Take My Hand was okay. I liked both main characters enough but I think the plot (art gallery owner tries to get frustrated artist) could have been fleshed out more. Random things started to happen at the end with a sudden resolution. Honestly, plot issues aside I kind of enjoyed it.

This is the first book in the A Pine Cone Romance series and it got us off to a great start with a bang!
Artist, Clay has returned home after a disastrous relationship in New York that had threatened her passion for her painting. She isn’t interested in relationships or playing fast and loose with her heart, especially for someone like River who embodies everything that Clay could really fall for. River is visiting Pine Cone to get her aunts affairs in order after her death. She wants to get in and out of Pine Cone fast and back to her art studio in New York. That is until she meets Clay, who personifies a sexy female James Dean, that has her wanting Clay in the worst way but she is also extremely attracted to Clay’s artistic side and dynamite personality. If only Clay would show some interest in her because she’s starting to want things with Clay she has never wanted before.
Well hell, I think I have found my new lesfic heart throb… Clay Cahill is a protagonist that every butch character should be built upon. The moment I read her profile on the page I was hooked and the moody, withdrawn from the world attitude also really got me. What was extremely exciting about this book was the fact that she just couldn’t help being drawn to River. And as much as she tried to resist her feelings, you could feel the chemistry emanate of the page every time they were together.  River was the opposite, she wears her heart on her sleeve and shows her attraction to Clay openly, this gave the perfect balance and really made their falling in love much more exciting. The chemistry between both River and Clay is off the charts and their sex scenes were just plain hot!
What I love about a new series is getting to know the characters that are carried through in each book. As with Take My Hand, you get to know Clays best friends, Trip and Grace, who are the main protagonists for the next two book in the series. Trip is next off the bat to fall in love in book two, Take A Chance followed by Grace in Take Your Time. Best part of this new series is its unusual twist, each book in the series is written by a different author and all the authors have worked together to get each backstory seamless. This includes interactions that take place in each book but from different protagonists point of view. It's rather genius and I have read the next book and can confirm the characters interactions are seamless...
If you would like some more information on this series please click the link below:
Pine Cone Romance Series 
I think Missouri Vauns romance novels are quite brilliant, her butch/femme formula works perfectly and she writes such complex yet endearing characters that make her books real page turners.
Can’t wait to see what comes next from this series. 5 stars

Clay is an artist who was very much hurt in New York City and came back home to Pine Cone Georgia. She drives the tow truck for her grandfather Jed's garage. River is in town to sell her recently deceased Aunt Eve's house and gallery and then get back outta dodge back to, you guessed it, New York City.

River runs, quite literally, into the local clip and curl and needs her car towed. The two women are intrigued by each other, but, River doesn't plan on staying long, and Clay is still gun shy in the relationship area.

It goes like most lesbian fiction romances do. Back and forth with some interesting twists.

I really liked the characters, and the subplots within the book, including the ones that were obviously leading to the other books in the Pine Cone series by D. Jackson Leigh and VK Powell. I'm very much looking forward to reading those too!!

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.

This is a fun and sweet story. Very predictable but a nice read. This is book 1 in what I am assuming will be a multiple book series about the ladies in Pine Cone, Georgia. And I will be looking forward to book 2. This is very similar to Radclyffe's Providence Town series.
It's about friendships, trust and romance.

I don’t think I’ve read anything by Vaun before, but I was intrigued by the idea of a trilogy that’s written by different authors. As my introduction to Vaun this wasn’t bad, but it had some issues. First is the setting, it’s a lovely small rural town, that is somehow also a gay Mecca. I’m not usually fond of books where everyone is gay, and obviously in a trilogy you know you’ll end up with six lesbians/bi women, but there were also other gay/lesbians in town and it seemed unrealistic. I put that aside though, since I knew it was a trilogy.

The plot has been done a million times before (relative dies and leaves house/business to relative that barely knows them and they go to sell the place). No points for guessing how it ends.

