Eight Seconds in Red River by Cali Black Review

 

Eight Seconds in Red River is another wonderful contemporary, western romance by Cali Black. I admit, I was a bit hesitant to read this one right away. Not because I wasn't interested in the story. Oh no, it's because I was interested after I read the blurb, that I decided I would read the ARC. But this book is book three in this series. And the first two books are not out yet. I'm not writing this to complain. Just to warn you. If you are like me, I prefer to read books in order if they have any connection to prior books. So by reading this book, I now know a lot more about the characters who will be the main characters in books one and two. Again, not complaining. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to read it. But, I thought I would make sure to warn others who feel as I do when it comes to character relationship spoilers. 

Okay, so that said, yes, I did love this book. The story is told from the points of view of both Cane Hightower and Silvie Shepherd. While they grew up in the same town, Cane has been gone for several years, having left under not great circumstances. They meet in the first chapter when Cane shows up at his brother's house carrying his newborn baby. Because Silvie has a big heart she ends up offering to help Cane with Arizona, even though she herself is a struggling single mother. 

Cane spends most of the time trying to get closer to Silvie, sometimes in inappropriate ways, and her son Tyler, while Silvie finds herself getting emotionally attached to baby Ari and Cane as well. Their unusual arrangement gets some tongues wagging in Red River as assumptions are made, though some of them may be a bit on the true side. 

Cane is the "bad boy" prodigal son, while Silvie is the "good girl" who can't figure out how her life turned out so wrong. They both have a lot to work through before they can actually have a real relationship. 

I absolutely loved all the interactions Cane and Silvie has with both babies. And there was a bit of humor involving a little old lady who couldn't keep her nose out of their business. Additionally, there was a lot of emotion and breaking down of walls and learning to forgive and trust. Plus lots of temptation that I did wonder at times whether they were going to be able to resist. Yes, very sizzly. While there was nothing graphic, there was a lot of focusing on different body parts, and some "hot" scenes, and a bit of partial undress (mostly Cane being shirtless). 

There were times I really wondered if they would end up together. Sometimes I wanted to smack Cane for not really thinking things through. But other times I thought that Silvie's reactions were a bit over-dramatic. But they both had a lot they were working through, so I guess it was a bit understandable. I was also a bit disappointed at first that Silvie, who was supposed to be a Christian, seemed to be quite willing to give into the temptation I mentioned above, and never really gave a biblical reason as to why it would be wrong. Though, that did sort of get explained later on in the story.

I was also eager to find out how Silvie was going to end up starting a business on her property, which is one of the main plot points for the characters in this series. 

I didn't quite guess how everything would play out, but I could definitely see some of it. The last bit was not quite what I expected, but I loved it. Gotta love it when an author surprises you. 

And now that I have gotten to know family and friends, I really want to see how their stories play out. 

Great "start" to a series and one I highly recommend.

I received an e-copy of this book as a member of the launch team and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.