Book Review: When Somebody Loves You by Shirley Jump

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When Somebody Loves You
The Southern Belle Book Club #1
Author: Shirley Jump
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Romance
Released: October 6 2015
Review Source: Berkley

First in a new series from the New York Times bestselling author of the hugely popular Sweetheart Sisters novels!

At heart, Elizabeth Palmer is a practical Jersey girl. And her life reflects that—until everything suddenly falls apart. In a bid to change her luck, the intrepid reporter accepts a job to write a story on a reclusive quarter horse breeder in Chatham Ridge, Georgia. To her surprise, she finds herself settling into the warm, inviting town—even joining the Southern Belle Book Club—and craving the company of the rancher she’s there to interview….

Hunter McCoy has good reason to keep his distance from the determined reporter. Tragedy has taught him to stick to things that don’t require his heart. But he can’t seem to resist the vulnerability he detects beneath Elizabeth’s tough demeanor.

But when tragedy strikes the ranch again and Hunter shuts her out, Elizabeth will have to prove to Hunter that having somebody love you can heal all wounds…

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.

Elizabeth has always had a dream of becoming a reporter, and she's decided that it's time to chase that dream. No matter how difficult that may be. Hunter owns a stable that is used for breeding, and he's one of the best at doing what he does. Elizabeth thinks that this deserves a spotlight in a magazine, when she gets the green light to go forward with the article there's only one hitch. The fact that Hunter does not want to give her an interview. Making sure she gets it - this is, after all, what she quit her job for - she stays with Hunter as long as it takes to get the interview. Along the way some pasts get dug up and some feelings become present. Will Hunter give her an interview?

I'm not usually one for cowboys. I just recently read a couple books with cowboys that I liked. But as I look back on the book, they're more so set in a city and there's a cowboy who goes to a ranch to work. Not being set at the ranch. I had a hard time with this story just for that reason. I also was driven insane by Elizabeth. She kept being wishy-washy with her feelings. She'd be fantasizing about Hunter and then be like whoa, no, can't do that - don't even like him. I feel like, as a girl, if I don't like a guy I don't fantasize about him. So she should've just been like "time to keep this professional". I kept wanting to grab her and shake her until she realized she had feelings for Hunter.

Hunter was a sweet man. He had manners, and he was proper with how he treated women. I liked that. But, like I previously stated, he was a cowboy. I had a hard time dealing with his cowboy tendencies. I feel like if I gave this book to any of my friends who love cowboys and want to find one for themselves they would absolutely love Hunter and everything that this book represents. Whereas for me, it just left a bad taste in my mouth; so to speak.

The writing was good, maybe if it wasn't set on a ranch I would have loved the story. Jump is able to make people interested in her character's lives. I was very invested in their back stories, which was why I kept reading. I wanted to learn everything about the characters, even if certain things got under my skin.