Take Me Back

Publisher's Summary

Hallie Cavanaugh's late father just left her millions of reasons to stay away from Jim Lawson, deputy sheriff of Paradise, Idaho, and the man who broke her heart fourteen years ago. Hallie has worked hard for independence, but she can't dismiss a massive inheritance, even if she has to follow her father's manipulative terms to get it. How hard can it be to spend six months back in Paradise - and not sleep with her old flame?

Former Army Ranger Jim just wants to do his job, raise his daughter...and resist the gorgeous, redheaded reminder of his bad-boy past. Their one unforgettably hot night together had major consequences, and now there's a fortune and a family legacy at stake. But when Hallie is threatened amid a storm of uncovered secrets and conflicted loyalties, protecting her becomes more than a duty: it's a deeply personal fight Jim's heart won't let him lose.

©2017 Rosalind James (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Another Good Installment To The Series

This book starts with a murder, committed by an unnamed person, of a loathsome human being. A man with money and power, who bullies everyone around him. No one in the small Idaho town is sad to see him die, including local sheriff Jim Lawson and the man's estranged daughter Hallie Cavanaugh. It is this murder, and its aftermath, that take center stage in this fourth book of Rosalind James' "Paradise Idaho" romantic suspense series.

Although the previous books in this series seemed to focus more on the romance, this one falls much more firmly on the suspense side, and I think it's better for it. The story kept me guessing, right up until the very end, on who the murderer was. I thought I knew, then I changed my mind, then I changed my mind AGAIN, then I was wrong anyway. The mystery was a good one, and the action built up from small acts to deter Hallie from staying in town to fulfill the (unfair and frankly bonkers) terms of her father's will, to the killer's truly sinister intentions. I kept reading because I wanted to know who did it, and what they would do next, and I fell for just about every red herring sent my way.

The mystery was compelling, but Jim and Hallie's romance was also a draw. They had a brief, tragic fling in high school, and hadn't seen each other in years. Jim is a widower with a young daughter, and Hallie has perfected the art of running away. Their relationship wasn't easy, or full of the usual lighthearted flirting and banter in a typical romance novel, but it was sincere and engaging.

Overall, I really liked this book, it was well-written, well executed, and compelling all the way through.

This book can be a stand alone listen.

Brittany Pressley was good with the narration of the story, however, I think the dual narration in the first two books was superb.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Way To Keep It All In The Family

I love that now Deputy Jim gets his chance at love and we find out his back story and how he ended up a cop in his hometown. Deputy Jim may have always been a good guy but he has always been on the right side of the law? It's very interesting to see what happens when Jim's first love comes back to town and stirs up all kinds of conflicts in his family dynamics. And as usual in this series, Rosalind James writes stories with a mysterious and/or intriguing subplot and this one is no different. For such a small town, Paradise has a whole lot of criminal intent. The best part of the story is how Jim and Hallie overcome the obstacles, including family complications, to their relationship,

The narration was okay but would have been better with the duet style narration of the first two books in the series. Brittany seemed to narrate with a bit of a southern drawl that didn't make sense.

Absolutely worth price. I would pay it all over again.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Superb suspenseful romance

This is one of James' best books to day. It's such a unique and clever story, with the addition of strong, yet flawed characters and a mystery that i actually couldn't solve until the very end.

I was really surprised i couldn't solve the mystery as fast as i normally do with books. about halfway through i can figure out who the killer is but this one really threw me for a loop. i was so happy when this finally happened because it breaks the monotony of predictable books.

also, this is the first time i've ever heard brittany pressely. she was really fantastic and she really added an extra bit of depth to each character. i thought that jim and anthea had really deep voices (almost too deep) but i realized that it was just a perfect choice. i mean, they're twins, and all women don't have to have squeaky, high-pitched voices.

i just thought this was a really fantastic book that broke away from the "typical" suspenseful romance. if you are a fan of Rosalind James or the genre, this a great book to read, and you don't even have to read it in the order the books were written.


I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. the view expressed here is my own and i was not obligated to give a positive review.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great Read

This book kept me on my toes throughout. I was so wrong so many times as to the killer. Loved Mac and Anthea. Great love story and mystery. Thanks again RJ.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great addition to the series

This book didn't hold my attention as well as the previous books in this series but it really picked up toward the end and finished with a bang! Rosalind James is still one of my favorite authors!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Oh my god I loved it!