The main characters do spend a bit of time together and they actually talk to each other, which was refreshing. But their romance was very insta-love. The friendship between Clay, Trip, and Grace was nice, but needed more backstory. Maybe it was light on in this one because there are two more to come, we’ll see.

There’s a few miscommunications, which are thankfully short-lived, but there’s also a ridiculous, I want to say sub-plot, but it didn’t take up enough time to warrant the term. It’s just a few vague references and then blows up into some ‘drama’ that I assume was inserted just so that there could be some. I don’t know. I do know the book didn’t need it.

Based on this I’m curious to read the other two stories, and I’d also try Vaun again, but I wasn’t blown away.

This book is part of the 'Pine Cone romance' series by three different authors: 'Take my hand' by Missouri Vaun, 'Take a chance' by D. Jackson Leigh and 'Take your time' by V.K. Powell. This series follows the lives of three friends: Clay, Trip and Grace in the small town of Pine Cone, Georgia.

There are series written by an author that usually need to be read in chronological order, series of standalone novels by different authors under a common theme, and the 'Pine Cone romance' series which is a bit peculiar. In this series the three different authors decided to create three romances (one in each book) but with the three stories overlapping. For example, if the three friends share a scene, it will appear in all three books but with a different point of view. D. Jackson Leigh says in her acknowledgements that it was arduous to write. Well, sometimes it's also arduous to read. I personally found some issues, one is that after reading the first book (whichever the order) the reader has sometimes a sense of deja vu, a feeling of having read that before because... they read it in the previous book. It works fine in some scenes as it gives other characters' perspectives but in other cases it is tedious. Also, some events that overlap in the books give information that act as spoilers for the other books' stories which is a bit annoying. Finally, I found that there are a number of unresolved secondary plots which are main plots in the other books, so in order to grasp the full story, you need to read all the series. So I guess readers can rate each book separately but also the series as a whole. Due to these problems appear throughout the series, you'll see some of my comments repeated in the other reviews.

'Take my hand' is the story of Clay Cahill, a gifted painter who escaped success and a cheating girlfriend in New York. She goes back to her hometown of Pine Cone, Georgia working as a tow truck driver for her grandfather. River Hemsworth is a gallery owner in New York who inherited a local gallery and a house in Pine Cone. Her plan is to sell the property fast and go back to NY but when she meets Clay after a minor car accident she cannot deny her attraction. But Clay holds too many secrets and River is settled in NY. Will they have their happily ever after?

This is a rather formulaic romance between stoic butch Clay and damsel in distress femme River. There's no doubt where the plot takes us with exception of a small twist near the end. Ms. Vaun knows how to build the main characters' chemistry and the intimate scenes are hot. The secondary characters are a bit flat but the clash of cultures between North and South USA is well written. However, the resolution of the conflict seems rushed and the story could have done with a few more chapters to wrap it up better.

Overall, an ok butch-femme romance read set in a small town in Georgia. 3.5 stars.

ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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This is the first in a three part series and introduces us to the characters we will follow and the town of Pine Cone, Georgia. In ‘Take My Hand’ Clay Cahill, an artist and sometime garage worker and River Hemsworth, a gallery owner from New York are the main characters. I found the observations of the town and its people fascinating and funny. It’s very much set in ‘fried green tomatoes’ country. The friendships between Clay and her long-time buddies are strong and the basis for the trilogy. Clay is a gorgeous butch who is trying to get over a bad breakup. Her art is on the back burner. River is a warm, friendly woman who is immediately drawn to her. I liked how they interacted and how the sparks flew whenever they were together. The town of Pine Cone must be the most pro-LGBT place in the whole of the south. The acceptance was quite touching. The story was well told and hit the emotional mark for me.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books in return for an honest review.

