Books & Spoons Review for CHASE by Barbara Dunlop

13/5/2017

Betrayed by his fiancée and his best friend, Chase Garrett heads out on the road with the American Extreme Bull Riders Association, determined to ride hard and keep a wall around his heart.

But during a competition, three-year-old Riley Barrett bursts through that barrier when he throws himself into Chase’s arms, insisting Chase is his daddy. And Chase’s walls collapse further when he meets Riley’s mother–beautiful, vulnerable, sexy Maddy.

A widow for only a year, Maddy Barrett is stunned by her son Riley’s outlandish assertion that Chase is his father. She tries desperately to convince Riley that his father has not come home to them.

When Chase and Maddy join forces to help her son, she finds herself falling fast for the sexy, hard-working bull rider—wishing he truly could be the man for Riley, and the man for her.

I adored this story, I simply loved it. I guess you just give me big-hearted cowboys and little boys who idolize them and women who swoon over them and I am sold, sealed and delivered. Well, it wasn't quite that simple deal actually, because the author weaved a tale that touched the emotions, from tears to smiles to laughing out loud and swooning, head over heels falling for the characters and feeling their emotions.
From the very start, in the prologue, the feelings start to rumble and I was immediately drawn to Chase Garrett, feeling his pain and cheering him on to a better and brighter future. And then the first chapter just broke my heart because of the little Riley. The fear was palpable, the tension is high, the confusion tangible in the air.
And the intensity of the beginning holds through the tale. Every single emotion is underlined and felt deeply. Yet the story is not all angst, drama, and family troubles. There are moments of joy, passion, humor, and charm. There are conflicts that are real and reasonable, but there are also adoration and attraction, love and passion, an unwavering family bond, and the love between a man and a son-of-heart.
This was a story that I ended up inhaling in one sitting. The intensity, depth, and vigor held my interest and I could not think to put it down until the very end. A lovely story, indeed!
~ Four Spoons with a teaspoon on the side