#CBLSPromos, Review, Interview & Giveaway: Summer's Desire by Kathleen Ball

Summer's Desire

Summer's Desire
Cowboy Seasons, Book 1
Kathleen Ball

Genre: Contemporary Western Romance
Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing

Date of Publication: July 25, 2013

Number of pages: 158
Word Count: 51,298

Cover Artist: Dawné Dominique

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon     ARe     Smashwords

Summer Fitzgerald is a person of interest in the robbery and murder of her former boss. With no resources she is forced to take a job as a nanny. To her surprise the job consists of watching four, almost full grown, cowboys and helping their handsome, older brother Holden O’Leary.

Veterinarian Holden O’Leary moves his family to a Montana ranch for a fresh start. His time is soon consumed rescuing neglected horses and he needs help with his bothers. Despite wishing otherwise, he soon finds that Summer holds his heart.

Will scandals and old secrets keep them from trusting each other or will Summer finally get her desire?

Warning: This title is intended for readers over the age of 18 as it contains adult sexual situations and/or adult language, and may be considered offensive to some readers.

Excerpt: 

Holden opened the door and made a bee line for her. He took her hand in his strong one and led her outside. “We have a tour I believe?”

Summer laughed. “Why, yes. I haven’t seen much of your ranch.”

Holden helped her into the truck and got in on his side. “It could take days to see it all properly.” He gave her a wicked sidelong glance.

Summer lightly punched his shoulder. “We aren’t really going to tour the ranch are we?”

His mouth opened in mock outrage. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I hope you brought protection.”

Holden laughed deeply. “Of course I did.”

“Come to think of it you had some with you when you came to my room. Do you keep them in your wallet or something?”

Holden laughed even harder. “No, only when I’m around you.”

His answer brightened her day. “So, where are we going first?”

“I figured you’d want to see my cattle.”

“Cattle it is. Hurry, please.”

“Anxious for some cowboy loving?”

Summer smiled. “You know I am!”

Holden turned off the road and headed toward a group of trees. “The hell with the cattle,” he said, parking the truck. “I need to kiss you.”

Interview: 

Today, we welcome Kathleen Ball to Musings and Ramblings. Let's all give her a big Geeky welcome!

I have some questions for you that are writer specific as well as some fun stuff so that we can really get to know the real you. *grin* Plus we will finish things off with round of Think Fast. Ready to begin?

Writing Specific
1. Tell us something about yourself that's not in your bio.

I’m an accountant

2. What do you like to do when you are not writing?

Read, take walks

3. How did you choose the genres you write in?

I’ve always loved romance and when I moved down to Texas- Westerns became my main interest

4. Is there any particular author or book that has influenced you or your writing?

There are so many authors. I’d have too hard a time choosing

5. What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author? What has been the best compliment?

The toughest was when I entered a contest and a judge told me not to write. The best was when my Dad told me he was proud of me.

Fun Stuff
6. If you could have dinner with anyone, past or present, fictional or real, who would it be and why?

Jo March from Little Women. I bet she’s fun.

7. You are going to be stranded on a deserted island and bring 3 luxury items. What would they be?

Matches, an axe and a water filtration system

8. Pick two celebrities to be your parents. Who are they and why?

June and Ward Cleaver- because they were just perfect- lol

9. What would we find in your refrigerator right now?

Milk, cheese. Batteries. A lot of batteries except for AA if you need one of those like I did yesterday you are out of luck

10. If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?

Finding my Bliss

Think Fast
Summer or Winter? Winter
Coffee or Tea? coffee
Cake or Pie? Depends what kind
Car or Truck? car
Print or Electronic? both

Thanks for coming by and spending some time with us. Any final words of wisdom to pass along?

The best advertising is word of mouth. If you like a book tell people.

