Sweet Texas Kiss (Sweet Texas Secrets) – ARC Review

Sweet Texas Kiss
by Monica Tillery
Release Date:  February 11, 2020
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Book #1 in the Sweet Texas Secrets series
Number of pages:  220
Kindle
Source:  ARC from publisher
Contemporary Romance M/F
Rating: R
Read 2/9/20 to 2/11/20

 

When the Cooper brothers hear what their father left them in his will, they’re surprised to find that the things closest to their hearts were given to three random women. Gavin Cooper had his heart set on owning the house the family had grown up in, and when his old high school rival inherits it, he’s devastated. But she can’t sell the house for one year, and that’s plenty of time for him to find a way to get it back.

When Macy Young said goodbye to Sweet Ridge and left to pursue fame and fortune, she never thought she’d return. After losing her best friend, Macy went on a downward spiral of pain and shame. Living in the inherited house where she’d spent many happy hours might just soothe her weary soul.

Macy and Gavin will have to find a way to forgive themselves and each other if they’re ever going to be happy. Can this country star and veterinarian forget their pasts and start a life together?

This was a curious read for me.  There were parts I loved and parts that had me reduced to skimming.  Parts that I loved the characters, and others that had me extremely annoyed with them.  One of the great things about this book was the storyline.  I love the concept of three guys not getting what they felt was their birthright.  Not just because they are spoiled or privileged, but because their father always said they would be getting these things.  In fact, all three brothers seem pretty down to earth and nice. But they’re blindsided by the reading of their father’s will when it’s nothing like what they had been told their whole lives.

The story of these brothers plays out in three separate books, this is the first of those stories.  Gavin had been expecting to receive the family home, instead its willed to an old high school rival.  Macy is now a huge country music star and hasn’t been back to their hometown in years.  So Gavin is not the only one who is confused when she is left the Cooper family house in the will.

I did feel some chemistry between Macy and Gavin at first.  The reader is aware that Gavin had a crush on Macy back in high school, but the character is not aware of this.  But these two have a lot of bad blood between them due to their mutual best friend’s death.  At first, I thought this would be a great addition to the story.  Yet I kept waiting and waiting to find out why Gavin had so much animosity toward Macy over the death.  I never got an answer that satisfied me.  From what I can tell, this otherwise wonderful man was holding more than one petty grudge against Macy.  Everything I was learning about Gavin showed me that he was a fantastic human being. It just didn’t add up for me.

Then, I felt as though I was being told that Macy wasn’t a caring and warm person.  Yet her actions were not aligning with what I was being told.  Sure, she made mistakes in her life and had some guilt that hung over her head like a storm cloud.  It wasn’t those things that made me feel I was supposed to find her cold.  It was Macy’s own thoughts about how she had lived her life even up to when her friend died.

Sometimes I felt as though these characters were virtual strangers, with only their best friend and the fact that they went to the same school tying them together.  Other times, it seemed as if Macy and Gavin grew up hanging out on a regular basis.  Very confusing.

That being said, I still enjoyed this story and am curious what will happen with the other brothers.  Their stories aren’t only in separate books, but they’re also written by different authors.  I’m intrigued as to how the other authors will handle their stories.

3 stars

**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**