Second in the Straton Family historical western romance series and revolving around the Straton family. The couple focus is on Chandos and Courtney's daughter, Casey, and Damian. It's 1892 in Texas.My TakeHow very disappointing. I expected so much more from Lindsey, but most of the story was tell with very little show. I was expecting a story more like A Heart So Wild, 1, in which Lindsey grabbed hold of me and pulled me in. This one? Well, I wanted to read more about Chandos and Courtney, find out how their lives turned out. They've got their HEA even if Chandos finds it boring. As for Casey and Damian, it is a cute read, and I do love a primary protagonist who will not accept second place — yay, Casey! As for love, well, there's that lack of show again 'cause I sure didn't feel it. I didn't feel much at all, really.There were a number of places where I expected Lindsey to wring out that tension. Then I was expecting to read more about Casey's affection for Old Sam. Casey was all I expected in a Chandos-Courtney offspring — feisty, confident, and good with a gun. I liked her. She was TALENTED and, lol, spunky. I want her on my side.Chandos, however, was not very believable. I liked that he was willing to give his daughter some space, but his insistence that she was too young…how old was he again when he first rode onto Fletcher Straton land? Then there's that firm expectation that she should up and get married? No. Of course, if she isn't old enough, ahem, to run the ranch, how can she be old enough to get married and start poppin' out kids? *eye roll* Hypocrite much? I do appreciate that Chandos rides out to keep an eye on her, and lets her roll her own way. Which is another lost area for tension.Lindsey starts out a tiny bit slow as she sets the character of the characters and puts them in motion to encounter each other. It is a trope how they meet, but Lindsey twists it nicely and makes it fun. There are a couple of other tropes that she doesn't twist. They are minor and don't impinge much on the story. There were, however, a couple of tropes that did drive me nuts: Damian being unable to speak about his feelings and Casey running off every chance she gets. Lindsey didn't even try to put a twist on these. If she'd at least have given them some emotion, some show, had her characters agonize about what to do, it might have made a difference. Instead it brings the story down.What was with Damian's temper? There was one mention that he used to bop kids in the nose when he was young, and his dad had a stern talking to with him, but otherwise nothing. He comes across as a cipher. Rigid, unyielding about his clothes. He seemed to be an intelligent man — and Lindsey TOLD us through his ignorance of camping and riding that he was a dude — but how can he possibly imagine that his eastern clothes will function well in the west? How does he not think that blending in is a better idea? Nor do I understand why he erupts so easily over everything.It's misinterpretation and a good lesson in why it is so important to communicate clearly. The conflict between Casey and Chandos isn't the only misinterpretation when Damian ends up owing his life over and over again to a young kid he assumes is a bragging cowboy."'How dare you be a girl?''I don't think I had much choice in the matter.'"We do find out that Fletcher died about a year ago, and that Sawtooth is currently in charge of the ranch. I'm surprised he wouldn't be willing to back Casey up. But what happened to Maggie? Not even a mention.The StoryThe fate of Fletcher's Bar M Ranch is in question, and Sawtooth has been, temporarily, managing it since Fletcher's death. It's Chandos' attitude that sends Casey out. It's a challenge, and she'll prove she's ready. She'll make her father eat his words!Damian has his own quest. One of vengeance against his father's killers.He's destined to keep gettin' in K.C.'s way, although he does have a few surprises for K.C.The CharactersCasey, a.k.a., Kid or K.C., is Chandos and Courtney's seventeen-year-old daughter, and she's feeling her oats. Old Sam is the colt Casey raised and trained from age twelve. Tyler is Casey's older (by one year) brother, who is going to be a lawyer; Dillon is fourteen. Fletcher Straton was