Review: 

This is the first book in the Cowboys Seasons series by Kathleen Ball.  It was the first I have read by the author. I chose this book because I have been on a bit of a cowboy kick lately and it looked like it would be a good fit for me.  It is a good thing I always read blurbs, because this cover really doesn't do anything for me.  It mostly looks like a hot mess of blues and browns swirled together.

The story begins with Summer Fitzgerald showing up at the O'Leary ranch, having answered an advertisement for nanny/housekeeper.  It turns out that the boys she will be nanny to are nearly grown. Matthew is 18, Mark is 16, Luke is 14 and John is 12.  Their older brother, Holden is 26, the new veterinarian and their guardian. The O'Leary's have just recently moved from Texas to Montana to start over after some recent trouble.  Holden wants someone at the ranch to run the house and keep an eye on the boys while he is busy with his new practice and taking emergency calls.

Summer is looking for a fresh start of her own. Her parents had drowned a couple of years prior and the father figure who gave her a job and taught her to cook and tend bar was recently killed in a robbery attack that left her beaten.  It also left her under suspicion of being an accomplice since the attacker was a former boyfriend of Summer's.  All she really wants is to find a job and steer clear of any relationships.  

There was a lot to like about this book.  I liked the boys, the vet tech Mindy Sue and the neighboring ranchers. The secondary relationships worked really well. I liked that both of the characters had issues to work on and over come.  However there were also some things that I didn't like.  Such as Summer's inability to really stand up for herself.  I understand she has had some tough times, but she felt a little wimpy to me. There were a couple times that I actually wanted to smack her and tell her to stand her ground. I also thought Holden was a bit of an arrogant jerk wad a couple of times.  He finds out about Summer's history, says he understands and then uses it against her not once, but twice. If he says he trusts her then he should trust her and not just give it lip service.

The sheriff really ticked me off. His behavior was harassing and nearly criminal and nobody called him on it. I can only hope that in one of the later books his behavior will be addressed and is being used specifically for a coming plot point. I am giving this book 3 stars on Goodreads, primarily because while my perception of the wimpy-ness of Summer and the jerky-ness of Holden aggravated me, that also means that the author did her job.  She wrote such a good story that I made an emotional connection with the characters. You really can't ask for more than that.

Giveaway: 

GRAND PRIZE: $25 Amazon Gift Card;
5 RUNNERS-UP: an eBook copy of "Summer's Desire" each.
Contest is tour-wide, open internationally and ends Oct 7. Must be 18 years of age of older to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Tour Info: 
Don't forget to check out the other stops on the Book Tour:

Sept 24:
JM Stewart--Contemporary Romance Author

Sept 25:
Ali's Books

Sept 28:
Liberty Ann's SnifferWalk Books - Author Interview & Review
Snarky Mom Reads... - Review

Oct 1:
Theresa Stillwagon - Author Interview

Oct 2:
Book Reviews - Author Interview
Bookish Writer - Author Interview

Oct 3:
Aspired Writer - Author Interview
Dawn's Reading Nook - Author Interview
Rachel Brimble Romance - Author Interview

Oct 4:
From the TBR Pile - Author Interview & Review
My Devotional Thoughts
Samantha Holt - Review

Oct 5:
Crystal's Many Reviews
Reader's Edyn
The World As I See It - Review

Oct 6:
Musings And Ramblings - Author Interview & Review
Regina May Ross's - Review

Author Bio:

A voracious reader, Kathleen quickly discovered the world of romance novels and she knew she was home. Kathleen wrote her first book four years ago. She was shocked to find out that people liked what she wrote. All of Kathleen's novels are award winners.

Kathleen lives in Keller, Texas. She moved there from Rochester, New York seven years ago. She is having the time of her life exploring Texas culture and learning to ride horses.

Kathleen is married to her wonderful husband Bruce and they have one son, Steven a Marine.

Kathleen has six published novels. She writes Contemporary Western Romance.

She feels blessed to be supported in her writing by her family and friends.

To connect with the author online:

Email | Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads