Taken Home

Lone Star Burn, Book 3

by Ruth Cardello

Playboy Mason Thorne is nothing short of complicated. Though he was a movie star at a young age, his life took a downward spiral when he turned to drugs after losing his mother. He cleaned up his act and became a senator but still keeps his distance from most everyone—including his own father. There are plenty of women around, but most are gone by morning.

Twenty-five-year-old Chelle Landon thinks she must be the last virgin in Texas. She’s worried if she doesn’t remedy it soon, she’ll stay one forever. She attends yet another small-town wedding where the last single man her age is officially off the market, until sexy politician Mason Thorne appears. He’s the answer to her prayers, if one can pray for something that decadent.

He needs a cover story, not another lover. Chelle’s on a mission to lose her virginity, no matter what. Will he break her heart or will she heal his?

Some may think that the turnaround from bad boy to commitment minded might be a little fast but I think that Mason was primed and ready for it, he just needed the right catalyst.  I found him to be suave and charming, but wonderfully conflicted.  He’s had a rough go of it and the people he’s surrounded himself with haven’t done much to restore his faith.

Chelle might be a little too perfect but the wonderful thing is that she is perfect for Mason.  She sees more than that charming façade he shows everyone else and finds it to be something worth investing in.  She’s so refreshing in his shallow world and her big heart & level head does so much to help him find something good in himself.

The struggle to be that better man is not easy for him and it’s been a long time since he’s actually had to work for anything in his personal life.  But he’s definitely a man up to the challenge … and when he does figure himself out (after quite a few hiccups along the way) whew!  🙂  He’s sexy and deliciously bad, but he’s once he commits himself to something he does it with everything he’s got.   His journey isn’t easy but it is worthwhile.

Steamy, funny, HOT, and heartfelt, Taken Home is one of the most fun books I’ve read in a while and I think I’m going to have to see what else Cardello has up her sleeve.

(Oh, and if you are like me and this is your first Lone Star Burn story, you’ll be fine.  There are some references to other couple’s stories that I didn’t understand but their impact on Mason & Chelle’s story is very minimal and didn’t impact my enjoyment at all.)