A Creed in Stone Creek

Steven Creed comes to Stone Creek to make a new life for himself and his adopted son; Melissa O'Ballivan has lived there all her life. They see each other and immediately are attracted. But both have had bad luck with relationships before. Also both are lawyers. She is the local prosecutor and he is setting up his practice as a defense attorney. Naturally, they butt heads on the job. However, their underlying values and love of family are the same. They just have to get over their individual hang-ups to have a happy ending. Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately, they are both very stubborn people.

a creed in stone creek by linda lael miller - first book of a new trilogysteven leaves the city and is awarded custody of his friends 5 year old son. they move into a ranch with a barn neighbors swing by to help get them settled by letting them borrow a tour bus to live in on the property as he makes repairs.she is a lawyer that lives in town. they keep running into one another. shes to head the parade now and he's going to help.

I suppose in many ways, this book is a pretty typical romance plot. Man and woman face off against each other but somehow fall in love despite their individual protestations. The certainly sums up the plot of this book. But, there was much more to it. The male protagonist, Steven Creed, is a new father, to a five year old. He's also new to town and new to owning and running his own ranch and new to small town defense lawyering. Our female protagonist, Melissa O'Ballivan, is an upstanding citizen of Stone Creek, Arizona where she serves as an inflexible but fair county prosecutor. Sparks fly the first time they cross paths, but the fire really flares when they go head to head on a case.At first I wasn't so excited by the book. I think conflicting "series" information on this book was somewhat to blame - different sites say this is part of one series where others say it is the start of its own. Yes, Steven is a Creed, but we hadn't really met him in the previous "Montana Creed" books and there was only one or two brief mentions of the Montana contingent of Creeds and lots of Colorado Creeds in this book that I hadn't ever heard of. Yet the names of all of Melissa's family were familiar to me from the couple "Stone Creek" books I've read in the past. I was expecting this to have a bit more of the Montana characters present so I was a bit disappointed when they weren't a part of the book. But eventually the characters of this book won me over and kept me reading. Ultimately I found a lot of enjoyment in the reading of A Creed in Stone Creek.I'm curious where the next book in the series will go and which characters will be in it. But since I have yet to be disappointed in Linda Lael Miller's books I will continue on with the series. I am, however, debating if I should fill in the rest of the Stone Creek books I haven't yet read though before carrying on?

1st book new Creed family. Steven Creed and Mellisa. He is raising a little boy, Matt, after his best friend and wife die. Moves to buy land to raise the little boy. Meets Melissa O'Ball.... Semi slow read. Good, but not my favorite from this author

There is something about a cowboy that sets my heart to racing…and Linda Lael Miller never fails to deliver some of the most delicious cowboys and story lines around.She writes stories and characters you can relate to. They are your friends, your neighbors, people from your home town. She brings you into their lives and loves and makes you feel at home. I find myself putting familiar faces to some of her supporting characters, and even a hero or heroin or two, because I just know that I have met that person.Fans of her writing will recognize the Creed moniker from her Montana Creeds series, as well as their relationship to the McKettrick clan.In this, book one of her latest anthology, Ms. Miller introduces us to Steven Creed, a successful Colorado lawyer and newly adoptive father, who has moved to Stone Creek, Arizona to get in touch with family and grow roots. Steven and his new son, five year old Matt, will tug at your heartstrings as they come to terms with their new relationship and all that it means. Add in the local prosecutor, a head strong and heart protective Melissa O’Ballivan, and you know there is going to be some great action…

There was a time when I would have swooned at the idea of a millionaire cowboy hero with a heart of gold, riding into town and saving the lonely spinster from a life without love and babies, however it has been sometime since I have found this plot very satisfying. Unfortunately I found Miller's story to be naive and, despite the contemporary setting and a few intimate scenes, rather old fashioned. The book's label as a contemporary romance hides a plot that feels transplanted from the 1970's (except Melissa would have been a secretary instead of a lawyer).Miller paints her characters with a brush laden with sterotypes. Despite a successful career as a prosecutor, "..an amazing body..", owning her own home and a custom roadster, Melissa who is barely 30, laments her life is empty without a man and babies to share it with.Steven is a handsome defense attorney from a moneyed family whose summers at his father's ranch qualifies him as a cowboy and whose heart of gold is proved by his adoption of his best friends orphan son. Had Melissa had a bit more self esteem, Steve been a little less perfect and Matt not nearly as precocious, I would have been more willing to surrender to the fairytale of happy ever after.The romance seemed to center around Melissa's biological clock, with the mutual attraction between the pair a lucky concidence. The relationship conflicts seemed hollow and inconsistent with Melissa's character in particular. I didn't think her sudden bitterness about their opposing lawyer roles made much sense.I was much more interested in Byron's storyline, and would have liked to have had more depth to it. I also enjoyed the naked, dancing senior citizens and the toilet paper war. I just felt that the connections between the subplots and main storyline weren't as cohesive as they could have been.I had hoped to enjoy the story more but A Creed in Stone Creek was an undemanding and quick read. I am sure fans of Millers McKettricks, Montana Creeds and Stone Creek series will be happy with this latest installment, as will romance readers dreaming of rescue by prince charming.

