Rootbound

By: Tarah DeWitt

Narrated by: Nelson Hobbs, Stephanie Bentley

Despite her divorce, the absence of a pet, not having any genuine connections with other humans (apart from her sister Ava), and the fact that the remainder of her family is estranged from her life, Tait Logan is happy . . . Happy-adjacent, at least. She's rebuilt herself through her photography; her dream career, the one thing she does still have.

So, when that career contracts her to do an assignment on her estranged family's home, Logan Range—a now famous ranch functioning as the setting for a popular show—she's left with no choice but to agree.

Henry Marcum has dedicated his life to the Logan family and to their ranch. He owes them for raising him, rescuing him, and for his life's purpose and opportunities. So, when Tait Logan shows up after years of near silence, he takes it upon himself to protect the people he knows and loves.

It's a rocky start when Tait and Henry first collide; he is naturally wary of her intentions, and she is perturbed by their literal collision—which results in her broken camera.

They're thrown off balance by their growing feelings for one another, and by the story of the Logan family as it becomes increasingly less clear from their perspectives.

©2022 Tarah DeWitt (P)2023 Tantor

Beautiful story, characters, and narration!

Loved the depth and growth of the characters, the twists and turns, and the emotional connection the story elicits! I laughed out loud a few times. I cried a bit. And i rejoiced with, hurt for and fell in love with the characters.
There’s language and steamy scenes, so i don’t recommend playing within earshot of littles!

On to the next Tarah DeWitt!

Broken Photographer finds Peace with Cowboy

Tait is in a low part of life. Signing her divorce papers to the man who she loved since she was a teen, she knows something is going to have to change. When her bod offers a new assignment she agrees before hearing the location. As a photographer, she loves to travel and get lost in her job. When she finds out she’s going to Montana she tries to back out. Why? Because it’s the property of her long loss father and his family.

Henry’s parents weren’t the best so when he moves in with his aunt and her husband’s family, he instantly feels acceptance. Hard worker on their property and now a side character on a new show being filmed on the land.

An author hired Tait to document pieces of Montana and this show for her book, she plans to go under a fake name. Not seeing her father for over 20 years, she feels like she could go under the radar. Henry picks her up from the airport and over time, he figures out who Tait really is.

The love this family had and took in Tait with open arms and love, really confused Tait. She was told her father’s family had not interest in a relationship but it was way from the truth. I loved the slow angry burn Tait and Henry had. It really rolled out their friendship which turned to love. Henry really showed his love for her. The strength both gave to one another!

Tropes:
Small Town
Grumpy/Sunshine
Broke Family
Found Family
Second Chance for Love
Cowboy
Forced Proximity

Great to the last line

Fantastic story and narration! The very last sentence had me in stitches, I just loved it!

Loved Funny Feelings but this didn't work for me

Good performances and some enjoyable aspects of this story (and many people loved it) but I struggled to connect with the characters, their choices, and even making sense of what we're told are the reasons behind their actions. Lots of this story just didn't make sense if you think about it, even briefly. I get it's a romance and fictional but I just couldn't relate to it.