When River Hemsworth, the owner of a Manhattan art gallery learns she is the sole heir for her grandmother's estate she has no choice but to go to Pine Cone, Georgia to get things settled. She never thought she’d meet and fall in love with Clay Cahill. Clay owns and works as a mechanic with her grandfather. She has moved home after trying to make a life in New York as a artist. Making it as an artist wasn’t that hard since she has the talent but being betrayed by her lover was too much. When River’s car breaks down and Clay comes to the rescue both their lives change but they have some roadblocks to overcome. Ms Missouri doesn’t fail to give us again a nice read . Very enjoyable.
eARC via NetGalley

So I liked River from the beginning. She simply felt real to me. I did struggled to like Clay initially due to the way she treated River. I just felt like she acted like a petulant teenager at the start. However as time went Clay did grow on me. It was interesting though in that River seemed to always have a level head whilst Clay was very emotional throughout. I found the story sweet and liked the two together throughout the story which made it a nice fun light read.

*I received an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion*

4 stars. This was a pretty good book, I enjoyed it. I had never read this author before, but thought I would give it a try. This book is about River, a gallery owner from NYC who goes down to Georgia after her aunt dies and leaves River her house and gallery. River unexpectedly meets Clay, a tow truck owner and ex-artist, after crashing her car into a beauty salon. She notices something different about Clay and she finds herself running into her more in the small town. Clay also finds herself being attracted to River. Although, she has a past that stops her from fully accepting her attraction.

This book had good development with Clay's issues and with her attraction to River. River and Clay's interactions are entertaining, and I enjoyed them. I also enjoyed Clay's friends and the book says this is the start of a trilogy. I would enjoy to see what happens to Grace and Trip, Clay's best friends in the town. It is hinted about their relationships in the next books. I enjoyed series of books about a group of characters, they are entertaining.

I would recommend this book to someone looking for a quick read. I read it in a day and a half. I got sucked into it.

My first impression of this wonderful book was "welcome home". This is a classic contemporary romance of the type that the publisher does so well and is part of a loose trilogy by three of my favourite storytellers. Yes, the theme has been covered many times before, this is a romance after all, but for me there was enough of a new story to keep it fresh.
The writing is excellent, and very tight as I would fully expect from Missouri Vaun, and the book was an easy, fun, quirky read. Nothing challenging but very enjoyable. I always like the concept of different stories about different people within the same location or environment, and I will certainly be on the lookout for the other books during the summer and fall.
Overall, I can easily recommend this book for an easy summer afternoon read.

I liked this book a lot, actually I pretty much loved it. I like books about close friendships and small town romances. I also liked that one of the main characters didn’t sacrifice her life or career to be with the other. I like that Clay and River both got what they wanted and needed. I thought the other characters could have been flushed out more, even if they will eventually get their own books. I thought the romance was believable and it didn’t happen super fast. I thought the small town was described perfectly, and it didn’t make it seem like a caricature of a stereotypical southern town full of hicks. I wish I could live in Pine Cone Georgia.

My only problem with this whole book is the ending, it came out of nowhere and then happened really fast. I liked that everything was wrapped up nicely. So I highly recommend this and I will purchase the paperback to add to my library.

This book was given to me as an ARC by Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well, this book of the Pine Cone Romance trilogy, which can be read independently from each other and without needing to follow a specific order, describes the relationship between Clay, a painter who is in a phase of lack of inspiration due to a past betrayal, and River, the owner of an art gallery in New York that arrives in Pine Cone to take over her aunt's inheritance.

Sure there are many topics in the story, there may be a lack of interaction beyond the instantaneous attraction and the convenient relationship between the professions of the two protagonists of this part of the trilogy and so on. But my curiosity to see how this book was related to [book:Take a Chance|40212280] by [author:D. Jackson Leigh|3447277] has made me overlook the faults that this story may have. And it has really been fun to see from another point of view the same situations described in the two books.

In comparison, this one focuses more on the protagonist couple, leaving a little aside the environment that in the book [book:Take a Chance|40212280] by [author:D. Jackson Leigh|3447277] is more present and participant. But this has not made this story less interesting to me, my only complaint has perhaps been the final rush at the time of resolving situations and misunderstandings.

And after reading two of the three books of the trilogy I still think that the authors would have had a great time with this experiment. Although the need to converge some situations may have forced the development of the stories a bit.