What do you get when you cross a half-cowboy/half city-boy defense attorney with a hard headed, stubborn, small town prosecuter? Fireworks, right? Now throw in a small boy who is more charming than his father ever could be? Love.This book follows Melissa and Steven, and Matt, as they meet and wander the roads to love. As cliche as it sounds, you will laugh, you will cry, and you will love this book!

A Creed in Stone Creek is the first book in the contemporary 'Creed Cowboys' trilogy. Steven Creed becomes the guardian of five year old Matt, the orphaned son of his best friend. Steven moves out to Stone Creek to raise Matt. There he meets the beautiful county prosecutor Melissa O’Ballivan. Being such a small town Melissa notices Steven right away and finds out his story. The story starts off slowly, with the characters in this small town being introduced. Steven is the perfect hero. He's sexy, smart, sweet and his raising his best friends child as his own.I liked Melissa also. She's independent with a mind of her own. No whiny damsel in distress here. Their romance slowly blossoms and when they do get together it's sweet. The love scenes are well written. They were sexy without being vulgar. "Let's get you out of that dress," he said next.And he simply whisked the whole thing right off over her head, without any sort of wasted motion.Melissa had been undressed by a few men before, of course, but never in such a deft and matter-of-fact way. The yearning, strong before, pressed on her like a weight now, making it hard for her to breathe."That was -direct," she gasped, as a flush moved from her hairline to her toes. Goose bumps rose in its wake."I'm nothing if not direct," Steven said. p.203With a great plot, plenty of romance and interesting characters, A Creed in Stone Creek is a keeper. I will be reading the next two installments in this series. A Creed in Stone Creek is the perfect book to cuddle up with during a few lazy afternoons, which is just how I read it.And I'd also like to mention, the cover on this one is droolworthy. Hellooooo cowboy!