Chandos' father and the kids' grandfather. He owned the Bar M Ranch. Chandos and Courtney have been running the K.C. Ranch for years (read their story in A Heart So Wild). Sawtooth was the foreman for the Bar M Ranch before he retired. Dr. Edward Harte is still alive but retired.Damian Rutledge III, heir to Rutledge Imports, is a know-it-all Eastern dude with absolutely no clue about the wild west. Winnifred, the heir to C.W. & L. Company was the socialite to whom he was engaged. Damian II was our Damian's father. Henry Curruthers was Rutledge Import's accountant. Out WestThe fancy (and chatty) Luella Miller of Chicago is trying to get to Fort Worth. Billybob and Vince are the hapless stagecoach robbers. The Dalton gang includes Robert, Emmett, and Grattan Dalton (former U.S. marshals), Bill Doolin, Charley Pierce, and "Bitter Creek" George Newcomb. Mr. Melton is a horse trader. Judge Roy Bean is quite arbitrary and more interested in a buck than justice."If one of his pals shoots someone, he figures out a way to acquit them. In one of his … decisions, he ruled that the victim shouldn't have gotten in front of the gun his friend was firing."CulthersJack Curruthers is running for mayor. Jed and Jethro Paisley, Elroy Bencher, Candiman, and Mason are no-good gunmen who work for Curruthers. Larissa Amery is the schoolmarm who doesn't like Curruthers.SandersonJohn Wescot is a dentist. Bucky Alcott is a range cook for a local ranch. Pete Drummond is a tenderfoot who now sells firearms. ChicagoMilton Lewis' brother is a mine of information. Margaret Henslowe is a rich widow. New York CitySergeant Johnson was with the Twenty-first Precinct in New York.The Cover and TitleThe cover is a soft gradation from a cold yellow at the bottom up to a soft orange at top. The author's name is the largest text and at the top while the title is smaller and at the bottom. Both use a gold embossed font in all-caps. Separating the text is a deep red, embossed and stylized sun.The title might be better as "all I need is some show, instead we've got All I Need is You. Maybe Lindsey needs us to accept this story as is.
Bintang 4Buku ke2 seri Straton Family"Like father, like daughter..."Bagaimana ayahnya, seperti itulah putrinya... Sama sama keras kepala. Perbedaan pandangan dan keinginan mereka akan nasib peternakan yg diwariskan ayah Chandos pada cucu cucunya membuat Cassie minggat dari rumah untuk membuktikan pada ayahnya kalau seorang wanita dapat melakukan pekerjaan yg dilakukan pria dan seorang wanita tak perlu menikah untuk menopang hidupnya.Ingat masa lalu Chandos yg lari dari rumah karena diatur oleh ayahnya? Nah kejadian yg hampir mirip terjadi lagi. Saat melarikan diri dari rumah, untuk membuktikan kemampuan dirinya Cassie memilih pekerjaan yg tak lazim yaitu pemburu bayaran. Cassie memilih itu karena mengingat kecakapannya dalam melacak orang serta kecepatan dan ketepatannya dalam menembakkan pistol.Telah enam bulan berlalu setelah melarikan diri, Cassie menerima tawaran dari Damien Ruthledge III untuk melacak keberadaan pembunuh ayah Damien. Interaksi mereka berdua sungguh kocak, bikin penasaran kapan Damien akhirnya menyadari kalau Cassie itu sebenarnya seorang gadis. Yg lebih lucu lagi karena Damien ini orang timur yg berasal dari New York kota yg beradab, serba instan dan selalu memperoleh kemudahan, sangat sulit beradaptasi dengan daerah barat yg liar. Bayangkan saat Damien harus menunggangi seekor kuda padahal sepanjang hidupnya Damien tak pernah melakukannya. Banyaknya kekurangan Damien membuat Cassie awalnya memandang rendah Damien. Bayangkan bagaimana perasaan Damien yg dikira tidak dapat menembakkan senapan miliknya dengan akurat. Jabatan Damien sebagai US Deputy Marshal pun dianggap Cassie sebagai sebuah kebohongan.Namun walau begitu ada perasaan yg timbul dihati keduanya. Bayangkan lagi bagaimana perasaan mereka (setelah menyadari ketertarikan satu sama lain) ketika dinikahkan paksa oleh seorang hakim yg tak kompeten karena ingin mengambil keuntungan dari Damien. Mau... tapi kesal dan malu mengakui perasaan masing masing. Dan lagi lagi mereka dibuat kesal dan frustrasi karena dalam perjalanan pulang setelah berhasil menangkap pembunuh ayah Damien, mereka bertemu lagi dengan hakim tersebut untuk kemudian