Caught in Midnight Shadows by Sharleen Scott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Brant Bellamy in the race for his life. It seems that someone has the intention of either scaring him or killing him. After several suspicious accidents on the Bellamy ranch, and when Brant’s mother passes away under suspicious circumstances, he is determined to find out what is going on. His mom’s last words to him were find him and make it right. Brant does not understand what those words mean or who his mother meant but he is determined to find out. To protect his children from coming into harm’s way he sends them to their mom in Chicago and heads to the Oregon Coast with the purpose and intention of finding a man who worked on the Bellamy ranch 40 years ago.

However, fate has other plans when Brant meets the beautiful and exciting Aubrey Chartrand, who is a bartender at a local bar In Angel Beach where Brant stops to have a bite to eat. The unplanned meeting between the two of them causes both to rethink their decisions and future. Brant has only come in search of the mysterious stranger that worked at the Bellamy ranch years ago and Aubrey is planning on riding her Harley off into the proverbial sunset. She has no intention of getting tied down not after spending years looking after her elderly aunt. Their plans are quickly sidelined when Aubrey becomes targeted by a stalker. Suddenly her and Brant are pulled together to find out who this person is. It is now starting to look as though this mysterious person could be a murderer that has targeted them and put them both in his line of fire.

This book was incredibly difficult to put down and I ended up reading it from cover to cover. I became completely immersed in the lives of the characters and needed to know who this mysterious stranger was and what he wanted. I love the fact that even though it was centered around a romance between the two characters, Brant, and Aubrey, it was also full of action and suspense. I was completely drawn into the mystery surrounding not only the mysterious stalker who is after both Brant and Aubrey but what Brant’s mom’s last words meant. Who was this drifter that showed up on their ranch 40 years ago? Where did he come from? Why was it so important for Brant to find him?

I loved the character of Brant (I mean who doesn’t like a sexy cowboy) but more importantly I love the fact that he wasn’t a bad boy but instead someone with a big heart who cared about those that he loved and would do anything to protect them. I loved that Brant was a single father and that his focus was on keeping his children safe and being the best father that he could be to them. I also really enjoyed the fact that both main characters were older. I love that Aubrey was down to earth, independent, and fiercely loyal to those that she loved. The chemistry between Brant and Aubrey was undeniable even though they both tried to ignore it as best as they could. It just goes to show that sometimes things happen, and people cross our paths for a reason.

View all my reviews@Tara Johnson Barnes