But this is still a good romance to have a good time reading it.

<i>An ARC was sent to me from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley for an honest review </i>

I take the train to and from work - that gives me 2 1/2 of uninterupted reading time a day. I could not wait to get on the train to consume this book.

The story is quickly paced - the trials, tribulations and joy of new love are sweetly told.

I look forward to the next book by this author.

I really struggled to get through this one, it’s just same old same old perfect gorgeous woman meets perfect bodied woman who’s been hurt before and shies away from new potential relationships, well I’m bored of it so I feel like it took me months to get through it ;). sexy perfect characters, a story we’ve read hundreds of time before but we keep coming back for more (do we need help!), written really well and happy ending, do I really want to read book 2 and 3? not sure on that one!
Recommend for an average romance.....

This is the first book in a trilogy by three different authors, about three best friends from Pine Cone, Georgia. Clay (an artist/tow truck driver), Trip (a veterinarian) and Grace (a police officer). This is Clay's story. She meets River when River runs off the road and wrecks her car in the middle of town. River owns a gallery in New York City, but comes to Georgia to sell her Aunt's gallery that has been left to her. She didn't expect to fall in love with a town from the south, and certainly didn't expect to fall for the sexy Clay who comes to her rescue more times than she can count. Clay never expected to fall for another girl from the big city when she's barely recovered from getting her heart broken the last time. Are their worlds too different for the two women to have a real chance?

This was a light and sweet romance, set in a perfect little town. This story really only lacked a little bit of substance/depth to sink your teeth into - but how can I give a book anything less than five stars when it was a breeze and absolute joy to read. Such a feel good story. Missouri Vaun is an incredibly talented writer - I love everything she writes. She writes flawlessly, its so easy to get lost in beautifully described settings and a wonderful cast of gorgeous and brilliant women, each of them unique.

It's an interesting situation where a trilogy is written by three different authors - I feel like there was a little too much time setting up and diving into the stories for the other ladies but I'm interested to see how the rest of the trilogy winds up. I love all the ladies, and I'm excited to see them meet the women of their dreams!

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the idea of three main characters (Grace, Trip, and Clay) in southern rural Georgia, who are lifelong friends, each taking us on a separate journey to finding love. And who better than Missouri Vaun, D Jackson Leigh, and VK Powell to take us? For me this was the quintessential contemporary romance – two opposites-attract characters stumbling upon each other and each making sacrifices to further the fledgling relationship. This Missouri Vaun installment focuses on Clay, who is a talented artist with a broken heart cum tow-truck driver, who falls for a gallery owner. I can’t wait to read about Grace and Trip’s stories next.

This book, the 20th work I’ve read by this author (9 using the Vaun name and 11 using the Braddock), is about Clay Cahill and River Hemsworth. Both of whom have a point of view in this book. Based off of a vague off-hand comment about a third party, there is a good chance both of the characters are near at or over 30 years of age (there was a comment about another character being ‘near us in age, thirties’ (hopefully I didn’t misread that)).

The book opens with River doing what you aren’t supposed to do – be on the phone and drive at the same time. And you know why you aren’t supposed to do that? Well River found out first hand, when she nearly rear-ended some horses (in a horse trailer), swerved to avoid the truck, and slammed into a hair-saloon. And that’s the introduction of the reader to River. That phone played a lot of key pivotal plot points in this book (seriously, first the accident, later a pivotal moment when the phone was left, unlocked, near another person as if they wanted that other person to read the phone (WTF was that about?)).

The second major character appeared when she wandered up to check on River. To provide help, and stuff. River, dazed as she was, still seemed to vaguely respond to the rather obvious (to those who knew her) flirtatious advances of . . . Dr. Trip. Dr. Trip was a major character but not the other main character.

Trip’s advances were intercepted/stopped/redirected when another major character appeared on the scene. The quite attractive woman began asking River questions about the accident. I do not recall, now, if she also flirted, but it was obvious she was also a lesbian. This would also be a major but not main character. Grace the police officer.

