Plots and Plans ~ Review

Plots and Plans

By Kelly Eileen Hake

All Jessalyn Culpepper wants is her father to be proud of her and not because she was finished at the various lady's schools she's gone to over the last 7 years.  After all being a "Lady" means sitting side-saddle, napping during the day, and just general foolishness.  She longs to take part in the day-to-day activity of the ranch she loves. 

But when Jessalyn finally returns home she doesn't get the homecoming she's been dreaming of.  In fact it is as if everyone she knew is gone. But no one is going to stop her from making a place for herself not even ranch foreman Tucker Carmichael.

But nothing is ever easy especially when two people are equally mule-headed.  But sometimes two parts stubborn is just what is necessary to get the job done.

This is a fun book that is easy to  read.  It is the perfect distraction from all the stresses of the day.  Plots and Pans addresses several issues of the day including women's rights and racial prejudice.  But overall this is a feel good book as Jessalyn and Tucker learn to work together and trust in God.  This book is complete in and of itself, but I wouldn't mind a sequel and that to me is a sign that a book is good - the desire to read more about the characters.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher Barbour through The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest review.  

About the Book:

Can A Cranky Cowboy. . .
Order dictates Tucker Carmichael’s life—his orders. On a cattle drive, a moment’s hesitation can mean the difference between life and death. The Chisholm Trail is dirty, dangerous, and no place for dainty ladies. That’s just part of why he loves it.

. . .and A Clever Cook. . .
Jessalyn Culpepper’s life is perfectly ordered—by men. By her father’s mandate, she was booted from their beloved ranch for lady lessons abroad. Now Jessalyn has returned home, determined to show them all that a woman can manage everything from cooking to cattle—whether they like it or not!

. . .Stir Up More Than Trouble?
Tucker does his level best to keep his partner’s headstrong sister out of trouble—and he’s horrified when she wants to join the cattle drive. But when they lose their chuck wagon cook, the last thing Tucker wants might be the only solution. . . .

Will God lead two stubborn souls to love along a trail filled with their Plots and Pans?



About the Author:

       Kelly Eileen Hake received her first writing contract at the tender age of seventeen and arranged to wait three months until she was able to legally sign it. Since that first contract a decade ago, she’s fulfilled twenty contracts ranging from short stories to novels. In her spare time, she’s attained her BA in English Literature and Composition, earned her credential to teach English in secondary schools, and went on to complete her MA in Writing Popular Fiction.
       Writing for Barbour combines two of Kelly’s great loves—history and reading. A CBA bestselling author and member of American Christian Fiction Writers, she’s been privileged to earn numerous Heartsong Presents Reader’s Choice Awards and is known for her witty, heartwarming historical romances.
        A newlywed, she and her gourmet-chef husband live in Southern California with their golden lab mix, Midas!