James

Our Review

James Brannigan is the oldest out of seven sons. He runs a billion-dollar hedge fund called Brannigan Capital Management. After the death of his father, James learns he inherited a two-hundred-year-old winery in Italy. He wonders what possessed his father to leave him a winery as a legacy. James travels to Italy to view the place before selling it for profit. A bubbly blonde intercepts him at the hotel and insists on taking James on a tour of the winery he intends to sell. Can James figure out his father’s reasons for giving him Villa Pietro?

Kyra Summers is Villa Pietro’s self-appointed American Tourist Liaison. She cares deeply for the place and the close-knit family who runs the winery. Kyra shares the Sebastianis’s concerns of Villa Pietro’s new American owner’s plans for their small family-oriented business. The family suggests that Kyra get close to James only to ferret out the man’s intentions for the place. She is determined to help James Brannigan fall-in-love with not only Villa Pietro but the Sebastianis too. Can Kyra convince James to keep the winery that means so much to her?

It took me a while to warm up to James. At the start of the book, he came off too closed-off and money-minded for my tastes. However, my opinion changed once Kyra breezed into his life and turned his self-controlled life topsy-turvy with her exuberant personality. Throughout the book, Kyra continues to prove beneficial to James’s emotional growth. She reminds him of the fun and good times before the unfortunate death of his mother. Kyra also teaches him to let go of his strict control and to enjoy life away from work and money.

Kyra is not the kind of heroine I generally like. Usually, the perky and sunny heroines annoy me, however, in Kyra’s case, I did not mind much. Her impetuous nature and spontaneity is the perfect contrast to James’s work-minded seriousness. I like how Kyra somewhat understands the world James belongs to because of her mother’s profession. I admire her dedication to the winery and the big-hearted Italian family who runs it, as well as the lengths she is prepared to go through to protect them. What I like most about Kyra is that she was born in Ohio, my birth state, although I no longer live there.

JAMES is book six in the 7 BRIDES FOR 7 BROTHERS series by multiple authors. JAMES can be read alone; however, it is beneficial to read the other stories in the series to get the larger picture. I, unfortunately, have not read the other six books, but I like how the author recaps the brothers’ stories through James.

JAMES is such a sweet and fun story, reminding readers to remember the good times and not allow tragedy to close off their heart to the future. Roxanne St. Claire always has a knack in creating poignant romances that touch the heart.