Zane by Kimberly LewisSeries: The McKades of Texas #1
Published by: Self Published on August 7, 2012
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Western
Pages: 259
Source: Blog Tour
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Rating: ★★★½
Kellan Anderson is in hillbilly hell — or at least that's what it feels like. After enduring endless accounts of abuse from her now ex-boyfriend, Kellan makes a run for her life and finds herself in cowboy country. Leaving her fancy clothes and expensive lifestyle behind her, she trades in her high heels for cowboy boots and changes her name to Andi Ford. With her painful past threatening to catch up with her, hiding out in this small town seems easy enough — until one blonde hair, blue eyed cowboy steps in the picture.
Zane McKade has sworn off women, determining that they are all liars and cheats — including the new waitress at the local bar. After a rather unpleasant first encounter with the beautiful brunette, Zane's radar is set to high as he believes this woman is not who she claims to be. When his intimidation methods fail to break through Andi's barrier he decides to turn on the charm to get her to tell the truth. But Zane's plan begins to backfire as the more time he spends charming Andi, the more he finds himself breaking his own rules and falling for her.
Zane was my first ever western contemporary romance novel! Honestly, I saw the cover and went, “Z0MG HORSES!” and knew I had to read it. I absolutely love horses. I used to horseback ride but don’t any more and I think seeing this cover brought back memories.
This was a really fast read and a sweet romance story. There are some sexual scenes so I’d say this book is geared more towards mature readers. Despite a few issues (which I’ll go over later), the romance was really inviting. It’s really about two grieving people healing each other and falling in love in the process.
The point of view was sometimes a little awkward. The whole story was told in third person, but there were two main characters that the narrator followed: Kellan and Zane. But then sometimes the book would jump to Luke or Norah — usually just for a minute, but it was right in the middle of the chapter so it could get a little confusing. Because of the way it was written, we always knew everyone’s feelings. For example, Zane would be thinking about how he loves Kellan and then he’d kiss her, and then we’d read about how Kellan felt about the kiss. Since the reader always knew what everyone was feeling, there was no mystery. There was no wondering how Zane felt about Kellan or how she felt about him.
Speaking of the romance, it did move kind of fast. Kellan and Zane hated each other, then they had one real conversation, and suddenly they were in love. Once I got over the fact that it was kind of insta-love, I started enjoying the romance. And oh my, there are some seriously hot scenes. If you can handle more descriptive sex scenes, and if you enjoy that kind of thing, it’s really, super hot!
Overall, Zane was an enjoyable read, but it was lacking that extra level of depth and detail. Some scenes—several of which I thought were very important/big scenes—were extremely short and rushed. The pacing was off at times, jumping days or weeks ahead, when I thought the author should have gone more slowly. But issues aside, I enjoyed reading Zane. I was never bored and there was never a dull moment.
View Spoiler »I think that with a bit more detail, expanding, and slowing down the romance a bit, Zane could be a really solid 4 or 5 star book. It’s filled with great ideas, and I always love stories about the “silly city girl” trying to transition to country life. Combine that with a sweet romance and some hot, racy scenes, and you’ve got a great read!
Side note: I feel so accomplished. I read a book that starts with “Z.” I feel like my life is complete. Thank you, Kimberly!
About Kimberly
In November of 2011, author Kimberly Lewis stepped into the writing world with her first original western contemporary romance novel, When the Heart Falls.
Born and raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, this country girl at heart caught the creative bug at an early age, doing everything from drawing to writing short stories.
After the birth of her son, Kimberly found the inspiration to pick up a pen, or in this case a laptop, and began writing her first novel. Since then she has continued to write and credits her husband Rob and her wonderfully crazy family, who with their love and joking demeanor provide her with the ideas that inspire her novels.
In her spare time she enjoys reading, horseback riding, and spending time with her amazing family.
I am a member of Black Lion Virtual Book Tours and a copy of this book was provided to be by the author. Although payment may have been received by Black Lion Virtual Book Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review nor was there an obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed here are entirely of my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book’s publisher and publicist or the readers of this review.
The Verdict
Thank you so much hosting Kimberly today! Great review–I like your excitement over the horses. 🙂
Ashley, thank you so much for having me on your site today! And thank you very much for the review:-) I’m glad you liked the book and I’m happy that you were finally able to read a book that started with “Z”, lol. Thanks again!
Thank you for stopping by Kimberly! And of course, for writing the book! 😀 It was truly a pleasure to read!!