I received this as an ARC about a month and a half ago, and it was both so boring and so sickeningly sweet that I forgot to finish reading it until yesterday. We have the clichéd: “Yes, I believe in God. I don’t see how a person could help it, looking up at a sky full of stars, or in the early spring, when the grass comes up green, or watching a baby take those first few steps.” And the deathly dull: "Melissa took a moment to admire the crisp white tablecloth, the green-tinted glass jar in the centre, spilling over with perfect white peonies from the bushes on either side of the front steps. The plates, purchased on impulse in, of all places, an airport gift shop, were decorated with checks and flowers and polka dots."I’m supposed to care where she bought her crockery…why? The heroine is a weird person who gets by on frightening mood swings, and manages to spend much of the book convincing the hero to feel bad even though he’s done nothing wrong. I disliked her from the first page. This is an alternate universe where cowboys are so sensitive they cry at the drop of a hat and do nothing more than attend dinner parties and social dances while everyone wears delightful ruffled outfits. All women must immediately be receptive of all children, because a woman’s only priority in life is to be a mother. Jobs are time-fillers, and life is worthless unless you’ve put that womb to good use. As a Dear Author review of the author’s work put it, it’s one of: "those stories with characters who worship at the Altar of the Holy Womb"But it’s not the fact there are children (many, many children) in this book, it’s the overall attitude of the characters. Everyone is so old and old-fashioned for their age. I’ve read Inspirational Romance that’s far more daring than this! Why an author would set herself up as a romance writer when she clearly wants to write women’s fiction with a strong focus on childrearing, I do not know. Hero Steven Creed and heroine Melissa O'Ballivan do not have any time together without a child present until page 177! But if you pick this up with a strong desire to read about Steven’s adopted son, Matt, then you’ll be in luck. I started counting how many times Steven cried, how many times someone ruffled Matt’s hair, and how many times the author mentioned the ruffles in a female character’s pretty outfit. All happened so often you could make an excellent and very successful drinking game out of them. However, as I put the book down for so many weeks my tallies disappeared. It should tell you something though; if a man is spending that much time crying, there’s something wrong with him. Sure, we all love a sensitive man, but Steven was the biggest wimp I’ve ever seen! He cried at the thought of a hypothetical dog, at a picture his kid drew, at every damn thing you could think of. Between the purchasing of a dog, a tour of the children’s day camp, some kiddie art sessions and a whole lot of reminiscing about dead parents, there’s not a lot of romance in this one. When we’re not hanging around with man and son, we’re in Melissa’s head while she stares dreamily at pregnant women and laments the fact her womb is primed and ready to go, and yet there’s no man in her life to fill it. Melissa wasn’t a pleasant person, and whenever things became a bit tough she reacted exactly as I thought she would – in an abrupt, rude manner. Throughout the book, both lead characters say and think things like: Just looking at the little guy made Melissa’s biological clock tick audibly. She still missed his kids. “A man I could make babies with.” Steven felt a pang at the mention of twins Her sisters had everything a person could reasonably want, it seemed to her – babies “I knew none of you would understand. And why should you? All three of you have children, and happy marriages.” She adored the children in the family they were building a beautiful family together She loved her sisters and her brother….But it was the idea of leaving her nieces and nephews…that made a hard knot form in her throat. The relationship is an afterthought. Every. Single. Time. No matter how desperate you are for babies, should you not be looking for a partner along with the sperm donation? When I read a romance, I want the romance. If the author doesn’t view it as a priority, then she should write something different. Both leads were far more interested in finding parents for their future (and current) children than in finding a life partner – demonstrated perfectly by the fact Steven dumped his long-term girlfriend when he adopted Matt. He did that because she wasn’t immediately overjoyed about – without warning – becoming the mother of his dead friends’ boy. Good thing then that on the first day Steven sees Melissa both he and Matt are thinking about what good mother material she’ll make. I disliked the hero too. However! All of a sudden Steven and Melissa jump into bed and we’re hearing about the size of a certain Creed daddy’s wondrous shaft. It was like I'd picked up a different book. It’s only a matter of pages though before we’re back to the wholesome atmosphere, where – in keeping with the weirdly naïve style of writing – the hero’s big fantasy about the heroine is……her sitting beside him in a polka dot dress. Yes, there’s more than one polka dot fantasy in this book. Come ON!! Has this author ever met a man?! When he’s getting turned on, he’s not thinking about a pretty frock circa 1940!! Now, I’m not trying to be sexist here; if I gave into my wildest fantasies I guarantee you my man won’t be sitting beside me on a splendid road trip, wearing a handsome striped vest and an impressively tailored waistcoat! Romance also takes a very distant second (uh, third, tenth, twentieth) to the community and the issues surrounding the adoption of Matt. The author seems to have realised this and compensated by explaining that both Steven and Melissa felt ‘something’ when they first looked at each other. Because we’re supposed to believe in this ‘something’, that means it doesn’t matter if the two of them spend any page time together. No, they’re already cosmically connected, so we can go back to reading chapter after chapter about Steven’s kid and the bickering old biddies in the parade committee. In the first hundred pages or so Steven and Melissa are only together briefly for one scene – when there’s a child and also the sheriff present. Then they go their separate ways for 130 pages! But never fear! Two days after meeting Steven and Matt – and spending a grand total of maybe two hours with them – Melissa decides she hates the fancy career she’s been working on half her life, and that suddenly all she wants to do is stay home, raise Matt, and cook. Now, my issue is not with the choice to stay home, but after seeing them for a couple of hours?! Somewhere near the end a slight mystery involving the redemption of a minor character is thrown into the mix, but we were pretty much told from the outset who was guilty, so the whole thing seemed like a waste of time. I suppose it was put in to introduce conflict to Steven and Melissa’s relationship – and yes, it managed to do that, as Melissa dumped him for no reason whatsoever, and then spent a chapter or two being depressed. It was a little late to be trying to make their relationship interesting, and it made no sense, because there wasn’t a reason for the drama between them to happen! Everyone they meet is a happily married couple from (I presume) earlier in the series. The women are wearing ruffled, polka-dotted sundresses (which we hear endless descriptions of) and smiling contentedly while rubbing baby bumps and supporting another kid on their hip. Their husbands hover protectively, proud smiles on their faces as they admire their handiwork. It’s The Brady Bunch – after fertility drugs. After all of that, it was hardly a surprise that book ended with a nauseating insta-marriage. We catch up with Melissa and Steven a year after Melissa said she’d marry him ‘eventually’. Eventually turned out to mean ‘immediately', as they’re not only married, but she’s seven months pregnant. With twins. Shocking, that. It’s fairly obvious A Creed in Stone Creek was not for me. Usually I give an author a second chance, but I simply do not see the point here, as everything points to her other books as being more of the same. I read just about anything, and have no problems whatsoever with tame, happy stories. My problem with Linda Lael Miller’s writing is that it paints a painfully naïve and unrealistic picture of a society – and paints every member of the population, men and women of every generation, as having the same antiquated attitudes. Everyone was pleasant and happy and oh so innocent to the point I worried they might be in a cult. If you’re thinking of picking this up because you enjoy Western romances, be warned this is absolutely nothing like the other books you’ve probably enjoyed.