ARC Review: Branded by Laura Wright

Cassandra “Cass” Cavanaugh kept a diary until she was thirteen. She wrote about her best friend MacKenzie “Mac” Byrd and her brothers, Deacon, Cole, and James. Then she disappeared from a movie theater and her body was discovered a few days later. Her death haunts the foursome as they move on with their lives. Cass’s death took the biggest toll on her mother who lashed out at her sons and blamed them for Cass. Everett Cavanaugh, the patriarch of the family, has died. Deacon intends to buy the ranch and bulldoze it, taking the painful memories with it. Mac is now the foreman and was very close to Everett. She has also been in love with Deacon since childhood. She vows to fight him and find out why the three brothers left, vowing to never return. Cole is Cass’s twin and is a kickboxer, trying to inflict his anger on others. James is a horse whisperer, quotes Shakespeare, and uses his abilities to calm himself. Deacon is a multi-millionaire and lives for the next big deal. He knows Mac had a crush on him and now wants to pursue a relationship. The contention over the ranch stands between them. After the reading of the will, they find out they have one more brother named Blue. The long time housekeeper on the ranch had an affair with Everett. Deacon offers to buy out Blue’s share. Mac tries to stop the sale of the land every way she can and falls hard for Deacon. James finds the daughter of the former sheriff. There is a new lead on Cass’s killer.

Mac and Deacon aren’t a compelling couple. He’s more interested in revenge and she’s more interested in the land than they are in each other. Mac has her childhood image of Deacon and it doesn’t change. She finds out more family history and changes her mind about Everett. She insists on saving the ranch when none of the brothers want it. She makes it impossible for Deacon to sell. He is rightfully furious with her, but still wants to marry her.

The secondary characters, especially James and Cole, will have their own books. Neither of them strikes a spark. James is interested in Deacon’s assistant and Cole is almost self-destructive with his choice of profession. The brothers aren’t close and what happens to them isn’t compelling enough to follow through to the next book.

This is a continuing story. Many different story lines are opened and not resolved.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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