BOOK REVIEW: Deacon's Touch by Callie Croix

About a month ago I won a copy of DEACON'S TOUCH by Callie Croix over at the Writers' Gone Wild blog.

This novella was a quick but compelling read, and HOT! I sat down and read the novella in one morning. Couldn't put it down. Loved it.

Deke's a retired pararescue jumper with medic training. Injured in the line of duty he's returned to help his brothers on the family ranch. Jessica is a stock broker and she's come to the ranch to celebrate a friend's bachelorette party.

Without giving away too many spoilers, Deke is asked to meet and pick up Jessica at the airport and their friendship starts there.

Neither are looking for a relationship, both have pasts that interfere but there's an attraction neither can deny. The developing relationship gets hot (I loved how the author has built on each sex scene, adding layers and emotional depth) and the ending (which I won't reveal) is very satisfying. In fact, I could see this as a full blown novel and would be very happy to spend a few more hours reading the longer version.

Yet despite the shorter length of the novel, I was pleasantly satisfied with the depth in the characters, Deke and Jessica, the hero and heroine. For anyone who enjoys a contemporary western, the military and a touch of BDSM/erotica, this is a novella for you.

DEACON'S TOUCH is one of four planned in this series and is available from The Wild Rose Press. To read an excerpt of this novella, click here.

DEACON'S TOUCH
After her own engagement goes to hell, workaholic Jessica Talbot dreads her friend’s bachelorette party at a dude ranch in Nowheresville, Texas. But the outlook for the weekend brightens when Deacon Dumen picks her up at the airport. The sexy cowboy awakens every dormant sexual fantasy with nothing more than a friendly smile and a handshake. 

Ex-Air Force Pararescueman Deke Dumen doesn’t know what to make of the sexy yet reserved brunette who breaks through the walls he built after an injury ended his career and a divorce soured him on relationships. As a guest at his family’s ranch Jessie is off limits, but the Dom in him rebels at the restriction, even as he realizes his penchant for control in the bedroom would likely scare the holy hell out of her.

When Jessie shocks Deke by asking for exactly what he’s been craving, he’s ready to break the rules and introduce her to his own brand of dominance. Her willing surrender rocks them both to the core. But once the weekend’s over, they must decide if it was just a wild fling or the start of something more.