Book 2 in the Pine Cone Romance Series. Read them in order. Trip was not my favorite.. she kind of drove me nuts. I found myself liking Petunia the best out of this book. I did like Jamie but I found both she and Trip were just kind of okay characters for me. Several scenes from book one, are repeated in this book (and then again in book 3). While all the books are written by different authors, the reader also gets a different “look” at each repeated scene. It was interesting to see the scenes play out from a different character. I think the series is worth picking up, and I think all the books are okay reads. I read them back to back, so for me it felt like rereading something very soon after reading it the first time. These may be enjoyed more with a book in between them. Not enough time to forget the characters, but enough time to forget small details.

This is the beginning of a great series. Liked the animals as well as the police work. Great characters with lots of history that makes them seem real.

When I first started this book, I had no idea it was a member of a series that were all set in the same town, but all focused on different characters in that 'world'/town. I loved the concept, I didn't care in what order I'd come into it.
I came to adore the town, it sounds like the kind of place I'd like to live. It has a wide range of characters bound to keep life interesting. I was glad Trip and Jamie got over their past hurts. and Petunia...she is the star of the whole book, really. What a sweetheart. I think I felt worse for her past than the humans in the story. she never had a choice in what happened to her.
Anyway, I'll be searching out the other two books in this series. It doesn't matter which order you read the three in. Just read them and be charmed.

My first book by D Jackson Leigh, which I picked up after reading Missouri Vaun's book set in the same small town. Kudos to Boldstrokes for coming up with this idea of having three authors tell related stories because it finally got me to read Leigh. In this story the main character is Trip, a well known and regarded vet in the small town in which she grew up. She's a known player, but has always protected her heart because of her lost college love of eighteen years ago. Enter that lost love as the newly assigned deputy in town, Jamie. Jamie knows Trip is there, and that facing her is inevitable. When the two finally connect, they butt heads, but quickly find that they have not lost their compatibility. As they slowly rekindle their lost friendship, they both realize how much each has grown and what wonderful women they've become. Leigh does a terrific job at characters, they were very well drawn and interesting. I loved all the details of Trip's veterinary practice, it's clear that this author knows and loves animals. She writes love/sex scenes that are a little more explicit than I typically care for, but not more than I was willing to read. I look forward to explore this author's catalog.

My reading this series in order in itself was a miracle. I would also like to point out I didn't know that there were three books in the series and I totally missed the first one. I spent a few months in hospital and in bed with nothing to do but read.

I started reading this book and immediately felt the fresh air on my face and the freedom of the countryside. The annoyance of the parking tickets I put down the the staff prodding and poking. So yeah I really enjoyed this book.

It's a slow burn romance based on college friends now grown and living in the real world. Resentment turning to love.

It's a really nice story. One you could read on a sunday afternoon while sipping a coffee enjoying the sun. Come on what's better than that?
I would recommend this book without a doubt. Enjoy!

*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2492803404

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R26KP9XSVSNOVE/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This is the second book in the romantic trilogy about three childhood friends who grew up in Pine Cone, Georgia. Three authors are writing this series. Missouri Vaun wrote this first one about Clay Cahill, an artist and part-time garage worker. D. Jackson Leigh has written the second book about Trip Beaumont, the veterinarian in Pine Cone. The last book about Sandy, a member of the town’s police force, is written by VK Powell.

I was looking forward to reading the second book in this series because I have read all of Ms. Leigh’s books and thoroughly enjoyed them. I was not disappointed at all with this book. I enjoyed the humor in addition to the well-developed plot. From the very beginning of Take a Chance, I was drawn into the story. At first, I thought it might be a little awkward to have a reiteration of story situations, but Ms. Leigh was able to make it unique from Trip’s viewpoint.

Trip is the town’s veterinarian and never has a problem attracting women. She is intelligent, good-looking, wealthy and good at her profession. Jamie Grant is new to town and gets hired as a deputy. Trip finds it difficult to start up a relationship with her because of previous bad history between them.

