Lone Star Nights - Justine Davis (Tule - Sept 2019)

Series: Texas Justice (Book 2)

She’s no one’s second choice ...

Slater Highwater had his own reasons for coming home to Last Stand, Texas. And if anyone wants to know why a guy with a philosophy degree from an Ivy League school was now running the historic Last Stand Saloon, he has a stack of ready answers, none of which are completely true.

But Joey Douglas never asked that question. Perhaps because she and Slater are always carrying on conversations no one else can follow. Or perhaps because she suspects she knows why he came home – her glamorous and calculating older sister broke his heart.

Joey has longed for Slater since she first laid eyes on him, but her sister will always be an insurmountable barrier between them. Sure she and Slater click intellectually and sparks ignite whenever they’re in the same room, but Joey will never, ever settle for being Slater’s consolation prize no matter how much she loves him.

Can Joey step out of her sister's shadow? Can Slater convince Joey she's his true soul mate?

I loved the first book in this series, Lone Star Lawman, and this one was just as good. In that first book, I was intrigued by Slater. Something told me that there was more to him than first appeared, and I was right. Slater is the second oldest brother. He runs the family bar instead of being in law enforcement like his brothers Shane and Sean. Slater returned to Last Stand after graduating from Harvard with a philosophy degree and ending his engagement with his fiancée Diandra. He never says why he came back, just lets people make whatever assumptions they want to make. The only person who hasn't asked why he came back was Joey.

Joey is the town's assistant librarian. She is sweet, king, big-hearted, and has a sassy side that not many people see. She has loved Slater since she was a teenager and he was dating, then engaged to her older sister. They had a good friendship going, as Joey was the only person in town who could keep up with Slater's conversational twists and turns.

I loved the development of the relationship between Slater and Joey. They were friends for a long time, even after the end of Slater's engagement to her sister. Slater didn't see her as anything but Diandra's little sister until one night that he saw her playing pool at the bar. Suddenly he saw her in a whole new way and it kind of freaked him out a bit at first. It was fun to see his mental gyrations as he found himself more and more distracted by her. The more time that he spent with her, the more he realized the depth of his mistake with her sister. It was sweet to see his growing interest in Joey and how well he understood her. I loved the hang-gliding scene and how he knew precisely how to encourage her.

Joey was surprised by Slater's growing attention. She was used to blending into the background, the plain, nerdy sister when compared to Diandra. As Slater continues to pay attention to her, she finds it harder and harder to keep her distance.

There was so much that Joey and Slater had going for them. Both of them are highly intelligent with an affinity for the written word. I loved seeing them trade quotations the way that other people trade quips. Both tend to lose themselves in thought, zoning out while the world goes on around them. They also have some significant issues that keep them apart. Slater is drowning in the guilt he feels over staying in college after their parents died, leaving Shane to carry the load of taking care of the family. That guilt shows up in the form of doing everything he can to antagonize Shane. He is so down on himself that he has trouble believing that anyone would want him, something that was reinforced by Diandra's treatment of him. Joey suffers from some serious lack of confidence in her appeal to men. She thinks that she would be a "consolation prize" to anyone who had been interested in her sister. Though neither could see their own appeal, each one could see what the other was suffering. I loved how Joey gave Slater the ability to see his issue from a different viewpoint. Slater won my heart when he realized what made Joey hold back and was so determined to show her that his feelings for her were real. His method was so romantic and showed how well he understood her.  There was an especially satisfying scene at the end that showed that the past no longer had a hold on either of them.

I loved getting more insight into the Hightower family. The relationship between Slater and Shane is still a difficult one for most of the book. There are hints of the lessening of hostilities as we see Slater's reactions to Lily being part of Shane's life now. I loved finding out the cause of the tension between them and how Joey's influence brought an end to it. There was also more about Kane, the missing Hightower brother. Joey's understanding of the pain they were all in, especially Sage's pain, brought back a memory that gave her and Slater a lead in the search for what happened to him. My heart ached for them all as Joey and Slater pursued that lead. I can't wait for the next book to see where the search goes next.

The Lone Star Lawman - Justine Davis (Tule - Apr 2019)

Series: Texas Justice (Book 1)

He never lets anything get to him. Except her.

Police Chief Shane Highwater has the respect of the entire town of Last Stand, Texas, and they all believe he was blameless when an accident several months ago ended one life and tore apart another. All except reporter Liliana Jones, who blames him for her fiancé’s death.

