Jackson

December 7, 2020
A Texas Ranger falls for a do-gooder attorney in this sassy, suspenseful romance from LaQuette (Lies You Tell). Attorney Aja Everett transforms her family’s land in Fresh Springs, Tex., into Restoration Ranch, a retreat that will offer a second chance to ex-convicts. But when the ranch is vandalized and strange accidents on the property become increasingly dangerous and frequent, many try to pin the mischief on Aja’s ex-con employees. Aja refuses to believe her staff, who have become like family, could be involved, so Texas Ranger Jackson Dean and his team are sent in undercover to protect Aja and catch the true culprit. Physical attraction between Aja and Jackson is immediate, and emotional attachment soon follows, but they both have troubled pasts, and their lingering guilt and pain present roadblocks on their way to happily ever after. As their romance heats up, so does the mystery, with a vast list of subjects and a tangled maze of possible motives making it clear that all is not what it seems in Fresh Springs. Jackson and Aja are both headstrong and determined, making for an entertaining battle of wits, and LaQuette infuses the writing with Southern charm and humor. Readers will be eager to return to Fresh Springs. Agent: Latoya Smith, LCS Literary.

January 1, 2021
A Texas Ranger falls in love while on an undercover assignment. Restoration Ranch has been in Aja Everett's family for generations. Now, at 39, she's left her career as a prominent New York City lawyer to move to the Texas ranch full time, hoping to convert it to a retreat center. A series of escalating incidents including arson in the barn make it clear that someone is targeting Aja. The local sheriff won't help because he disapproves of her participation in a program that creates jobs for ex-convicts. Her uncle, a powerful judge, asks the Texas Rangers to investigate. Jackson Dean and his team go undercover as ranch hands to investigate the crimes. Jackson has kept himself emotionally distant from women after his painful divorce, but he is drawn to Aja's strong will and fierce independence. Aja is a calm, centered character. She knows her mind and agrees to a brief affair with Jackson even though she's interested in more. LaQuette has an ear for dialogue, with lively banter between Aja and her friends and caring dialogue with her relatives; at other times, the narrative is weighed down by long paragraphs of interior monologuing. The mystery plot is rather quickly resolved and feels predictable. Jackson's internal struggle to let himself love again is the major emotional thread in the novel. This warm, placid romance will appeal to people who like to read about a man's soul-searching.

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