I highly recommend this book and give it 5 out of 5 stars. I look forward to book 3 in the series.

I was given this ARC in return for a fair and honest review.

The start was not what I expected at all. I wasn't aware this was one of those books. Pretty confronting for little ole me.

Stoically, I pushed on and began to like the breadth of characters but I'm not truly sure I ever recovered.

Trip and Jamie have enough baggage for a round the world holiday and as they maintain two pretty important jobs, they still managed to work through their own personal challenges.

Reasonably light and entertaining.

This book has a very slow beginning. It wasn't until I was about half way through the book I began to become engaged in the story. There are too many descriptions of everything . The plot and characters are good, but I had a difficult time becoming engaged in the story itself.
I received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.

So I knew going in that this was the second in a series and from what I read in Missouri Vaun's first novel, Take My Hand, that it might be interconnected and not just set in Pine Cone, Georgia like the rest. But, honestly, this book got almost another full star because, holy crap, it's super intensely interconnected. Yeesh. There are the same characters, and then there are the same characters in the same scenes from a different characters point of view and yet the scene seems only slightly different (because of the differing point of view only). Wow. Impressive is not a big enough word to explain all this. Wow.

This story is about Trip and Jamie. The Vet, and the new Deputy from the previous book. In the first book I sorta had the idea that these two would be in another of the books and I was right. But, I most definitely didn't guess what their story was going to be, and it was a doozy of a story in all the best ways.

They have quite the past and nither of them got out unscathed. And then add to that Petunia, the drug sniffing dog (and Jamie's partner) story. This book was chock full of goodness.

And with what was in this book about what might be in the next book in the series? Whew and wowza, that's going to be awesome. Bring it on VK Powell!

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books.

Well, I accidentally read this out of order. I found it confusing with too many characters (and they almost all had 4 or 5 letter names which somehow confused me more).

I now know that there are three books in this series:
1. Clay & River
2. Trip & Jamie
3. Grace & Dani

This book tells some of the story of the characters in the other books which was clunky. Other books have done this much better, and I think even with different authors this should've been better. It was a delightful world with tons of charm and lesbian characters. I would've liked for this book to focus mostly on Trip and Dani and the relationship of the three best friends, without delving into those friends lives so specifically.

And the format didn't give enough time for Trip and Jamie. They didn't have enough chemistry so I wasn't as invested in their relationship as I was in them as individuals. Their own backstories were pretty thorough, but their history together was told not shown and it felt forced.

I thought there characters were interesting enough. I liked the police work and veterinarian work. Like I said, I liked the world. I'm not sure I will read the other books in this series, though I would read other books by this (and the other) authors.

*Ebook given to me by BLB in exchange for review*

‘Take A Chance’ by D Jackson Leigh is the second in the Pine Cone series and is a really good story. This time we see everything from veterinarian Trip and new cop Jamie’s perspectives. An incident in the past threatens to ruin any chance they might have. Can either get past it? I enjoyed finding out more about Trip as she seemed very care-free and a bit of a player in the first book. There was so much depth to her character and her backstory, as we find out in this volume. Also seeing the same incidents from another point of view was fascinating. It was a great idea to tell the Pine Cone story in three books. Certain things happened in books one,’Take My Hand’ by Missouri Vaun, that didn’t seem important at the time, but they are expanded on in ‘Take A Chance’ and really add to the whole. Jamie and her detection dog, Petunia, have a very interesting and moving part to play. Her past in the military and her determination to help others was admirable. The story between the two women was at times heart-breaking but also hot, emotional and uplifting. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I was given this ARC to review.