By the time another lesbian was introduced (after several other women bounced around asking if River needed help), I was beginning to think two things: this small town in Georgia was filled entirely with women, and there was a good possibility that all of them were lesbians. I was wrong on both counts, but that’s the impression the beginning gave me.

That ‘another lesbian’? That’d be the tow-truck driver. Who River drooled over. Considering that River was kind of out of it, dazed, had literally slammed her head into her steering wheel, and had been given a drink that had more sugar in it than liquid, it’s possible River did in fact literally drool. The tow-truck driver was Clay – the same Clay I already mentioned in the first paragraph as being the other main and point of view character.

Clay helps River – both with her car and to get her to her B’n’B (how is that worded again? I know its Bed and Breakfast, but I forget the little BnB short-cut). They seem to hit it off. Until River mentions she’s from New York, and owns a gallery there. It’s hot. It’s the deep south. A distinct chilly sensation developed, though, noticeable to River after she revealed this information.

Right, so – those are the characters. Main and major (minor would include the new vet that works at Trip’s place, Dani something; and the new police deputy who works for Grace, Jamie something; and Bo – the never-do-well who works at the place Clay works; and ‘Grandpa’ who gave Clay a job; and . . . others). But what’s going on? Why is the New Yorker in Pine Cone Georgia, and why the cold shoulder from Clay?

Well the book description, if you recalled to read it (which I hadn’t – what it’s a Vaun book, of course I was going to read it sight unseen without an idea what it was about, but I’ve read the description now that I’ve read the book) tells you the answer to both questions I ended the last paragraph with.

Clay is an artist who had a bad experience in New York. River is in Pine Cone because the aunt she never really had anything to do with (family issues) died and gave River her car, house, and art gallery. That’s why River is in Pine Cone – temporarily; and why Clay’s there (she lives there).

I had a few issues with enjoying the book: there was no separation for the point of view changes, one paragraph could follow Clay, one could follow River, and there was neither rhyme nor reason for when the change would occur – though it was always obvious a change had occurred. Problem two: occasionally I lost track of who said what, though that was probably more my fault than anything (lost track as in they would talk, and I’d miss out on which person said what when and how). Problem three: wined was used once when whined was intended (yes, I noticed that one specific mistake, heh).

The last problem is more major, but I got around it well enough. And that’s how the book ended, or near enough the end part. When the book suddenly turned into a crime drama for no explainable reason. When that crime drama started . . . well, I kind of groaned loudly and figured that I’d end up giving the book a much worse rating than I had been thinking up to that point. I liked how everything unfolded, though, so . . . it probably has some negative impact on the rating but not as severe as I’d been thinking.

The characterization was good, the romance was . . . solid enough, the plot was interesting. I was intrigued and entertained. Good quick easy read . . . that I found to be slightly lessor than the most recent books that I’ve read by this author. Part of that is because of the issues I had, and mentioned, part of that was the part where a few things seemed a little heavy handed (I knew instantly that trouble was going to happen when one person left their phone with the other – it’s like a blinking red light when that happens, blinking arrow, blinking obviousness – and then trouble did in fact occur).

Rating: 4.31

June 5 2018

2.4 stars. I didn't connect with the characters. Their connection is purely on a physical level at first and it didn't feel to me that it went past it as much as I wanted to. Furthermore, a lot of things are too convenient in this book, the gallery owner thing, the small town background, etc. They were made for each other quite literally because the author made them so and it's glaringly obvious.

The book is also extremely predictable and uses a lot of common plot devices that I lost interest in the story because I could predict 90% of it. The main conflict, the redneck, everything was so standard that I just couldn't enjoy this read.

It's technically well written though but that's pretty much the only thing that is going for this book. Can't recommend.

Lovely romance that oozes Southern charm. You can taste the fried green tomatoes and feel the heat in the air. It’s the ensemble that creates the atmosphere so keep those secondary characters coming. Excellent to know this is the first of the Pine Cone books so I have the promise of romances for Grace and Trip to look forward to in the next instalments.