Review: A Lady Vet Answers a Rancher's Ad
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 29, 2012
I love Western Historicals and this one was no exception.  This one was the first that I have read with feminism as the underlying theme.  It is a story of accepting someone's gifts and skills as part of them and not rejecting those skills because of what gender they are.Jillian Matthews answers an ad and accepts a position to go west to Montana as a small ranching communities veterinarian.  She knows that things will not be easy because there are no female doctors and vets at this time, but even she is disheartened when her first housecall results in the death of the mother cow even though she saves the calf.  This sets a great deal in motion.Wade has inherited the family ranch and its load of debt on the death of his father.  He has so many cares weighing him down which include the indebted run down ranch and his motherless child and now he's on the verge of losing another cow and her calf that will deplete the herd more after he just sold off some stock to pay some of the more pressing bills.  Instead of the old steady vet that he is counting on, he is faced with a shocker.  A beautiful woman comes into his barn claiming to be the retiring vet's replacement.  He is shocked because he was on the hiring team and was certain that he did not hire a woman.  Wade loses his temper because she admits to deceiving him about her gender and she was the one working on his cow that dies and says somethings that he later regrets.Jillian is forced to face down the whole community though she is supported by Letty the merchantile owner and Silver the saloon owner as well as Wade, his mom Eileen and the ranch hands James and Scott.  She has to worry because no one is using her services and someone is trying to scare her out of town.  Many of the men are vocal and threatening about their feelings.  Through it all, Jillian is attracted to Wade, but knows he does not approve of her chosen career.Wade is equally attracted to Jillian but he fights it because his first wife went after a career first and died.  He felt that somehow being a rancher's wife and mother was never enough for her and he was not about to go through that all over again.The story also includes several side stories involving the rest of Wade's ranch family and the Sheriff Shane and Silver that just made it even better.The plot and pacing was great with the action and romance equally exciting.  I was a little surprised by one passionate scene taking place between two non-marrieds because of how the story seemed to be unfolding and the character's personalities and values.  The tension caused by the hatred toward Jillian and the seeming doomed romance between Jillian and Wade kept things interesting.I loved the characters.  I loved how Michelle Beattie made each character have a background and a life no matter if they were a secondary character or the main ones.  I thought the two older ladies Eileen and Letty a hoot and found Shane, Scott and James great friends for Wade.  Silver was probably the character that intrigued me the most.  The villains had me rooting hard for them to receive their comeuppance.Overall it was a good read and I look forward to reading more by this author.