Series: Taggart Brothers #1
Published by Berkley on June 2, 2015
Genres: Contemporary Adult Romance 18+
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
ISBN: 0425278379
ASIN: B00OQS4DRI
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From bestselling author Lisa Bingham comes the first in a brand-new series starring a trio of handsome wranglers. The Taggart brothers have bodies of iron and hearts of gold—though both may be a shade tarnished. But that doesn’t stop them from trying to keep the women they love in their arms . . .
Elam Taggart knows about the nickname town gossips have given him: Desperado. He doesn’t care. He’s lost just about everything: his wife, his parents, his little sister, and his career as a Navy EOD specialist. After returning home, he hightails it to the rugged Wasatch Mountains outside town.
But when his brother comes asking for help, Elam can’t say no. That is, until Elam realizes that in order to help, he’ll be forced to spend time with town newcomer P.D. Raines. P.D. knows that asking Elam Taggart to be her partner in the town’s upcoming Wild West Games is a mistake. But she needs the prize money, and Elam is lean, hard, and tortured—a dangerous combination she can’t seem to resist.
As the competition heats up—to the point of peril—Elam and P.D. have to turn away from the past and embrace the passion that sparks between them in order to escape the threat to their lives.
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If you have some time — come along and meet the Taggart boys. Desperado is the first in Lisa Bingham’s series about brothers Elam, Bodey, Jace and Barry from Bliss, Utah. With roots firmly entrenched in the town for generations, the Taggarts have led totally different lives from Prairie Dawn (or P. D. as she likes to be called) Raines who was raised by travelling hippie parents. Actually, to be perfectly honest, it soon becomes apparent to readers that P. D. raised herself. With admirable single-mindedness, P.D. takes responsibility for her own destiny when she leaves her benignly neglectful parents behind determined to make a different life for herself. After receiving college degrees in physics and business, P. D. finds a career in the lab is not going to be her cup of tea and decides to settle in the Wasatch mountains where she opens Vern’s, a successful restaurant in Bliss. The Taggart brothers, on the other hand, have led stable lives although they are not untouched by the tragic twists of fate. Their parents and their sister have lost their lives in an accident that left their brother Barry a permanent child, and Elam, who stars in this book, has been forever changed by the horror of war and the loss of his wife — his childhood sweetheart, his soul mate, the only woman he has ever loved. When Elam agrees to help P. D. in a contest which she hopes will provide her with some much needed prize money for renovating her restaurant, he has no idea she is a woman until she steps out of his brother Bodey’s truck.
Bodey crowed in delight, pumping one fist into the air. Twisting, he threw a thumbs-up sign toward the truck. As if an all-clear signal had been given, the driver’s door opened and P. D. Raines stepped out.
It wasn’t until the shape stepped free of the truck and the orange of the setting sun streaked over each line and hollow that Elam realized that P. D. Raines was a woman.
Let me just say up front, I am looking forward to reading the upcoming books in the series. Lisa Bingham fleshes out Elam’s brothers enough to make readers want to know more about them. And P. D. Raines is just a great character. She is such a strong woman and yet so vulnerable. Despite all her accomplishments, she can’t imagine why a man like Elam Taggart would want someone like her. Elam’s character is a bit predictable — as someone who has spent his life as a one woman man, he is at constant war with himself over his attraction to P. D. even though his Annabel is gone. There is a lot of sweetness and romance in this book, but there is also some very steamy sex. There is angst as Elam and P. D. struggle against their chemistry. There are mishaps and misunderstandings, and as if the contest itself isn’t enough of a strain, it turns out someone is out to get P. D. and destroy everything she has worked for. I think the mysterious saboteur provides just enough suspense to keep the story line interesting even though I was almost positive of the identity. Readers who enjoy old fashioned romance novels with a bit of steam (O.K. — a lot of steam!) will definitely enjoy Desperado. This is the kind of book that will have you sighing while reading and leave you feeling good. It will also leave you ready for Jace’s story which is told in the next book in the series Renegade.
West +brothers looks excellent. thanls for your detailed review.