I really enjoyed this Western slash Detective novel. I learnt quite a bit about rodeos and what barrel racing was, even down to needing a different saddle for this event.
The interspersed stories of the detective trying to clear his name with the women struggling to overcome her assault and all the varied issues that needing resolving personally for them both made for a rich and compell8ng storyline.
The style of writing was effective for this story and was easy to follow.

I can't find anything about this book in my records so I must have been unable to read it before archival, as I was taking a college degree and put that first. I will keep an eye out for the book as I would enjoy the read.

i really enjoyed reading this book, I enjoyed the western romance and thought this was a great start to a series. The characters were great and I had a really good time reading this.

Trevor Donaldson needs a place to hide. He is recovering from a breakup of his marriage and a shooting of an officer in the line of duty. He turns to his father’s best friend Rocky and the Diamond D Ranch where he would go as a child. Here he can be off the grid and away from women until he is cleared to go back to work.

Ketra Weston suffered a violent assault and needed a place to heal and a place to hide. She turns to her uncle Rocky and is now living on the Diamond D Ranch and is training horses. Here she can heal and all the men on the ranch know that she is off limits. Here she is safe.
When Trevor meets Ketra, sparks start to fly. The last thing he needs is another woman in his life. Ketra wants nothing to do with Trevor and at every turn takes to giving him snide remarks. She doesn’t trust men but this cowboy just won’t give up even though he is told to leave her alone.

Trevor and Ketra find that they have more in common than they know. They are both hiding from something in their pasts and now it seems that they are connected in yet another way as the clues start to unravel about Trevor’s shooting of a fellow officer. Things start to heat up as a storm brings them together and they are starting to trust each other with their reasons for being at the ranch.

This novel was an absolute fabulous read. Jansen Schmidt was a new author for me, and I adored her writing style and character development. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Thank you so much to the author Jansen Schmidt, BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book to review. It was fabulous! All opinions expressed for this review are unbiased and entirely my own.

I liked the characters in this to a certain point, but it is a pretty common story line. Having someone who suffered through an abusive attack in college hide out at a relative's ranch seems drastic in our current society where people are encouraged to speak out.

I really didn''t enjoy this title. I had a really hard time getting into it and eventually gave up.

I found this book to be just a wonderful read. Both of the main characters, Trevor and Ketra had a lot of emotional baggage and when they came together and fell in love , it made me happy, It was just heavenly! I always have a soft spot for the underdogs and this book fulfilled the need. I love the way the author described so much of the scenery in Arizona and I felt like I was there. Also I have a love of horses and it was exciting to me to read about Ketra’s barrel racing training. And I loved the part about the hard to handle stallion, Lucifer. Trevor being accused of something that he didn’t do really was suspenseful and I loved the thinking and the investigation that went on. This book was fantastic in every way with hardship at the beginning and a very happy ending for all.
I plan on reading all of this authors books because she really has a knack with putting everything together and holding a readers attention. It was really hard for me to put this book down. Enjoy reading.

This was my first book by Jansen Schmidt and I see that a sequel to this book has since been released. I look forward to reading book 2 (so that you tell you right off the bat that I liked book 1).

This was the story of Ketra & Trevor, two people who are both reeling for personal reasons and take advantage of much needed time away from the real world. Both have chosen the same ranch to use as their escape and naturally sparks start to fly between the two of them - at first the sparks were heated and full of venom; but soon those sparks began to show signs of love.

I love many things about this book - the fact that both characters are tough and likable; Ketra kicks butt and can handle herself; Trevor has a good heart. But there are also things about this book that bothered me - too many coincidences (Ketra's attacker also has a connection to Trevor's legal problems and the fact that Ketra's mother knows Trevor's father). If either one of these would have happened, I would have thought "well, that's unusual". But for BOTH of them to happen is a bit of a stretch.

Also, I would have preferred more time elapse before Trevor move from one relationship to another. For him to start the book off by swearing off women forever and then him instantly become so smitten with Ketra is a little far fetched as well.

I was provided this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions stated above are mine without biases.

I actually surprised myself and quite enjoyed this book, yet when I first started reading it I wanted to slap both main characters for their attitude. Trevor is on leave from the police having killed another cop, and coming out of a vicious divorce. Ketra is hiding out from a hideous experience two years before which has left her terrified of men, although working on a ranch of men only might not be the best idea! He wants nothing to do with her, she hates him, yet within a day he is determined to get her in his bed. He is pushy she is obnoxious and whiny, not a promising start, but still once I got going I read to the end.
I got a free copy of this book in return for honest feedback

Common Ground is a fast-paced enemies-to-lovers romance that will leave you with sigh and a wish for more. Both of the main characters were dealing with demons in their past, one with assault, one with a failed marriage and potential fatal mistake at work. Both need a place to lay low and end up at the same ranch at the same time.

The subject of assault was handled with care and there were a few insights a reader might not be used to seeing in a romance of this genre. It was surprising and made for a quick read.

Trevor is a man who has had his heartbroken and his career put on hold. Arriving at Diamond D ranch, he figures he can work and get his mind off it all. Upon arriving, he’s shocked to find a woman is at the ranch and has more issues than he does. Feeling his innate police instincts to protect, he ends up taking on more than he should be handling. It takes some time, finagling, and vulnerability to lower his guard.

Ketra is a horse trainer living on the ranch. She works hard and keeps to herself. When Trevor arrives on the ranch, he looks like the man who broke her spirit years ago. It takes some anger, self-analyzing, and family to bring her emotions to the surface.