It’s Ms Leigh’s turn at writing a story about the goings on in Pine Cone, Georgia. Missouri Vaun wrote the first part in this series, ‘Take My Hand’ . Like Vaun’s this story is centered around three lifetime friends Clay Cahill, Trip Beaumont and Grace Booker. Since Ms Vaun’s story revolved around Clay and River Hemsworth, Ms Leigh’s book revolves around Trip, the local veterinarian and Officer Jamie Grant. If you have read ‘Take My Hand’ then you already know most of the plot because the only difference is Trip and Jamie take the lead in this one. I thought when I started this series the next book would pick up where the first left off but instead of following Trip and River’s story now the reader is asked to look at the same story from another perspective. We learn that Trip and Jamie have a history. Once they were friends but some misunderstanding forced them apart. Now Trip hope’s to have another chance to have a life with Jamie. In some ways I felt like I was rereading the same book but Ms Leigh somehow makes one think it’s another story altogether. I have a feeling when it’s V K Powells turn to write the third part of this series it too will again start at the same place and time but that story will surely follow Grace Booker and whoever comes along to Pine Cone. Believe me I was just as happy reading book two as I was reading book one. Very nice read.
eARC via NetGalley

I was surprised as this is my first book by the author, but I enjoyed this one even more than the first book in the trilogy! This is the second book out of three books written by three different authors. Each book can stand alone as each book follows a couple. I highly recommend reading all three in order because the town and all the characters are just lovely. I can't wait to read the conclusion of this trilogy. I found some of the overlap a little repetitive, and both the first and the second book get a little bogged down in details and descriptions as they catch everyone up. But it didn't take away from the enjoyment of the book. And I appreciate how difficult it must be for the three authors to coordinate this delightful little series.

Book # 2 follows the love story between Veterinarian Trip and Police Officer Jamie. Trip and Jamie knew each other once upon a time in college, where they were teammates and best friends. They had an odd falling out and hadn't seen each other since, until Jamie arrives in town with her drug-sniffing dog and her penchant for putting parking tickets on Trip's truck.

There was just something about the characters or the way that this book was written that let me connect instantaneously to the characters and the story. I was immersed and invested form the very beginning. I loved every minute of the romance and every minute discovering the town of Pine Cone and it's residents was just as entertaining and fulfilling.

As always seems the case in books, Petunia the dog stole the show!

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Take a Chance (A Pine Cone Romance #2) was the second book of a three part series about three friends living in the small city of Pine Cone, Georgia. This was an ARC copy so I had no chance to read the first book and even though this can be read as a stand-alone, I felt like jumping in halfway.

I am not a fan of grown women behaving like the dude-bros Trip and her friend Clay obviously are. And what’s up with all the horse metaphors when talking about ‘hunting’ for a potential woman… puhleeze *insert eye-roll*

The vet part of the story was entertaining, so was the parking ticket part. But I did not understand most of the weirdness that was Dana and Grace. I guess (hope) that’s mostly going to be explained in book three, but it felt weirdly disjointed. Come to think of it so was whatever was going on between Clay and River.

D. Jackson Leigh’s style reminded me a bit of Radclyffe at times and I guess the whole noble butch type is not really my cup of tea. The plot leaned heavy on sentiment in everyone involved getting there happy ending. It felt all a tad too convenient. I did have a soft spot for flatulent wonder dog Petunia.

Will I read book one and three? The jury is still out on that one.

A very good second in the Pine Cone Romance series. I really enjoyed it regardless of the repeating parts. I'm looking forward to the last one in the trilogy.

’m enjoying the Pine Cone series. Fantastic set of characters inhabiting a small town. The combination of three romances, one per book and author, could have been a bit jarring, especially when the main leads intersect, but so far both writers have handled the complexities really well. The third book will be even harder to write, but I’m confident of a good outcome as the writers have clearly worked hard on a shared spreadsheet. Clever stuff, but it’s not just about the intelligence of the shared writing project, the romance in this book was sweet too.

