Christmas Ransom (A Colt Brothers Investigation, 3)

Christmas Ransom by BJ Daniels. Part of Colt Investigation Series this time featuring Davy and Carla. Non stop action, bank robberies, killings, kidnapping and a first love renewed or rekindled. The villains of the story were well developed from the nasty and vindictive, Jesse; the wimpy, murderous Jud; and the obnoxious FBI agents (not technically villains, but they were extremely opinionated). Highlights included the spicy, older gal, Cora, coming to the rescue in the last minutes. Davy and Carla do get their HEA. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book

I love a good romantic suspense book, and I read a lot of them. B. J. Daniels was a new-to-me author, but this book won’t be the last one of hers I read. There were some significant frustrations with the main characters in this story as I felt Carla was a bit too stubborn for her own good many times. While I could understand her hesitation to rekindle her relationship with Davy based on his previous lack of desire to settle down, he grew up emotionally throughout the story. He became more willing to budge from his former stance on love and marriage and to compromise while she remained beyond stubborn to the point that she came across as selfish. I’m a characters girl, so this distracted me from what I thought was an otherwise intriguing plot. I just know that when I found my HEA, not even the strong desire to stay close to my family was enough for me to give up on the relationship. Overall, the writing was solid, and I truly enjoyed having the villain’s POV because it showed the downward slide of his morality (which was barely there, to begin with). It was a nice change of pace, and I thought the author did a good job developing him into a genuinely evil character from a morally ambiguous one in the beginning. Sometimes I like to be surprised by who the villain is, but giving the reader omniscience isn’t a turnoff when it’s done well. And in this case, it was. All in all, I am looking forward to catching up with the previous books in the series and reading what’s to come from B. J. Daniels.

Christmas Ransom By B.J. Daniels Carla Richardson has her life planned out, moment to moment. So, when she stops into work on her day off and becomes a victim in a bank robbery, her ordered life begins to spin out of control. Davy Colt, rodeo bronc rider has loved Carla for over 10 years. Their breakup wasn’t his idea, and he would really like another chance to be with her. When Carla is injured during a bank robbery, he is there to help her. When she becomes a target, he will make sure she stays safe. The author weaves a good second chance, romantic suspense, that kept me captivated. I would like to sm@ck the FBI agent, he was a jerk to Carla, and not very objective. Carla and Davy want to be together, but neither can realize the need to compromise. This brought some angst along with the intimate moments. Throughout the danger and narrow escapes, they still hold to their own ideas of what life with the other should be like. I was glad they were able to be friends, talk about the past, and work into a deeper more passionate relationship. I liked how they worked together, with Davy’s brothers, James, Willie, and Tommy to solve the mystery and defeat the criminals. They needed to understand themselves and each other to overcome their safe and comfortable lives. I was rooting for these two to work out their differences and have their HEA. I loved Davy and his fierce protectiveness of Carla, and I loved her independent spirit. Together they are an indomitable force! I received an arc from NetGalley, and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Good book, but let me start by correcting some things from the synopsis. Davy is NOT a former rodeo star. When the book opens, he has come home to spend the holidays with his brothers before returning to the rodeo circuit. Nor has he gotten a PI license. It is correct that he never stopped loving his high school sweetheart, Carla. Ten years earlier, after graduation, Davy told Carla he was going on the rodeo circuit rather than going to college with her. He wanted her to marry him and come along. But Carla didn't want to give up her dreams either and gave Davy an ultimatum: her or the rodeo. Both were broken-hearted but went their separate ways. After college, Carla returned to Lonesome to take care of her mother and took a job at the local bank. After her mother's death, Carla stayed on, choosing her career and stability. Fast forward to the present day. Carla has never forgotten Davy and her feelings for him. She sometimes wonders what would have happened if she'd gone with him. When she runs into one of his brothers, she asks about Davy, which gets back to him. This motivates him to pay her a visit at the bank, hoping they may try again. Unfortunately for Davy, the meeting doesn't go well, as Carla is still entrenched in place, and he is still a rodeo cowboy. It looks like history repeats itself, as neither one seems interested in compromising. That changes when Carla is injured during a bank robbery, and Davy is determined to protect her. The story's suspense is a little different than usual, as we know who the bad guys are from the beginning. The villain's motivation is clear, as well as how desperation leads to stupid decisions. The villain's psychotic girlfriend complicates matters. Carla sees something during the bank robbery that puts a target on her back, and Davy is determined to keep her safe. Carla is at a disadvantage because the FBI agents investigating the case believe it was an inside job and fixate on Carla as their prime suspect. Despite the information she provides the agents, they seem uninterested in pursuing any other line of investigation. While Davy's PI brothers go to work looking into the information Carla knows, Davy and Carla set out to do some investigating of their own. The villain's girlfriend is incredibly determined to stop Carla permanently, and the number and intensity of the attacks on Carla escalate throughout the book. The final confrontation was a nail-biter that kept me glued to the pages until it was over. I admit that I would like to have seen the FBI agents with egg on their faces over their incompetence, but they seem to get off easy. I liked seeing the rekindling of Carla and Davy's relationship. Davy freely admits to his brothers that he never stopped loving Carla. Unfortunately, Carla fights her feelings from the start. She feels guilty about how she treated him back...

Just when I thought I had it figured out, something unexpected happened. A page turner for me that I couldn't put down!