A MelanieM Release Day Review: When the Dust Settles (Timing #3) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

when-the-dust-settles-by-mary-calmes Glenn Holloway’s predictable life ended the day he confessed his homosexuality to his family. As if that wasn’t enough, he then poured salt in the wound by walking away from the ranch he’d grown up on, to open the restaurant he’d always dreamed of. Without support from his father and brother, and too proud to accept assistance from anyone else, he had to start from scratch. Over time things worked out: Glenn successfully built a strong business, created a new home, and forged a life he could be proud of.

Despite his success, his estrangement from the Holloways is still a sore spot he can’t quite heal, and a called-in favor becomes Glenn’s worst nightmare. Caught in a promise, Glenn returns to his roots to deal with Rand Holloway and comes face-to-face with Mac Gentry, a man far too appealing for Glenn’s own good. It could all lead to disaster—disaster for his tenuous reconnection with his family and for the desire he didn’t know he held in his heart.

Glenn Holloway went from snarly jerk in Timing to redeemed, confused, and frankly adorable character in After the Sunset. It was there that you started to want to get a HEA or even HFN for Glenn. Mary Calmes let us see into his upbringing and life with dear old dad on the ranch which was not really a happy time. So with understanding came the ability to connect with the man who was starting to undergo so many sea-changes in his life. I’m sure Calmes was hearing from all her fans, as they clamored for his story.

Now here it is.

I have to say that while Glenn and Mac will never be Stef and Rand, the golden couple of the Timing series, they certainly are a wonderful addition. The story picks up a couple of years later in the timeline. Glenn has his restaurant up and running, the Bronc Burger having done it on his own. His staff a mix of LGBTQIA kids and adults who have become family, more so than his own who he only sees when Stef intervenes. And Stef is getting ready to do so again.

By getting Glenn to go along on a Red Diamond cattle drive, along with Rand and his brother, and people who have paid for the privilege. Its a huge undertaking and the last thing Glenn wants to do but he owes Stef a favor and Stef is collecting.

Its an interesting dynamics. Glenn wants nothing to do with ranching and cowboys (really his family per se) and now he’s going to be surrounded by them. Yep, its going to be intense. We’ve not gotten a hint as to who is to be Glenn’s romantic interest up ’til now. Usually you can tell in the books prior who someone is going to be in a relationship with but here? Nothing. So I was surprised to see that it was going to be Mac Gentry, someone we really don’t know much about. Mac’s been a bit of a shadow character. We “hear” all how “dangerous” Mac is, etc. But nothing of substance. That makes this somewhat one-sided going into the relationship. I wish we’d had more of a hint, or knew more about Mac before this story. Ah well.

Told from Glenn’s pov, Calmes still manages to show the reader where Glenn is making assumptions about the situations he’s in and the people around him. Glenn’s on edge and in retreat to the Glenn we first met. And he knows it. Enter Mac. Maclain Gentry. Its up to Glenn and Mac to introduce Mac to the readers and that becomes an interesting proposition. We have to accept that its a feelings first and quick jump to love, that it really is all about timing for both men. I think the author makes her case here. You did get a feeling of weariness from each, a need to have something more in their lives. I got it and connected with both men.

I won’t spoil the story. I think the path towards love for both Glenn and Mac was natural, and it worked. Being Mary Calmes, nothing is ever easy. There’s some real thrills here I wasn’t expecting. And some heartwarming moments when you get to see where Stef and Rand are with their family now that a couple of years have passed. You get caught up with the goings on at the Red Diamond, a place I can never get enough of.

I’m sort of hoping that Mary Calmes isn’t through with the Red Diamond either. She’s busy turning it into its own little bustling city. Surely there’s many more stories to come. While we are waiting, make sure you add When the Dust Settles to your TBR pile and all the stories in the Timing series. They are classic Mary Calmes and that’s not to be missed.

Cover art by Reese Dante. I love that cover. You can feel that cowboy’s eyes just follow you. Outstanding.

Sales Links

Book Details:

ebook, 107 pages
Expected publication: November 16th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press
ISBN139781634778329
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series: Timing – add to your Goodreads shelf here:

A MelanieM Release Day Review: After the Sunset (Timing #2) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

Two years after riding off into the sunset with ranch owner Rand Holloway, Stefan Joss has made a tentative peace with his new life, teaching at a community college. But the course of true love never does run smooth. Rand wants him home on the ranch; Stef wants an exit strategy in case Rand ever decides to throw him out. Finally, after recognizing how unfair he’s being, Stef makes a commitment, and Rand is over the moon.

When Stef gets the chance to prove his devotion, he doesn’t hesitate—despite the risk to his health—and Rand takes the opportunity to show everyone that sometimes life’s best surprises come after the sunset.

I first read After the Sunset (Timing #2) by Mary Calmes when it came out in 2011, so I wondered how I would feel about it diving into this couple and series the second time around. Honestly, I think I’ve loved it even more. Something about Rand and Stef just resonate with me. They have from the first story, Timing, and the joy and satisfaction I got from reading this sequel returned all over again.