There's more to the story than she knows, secrets that might change her mind. Secrets Shane can't tell her. But oh, does he want to, because Lily Jones is the first woman he's been undeniably drawn to in a very long time.

When a tragedy in town throws them together, Lily is forced to admit Shane is everything everyone said he was and ignoring the growing attraction is near impossible, and she’s no longer sure she wants to. Has her change of heart come too late?

Excellent start to the new series. Shane is Chief of Police in Last Stand, Texas, continuing a long family tradition of service. He was well-suited to the job, as he always maintained a calm attitude, and was well-known for his courage, integrity, and self-sacrifice. The only one who didn't agree with the rest of the town was Lily Jones. She believed that Shane was responsible for her fiancé's death and was determined to prove it.

I loved the development of the relationship between Shane and Lily, though it certainly got off to a rocky start. The story opened as Shane tried his best to avoid encountering Lily. She has made his life miserable for the last several months, continually cornering him and haranguing him about the circumstances of her fiancé's death. There were things about her late fiancé that she didn't know, and he couldn't tell her because of the investigation. Shane understood her feelings, which was why he tried to keep his cool around her. But it was very wearing on him, especially since he'd been drawn to her since the first time he met her. Lily was a reporter for the town paper and was very good at her job. Unfortunately, she had a blind spot where it came to her late fiancé, and her anger at Shane affected her objectivity when it came to him. Though she kept her antipathy out of her stories, she was determined to find some kind of dirt on Shane that would show that he wasn't the paragon everyone thought he was.

The confrontations between Lily and Shane happened regularly and always went the same way. She sniped at him, making snarky comments about his perfection before launching into another diatribe about how wrong he was about Chad. Shane would stand there and take it, even though he knew the truth because he knew she was hurting. Even Lily's friends couldn't convince her to give up her quest. I ached for Shane, who was innocent of her accusations and was attracted to a woman who detested him. Or did she? Lily was certainly voluble with her opinions, but she also couldn't deny that he had an effect on her, one that she did her best to ignore.

Then a town tragedy opened Lily's eyes and showed her that he was precisely the man everyone said he was. I have to admit that I was impressed by Lily's ability to accept the truth, apologize sincerely, and apply her words to her actions. It was fun to see Shane's reaction, first of disbelief, then wariness as he waited for her to resume her old ways. But the change was real, and as they worked together the attraction between them continued to grow. However, the issue of Chad's innocence stayed between them and made it difficult for Lily to move on. Lily's life was turned upside down when Shane arranged for her to see the full report. I loved Shane's protectiveness as he dealt with the consequences of her shock, and had to laugh as he fought with himself. I ached for Lily as everything she learned made her question who she was, and sent her running.

Both Shane and Lily have issues caused by events in their childhoods that have affected who they are as adults. Shane's have made him the ultra-responsible man that he is, while Lily's affected the way she handled what she saw as her failures. She had an eye-opening conversation with her mom, who gave her new insight into the things that Lily saw but hadn't understood while growing up. I loved the way that Shane went looking for Lily. His encounter with her dad and stepmother explained a lot about her. But my favorite was when he showed up at the diner where Lily was having breakfast with her mom. I laughed out loud through most of that encounter and loved the promise that Shane extracted from Elizabeth. I ached for Lily and the way that she still beat herself up over what happened, and loved how Shane was patient enough to give her the time she needed. Lily's "aha" moment came at the hands of her mother, who also stunned Lily by taking Shane's advice (which was another giggle-producing moment). Lily's big moment at the end was excellent. I loved how her arrival surprised Shane and how they (eventually) talked through everything in some very emotional moments.

I look forward to reading more in this series. The Highwater family is fascinating. Shane's brother Sean is intense in his work as a detective on the force but seems to be pretty laid back otherwise. I like the good relationship he has with Shane, both as a boss and family. I liked the support he gives Shane in everything having to do with Lily, especially the advice he provided about the investigation. Their other brother, Slater, is very different. From the time they were kids, he and Shane butted heads, and it has continued into adulthood, though I feel like it mostly comes from Slater. I suspect that he has a very interesting backstory. He did come through with one positive action the night that Lily got drunk at his bar. I liked their sister, Sage, a lot. She is very protective of Shane and had a couple of interesting clashes with Lily because of it. There is another brother, Kane, who disappeared in suspicious circumstances when he was sixteen. Shane and Sean haven't given up looking for him. I fully expect that he will have his own story and I'm sure it will be an interesting one.

There are also other books that take place in Last Stand that were written by other authors that I want to investigate.