Wild Rain audiobook

My first instinct was to give this book 4 stars because the plot with the villain it all wrapped up so quickly at the end, but then I had this thought: Spring wasn't going to give that jackass more of her time, so why on Earth would this book give him more of her time? One thing I'd like to say is that Ms. Bev's prose is so smooth, so utterly perfectly crafted. It's like fine wine. It's perfectly readable and it's just masterful how easily she pulls us into the story and into the world. Sitting down with a Beverly Jenkins book is just pure. reading. pleasure.I loved Spring and I loved Garrett.I read an ARC from the publisher.

3.5 stars -- I'm not sure why I didn't just love this the way I loved TEMPEST. It has a lot of the same ingredients: awesome female lead, small town feels, interesting setting, external conflict. Plus this time we get a much more enjoyable hero IMO (cinnamon roll FTW). But for some reason, the parts did not sum up to as much on a whole as the previous book did. I had a fun time with this, but maybe my expectations were just too high

Beverly Jenkins is definitely low angst, so this was just a sweet romance between Spring and Garrett, who is a reporter coming into town to do a story on Spring's brother. I really loved seeing the characters from the previous books in this series and how they all interact with one another. Since this is low angst, there wasn't too much drama within the romance itself. Instead, the romance is at the forefront for the first half of the book and then definitely focuses more on a mystery for the second half of the book. I do think the conflict in the romance at the end resolved itself a little too quickly, but overall I really enjoyed Spring's book and having her as a heroine!

Stories about women living in the newly settled western parts of America fascinate me. I remember reading Ann Weisgarber’s The Personal History of Rachel Dupree years ago. The story of a Black woman who left a big city to move to the Badlands of South Dakota with her new husband and homestead in the early 20th century was mind blowing. But with Wild Rain, Beverly Jenkins introduces an even bigger badass!Spring Lee is a fierce, no nonsense, kick ass now ask questions later “lady.” And while it's true that the romance between her and Garrett McCray, a formerly enslaved journalist who's come to Paradise, Wyoming to interview Spring’s brother, is the overarching theme of the book, Spring’s approach to life is the heartbeat of Wild Rain. Eschewing social norms of the times, she's a land owning rancher, she hangs out in saloons, she breaks wild horses and she embraces her sexuality! It's so refreshing to see a female character who doesn't pretend she doesn't have a past, is open about what and who she wants, and makes the first, second or third move, if she has to. Wild Rain is the second novel in the Women Who Dare series, Rebel was the first. If you're trying to remember where you've seen Spring Lee before, check out Tempest, the third book in Beverly Jenkins's Old West series, where we first meet Spring’s brother Dr. Colton Lee and his bride to be, Regan Carmichael. Thanks to the people at William Morrow Books/Avon for sending this my way!

I step into a Beverly Jenkins romance and it feels like the height of comfort. There is swoony romance, some beautiful steam, strong heroines, and fabulous heroes. She deals with some heavy themes but she does it in a way that feels low angst. I loved this one. Loved how independent and strong Spring was while still being soft and tender with her love. Just beautiful.

Wild Rain is one of those releases for the year I have been most anticipating, but it took me a while to get in the mood. I ended up having it on my TBR for the #HRREADATHON and rotating between the audio and the ebook. Wild Rain is the second book in the latest series by Bev Jenkins and a western romance. It definitely has the typical flair that one will find with Bev Jenkins books, but I love her style with westerns. Now it wasn't a perfect book or one that won my heart completely. The ending was so NOT my cup of tea and I just felt the heroine could be selfish at times at the expense of the hero and it just rubbed me the wrong way. Wild Rain begins with Spring Lee who is rancher and on her way home she stumbles across an injured rider and she takes him back to her home to tend to him. Garrett is a Eastern news reporter who has come to interview her brother who is a black man practicing medicine. Garrett is a respectful honest man that is intriguing to Spring. Spring is proud of the woman that she has become. She is independent, self sufficient and doesn't depend on anyone but herself. She loves being a rancher and the ability to be able to pave her own life. But there is a chemistry between herself and Garrett and Spring doesn't know what to do with this attraction with Garrett. She knows their lives are at a crossroads but can't resist the temptation of a strong yet kind man who has only treated her with kindness and respect. Garrett has in his own, gone his own way. His parents fought for him since he was young and sacrificed much. But he is own man and wants to find his own way. He finds Spring and the western way of living such a temptation. He feels a sense of completeness he couldn't ever feel in the city way of life. But he knows Spring will have to be the one to choose him because she is on her own path but hopes that their love will be enough for them both. Wild Rain was a sweet and poetically penned romance. I had such a blast with this book and all the bright and colorful personalities that come into play into this story. Now while its definitely not one of my favorites, westerns always breath new life into my reading and this queen of an author can always draw me into her books and I love seeing the way it beckons me into it. I will say that as this one was an audio book, I was impressed with the talent of Kim Staunton. She really brought the perfect balance in the narration of this story. Spring and Garrett were definitely a unique mix together and I did enjoy their relationship and seeing the sacrifices. But I did feel that Garrett was really the one making all the concessions and sacrifices and it didn't feel like Spring was willing to do nearly as much for the relationship. Garrett seemed to be much more invested in the relationship and I did find that the heroine was very selfish at times and yeah the ending just didn't feel final or that HEA feel to it at all. I just finished reading the book with feeling like there needed to be more. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike the heroine at all. I found her to be very impressive and I adored the way she would stand up for herself and what she believed in. I just felt like there wasn't much growth to her as I was expecting and there were aspects to her character that wasn't my favorite to read in. But Garretty? As the male lead and hero, was superb in every way. I loved his dynamic character. I would say he is a beta with some alpha tendacies especially in being a protector. This part of his character comes when you least expect it. I loved seeing him grow in this story and being such a dynamic character. The plot in this book was quite interesting. I honestly never know what to expect in the plot developments of Beverly Jenkins reads and this one was no different. There are aspects of suspense and it was a unique experience to go along for the ride with this book and see where this author was taking us on the journey. There were mutliple of aspects that drew me into this book and I had no problem staying engaged, I found the pacing the plot to be steady and didn't falter as sometimes happens in historical's. I really get a kick out of Beverly Jenkins, she has always been an author whose writing style has just worked for me. I really respect her level of rich historical authenticity that is so rare in modern historical authors these days. Its obvious that she knows her history and does her research and "high respect". Overall I found Wild Rain to be a thrilling tale of western culture, rich historical context and a tender romance to curl your toes.