After the Sunset moves the time frame for the series ahead two years. Rand and Stef have settled into life on the Red Diamond, well, sort of. Adjustments are still being made. Stef is now teaching at a community college and the ranch is becoming more self sufficient as Rand expands his business with Stef’s help. Sounds great, right? With Rand and Stef nothing is ever that easy. With their past histories, their complication personal dynamics, and a somewhat messy family relationships about to push into their lives, things are going to get lively…Mary Calmes style.

That means that Stef’s need to make a commitment to Rand and the ranch will come into play yet again. This time for the doubting ranch hands who are not only a cornerstone of the ranch’s success but have become part of the family there as well. I love how this is their story too. We get to see more of life on the Diamond, the secondary characters, and Rand’s extended family. It all becomes necessary to know them better as people and as part of the ranch to get Stef settled deeper into ranch life and as a permanent fixture there as a half of the Rand/Stef couple.

There is so much drama here. Between Stef and Rand’s cousins, Stef and a few local homophobes, plus all the amazing Stef and Rand sexy interaction. That I can never get enough of. For me they just sizzle. I love the dynamic they have going on. I don’t specifically categorize it because I get it with this couple. It works for me, and I just find them hot.

One character get a spotlight on him here and that’s Glenn Holloway. We met him briefly in the first book but his role is hugely expanded here for reasons I won’t go into because they run into spoiler territory. I ended up liking Glenn. He went from your basic jerk on the range to someone you start to understand and connect with towards the end. Which is probably is really good thing considering the next story features Glenn as the main character.

So I’ve completed Timing and After The Sunset once more. And fallen in love all over again with Stef and Rand and the Red Diamond and its crew. Even Bella the Rhodesian Ridgeback has a huge place in my heart. Mary Calmes series has a way of doing that. They burrow in deep and even if its been awhile since you’ve visited with them, one visit brings all the reasons flooding back why you loved them so in the first place. And yes, I highly recommend this series. Coming up next? When the Dust Settles (Timing, #3). I’ll let you know what I find.

New cover by Reese Dante is darn near perfect. I think she has Stef captured exactly how I think he looks. Truly one of Mary’s golden boys.

Sales Links

Book Details:

ebook, 2nd Edition, 169 pages
Expected publication: November 2nd 2016 by Dreamspinner Press (first published August 16th 2011)
ISBN 1634777131 (ISBN13: 9781634777131)
Edition LanguageEnglish

Series Timing – add it to your Goodreads shelf here:

A Melanie Release Day Review: Timing (Timing #1) by Mary Calmes

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

timing Stefan Joss just can’t win. Not only does he have to go to Texas in the middle of summer to be the man of honor in his best friend Charlotte’s wedding, but he’s expected to negotiate a million-dollar business deal at the same time. Worst of all, he’s thrown for a loop when he arrives to see the one man Charlotte promised wouldn’t be there: her brother, Rand Holloway.

Stefan and Rand have been mortal enemies since the day they met, so Stefan is shocked when a temporary cease-fire sees the usual hostility replaced by instant chemistry. Though leery of the unexpected feelings, Stefan is swayed by a sincere revelation from Rand, and he decides to give Rand a chance.

But their budding romance is threatened when Stefan’s business deal goes wrong: the owner of the last ranch he needs to secure for the company is murdered. Stefan’s in for the surprise of his life as he finds himself in danger as well.

First Edition published by Dreamspinner Press, 2010.

Timing by Mary Calmes is that wonderful Mary Calmes story that you hope for every time you dive into one of her romances. Its a love story that, no matter how many times you have read it, whether in 2010 or 2016, still makes you fall deeply in love with its characters and their relationship and the road they take to their happily ever after.

Stefan Joss, the perfect Mary Calmes character we know we will see, is going to help his best friend Charlotte get married, even though he will have to face her brother Rand, a person he’s been actively hostile towards since they met in college. Rand (the handsome, virile cowboy with secrets of his own) has been waiting for Stefan Joss to arrive. Rand has his own agenda. Plus there’s more story threads than usual. A murder mystery, clues thrown around this tale and a villain to reveal before all can find their wonderfully satisfying HEA or is it HFN?

What I’ve always enjoyed is the relationships in a Calmes story. Here its between Charlotte and Stefan, a true tight-knit unit as well as Stefan and Rand, and then others as secondary characters are swirled into the mixture. The author is able to convey the sense of closeness between Charlotte and Stefan, their dependency upon each other and love. You care as much about her and her happiness as you do about the main couple. Calmes’ ability to pull the reader into each scene along with our emotions, and connect us with her characters and their lives is ever present here.

When Timing first came out, we thought that was it for Stefan and Rand. Now we know that there’s two more books to follow. A sequel already published and a third on the way. Be still my happy heart. There can never be enough Timings for me. Once you read it I think you’ll agree.

Cover art by Reese Dante is lovely, I love the updated cover.

Sales Links

Book Details:

ebook, 2nd Edition, 204 pages
Expected publication: October 19th 2016 by Dreamspinner Press (first published March 1st 2010)
Original TitleTiming
ISBN 1634777123 (ISBN13: 9781634777124)
Edition LanguageEnglish

SeriesTiming #1
CharactersStefan Joss, Rand Holloway settingLubbock, Texas (United States)

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