I liked the story and love the author but it was a little challenging to read. It's the second in a trilogy written by three different authors. A Pine Cone Romance. I thought it was going to be similar to one author writes a story and the second author writes a story and so on. The way this reads, each author writes their story and overlaps with the other. Basically, where one stops the other will jump in and take over. If you are going to read this book, I would start from the first one. It will help to understand this one better.

href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40168090-take-a-chance" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Take a Chance" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1526665882m/40168090.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40168090-take-a-chance">Take a Chance</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3447277.D_Jackson_Leigh">D. Jackson Leigh</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2452843189">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
This is #2 in the Pine Cone Romance trilogy (written by three different authors). <br />Main characters Trip (veterinarian) and Jamie (police officer) shine in this romance with humour, some angst and sex. They are ably supported by Jamie's four legged sidekick Petunia and assorted human and animal friends. Overlapping scenarios aside, I really loved the vein of humour woven beautifully throughout the plot and the author tackled the sticky subjects of PTSD and veteran's homelessness with a sensitive touch. <br />Ms. Leigh has written an enjoyable book worthy of 4 stars.<br />I rec'd an ARC from NetGalley/Bold Strokes Books for an opinion.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31134832-gail">View all my reviews</a>

So, this is book two in the loosely connected Pine Cone series with each book written by a different author, they share a setting and some of the same characters but each focus on a different romantic pairing. Apparently (I looked it up) a "pinecone moment" is a moment when two characters connect and realise they're in love, i.e. in The Sound of Music Maria unwittingly sits on a pointy pinecone at the dinner table and shrieks, much to the Captain's disapproval. Later he admits that that was when he fell in love with her. (All together now, awwwww). Basically, pinecone = mushy!

I hope that using this name for the series and calling the town 'Pine Cone' is meant to be ironic or at least an in-joke between the three authors, because Jesus Christ this book is riddled with cringey clichés. It could could be read as a tongue in cheek piss-take of the genre and the 'rulebook for lesfic romance', or you could just not read this book at all (you wouldn't really be missing out - I mean butch with androgynous name plays the field because she had her heart broken and now can't trust anyone. New girl arrives in down, hot but has a mysterious past; we've all read that book!). As I read this on my kindle, every time I came across yet another cliché I'd highlight it and make a note, I don't think I've ever had so many notes on a single book. I won't list them all here but we have the poor inner-city kid done good, (she escaped the dangerous projects downtown and went to College), we have our two heroes playing basketball against the local thugs to re-claim the cracked basketball court for the boys & girls club (everybody's a winner in the end)

"Trip" our local butch is a white Georgia farm and mansion owner with black live in staff, which makes me slightly uncomfortable, there's even a scene where Trip tells Jamie not to pick up after herself as Essie, the housekeeper will enjoy picking them up in the morning! This is later explained away as keeping the old lady going, but still, it's weird). More subtle racism is evident in describing to a POC's skin as "caramel" and "latte". Alex K. Thorne wrote a good blog post about how this fetishises skin colour on the Ylva site (https://www.ylva-publishing.com/2018/...) that really made me aware of just how common a trait this is and more importantly how weird it would be to describe white skin as yoghurt or flour etc.

I could go on but I'm getting pissed off again now, so I'll stop.

Oh wait, there are so many discussions about dog fart and horse semen it's bloody hilarious!

If you really want to read a book by this author read Swelter

This is the 2nd book in a 3 book series. Each book concentrating on one of the three main characters. The first book was about Clay. This one was about Trip. And I am assuming the third book will be about Grace. I liked the first book and was looking forward to this second book. There were some interesting storylines, such as Petunia, the service dog, flatulant problem but I felt like the author was trying to throw in too many causes. There was ptsd, drug runners, veterans dreams, neglected girls and boys clubs, rescue center for unadoptable dogs. Not to mention the reuniting love story that I felt were better teammates than lovers, but whatever. Then there was the epilogue that seemed to sweetly solve all the above mentioned problems and added a dash of marijuana spiked brownies. Onward to book three.