Book Review: A Creed in Stone Creek by Linda Lael Miller

A Creed in Stone Creek by Linda Lael Miller

Publisher: HQN Books

Publish Date: February 22, 2011

Paperback, 384 pages 
Romance
Creed Cowboys #1
ISBN: 978-073775552

My Review:
Why I read this: I have been wanting to try Linda Lael Miller's books out and this premise sounded interesting and it's the first in her new trilogy (though I understand that characters from other books make appearances).


My thoughts: A Creed in Stone Creek was a very enjoyable novel.  I liked the setting, I liked where the plot was going and I enjoyed the characters.  I will be reading the rest of this trilogy as well as picking up some of her other series books now.  Linda Lael Miller writes a book that brings you right into the story and keeps you there until the conclusion.  The characters feel like your friends and you just don't want to say goodbye at the end (and thankfully you won't have to, because I am sure Steven, Matt and Melissa will be making appearances in the next two books as well).

Let's start with the characters.  I feel like this is Ms. Miller's strong suit - giving us great characters.  I loved getting to know Melissa, Steven and wonderful little Matt.  I also like the fact that she added a child to the mix of characters.  It adds that extra depth and fun with precocious Matt.  He really adds to the story and doesn't take anything away from the romance at all.  In fact I love the fact that he adores Melissa from the start.

Another thing I enjoyed was the setting.  The town takes on a life of it's own in this book and I have never kept it secret that I enjoy small town novels.  Stone Creek is one of those towns where everybody knows everyone's business and most of the people care deeply about the town and the people around them.

There was also good tension in the book with Melissa being a prosecutor and Steven coming in as a new defense attorney.  That added to the tension and growing romance between the characters and made a great obstacle for the two of them to overcome to find their love for each other.

While the romance is not prominent it is there, I see this more of a character or relationship novel than a romance and if you look at it like that you will really enjoy it.  The romance is there, but it's not as front and center as some other romances I loved.  But that didn't take away from the storyline for me.  The storyline kept me interested and I kept turning the pages to learn more about Melissa and Steven and the town of Stone Creek.


My Rating: 4.25/5.0


About the Book:

When single attorney Steven Creed becomes guardian of an orphaned five-year-old boy, he trades his big-city law firm for a ranch near his McKettrick kin in the close-knit community of Stone Creek, Arizona. Taking care of little Matt and fixing up his run-down ranch house with its old barn loosens something tightly wound inside him. But when Steven takes on the pro bono defense of a local teen, he meets his match in the opposing counsel—beautiful, by-the-book county prosecutor Melissa O'Ballivan. It'll take one grieving little boy, a sweet adopted dog and a woman who never expected to win any man's heart to make this Creed in Stone Creek know he's truly found home.

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About the Author: 

Miller knows her characters so well because this self-confessed barn goddess who raises horses on her ranch in Spokane, Washington, grew up the daughter of a town marshal.  Like some of her characters, she had a wanderlust that she needed to indulge before she could return home.  She sold her first novel Fletcher's Woman in 1983.  Since then, Linda has successfully published historicals, contemporaries, paranormals and thrillers before coing home, in a literal sense, and concentrating on contemporary and historical novels with a Western flavors.  The Romance Writers of America awarded her their prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

Linda is an active supporter of Habitat for Houses, one of the largest horse protection organizations in the nation and is currently raising six horses including a previously abused gelding named Buck.

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FTC Information: I received this book from Tricia Carr of Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc. for an honest review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.