Review: A Sweet Romance With a Big Heart!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 21, 2013
This was a very sweet contemporary romance with a lot of heart. It was a story of love amongst tragedy and family made by more than just blood. His Reluctant Rancher is the second in the Three River Ranch series set in rural Montana on Ranches and let me tell you, I love me some HOT cowboys!Zach is a HOT cowboy but a bit of a broken one. He's lived through a tragic car accident that killed his younger brother and seriously injured his father. He's coping with survivor's guilt as well as trying to run a ranch on his own. He's in danger of losing vital financial backing and desperately needs help getting his father functioning again before the investors see any weakness. This is where Desiree comes in.Desiree has her own problems. She's a physical therapist but she's still smarting over the complaint unjustly lodged against her buy a fussy, self-centered crone who didn't respond well to her tough-love approach to rehabilitation. Desiree's approach may be a little unconventional but she gets results. While she awaits the board's decision, she takes Rory up on her invite to come and help Zach's family who is running out of time and hope. Zach's father hasn't made any progress since the accident, and Desiree is their last hope before an important investor meeting.When I heard there was a second book in the Three River Ranch series I was quite excited because I really enjoyed the first one. His Reluctant Rancher focuses on Zach and Desiree, the best friends of Carson and Rory from the first book. In the last novel we witnessed the beginning of attraction between Zach and Desiree. But the fact that she was a city girl addicted to her designer wear and fancy lattes, and Zach was a down home cowboy through and through; it didn't seem likely that anything would work out between these two. Plus, Desiree has a past that makes her keep everyone at arm's length. However, once she moves into Zach's home on the ranch her walls slowly start to crumble. She can't help but become addicted to the clear love and warmth shared in this family and shown to her.I must confess I love the thought of life on a ranch. Wide open spaces, riding horses and caring for animals sounds wonderful! Throw in some swoon-worthy cowboys and I am so there! Zach and Desiree have a lot on their plate but that doesn't stop the heart from wanting what it wants, and there's an undeniable chemistry between these two:The instant they touched, she felt a quake run through him and pass into her. A tsunami of sensations roared over her, his lips, cold from the outdoor air, then warm, then hot. His tongue, sending sparks up, down, and sideways. His arms, so strong, his embrace wide enough to hold even a girl who'd never let herself be caught.As I said before, I read and enjoyed the first in this series: Three River Ranch. I enjoyed this one as well but maybe just a smidge less and that boils down to: Desiree. She was really annoying to me for at least the first 40% of the story. She didn't listen to Zach and his family on Ranch dealings and she was sort of a know-it-all. On the other hand, I loved Zach. He's gone through so much but doesn't want to stress his mother out so he carries so much worry on his own shoulders. I adored Zach's mother as well. She was in so much emotional pain, facing the possibility her husband would never get better to possibly losing the ranch. She never let that affect her manners and didn't hold back from showing kindness whenever she could. I fell in love with this family (except for Celia, that is) right along with Desiree.We get to see Rory, Carson and baby Lulu, also we have appearances from "Blight" and "Blister" the two mother-hen sisters! They were there ready to take charge and solve any problem.His Reluctant Rancher was another win for me with a lovely mix of romance, (some spicy and some sweet), and down home country appeal. I hope Roxanne decides to write another Three River Ranch Romance. Maybe Celia (Zach's bratty sister) will get some love and actually become likable. *fingers crossed*