Book Review: Drifter's Heart (Cowboy Fever #6) by Karen Wiesner

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Drifter's Heart
Cowboy Fever Series #6
By:  Karen Wiesner
Published:  Dec. 2013
By:  Whiskey Creek Press
Mature Content:  18 & Up
Source:  Author

GR's Summary:

Return to cowboy country in Fever, Texas, where the heat isn't the only thing causing a fever! See if you can find the heirloom wedding band!
Easy to love, hard to hold... 

Maggie May’s pa is still looking for the cowboy who knocked up his cowgirl vixen daughter five years ago. Little Tex has grown up without a father, but he’s the shining star of the May Ranch. Like his father, though, he’s always running off and disappearing. Just when Maggie May thinks it’ll never happen, the drifter she loves shows up, suddenly wise to the fact that his oh-so-altruistic efforts to quiet her endless stream of conversation had ended with a child. Horse trainer for hire and former rodeo bullfighter, Ryder McCall returns to Fever, Texas. This time, Maggie May plans to get him back in her clutches--and win his heart forever.

Cowboy Fever Series:

My Take on this Journey:

Drifter's Heart, by Karen Wiesner, will steal your heart!  I must admit that out of all the characters in the Cowboy Fever Series, Maggie May, was my least favorite until I read Drifter's Heart.  Now it has surpassed, The Only One that had that place won hands down!  This is a complicated, well rounded story, filled with an expanse of subjects that will touch everyone's hearts.  It takes a very special person, and writer to imbibe the sensitivity and expertise to rip at their readers soul, and make them feel every bit of the sorrowful pain their character's are enduring.  Ms. Wiesner has accomplished such a coveted gift, that she shares with her readers, in this emotional ride of a lifetime.

Ryder McCall was a drifter, that came back to Fever for a season of work on the May Ranch, 5 years prior.   Ryder was the son of the famous Reece McCall and had a half sister, Lavender McCall, both hooked the bull ring. He was a good looking man who's mystique grabs at the readers heart.  He was a loner at heart, didn't have attachments anywhere he roamed, and never stayed too long in one place.  Fever, was the only place that felt like home to him.  Ryder came from a dysfunctional childhood, filled with pain, destruction, and chaos.  When he came to town, he was warned by Maggie's father that he could work at his ranch on the condition that he stayed clear of his pride and joy, his only daughter, Maggie.  Ryder takes on the job, has heard rumors of the wild girl, and doesn't give it a second thought. 

Maggie May has had a bad reputation of being with all the good looking guys in Fever County since she was 13 years old.  Small towns gossip, and Maggie let them believe what they wanted.  She never fell hard till Ryder McCall entered her life.  Eventually, after an abundance of relentless chasing and a downpour of rain, (that left these two naked and captive in a run down shack) Maggie wares down Ryder, and they had a wonderful, tender night of lust and love for Maggie.  Ryder realizes that Maggie is not the girl about town, as her reputation had him believing.  She was a sweet girl, a motor mouth, (as he called her)who gave him her heart and her most precious gift she could, her V-Card.

Maggie's memory of their one, tender, treasured night ended as fast as it began.  The next morning she awoke to the awareness that Ryder was long gone, and she was alone and devastated beyond words.  As time went by, Maggie realized she was pregnant, and being the proud woman that she was, she took on the responsibility of her son, Little Tex, on her own.   I began to love this character and all she stood for.  She loved her son endlessly, and became a wonderful mother that grew up fast.  Her only real friend was Amanda, Mac's wife, who became her confidant.  Little Tex was a handful, with a disability that would take every ounce of her strength, patience, time and efforts.  He was a little spitfire, and when people saw him coming they put their things up very quickly.  He was hell on wheels, but had an innocence about him, with a heart of gold, with a special gift of communicating with the animals.  No one else could understand him, as his speech was an impediment, that frustrated him to no end when others didn't realize what he needed or wanted.  Little Tex was a clone of his father, with his same beautiful, penetrating, blue eyes.

This novel takes the reader to 5 years later, when Ryder returns to Fever, to work at his friend, Mac's ranch, after a life altering accident in the bull ring that almost kills him.  He is expected not to walk again, but survives with tremendous pain, rehab, and a bad limp.  This wonderful segment takes the reader through the day to day grueling life of Maggie, and her pain and anguish, the sleepless nights soothing her son from his night terrors, and the torment that has become her life without the man she loves.  Maggie will not settle for anything less than it all, and she is determined to have it.  Don't miss out on this wonderful series, the compassion and overwhelming heartache, the tears that will stream down your face before you realize they are there, that only a special writer like Ms. Wiesner can make you feel. 

Drifter's Heart takes on a life of it's own, with Maggie and Ryder meeting again, the realization that he has a son with a disability that he has had to endure his entire life, the regrets and hopes that he can be a better man and father than his dad ever was for him or Lavender.  This novel takes you through the conflict and turmoil of a Drifter that has always only known one way of life, but wants to change, keep promises, have a real family, and just doesn't know if he has it in him.  Sparks fly, Love scenes are great, threats are made, and twists and turns are around every corner, and then fate steps in.  Every aspect of the story makes for a wonderful, well rounded, all encompassing, heart wrenching, story that will warm the readers' heart.  If you haven't read this, it is a must on your TBR!  Get your tissues ready for this all encompassing tear jerker.

I give, Drifter's Heart, by Karen Wiesner 5+ Heart Felt, Tender, Broken Promises, Life Changing, Second Chance at Life Stars! 
   

Favorite Quote:

"Ryder could no longer look at the night sky without remembering Maggie calling stars the forget-me-nots of the angels or referring to night as a woman with a sable skirt, fringed with light from celestial walls, sweeping through marble halls.  He wanted Maggie May to be forever immortalized in his mind as his tiny beauty with stars in her eyes." 
 (Kindle Loc-505)

~Ryder

Purchase At:

Amazon |Barnes and Noble

About Karen Wiesner:

Karen Wiesner is an accomplished author with 102 books published in the past 15 years, which have been nominated for and/or won 126 awards, and has 40 more titles under contract.

Website | Goodreads 

Giveaway:

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