On the whole I enjoyed this one by JJ who can be pretty hit or miss for me. There were a lot of characters so the story didn't stay real focused on the two who were the main couple. There wasn't really very many scenes between them to convince me that they were in love. So pretty light on characterization. The heroine was young and I had a few problems with her. One of which was why she didn't tell the hero she was pregnant with another man's child. I guess really only because she was young and dumb cuz there is just no way that she could believe that keeping it a secret would somehow be okay. how can she disappear and be so adamant that her father not even be informed she is okay even if she didn't want to tell him where she was? She loves her father and knows he loves her. It just made me totally like her less. And why didn't the hero who was older talk sense to her? I liked the father and suppose he is going to have a 2nd chance at love story at some point. The aunts though. How can two grown women be so nasty to a niece they've just met? It makes me sort of unwilling to accept them as heroine of a further book. The next in the series is about one of them. Then there was the whole who was related to whom thing that kept confusing me. Still an okay read.
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Loving and being loved is never easy. Especially when those that claim to be looking out for your best interest take every chance to tear you down. I received an ARC of Shameless in exchange for an honest review. This is a story that has it all. Pippa naively fell for a man that did not share her feelings. Now pregnant, ashamed and scorned she is faced with another change when her father up roots the family and heads to America. This was a drastic decision but his heart was in the right place, he wanted to protect his child. It was a self sacrificing decision that he made knowing his own family issues. This is an emotionally frustrating story that is as heartbreaking as it is inspiring. There is so much I can praise about Joan Johnston's story of love and courage, but to me experiencing it is better than hearing about it. ( )

The continuing story of the Grayhawks and the Flynns. In the previous book, Sinful, Matt Grayhawk had moved his family from Australia back to his estranged father's ranch in Wyoming. The timing was good, in his opinion, because his twenty year old daughter is pregnant with a married man's baby and suffering from the small-minded attitudes of the locals. Moving to America will give her a fresh start.

But things aren't going smoothly. Matt's treatment of his half sisters, who were expecting the ranch to be theirs, is particularly nasty, and in turn they take out their frustrations on Pippa. Riding out to escape the tension, she meets Devon Flynn, a neighboring rancher and son of her grandfather's bitterest enemy. He provides a calm port in the turbulent storm of her life, and she accepts his offer of refuge at his home.

Devon is the youngest of the "Wild Flynns" and the one who avoids his family whenever possible. He has his own ranch a good distance from the rest of his family, where he works his land and cares for the injured animals he finds. He sees a lot of similarities between Pippa and those animals, and is determined to help her too.

Devon and Pippa are attracted to each other from the beginning, but there are reasons to fight it. Pippa is still recovering from her broken heart and is wary of trusting another man. She's also carrying that man's baby and believes that would ruin any chance of a relationship with Devon. On his side, Devon is related to Pippa, he's older than she is, and there is the feud between their families. But he can't deny what is happening between them.

They began by becoming friends, attempting to bury the feelings of attraction. Working together with his animals and around the ranch, they took the time to get to know each other. There were many things they had in common and they grew closer. The attraction was also burning hotter and becoming harder to fight. Pippa knows she has to tell Devon about her pregnancy before they move to the next step, but she's afraid of what his reaction would be.

At the same time, there is major drama going on with the rest of the family, with a lot of secrets being kept. Pippa grew up without her mother, believing that the woman is dead. Thanks to manipulation and lies by their parents, Matt and Jennie had been separated. Through some devious efforts, Matt had taken custody of Pippa and fled to Australia, leaving Jennie behind. When all the truth comes out, there are hurt and angry feelings on all sides, with Matt deserving a great deal of what he gets. In the meantime, Devon, who has often felt different and isolated from his family, learns some devastating news that explains a lot. This, on top of finding out about Pippa's pregnancy, throws him into turmoil of his own. Then there is something going on between Angus Flynn and King Grayhawk, where Angus has been plotting some serious revenge that has dire consequences for the entire Grayhawk family. At the end of the book, two family members are missing in a forest fire, and their fate is unknown.

As everything comes to a head, Devon and Pippa have to decide if they can move past their own fears to a life together. In spite of what a jerk he can be, I liked the way that Angus Flynn provided a good example to Devon as to what was possible. I also liked seeing the way that Pippa discovered that she had the strength of will to go after what she wanted. ( )

Shameless by Joan Johnston is a 2015 Dell publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the first book in this arc, which is a part of the long running Bitter Creek series. I knew Pippa’s story was next in line, and I was curious about her, so I’ve been looking forward to reading this one.

