Straight from the Hip by Susan Mallery

Straight from the Hip (Lone Star Sisters, #3)

by Susan Mallery

Izzy has always been the fearless Titan sister. But when an oil rig blows up, leaving her barely able to see, her sisters find themselves as concerned by her emotional withdrawal as by the possibility that the explosion was no accident. Are the mind games their long-lost brother Garth has been playing turning physical? Or is someone else out to get them?

When her sisters enroll her in a survivor training camp, Izzy is not happy. Nick, her instructor, is determined that she won't be left in the dark. In more ways than one. But if he tells her the terrible truth behind why he's helping her, he'll never see her again. Unless they're both willing to take the biggest risk of all.

Reviewed by Stephanie on

3 of 5 stars

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This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter



"Sometimes the greatest risks bring the greatest rewards..."

Izzy Titan is headstrong and an adrenaline junkie. The kicker is she didn't even do anything that caused the accident that took 70% of her vision. She wasn't swimming with sharks, climbing rock walls or deep sea cave diving. No, the explosion happened one day when she was at work. Now all Izzy can see is blurry shapes and vague images.   Instead of getting on with her life, Izzy is more comfortable sitting in her room and pouting, watching the world through her hazy eyes. That is until her sisters hire a man to come and kidnap her....

Nick Hollister has a past. One that has left him scarred in more ways than one. He made a mistake several years ago and now he hopes that he can atone for his past sins through the work he does on his ranch. Nick owns a ranch where he holds corporate retreats to bring in the money and brings broken children who have suffered tremendously on weekends for free. He works with the kids in hopes that one day it might be enough to pay for what he has done.

Izzy spends a lot of time angry at the world in general and Nick doesn't usually work with adults. He has taken Izzy on as a personal favor to his good friend and the man who has been like family for the past 15 years, Garth Duncan. If you have been following the series, you know this is a serious problem. For those of you who haven't here's a quick recap: Garth has been trying to take down the Titan daughters since book 1 with a crazy serious vengeance. It's not good stuff. Nick doesn't want to tell Izzy until she decides whether or not she wants to do the surgery that could correct her vision. But will keeping who brought her to his ranch a secret ruin any chances he may have with Izzy?

This was a nice addition to the series. You don't have to read the series from the beginning but it will give you a fuller idea of what has truly been going on. Nick bothered me a little bit towards the end of the book simply because I was getting sick of the "I'm a bad, bad person and I must atone" mantra he had going through the book. It wasn't overdone, I just don't have patience when it comes to that. Izzy also spent a lot of time in the self pity camp in the beginning of the book. With all that being said, it was a really good book and a wonderful addition to the series. The work done with some of the kids will squeeze your heartstrings and Aaron is one of the BEST secondary characters that I have seen in awhile. He was such a sweetie! I cannot wait to see how Dana's story is going to turn out!

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  • Started reading
  • 19 April, 2010: Finished reading
  • 19 April, 2010: Reviewed