4.5 stars

Texas Bossa Nova is the fifth installment in Cynthia D'Alba's charming Texas Montgomery Mavericks series. My personal favorite of the series so far, it is a sweet but sexy romance that old and new fans are going to love.

Magda Hobbs and Reno Montgomery had a secret, short-lived and smoking hot affair five months earlier that ended when Magda abruptly left town. She has moved from town to town in the intervening months while Reno, along with his twin brother Darren, have been working hard to get their ranch up and running. When Magda's father suffers a heart attack, she rushes back to Whispering Springs and after learning his recuperation is going to take longer than she expected, she reluctantly accepts a job offer to work for Reno and Darren. Magda insists they keep their relationship business only and while Reno agrees, he finds it darn near impossible to keep his hands off his ex-lover. When a snowstorm leaves them stranded together at the ranch, they end up back in one another's arms but will Reno and Magda's romance survive once life returns to normal?

Magda's life has been full of heartache and she is very self-protective. In and out of foster homes after her mother's death, Magda learned the hard way that she could not count on anyone but herself. She spent time living on the streets until her father, Zeb, found her and brought her to live with him in Whispering Springs. Against her better judgment, she gave in to her desire for Reno, but once she began to have feelings for the sexy cowboy, Magda fled before he could break her heart.

In the months since Magda left town, Reno and Darren have been focused on getting the D&R Ranch established. Reno has also been trying to forget the feisty woman that he was beginning to fall for all those months ago. He is a little dismayed but happy she is back in his life and surprisingly, they get along well once she begins working for him and his brother. Reno is still wildly attracted to her, but Magda sticks to her plan to keep their relationship strictly professional.

The relationship between Magda and Reno is such a delight to watch unfold. They both do an excellent job ignoring their attraction and despite their wariness of one another, they fall back into a easy friendship. Darren's presence makes it easy for them to maintain a safe distance from each other. However, once unfortunate circumstances take Darren out of the picture briefly, Magda and Reno find themselves unable to resist giving in to their simmering passion. But will Magda's trust issues come between them again?

Texas Bossa Nova is a blissfully angst free romance between two very appealing characters. Cynthia D'Alba puts a unique spin on what could otherwise be a predictable storyline and the resulting story is quite satisfying. The conflict between Magda and Reno is realistic and it is easy to understand Magda's fears. Reno takes full advantage of an opportunity to end the stalemate between them and this leads to a long overdue discussion of their issues.

Texas Bossa Nova is an absolutely marvelous addition to the Texas Montgomery Mavericks series that will leave readers impatiently awaiting the next installment (which I am hoping with be Darren's story). ( )

Ok, could read another, but could also not read another and not feel like I missed anything. ( )

Magda Hobbs is back with her grit and wit. When she first came on the canvas in Texas Two Step, I knew she had a story to tell and Ms. D'Alba did not disappoint. Magda fools the world with her caustic charm, bad girl image and street girl smarts. On the outside she's built a tough shell so that past hurts can not be revisited upon her heart. To be wanted and loved is her most secret of dreams but the risk for her is far too great to sacrifice the pain of disappointment that has followed her all her life. Reno is her chance at forever. If she's willing to take the chance. As I dive further into the series I'm impressed with Ms. D'Alba's ability to deliver intense stories with the same fluent flow of a less emotional story and come out on top with every one. ( )