The author did a good job of keeping the reader engaged. The romance was intertwined with the investigation around Trevor’s job. It was nice to focus on each character’s past and not focus solely on the romantic aspects. I found the writer gave enough time, healing, and growth to make it a well-rounded story. I’ll be interested in reading more from this author.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well, this was actually better than I thought it was going to be. I originally assumed it was a typical cowboy romance novel, but I was pleasantly surprised! It had elements of thrill, and some mystery as well, and I haven't read a whole lot in those genres. I was impressed with how they all worked together throughout the entire story.

Yes, this book was a story about learning from your past and learning to love again even after being thrown through the ringer. But after finishing the book and actually thinking about it, it could've been better for me in certain aspects. Especially with the way Trevor pursued Ketra, and how their relationship started. I can understand the whole alpha male, and wanting what you can't have, because Trevor obviously didn't stay away from Ketra after being told to. But I found him to be quite pushy at times, and I found that off-putting, especially once he knew about her history and her discomfort with him, and all men she doesn't know. For me, reading that was uncomfortable at times and I had trouble relating to the characters because of it.

Once they were together I found their relationship better, but the beginning was too much for me and I didn't particularly enjoy reading about his pursuit of her. I think if she showed more interest and it didn't feel one sided on his part, it would've been more enjoyable.

Overall, I liked the story but it was more about the characters growth and the way the themes were used all together that made me read all the way through to the end. Other than that this book wasn't really for me, and I am usually a fan of western stories.

You can't go wrong with a hot cop/cowboy!

Trevor and Ketra are a perfect hate at first sight couple - and it has nothing to do with the other person; instead it's entirely due to the baggage they each are still carrying from their pasts. They're both at the Diamond D to hide out and to heal, and this story beautifully takes them through all the ups and downs as they fight their mutual attraction.

I loved the day-to-day life on the ranch. The writing made the setting and lifestyle come alive, making it feel like we're really there with them. The mystery surrounding Trevor's career had a surprising twist, and I really enjoyed the family history between his parents and hers.

I did find myself wishing the book had been a bit more thoroughly edited, but ultimately the minor flaws weren't enough to draw me out of the story. The characters are likable yet honestly portrayed, flaws and all. The story was perfectly paced, and the HEA was everything I was hoping for. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

On Common Ground is a contemporary western romance and is book 1 in the Grounded series.

Our main characters are Ketra and Trevor, both have been hurt in the past and are hiding out at the Diamond D Ranch while they work out their individual issues. Sparks fly immediately and we have a classic enemies to lovers, forced proximity western romance. If you are a fan of traditional western romances, think early Catherine Anderson, then you will love On Common Ground

I would have enjoyed more build up to the romance part of the relationship. Everything happened very quickly and the characters were very reactive with intense mood swings. Ketra acted like and was often treated like a child and at times I found Trevor to be very pushy and insensitive. They didn't really get to know each other before deciding they were in love. However, if you enjoy a macho hero saving a damsel in distress then you'll really enjoy this book.

CW for sexual harassment and sexual assault

Arc received via Netgalley

This is the first book in the Grounded Series, and it is a cowboy romance. I would say this is mostly a clean romance without a lot of sexy time scenes. I do have to say I did not like the first character, but after the first character I fall in love with this book. I also was dying to find out what was Trevor and Ketra's secrets. This book in whole was about Trevor and Ketra getting over some bad things that happen to them and moving on. They end up helping each other and falling in love with each other. If you love cowboy romance with a lot of drama then this is the book for you. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher or author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

On Common Ground, Book 1 in the Grounded Series, Jansen Schmidt

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Mystery and Thrillers, Romance

I really like the sound of this, its ages since I read a western themed romance, and I really liked how this sounded.

Sadly I find I'm out of step with the majority of reviewers who loved this book. I've got to 40% and I just can't continue. There's a fine line between being a sexy alpha male and a man who isn't listening to what a woman wants and is just imposing his own wants on her and for me that's what Trevor is doing. Right from the start his old friend Rocky warns him off Ketra, and from what he sees she's very skittish, very wary around men. So what does he do? Well, he fancies her so he pushes, and pushes even when its clear his attentions are unwanted. To me he was no better than another person who does a similar thing but as Trevor is the MC, handsome, sexy etc he gets a free pass. Not from me. There's one part where she's sick, raging temperature, vomit splattered hair but as he helps her to the bathroom her robe slips and he's almost salivating at the sight of her nipple. That just doesn't cut it for me, sick not sexy.

Ketra annoyed me too, she was just plain rude to Trevor even when she didn't know him, wasn't the subject of his unwanted attentions. On one hand we have a traumatised women, scared of men – but working in a ranch as what seems to be the only woman there – and yet one look at Trevor and she has the hots for him? Its been two years, and she's been working among men all that while, I'm sure she'd have learned some bit of being able to get along with most men by now. I know abuse can leave traumas that take years to accept, and one never actually gets over it, but learns to live with it. I'm just suggesting that in the environment she's in I would have thought Ketra would have been able to deal better. I struggled with the inconsistency.

I did stop about 20% in, but decided I needed to give it more chance but I just can't finish it, I am too angry about Trevor's behaviour and Ketra's flipping back an forth, scared female to has-the-hots-for-Trevor.....
As I said, clearly I'm in a minority and these things don't spoil the story for other readers. That's fine, we're all different, want different things. Maybe you'll be able to ignore or excuse the bits I can't and love this book too, as other reviewers have, maybe like me you'll feel Trevor's behaviour borders on his own wants and needs, rather than looking for what Ketra wants. Horses for courses really is an apt saying in this case. Its not a bad book, just characters that don't suit me personally, you need to asses if its your style.


Stars: Two, DNF, only got to 40%. I found the characters behaviour not what I cold accept. My issues though, others love it.

Arc via Netgalley and publishers