I highly recommend reading Beverly Jenkins books in order because the characters are connected to each other and often make appearances in subsequent installments of a series.In this book, the heroine Spring Lee is the sister of D. Colton Lee from book 3 of the Old West series. His story was just as good as this one. The story begins with writer Garrett McCray traveling to the Wyoming to interview Spring's brother Colton for his newspaper. On his travel, Garrett was thrown from his horse and got hurt. Spring reluctantly gives aid and then Garrett slowly draws Spring out of her prickly shell. What I love about Beverly Jenkins is that she never gives me a heroine that I can't relate to and admire. The woman are strong, independent, hardworking, loyal, just good people. There was so much so Spring. Many layers that made her sarcastic and strong. She had been through a lot. This book was really about Spring's growth and how Garrett's love aided her in the journey. Their scene together were done well because of the respect as well as the attraction between them. In addition, the black family dynamics always makes me feel whole. There is a sense of community that she conveys with the freed blacks that educates the reader as to accomplishments and achievements. So this is more than a love story, its just a feel good historical fiction. This was one as another winner for me.

Wild Rain has a fantastic heroine, Spring, who’s intelligent, tough as nails, and fiercely independent. Spring is a gun toting, lone rancher residing near Paradise, Wyoming who’s the kind of woman that never wants to marry or have any children (and is totally fine with that.) She meets our hero, Garrett, in a snowstorm, saves his life, brings him into her home and takes care of him. Garrett’s a sweetheart of a hero who’s in awe of Spring. He’s a carpenter and reporter, practiced law, who’s traveled to Paradise from the east coast to interview Spring’s brother (a doctor) for his father’s sundown newspaper. Instead, he is fascinated by Spring, falls in love with her and wants her just as she is. I adored Spring and Garrett, their chemistry was off the charts. Beverly Jenkins writes their world so vividly it leaves nothing to the imagination. I really enjoyed my short escape to the old west, and will be reading more of this series as they’re released.

A sweet historical romance is sometimes exactly what the doctor calls for, and this novel fits the prescription perfectly. This is such a sweet, low-key romance about a badass female rancher and the reporter who falls in love with her after coming to town to write a story on her brother. I loved the dynamic between the two of them, the way there was this genuine care and affection for each other right from the beginning. Seeing Spring care for Garrett was so lovely. I loved that there wasn’t that much angst between them, and their relationship evolved so organically. Even the fact that the main character doesn’t want kids was a nice touch, because it’s so rare in historical romances for the HEA to not include children. As someone who isn’t sure if I want kids, even if I do get married one day, the representation was nice to see.In addition, Beverly Jenkins was able to situate this romance within its historical context so well. She dealt with the realities of race, power, and privilege in such nuanced, important ways, and she brought the Old West setting to life so well. I could envision everything.The one main detractor for me is still the writing style. I appreciate how light and understated it is, but this novel (and the previous book in this series) is pretty dialogue-heavy. I prefer more exposition and inner monologue in my narratives, but I recognize this is just personal preference. I certainly see why so many people love Beverly Jenkins, and I am sure that I will read many more of her romances in the future.

I totally finished this book and loved it.I mean truly loved this.I liked the delicacy that went into crafting this style romance in that time period.Well done Ms Jenkins.