If you could sum up Take Me Back in three words, what would they be?

hot, secret, romance

What was one of the most memorable moments of Take Me Back?

Where to start, it was awesome. Hallie and Jim are reunited when her dad dies and Hallie returns to hear the will being read. She is shocked to hear what the will says and see's Jim again for the first time in 14 years. They have a history and a lot of misconceptions to work through. I loved the mystery and romance of this story. Don't want too give anything away, but the ending was better than I could have imagined. A must read!

What does Brittany Pressley bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I tend to read books quickly and Brittany Pressley does a great job of slowing me down and letting me really experience this book. I got more out of it by listening to it than by reading it.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

take me back; don't tell

Any additional comments?

An amazing book and I highly recommend this book. It has a great mystery that kept me guessing throughout the entire book. The romantic story is also a fun story.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Jump right in and be entertained

Jump right in and be entertained by a romantic suspense story that is delivered superbly by Brittany Presley. The voices, accents, and pace she uses makes me feel like a witness at the event rather than just hearing a book be read to me. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard (or read) the previous books in the series before… you’ll most certainly want to afterward and in the meantime, this one stands solidly on its own.
I enjoyed the suspense that Rosalind James created, she provided a nice pool of characters as possible villains and did a good job of not letting the “who done it” be a forgone conclusion. The romance was tender and creative (who wouldn’t want to play a game of pool with Jim?!?) with a compelling combination of protectiveness and supportiveness. Add in the way Jim relates to his daughter Mac and he’s irresistible. Hallie as heroine is no slouch, she’s taken the hand that life dealt her and moved on, making the most of it displaying strength and sensitivity to those around her.
When I read this book for the first time there was a moment or two where the author seemed to apologize for her characters’ choices / thoughts / opinion which created a hiccough in the flow of the story for me personally. However, when listening to the audio those moments were not nearly as distracting and actually compelled me to go back and read the whole book again. I actually liked it better then, catching a conversation or two and absorbing several scenes that somehow hadn’t quite connected with me the first time around.
Jim and Hallie were separated as teens through manipulation and misunderstanding. They both evidently had tremendous capabilities for forgiveness because after years (14!) of believing ill of each other, one conversation cleared the air. Perhaps I’m just jealous, I’ve never personally experienced a relationship/encounter where chemistry outweighs common sense and because I tend to belabor things and need more time to “process” :/
I can’t end this review without mentioning that once again, this author wrote a secondary character who stole my heart. Mac is a delightful combination of bright, plucky, respectful (not quite always), snarky, responsible, sensitive, NOT-perfect tween. And everyone could use a best friend like Anthea!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Terrific Audiobook - Highly Recommend!

Any additional comments?

I so enjoyed this audiobook - it's got great characters, a complex storyline, and the narration adds depth beyond the Kindle version. There is so much more than you'd expect from stereotypical "romantic suspense" - family situations both good and bad, love & grace, and all the nuances of living in a small town called Paradise. This narrator reveals it all with ease and overall does a fine job presenting this story.

My Kindle review covers the rest: When the town tycoon dies, too true to real life, the squabbling over the inheritance starts and a few family secrets come to light. Author Rosalind James masterfully spins this story of interwoven family relationships and lifelong friends, while also giving us readers a sweet rekindled romance and bad guy, of course. And she will keep you guessing until the end - you won't be able to put it down! (Ed: or stop listening!)

Although part of a series, this book stands alone and I highly recommend it if you're looking for a nice read. And then you'll want to pick up the rest of the Paradise books. And then maybe "Escape to New Zealand"! But this one is a keeper, for sure.

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review - this opinion is my own.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

My favorite of this series!!

I love love LOVE the characters in this book. Being a teacher myself, I am critical of teacher characters. However, Rosalind always seems to get what being a teacher is. Hallie is strong and funny, and I really enjoyed her pluck. Jim is just sexy. Sexy single dad. How can you not fall in love? Overall, these stories have more suspense than what I normally read, but they are by no means dorky. I also enjoyed the narrator very well. She really was able to portray the emotion between the couple. And the end will make you cry, so make sure you aren't driving. :)

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Another great book by Rosalind!

"I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for my review, and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinion expressed here is my own.”

