The
eldest sister in the Vega family is at it again! Matchmaking should be easy
when you are psychic – but try telling that to Angela! Sure, she can see
exactly who her siblings are meant to be with, but getting them to believe
it is the hard part. It’s not that they don’t believe in their sister’s
powers, but each of her siblings proves to be more than gun shy when it
comes to romance.
Take Evelyn Vega, for instance. With one failed marriage under her belt,
Evelyn isn’t looking for another. Still, she can’t say no to her sister
when Angela gifts her with a 2 week vacation at a Dude Ranch, even though
she knows it is more than likely her big sister is up to her matchmaking
ways. A city-slicker like her can enjoy the vacation and avoid falling in
love with a cowboy, right? At least, that’s what she thinks until she meets
younger man Jason…
Cowboss Jason Makepeace also has a bad marriage behind him. While he may
not be averse to the idea of falling in love, his plans for the future do
not include falling for an ornery city girl like Evelyn. But Jason finds
her lure irresistible, and as his latent psychic abilities open his mind to
her thoughts, he learns there is much more to this seemingly hardened New
Yorker than meets the eye…
First off, I LOVE how Gracie C. McKeever joined her Matchmaker
series to her
novel Spells Cast In Shadows in this story! It makes perfect
sense for Evelyn to vacation at the very same Dude Ranch owned by Seth and
Montana Phoenix – not to mention it was great fun to see where that couple
is now. Pairing Evelyn with Jason, who suffered from a case of unrequited
love in that previous book, was wonderful and paves the way for future
crossovers, should McKeever choose to do so.
I loved Jason Makepeace before, but seeing him come into his own in
The Matchmaker, Book 3: Manifest Destiny was a pure delight. It
took someone with a gentle soul and a firm hand to break through Evelyn
Vega’s considerable defenses, and who better for the job than a man who
stands by his friends even while his own heart is bruised? By the time
Jason meets Evelyn, he is over his crush on
Montana,
and planning for his move away from the Freeborn Ranch. The timing couldn’t
be better for him to meet the woman who is his ‘Manifest Destiny’,
even if he does not believe so at first.
Evelyn thinks she is over the pain of her first marriage, but she has buried
the real hurt deep down inside, hidden even from herself. She needs someone
like Jason who can touch her very soul, read her every need as easily as he
finds he can read her mind, to help her deal with the past that has sealed
her heart away from the potential pain of loving again.
I am uncertain how many more Vega siblings are left, but with the expansion
of this series in Manifest Destiny, I am hopeful that Angela
will turn her skills to others when she finishes marrying off her brothers
and sisters. I’ve enjoyed each of these stories as much as the first, and
am nowhere near ready to see an end to McKeever’s The Matchmaker
series!
Reviewed by Jennifer
