Home Again with You

February 10, 2020
Kendall’s second Silverlake Ranch novel (after Walk Me Home) takes readers on a predictable but pleasant visit to Texas Hill Country. When teenage Rhett Braddock’s parents died, his older brother enrolled him in boarding school. Resentful of being sent away, Rhett, now a wildly successful banker, has refused to return to Silverlake, Tex. But when he learns that the Holts, a local family, are on the brink of financial ruin, he saves them from bankruptcy by buying their ranch. His arrival in town is awkward for Jules Holt, who, just weeks before, ran into Rhett in Dallas, where they shared a passionate evening together only for him to treat her like a one-night stand the following morning. She’s also peeved at her conservative family for never allowing her to run the ranch by herself. Inevitably, Jules’s anger cools as Rhett proves amenable to her input on the ranch. Readers are likely to guess the eventual twist and Jules’s old-fashioned family will put off some readers, but the central couple are sweet and compatible. Kendall sets herself up for a long run in Silverlake with a cast of young, single side characters hoping to find relationships of their own. Lovers of small-town romance will find this an agreeable option. Agent: Louise Fury, the Bent Agency.

February 15, 2020
After he buys his best friend's family's Texas farm to help them out when their father falls ill, billionaire Rhett Braddock is surprised by the resentful push back from their daughter Julianna, the woman with whom he recently shared a searing, secretive one-night stand. Rhett was on track to attend a prestigious East Coast boarding school on full scholarship when his parents died, and his eldest brother sent him anyway, loath for him to miss the opportunity. The experience was horrible and also made him feel alienated from his family and his hometown, though his best friend, Grady Holt, was always there for him, even in the darkest days. So when Grady's father is diagnosed with cancer, Rhett agrees to buy the Holt family's farm so the illness won't threaten them with financial ruin. Grady's sister Julianna is currently managing the farm, and they protect her job as part of the agreement. What they don't do is consult her in any way before the sale happens, making her feel disrespected and angry. Especially since she and Rhett had spent a scorching night together in Dallas only a few weeks earlier, which he had immediately regretted because of Grady: "There was no explaining to Grady, who'd kill him if he ever found out." But now that Rhett is finally returning to Silverlake, he'll have to deal with his own family's long-standing misunderstandings as well as Julianna's valid hurt and bitterness and a wealth of complications from their Dallas encounter. The Silverlake Ranch series continues with another sweet, sexy Braddock romance, more complicated family issues, and, once again, a lot to love. However, there's an uncomfortable amount of reactive paternalism and toxic masculinity that gets joked about by the women of Silverlake but is never actually addressed in any meaningful way. Very engaging, somewhat disquieting.

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 10, 2020

Multimillionaire Rhett Braddock is reluctantly returning to his hometown of Silverlake, TX, to finalize a business deal. He is dreading facing Julianna Holt again after their unexpectedly steamy evening together a few weeks earlier in Dallas. Rhett nixed a future with Jules after giving her his regrets the morning after. Jules, being his best friend's little sister, should have been off-limits but she had grown into an irresistibly sexy woman. Jules felt humiliated and used after her red-hot night with Rhett. When he shows up unexpectedly, she feels blindsided by the news that he has purchased her family's declining ranch. As Jules and Rhett navigate their new owner/manager relationship amidst family drama, fate throws a few more curveballs in their direction. VERDICT Kendall's (Walk Me Home) small-town romance has bigger-than-life characters who are still relatable, and this tale is perfect for readers who enjoy stories of complex family dynamics.--Nicole J. Suarez, Frankfort P.L. Dist., Frankfort, IL

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.