I am a huge fan of Rosalind James, but I really enjoyed the reading of this book. I don't have a lot of experience with audiobooks, but I really enjoyed the reading.

I like the way that Rosalind develops her characters and their relationships between them. She does a great job with bringing in outside characters, linking story to story.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

This author has done better elsewhere

This is the second book I have purchased on Audible by this author – I have read many of her books on kindle. Unfortunately this is only slightly better than the last one (which I did not finish). The quality of writing was, as usual, excellent, but I had issues with the plot line.

The h was a product of an abusive father and ineffectual mother. Her father cruelly and brutally ensured her separation from the teenage H as he was “from the wrong side of town”. 15 years later, her father’s will stipulates that the h moves back to her home town, near the H, but she cannot have “sexual relations” with the H for six months, or she forfeits her inheritance. This did not make any sense: The h and H had not had any contact with each other for 15 years, during which time the H was happily married (now a widower) so what made the father decide that six months abstinence would be a problem? Furthermore, it would have been almost impossible to legally prove that a sexual encounter had taken place unless illegal means were used, and revealing details which would mean the perpetrator would have to come forward, which would also expose his motives.

Naturally, the H and h were unable to control themselves and behaved like two horny teenagers sneaking around to meet for sex, with one particularly unappealing encounter being in the girls’ changing rooms at the school where the h is a teacher and the H’s daughter is a pupil. Not exactly the behaviour of mature and responsible adults, and not at all erotic, just a bit sleazy, more so when you remember the H is the town’s Deputy Sheriff!

A lot of people will love this book and I can recommend the author, but I think in future I will stick to the kindle versions of her books rather than audio versions.

Good story line

Story solid and well executed, thought I knew who done it but was obviously wrong, initially. Just a few niggles which stopped me from giving a 5. That aunt F needed taking down a peg or two and Harley just wasn't gutsy enough to and I found that irritating. Also Jim was this adoring husband to his deceased wife but I didn't feel like he had that same depth of feeling for Harley other than the passion - that line wasn't really full circle for me, I found I really didn't like the deceased wife which made me feel bad because she was dead! But she was made into this icon whom the heroine wasn't balanced enough with. Harley forgave Jim far too easy when he made his passionate declaration about his first wife, I wouldn't have wanted to blatantly play second fiddle.
Lastly I absolutely rate the narrator as bringing books to life in terms of her voice changes etc but there was something about the quality of this audio that was really poor, the chapters were bitty, there was funny static feedback sounds in parts and I am sure I heard traffic in the background at one point which just didn't make for a good experience.

An audio book for a dark rainy weekend

What did you like best about this story?

Hall's strength of character

What about Brittany Pressley’s performance did you like?

Really good delivery able to get the different characters well

Any additional comments?

This story is a little bit of a Hitchcock romance. Perfect listen to on a rainy weekend
Even beyond the grave Hallie’s dad is trying to control everyone. With her dads suspicious death and the strange happenings it seems, someone is determined to see that Hallie doesn’t succeed in meeting fathers requirement to stay at his house for six months and get her inheritance. It is up to police officer Jim a man who Hallie shares a past with, and maybe a future to uncover what is really going on before someone gets hurt.
Jim and Hallies love story doesn't have easy answers and they must learn to trust and forgive each other.

A dark romance with likeable characters that draws you in before you know it. You will be sucked to Hallie’s fight to control her future and get the family she always wanted.

Rich varied listening to suspense and romance

So...I found new experiences listening to this audio, having read the book.
A good reading gives life and enrichment to a good book and this ticks both boxes.
Rosalind James has a good ear for family relationships and tensions, teenage moods, for small town life, social factors and of course, romance. Stir in some mystery, suspense, heartbreak, some heat- and it's a winner.
The narrator Brittany Presley brings the characters to life with variety of pace, tone and expression.
De Marco the detective amused me. I liked her portrayal of controlled Jim with tight lipped speech and bitten off vowels. I liked Hallie whose vulnerability, warmth and had won bravery and confidence shines through.
A rich varied listening experience.

I received a free copy of this audiobook in return for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way or obliged to be positive.

Money can't buy you love

A story which had a good plot but was padded out , in my opinion, by too much erotica, Pretty good twist to uncover the bad guy but the story was enjoyable and narrated very well.