I was a tiny bit concerned about reading a book centered around a girl Pippa’s age, since, with only one or two exceptions, I have long since jumped off the New Adult bandwagon. So, I was counting on the adult characters to even things out a little, if things got too angsty.

As it turns out, Pippa was exasperating at times, but to be fair, she was very isolated and sheltered while growing up and didn’t have a mother figure in her life. She has a lot on her plate, and no support system. What about her father, Matt, you ask? Well, I had a very difficult time with him. He was more worried about how Pippa’s pregnancy would reflect on him when people learned she was not married and the baby’s father abandoned her because he was already married.

He was controlling and ill tempered, was quick to resort to physical violence, and then he dropped a bombshell that sealed the deal for me. I couldn’t wrap my brain around the logic behind his decisions, and thought he was the ultimate hypocrite. So, no, I felt like Pippa was left floundering with hormones and a house filled with hate, and her father’s disapproval and attempts to manipulate her.

Thankfully, she meets Devon, who turns out be just the stable, patient sort of person she needs right now. But, the odds are against them from the get go, because Devon is one of the dreaded Flynn brothers and of course Pippa is a Grayhawk. (For those just tuning in, the Flynn’s and Grayhawk’s have a long running, bitter family feud, that would give the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s a run for their money) Not only that, Devon discovers a dark family secret of his own, and Pippa is withholding vital information from him, and insisting they keep their relationship platonic.

If you like a good sudsy drama with lots of plot twists and dark family secrets, you will love this one. Every once in a while, this type of book is just what I’m in the mood for. But, I had a few problems with some areas in the book, most of which had nothing to do with the writing or plot, but with my personal feelings about the characters. Matt for one, and then the way Pippa was treated like a high school teen, when she is nearly twenty. She’s old enough to make her own decisions, but she squirmed under her father’s thumb entirely too long. She didn’t appear to be making any plans for how she was going to support herself or her child, but did manage to get herself to a doctor, finally. The concern over her feelings for the baby’s father was absurd, in my opinion. Women love their babies no matter what the situation is with the father. (In most cases)

The guys in this story were just terrible. They were so busy nursing their own wounded pride and hurt feelings to give much thought to what was going on with Pippa. I mean, she is alone, about to have baby, and had just learned some pretty shocking information about her family, and was trying to cope with the feelings she had for Devon. Did she do the right thing at all times? No, and I did wonder what the big deal was, and why she couldn’t tell Devon the whole truth. But, then again, after the way Matt treated her, I could kind of understand her reluctance.

For some reason, the attitudes and actions in this story seem outdated. Many women have children without benefit of marriage and aren’t scorned by the community. Pippa didn’t intentionally begin an affair with a married man, she was just naïve, not to mention the “raising another man’s child’ thing, and the pressure to put the baby up for adoption. This is 2016, and yes, being a single parent is hard work, but it also has its rewards, and it certainly won’t prevent someone from going to school, having a full time career, getting married to the right man, or living a full, happy, contented life. Pippa’s life may have been sidetracked, but she didn’t seem like the college bound, career driven, “I’ve got big plans” type of girl to start off with.

As for some critical plot issues, there are a few open ended threads that were left hanging. Those circumstances were pretty dire and to have Pippa and Devon enjoying a HEA under that cloud didn’t seem right. It was almost too flippant, but, the author did assure us those issues will be addressed in the next book. Hopefully, Matt will get a story of his own, someday, so he can redeem himself. That will be an interesting story, for sure, since he as dug himself quite a hole. But, for now, the cliffhanger parts of this story will have to be addressed first.

Judging by my previous statements it would seem I didn’t care for this installment, and no, it wasn’t as good as the first book, in my opinion, but it was also strangely absorbing and I found myself invested in the characters and going through periods of empathy and righteous indignation, so despite some of my reservations I didn’t completely dislike the book, and I am still interested in seeing how things play out in the next book. Devon did eventually come around, got over his wounded pride and hurt feelings and stepped up for Pippa in a big way, redeeming himself nicely. So, despite their unconventional and rocky road to romance, I ended up liking this couple and am pulling for them all the way.

Naturally, I struggled with how to rate this one, so I’ll go with a nice, safe, middle of the road 3. It was okay, and does have a solid enough entertainment value. ( )

An entertaining continuation of the Bitter Creek saga. Review based on an ARC received from NetGalley. ( )