pernikahan mereka dibatalkan oleh si hakim dengan biaya yg sama saat menikahkan mereka (sial!).Rasa tak percaya diri akan kemampuan masing masing untuk mempengaruhi satu sama lain membuat Cassie meninggalkan Damien setelah tugasnya selesai. Cassie kembali kerumah orangtuanya dan oh ternyata selama ini sang ayah selalu mendampinginya dalam setiap aksinya memburu penjahat. Walaupun begitu akhirnya Chandos menyetujui keinginan Cassie setelah melihat tekad Cassie untuk menjalankan peternakan warisan kakeknya.Namun Curuther yg melarikan diri menjadi alasan Damien untuk menemui Cassie dan meminta Cassie sekali lagi membantu Damien mencari pembunuh ayah Damien itu. Tak hanya itu Cassie bahkan menjembatani hubungan yg dingin antara Damien dan ibunya yg telah lama terpisah. Dan berkat ayah Cassie yg memberikan sedikit petunjuk (walau sebelumnya Damien sempat kena kepalan tinju dan perasaan antipati dari Chandos), Damien akhirnya memberanikan diri untuk menyatakan perasaannya pada Cassie. (Heran...baik cewek maupun cowok tak mau mengungkapkan perasaan terlebih dulu sebelum mengetahui perasaan orang yg disukai).
What do You think about All I Need Is You (1998)?
I listened to this on CDAfter Casey had a fight with her father she left her home to prove to her father she could run the ranch that had been left to her by her grandfather. The career she chose was something a woman would not normally do and that's why she was though of as a kid. Enter Damien Rutledge III, fresh on his way west from New York city in search of his father's killer. Before she knew it Damien had hired her to find Henry Curruthers and after lots of fun? she did.It was an easy to listen to story but I though the ending was a bit rushed. Damien took too long to let Casey know how he felt about her and it woudl have been good to have an epilogue
—Bronwyn Rykiert
This is the first of Johanna Lindsey's books that I have read that is not set in historical England. The Texas setting took me some getting used to. I am a Texan, but do not routinely look for books with a "wild west" local. It took me a little while to get even a little interested because I thought I was reading a western novel with ranches and the like. It is different than some of her writing yet the underlying romantic plot was there, even if a little slow to come out. I liked this book, but prefer the historical/medieval stories that she also writes.
—Peggy N
I'd have to say this book is rated probably about 3.5 stars out of five.I honestly liked the beginning. Confusing though, but totally feels more like real life. Until it turns all corny just like every other love novel.So Casey Starton is this tall girl who has been trained all her life in this cattle place owned by her father. She has one older and one younger brother. And apparently her father considers the age of 18 to be an adult. Casey was like 17. And obviously with that sexist thought of women settling down and letting the men "be in charge" was an ideal to her father. Because she wasn't exactly some girly girl, she wanted to prove to her father that she could be just like any other man. So she took on the job of the bounty hunter, you know, capturing those people on the WANTED posters and getting money.Damian was a guy seeking revenge on the guy who killed his father. (Later on, the truth is unraveled) His father was dead, and his mother had left them when he was 10 for another love. So he gets into a somewhat of a tight spot, and comes across a person who went by Kid, who had no parents or relatives, and was a bounty hunter. He was really skilled and such, and only at about the age of 18. They continue along, and yadiyadiya.Okay, so this is what got really confusing, at least to me:Kid is not really a guy.Well, "He" went by the initials of K.C. (Read the initials out loud, it's easier that way).If you don't get it yet, then you're a bit slow now. :) Back to the whole K.C. thing. Damian was told this and decided to name the Kid "Casey". Well of course he didn't tell the Kid that it was a girl name, and it appeared that the Kid didn't mind.So that was the main thing that got me laughing like CRAZY!!!:DAnd that's all my review is. Don't really want to go into detail about that lovey dovey stuff.
—Wee!wawaLAA!!!
