Category Archives: Nicole Helm

October 19, 2016 · 11:58 pm

Review: True-Blue Cowboy Christmas by Nicole Helm

Title: True-Blue Cowboy Christmas by Nicole Helm
Big Sky Cowboys Series Book Three
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

BIG SKY CHRISTMAS
Thack Lane has his hands full. For the past seven years, he’s been struggling to move on from his wife’s tragic death and raise a daughter all by his lonesome. He doesn’t have time for himself, much less a cheerful new neighbor with a smile that can light up the ranch.

Christmas spirit? Bah, humbug.

With Christmas right around the corner, Summer Shaw is searching for somewhere to belong. When her neighbor’s young daughter takes a shine to her, she is thrilled. But Thack is something else altogether. He’s got walls around his heart that no amount of holiday wishes can scale. Yet as joy comes creeping back to the lonely homestead, Summer and Thack may just find their happily ever after before the last of the Christmas miracles are through…

Review:

A sweet holiday themed romance, True-Blue Cowboy Christmas is the third installment in Nicole Helm’s Big Sky Cowboys series and readers will be thrilled to finally get the inside scoop on the youngest Shaw sibling, Summer.

The only one of the Shaw children not to grow up on the family’s ranch, Summer has slowly been getting to know her brother and sister since moving to Montana two years earlier. Like both her siblings, she plays her cards very close to her chest, so she has not revealed much about her life prior to arriving in town. Summer wants nothing more than to belong and she is unfailingly cheerful and very hesitant to make waves. She refuses to dwell on her unpleasant memories and as a result, she feels much better about herself than she did before moving to the ranch. A little disheartened by her lack of progress getting to know her taciturn father, Summer finds herself at loose ends after her brother’s and sister’s recent marriages.

Widower Thack Lane is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders and he wants nothing more than to protect his seven year old daughter, Kate, from ever experiencing heartache or pain. Following his wife’s tragic death, he put all his energy into raising Kate and running the family ranch. With his dad Merle’s help, Thack has done a pretty good job juggling the demands of parenthood with the ranch work. However, it has become difficult to keep up with Kate as she ignores the rules and runs a little wild. Desperate to maintain tight control over a world that has proven to be quite harsh, Thack is not exactly happy when Merle hires Summer to help out around the house. While he eventually realizes that she is just what Kate needs, Thack is determine to ignore his unexpected attraction to his beautiful neighbor.

Summer has been a bit of an enigmatic character since she arrived but there is little doubt that things were not ideal with her mom. She is so upbeat, happy and calm that her reaction to Thack when he arrives to find his daughter is a bit of a surprise. These chinks in her equanimity are the first real hints that her life with her mom was more than just unpleasant but she continues to push aside her painful memories. Once she gets to know Thack, she realizes that he is genuinely worried about Kate but she does not hesitate to tell him that he might need to loosen up a bit. Not knowing his history, Summer has no idea how hard it is for him to give up control but Thack gradually becomes aware that he needs to let go of his irrational guilt and take a chance that things will work out for him. However, when Summer’s past catches up with her, can he convince her to stop running from trouble?

Set against the backdrop of the holiday season, True-Blue Cowboy Christmas is an emotional novel of healing, family and love. This final installment in Nicole Helm’s Big Sky Cowboys series is less angst ridden but it still packs a powerful punch as Thack and Summer finally make peace with their respective pasts. All of the unanswered questions about the Shaw family’s complicated history are finally resolved with a pulse-pounding, adrenaline-filled yet slightly over the top conclusion All in all, a lovely holiday romance that old and new fans are sure to enjoy.

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Filed under Big Sky Cowboys Series, Contemporary, Nicole Helm, Rated B, Review, Romance, Sourcebooks Casablanca, True-Blue Cowboy Christmas

May 8, 2016 · 11:57 pm

Review: Outlaw Cowboy by Nicole Helm

Title: Outlaw Cowboy by Nicole Helm
Big Sky Cowboys Series Book Two
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 320 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

BIG SKY TROUBLE
Ever since his father’s accident, Caleb Shaw vowed he’d mend his wild ways, and he means to keep his word. He’s a changed man. A better man. And he knows he should want absolutely nothing to do with his crazy old life…or the maddening temptation that is Delia Rogers.

Because Delia? Is nothing but trouble.

Delia’s been stealing her sisters away from their violent father ever since she was old enough to fight back. But now with the police on her trail and all her bridges burned, there’s nowhere left to run but back into the arms of the one cowboy she knows she shouldn’t need. Caleb has always been too good for her, no matter how bad he claimed to be. Yet when close quarters turn into something more, Delia and Caleb are forced to decide what really matters: mending their reputations or healing their wary hearts..

Review:

Outlaw Cowboy is the second installment in Nicole Helm’s angst-ridden Big Sky Cowboys series.  This latest offering pairs reforming bad boy Caleb Shaw with the equally troubled Delia Rogers and their resulting romance is sweet yet full of drama.

Caleb is determined to prove to his sister Mel and the townspeople that he has left his drinking and irresponsible behavior behind him.  Trying his best to save the family ranch without help from his wealthy brother-in-law, he has agreed to their neighbor’s ridiculous terms to lease some of their pastureland but if anyone discovers Delia on the ranch, the deal is off.  Although he has a lot to lose, Caleb cannot bring himself to make her leave and their contentious relationship eventually turns romantic.  With both his heart and the ranch on the line, will Caleb forgive Delia once he discovers the secret she has been keeping from him?

