The latest in the Texas Montgomery Mavericks series introduces Paige Ryan, a self-reliant girl who has returned from college to a town in the Lone Star State, only to meet Cash Montgomery when he's a shadow of his former self. The once-champion rodeo rider got injured by a bull and has been drinking and moping ever since.

TEXAS TWIST contains many characters from previous tales which can fluster the new reader. However we see them from the viewpoint of Cash as he wallows in self-disgust or tells everyone including his brothers to leave him alone. Paige as she tends the bar, assists in the clinic, recalls how she used to admire her rodeo hero and enjoys living alone. That is, until Cash sobers up enough to haul himself back to the house his brother says he can use, having sold his touring vehicle. Paige has rented the place but Cash doesn't know, which makes for a fun meeting. Paige is set on a graduate nursing programme and is determined not to let her former hero get in the way, so she offers to share the space. Are they going to rip each other's hair out? Is Whispering Springs a town big enough for both of them?

I liked that the story involves several animals; a cat keeps Paige company, a pup finds a home with Cash and a lovely mare has been waiting for her mistress to find her. There is a twister in the story, but not for as much time as I'd been hoping. Overall I found this a pleasant adult romance with a realism streak a mile wide.

Try TEXAS TWIST as a change from tamer reads and meet busy people getting on with interesting lives.