Review: Strong and stubborn hero meets his match
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 9, 2013
When Maddie inherits a house, she has no idea its history -- and that of the people who have lived there -- will change her life forever. Boone comes home after the death of his father, only to discover the estrangement between them had grown deeper than he'd ever imagined. Not only had Boone's father never tried to reach out to him, the man had willed their ancestral home to a stranger. Now the woman has showed up to claim her property, and because of the deal made by his father, if she leaves, the home could end up going to an enemy from long ago. Boone is damned if she stays, and damned if she doesn't. So how can he let himself keep finding things about Maddie that make him long for all the love he's sure he will never be worthy to have?I enjoyed the interaction of Boone and Maddie in this story. The heroine was equally as strong as her hero, and I found that appealing. I read it in big gulps, like a great cup of coffee in the morning. The writing was strong, with believable reasons why the characters acted as they did. The interrelationships were complex. I had the sense that this was an old family and that its ties to the community were deep. Maddie's deceased father plays into Boone's family history in ways that made me wonder if she and Boone were going to end up being related. Who was related to whom took a little backtracking for me to figure out, but the story revealed all the details eventually, in a satisfying way.Boone was a great hero in every sense, and Maddie the woman who keeps him rooted in the land he loves. She had a strong sense of honor and duty, and was true to herself and her beliefs. I liked her from the beginning. The secondary characters were well developed and fun to read. I especially liked Jim, the ranch hand who worked for Boone, but wasn't afraid to put him in his place.I'll be looking for the other books in this series, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend this one to any reader wanting a solid contemporary romance.