Can't Hurry Love

June 18, 2012
O’Keefe follows Can’t Buy Me Love with this dark, emotional contemporary western. Victoria Schulman is trying to put her life back together after her husband’s involvement in a Ponzi scheme and subsequent suicide, so she decides to turn her late father’s Texas ranch into a luxury spa. Eli Turnbull has spent years working at the Crooked Creek Ranch in hopes of buying back his family’s land, and he doesn’t like Victoria’s plans for the property. The attraction between them is undeniable, but both are haunted by the past and trying to determine what they want from the future. O’Keefe skillfully explores Victoria’s need to stand on her own two feet and Eli’s struggle to let go of family expectations and old wounds. However, the damaged characters and their anger, hostility, and sometimes hurtful actions toward each other ultimately make for a depressing story that will disappoint readers seeking uplifting romance. Agent: Pam Hopkins, Hopkins Literary Associates.