Loving Cara – Book Review

Loving Cara
by Kristen Proby
Release Date:  January 21, 2014
Publisher:  Pocket Books
Book #1 in the Love Under the Big Sky series
Number of Pages:  353
Kindle edition
Source:  MCL
Contemporary Romance M/F
Rating:  XXX
Read 12/20/18

Josh King is an expert at running his family’s multi-million dollar ranch in Montana. (And all that outside manual labor has done wonders for sculpting his six-foot-three body, too.) But as sure footed as he is when it comes to the ranch, Josh doesn’t know anything about how to deal with an adolescent boy—so when his twelve-year-old nephew, Seth, is dropped off on his doorstep, looking scared and acting surly as hell, Josh knows he needs help in straightening him out.

Cara Donovan loves her quiet life as a teacher in her sleepy hometown, so she jumps at the chance to make a little money over the summer as a tutor. But when she learns she’ll be teaching Josh King’s nephew, Cara’s sweet summer job gets a little bit hotter. Cara tries to focus all her attention on tutoring Seth, but Josh proves to be a delicious distraction, while Josh’s memories of the shy girl he once teased in high school are nothing like the beautiful woman he’s facing now. Can he persuade her that there’s more between them than a summer fling?

Lately, I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump.  It hit a little into December, so it was hard for me to figure out if it was truly a slump or had more to do with how busy the holiday season can be for me.  Then, one night, I started this book.  And couldn’t stop reading.  There are actually a few reasons I had trouble sleeping that night, but this story did not help matters.  I really didn’t want to put it down.  This hasn’t truly broken me out of my slump as I’m still super busy and haven’t found as much time to read.  But it was definitely a bright spot in my reading for the last few weeks. 

I learned about Kristen Proby through the group Ladies Who Write.  I have been a huge fan of Sawyer Bennett, Marina Adair, Melissa Foster, and Jill Shalvis for years.  When they announced they were working together and would have some crossovers in a few books, I knew I had to check out the other authors in this group.  Ms. Proby is my first foray into the unknown authors. (The others being Emma Chase and Jennifer Probst, who I hope to get to in 2019.) I should have known she would blow me away just as her friends and fellow authors have done over the years.

This story truly gave me butterflies throughout the whole book! The chemistry is amazing, and the relationships forged seem so natural.  My heart broke for Josh’s nephew, Seth. But his attachment to Cara is so sweet and pure it made me smile.  His protectiveness of Cara, especially when it came to Josh, made me want to give him a big hug.  Of course, he didn’t need to protect Cara from Josh.  They are meant to be.  Josh has his own, very strong, protective instincts when it comes to Cara.

There are some mean-girl issues in this story and I enjoyed the way the author handled the situations that arose.  Those feelings from high school really can carry far into adulthood, even when on an intellectual level we know they shouldn’t.  The way Cara reacted to them was real.  None of us can keep that backbone ramrod straight on the inside all the time, even when we’re projecting confidence on the outside.  And the cluelessness of the men to how such mean-girls really act when they aren’t around was spot on.  But that was taken care of once the truth was revealed.

I love everything about this story and cannot wait to read the next book in the series.  And anything else by this author I can get my hands on.

5 stars