Broken
4 Stars

After the losses of both his younger sister and his fianceé in quick succession, James Cavanaugh has sworn to never love again. But his attraction to quietly confident Sheridan O'Neil challenges him to face his demons and risk his heart one more time.

James and Sheridan are both engaging characters and their romance progresses naturally at a smooth and steady pace. Nevertheless, their chemistry is not as tangible as that of Mac and Deacon. Moreover, James's constant self-deprecation and stubborn unwillingness to accept that he is in love with Sheridan gets old after a while.

The real appeal of this and the previous book is the investigation into the murder of Cass Cavanaugh. There are some intriguing developments in this regard, and it will be interesting to see where the author takes this in the third installment, which focuses on Cass's twin, Cole, and the former Sheriff's daughter, Grace.

Overall, this series has tremendous potential as a suspense novel, but the romances so far have only been so-so. ( )

Sheridan O'Neil has worked for Deacon Cavanaugh as his assistant for years, but the time she has spent at the Triple C Ranch owned by the Cavanaugh brothers has been the best of her career. Not only has she learned a lot about the business of ranching, but she has made friends with Deacon's fiance, Mac. When she is attacked by a local contractor that blames her for charging him with using substandard materials, James Cavanaugh, Deacon's brother steps in to help keep Sheridan safe. As she spends more time with James, Sheridan realizes that she may be falling in love with him, but he is holding on tightly to a past in which he was never able to keep the women in his life safe from harm.

The conflict between James and Sheridan in Broken is barely tangible as most of the story is spent on James's inability to leave his past behind. What makes this book worth reading is the continuing thread throughout these stories of the mystery surrounding the Cavanaugh sister, Cass's murder. Each book brings more clues and suspects to light, buoying a decent western romance into a more substantial book. ( )

24 hours...less than that actually, that's all the time it took for me to open this book and read it all the way through.
The second in the series this focused on the middle brother, James, the internal one. The horse whisperer. The Shakespeare quoting cowboy who's main flaw is fear; the fear of not be able to protect another female he loves and losing her.
Now his leading lady, Sheridan, of course has her own set of issues. Career driven and all alone, her mama's gone and she has no friends, she brings to the table a life time of advice and wisdom her bitter mama fed her. Trust no man. They leave. Count on yourself. See where this leads her...yup, alone and focused on becoming a success. As Deacon's executive assistant she has learned quite a bit about business and thanks to his broken family she'll learn about relationships.
Everything was going along rather timidly until the night Sheridan was attacked, all the push James needed to call out his protective and possessive instincts. Glad that when he would fall back on his old habit and start to close himself off, Sheridan didn't back down or give in. She meets him head on and calls his bluff. Guess the spine of steel she forged in the business world comes in handy when the man you love is a stubborn, broken cowboy.
Of course we can't forget the wedding and the mystery surrounding Cass' death. Cole gets a little more time as we get eased into his story for the next book. (I see a little something something starting to flicker between our UFC-type fighter and the town vet....maybe she can stitch up his wounds.)Let's not forget about Mac, trying to get in touch with her girly side and plan a wedding. Girl is used to dealing with cattle, not caterers and picking out bouquets. Loved the panic attack when she didn't know what the heck a boutonniere is. And Blue is still MIA, what's going to happen with him?
I have only one criticism of the book and it's not about the story but the packaging. On the back cover for the synopsis it mentions Sheridan being rescued from a horse stampede by James...(1) it wasn't actually a stampede (12 horses running towards the fence line near her but not coming close to her) and (2) it happened towards the last third of the first book and is not mentioned at all in this book. Kind of misleading wouldn't you say; especially if you have a habit of picking up books by description and if you are like me, don't keep track of what author has what series going on. Half the time I end up in the middle of a series without even knowing it just because I read the synopsis on the cover. ( )

~ 4.5 Broken Stars ~

ARC Broken

I am not a contemporary reader, but I am trying to branch out. I have found a few authors that I enjoy and Ms. Wright is one that has pulled me in and not disappointed.

Broken is book two in The Cavanugh Brothers series by Laura Wright. Hot damn this was another Amazing Fabulous reading in The Cavanaugh Brothers series. I love these sexy cowboy brothers. I was pulled in and taken on a country ride full of emotions, mystery, and romance.

Sheridan O’Neil, what can I say only that she is a career driven women and Decan Cavanuaugh is her boss. She also has some hang ups on relationships, but despite that she decides to be honest with James and see where things lead.

James Cavanuaugh, rugged handsome horse whisper. I love how confident he comes across and the whole horse whisper thing, wow boy, got me. It was something to read about. James has some hang ups besides his sisters death, but he can’t just let Sheridan go. She is the first women to really get to him.

Broken just adds to this series. I never thought I would be pulled into a contemporary romance, so deeply, but good god Ms. Wright knows how to write. We get deeper into finding out more about Cass and what really happened to her. More heart wrenching emotions and soul deep healing happen for everyone. I loved everything about this book, how the plot is developing, how into the characters I get, and how the writing flows. I liked that Sheridan finally got herself a friend with Mac and vis versa. These women are strong and help the brothers deal with their past and come to terms. The diary entries are still my favorite part, besides the romance. They capture the reader’s attention and by the end of the story, you are wanting one more clue. As for the romance it’s sizzling hot. The relationship building is great, the sex, well you may need a fan to cool off. The only thing I thought was rushed is the proposal. For the amount of time they actually spent in a relationship it felt a little fast, but I still enjoyed it.

If you have not not picked up The Cavanaugh Brothers yet, I highly recommend you do. The author has created a murder mystery romance, with some sexy cowboys. We are kept on our toes with the twists and surprises that just add spice and depth to the story.

Disclaimer: ARC provided by Berkley/NAL Publishing via NetGalley with the sole purpose of an honest review. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.

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This series has me hooked. I cannot wait to find out what really happened to Cass!!! These are not stand alone books. They literally take place just days after the previous one and there is a huge story Arc started in the first book that is on going through the series. Each of the Cavanaugh brother’s gets a HEA with their woman at the end of their book but we are still left hanging about the dead sister and what really happened to her. Through the books we are given pages from her diary that gives us little clues about what might have happened to the 14 year old girl that was crushing on an older guy that she knew only as Sweet. The author has done a great job with the mystery and hooks you from the start and its torture just getting tiny clues here and there.

Now for the romance part.. In this one the brother James Cavanaugh is the main hero who is known as the horse whisperer. All of the brothers feel a sense of guilt over their sister dying but James is carrying more from losing other women in his life also. He has a strong sense to protect women but yet wont let himself ever get close to another one again for fear he wont be able to save them. So when he realizes he has feelings for his brother Deacon’s admin he really struggles. Sheridan came off as very aloof in the first book. We finally get to see why she projects herself that way and that deep down she had just as many fears of letting anyone in as James did. I give 2 thumbs up to the author for allowing the woman this time be the one that pull the stick out of her butt first and stands up to James to do the same.

The set up for the final book looks epic and I cannot wait for both Cole and Grace’s story AND to FINALLY get resolution on Cass.
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