The Shaw family has more than its share of secrets and scars and Caleb is carrying around a world of hurt.  Believing the accusation his mother hurled at him before abandoning the family, he has certainly tried to live up (or down in his case) to her expectations.  Now sober and dedicated to saving his legacy, Caleb is carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders and like his sisters, Mel and Summer, he refuses to reveal why he is so deeply troubled. While he knows he is taking a huge risk letting Delia remain on the ranch, Caleb shares a long history with her that makes it impossible for him to stop trying to protect her.

Delia is not exactly the most likable person when she is first introduced.  She comes from a dysfunctional home and she has spent the last several years rescuing her younger sisters from their abusive father.  She will use anyone and do anything to help bring her plans to fruition and poor Caleb does not stand a chance against her.  She blackmails him into helping her and even after their relationship deepens, she holds back vital information in order to remain on the ranch.  While her reasons for going to such lengths are understandable, it is difficult watching her continue to manipulate Caleb.

Although their relationship is somewhat unconventional, there is never any doubt that Delia and Caleb share a simmering attraction for one another.  There is also genuine respect and affection between them and their complicated history provides a firm foundation for their transition from friends to lovers.  Despite their unhealthy behavior, Caleb and Delia really are good for one another.  With Delia, Caleb’s more tender side comes out as he pushes aside his needs in order to help her. Delia’s rougher edge begin to soften as she becomes more invested in helping Caleb work through his family issues.  They are combustible once they begin to trust each other and their sex scenes are sizzling hot and intensely intimate as their emotional barriers begin to lower.

In addition to Caleb and Delia’s romance, the Shaw family begins to make progress on fixing their fractured relationships.  Delia’s effect on their father is positive although Caleb and Summer are hurt by their easy rapport with one another.  Caleb stops walking on eggshells around his father as he finally allows himself to point out a few home truths about how deeply his behavior is hurting him and his sisters.  The changes in their father’s attitude are small but hopefully this is just the first step in repairing the rift between him and his children.

Outlaw Cowboy is an emotional addition to Nicole Helm’s Big Sky Cowboysseries.  The characters are multi-layered, flawed and deeply wounded by their pasts.  The storyline is engaging and well-written although a little overly dramatic on occasion.  The romance between Caleb and Delia is believable and somehow manages to thrive despite the complications they both bring to the relationship.  The tantalizing glimpses of Summer will leave readers impatiently awaiting the release of True-Blue Cowboy Christmas.

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Filed under Big Sky Cowboys Series, Contemporary, Nicole Helm, Outlaw Cowboy, Rated B, Review, Romance, Sourcebooks Casablanca

December 30, 2015 · 11:56 pm

Review: Rebel Cowboy by Nicole Helm

rebel cowboyTitle: Rebel Cowboy by Nicole Helm
Big Sky Cowboys Series Book One
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: C+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

UNDER A BIG SKY

For hotshot NHL star Dan Sharpe, hockey isn’t just his job-it’s his everything. But when claims of cheating get him bounced from the ice, he finds himself feeling lost. Everyone thinks he’s crazy for taking on his grandfather’s ramshackle Montana ranch, but hey, he’s Dan Sharpe: how hard can it be?

As it turns out? Plenty hard.

Mel Shaw has been fighting tooth and nail to keep her family from falling apart. The last thing she needs is a distraction, but taking a job as some city slicker’s consultant may be her only chance to save the land she loves. But she never expected someone like Dan to come roaring into her life, and it doesn’t take long for Mel to realize this hockey-star-turned-cowboy has the power to upend her carefully ordered world-and heart-for good.

Review:

Rebel Cowboy the first novel in Nicole Helm’s Big Sky Cowboys series featuring the Shaw family. This romance focuses on oldest daughter Mel and her struggle to save the family ranch by acting as a consultant to Dan Sharpe.

Mel is carrying a heavy burden on her shoulders and she stubbornly refuses to share it with anyone, including her younger brother, Caleb. She is prickly, emotionally closed off and overwhelmed, but instead of asking for help, she deliberately pushes people away. Mel’s need to save the family ranch is admirable but her refusal to open up becomes frustrating and her propensity for lashing out when she feels vulnerable makes her a very unsympathetic and virtually impossible character to like.

With the future of his NHL career in limbo, Dan escapes to his family’s dilapidated ranch to escape the limelight and try to build a future for himself. Hockey is more than just a career for him; it is how he copes with his unpleasant and difficult emotions. He is self-confident on the ice but he is endearingly inept as he tries to rebuild his grandparents’ beloved ranch. Dan uses charm and humor to defuse difficult situations but once he finds a new purpose in life, he puts genuine effort into making plans for his future. He is a genuinely nice man and his patience with Mel is pretty amazing considering how defensive and closed off she is.

The relationship between Mel and Dan is initially antagonistic with a strong undercurrent of sexual tension. Both have pretty formidable defenses in place, but it does not take long for Dan to relax and enjoy the progress he is making on the ranch. Mel continues to blow hot and cold and it does not take long for this unpredictability to become frustrating and tiresome. The storyline is eventually angst-ridden and mired in negativity as Mel continues to overreact every single time she feels threatened by her deepening emotions. While Dan’s character grows and transforms throughout the novel, Mel’s character remains stagnant as she continues to make the same mistakes over and over again.

Rebel Cowboy is a sweet and sexy introduction to the Big Sky Cowboys series. Despite his destructive tendencies and inability to reveal what is troubling him, younger brother Caleb is an intriguing character and it will be interesting to see what Nicole Helm has planned for him in Outlaw Cowboy.

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Filed under Big Sky Cowboys Series, Contemporary, Nicole Helm, Rated C+, Rebel Cowboy, Review, Romance, Sourcebooks Casablanca