relationship with his young sons. This book is definitely a romance but the family dynamics that are exposed hit an achingly familiar cord. Well done! 5 Stars!

Montana Creeds: Logan

ISBN:0-373-77353-6

Harlequin: HQN

February 2009 Release

Happy Birthday Love Western Romances--plus current "Fav" books!

It’s officially one year since Karyna DaRosa and I started Love Western Romances.com to help readers who love the genre find new authors and authors who write western historical romances find new readers.

A lot of people told us that western historical romances were declining in popularity. Really? You wouldn’t know it from the readers who come to our site! Or the number of western historical romances being published. The support of those who Love Western Romances--readers and authors--has been phenomenal.

We’ve reviewed over 60 western historical romances on the site in the last year from over 30 different authors and that’s certainly not every author or book that has been published in the genre—try as we do to capture as many as possible.

Here are a few of my favorite books just released or soon to be released—and this list is by no means comprehensive because I wouldn’t have enough room to fit every one. You can find a complete listing of great western romances on http://www.lovewesternromances.com/. Let me know if there are any recent releases you'd add to the list.




(Just released in paperback)













(out in June)


(out in July)




(Released in February)