Dodge the Bullet by Christy Hayes

• Title: Dodge the Bullet
• Classification: Adult Fiction
  
• Genre: Contemporary Romance
  
• Format: Kindle Edition, 412 KB
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Christy Hayes; 1 edition (May 2, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• ASIN: B004YZB9DO 

     "I've found that all women fall into a series of categories. Its a little system I've devised and perfected through the years."
     Oh this was priceless. "How many are there?"
     "Six."
     "Six? All women fall into just six categories?" When he nodded she said, "Please go on."
     "First there's the 'never satisfied with anything' woman."
     Sarah considered and shrugged. "Okay, I get that one. What's next?"
     "Next is the 'pretty but unintelligent eye candy' woman." Again she nodded.
     "Then there's the 'just plain low class' woman." She used her fingers to count along as he name them off. "Probably the least harmless is the 'book smart but no common sense' woman." As Sarah held four fingers in the air he seemed to relax and enjoy explaining himself. "Now your sister had me fluctuating between the last two, the 'I'll make you want to touch me until you can't breathe but you never will' category and the 'man-hater'.

Being a single mom of two boys is not easy. Sarah Woodward's husband, Todd, died two years ago and his death still deeply affected her. There were just too many memories in Atlanta for her to move on. In an attempt to get a fresh start, she decided to move her family to Colorado. It had been Todd's dream for the family to set roots in Hailey, Colorado and, in some ways, she saw this as a way of honoring his memory. She resigned herself to the thought she'd found 'the one' and would never love again.

Dodge, as a favor for his friend, Tommy, agreed to help Sarah Woodward learn how to run her cattle ranch. He wasn't liked very much in Hailey. A scandal that happened when he was a teenager had left most of the locals thinking he was the lowliest of the low. Apparently, they weren't the type to forgive or forget. He was a divorcee and the experience left him jaded. He decided never to let himself succumb to feelings of love again. He'd even created a systems for categorizing woman. Too bad Sarah didn't fall into any of them.

Neither was looking for love, but sometimes it's when you're not looking for love that it sneaks up on you. 

I thought this was a nice story about finding love for the second time. I liked how it dealt with healing and taking a chance. I liked that it addressed the feelings of guilt associated with moving on without the loved one who has passed away. I liked the drama created by Sarah's refusal to sell her land, which turned out to be a prime piece of real estate. I felt the shady land developer and his associates who were bent on doing just about anything to get Sarah's land were a nice addition. It added an extra depth to the story. I liked how both Dodge and Sarah were hesitant to start a relationship even though they each felt attracted to the other. I also liked how Sarah's sons' feelings also came into play with the relationship, and how Dodge dealt with them. I feel this is definitely an author to watch. 

On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one gets a FAN rating - the temperature in the room seems to have suddenly gone up a couple of degrees and a fan would be nice. Overall, I gave this one 3 1/2 out of 5 roses.