Review: Love cowboys? This one's for you
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 29, 2011
Known for her Berkley pirate series, author Michelle Beattie proves she's equally at home among the cowboys and frontiersmen of the old west in her new novel, "Another Chance."Feisty heroine, Jillian Matthews, sets chauvinistic tongues wagging the moment she steps into the small, 1879 Montana town. She's replacing the retired veterinarian and, though experienced, kept the hiring committee in the dark about her gender to gain the position.Widower Wade Parker--a cowboy/rancher trying to get out of the debt his late father incurred--was on that committee and is undeniably heated when one of his animals dies, in spite of being expertly treated by the new vet. Worse, he's undeniably attracted to the lady healer, and conflicted about her profession, since his first wife met her end while pursuing a career outside the home.Beattie sure knows her way around a love scene and there's lots of romance here--the Jillian/Wade story, as well as the one between the hero's widowed mother and James, Wade's ranch hand and mentor. There's also the saloon owner, Silver Adams. She's pining after Sheriff Shane McCall, who's apparently smitten with another. I'm hoping their story will be the product of a sequel because it will positively sizzle.The author pulls you into the world of her characters, deftly weaving in the historical feel, with heaps of sexual tension. If you like cowboys, and enjoy a good romance, you'll love, "Another Chance."