Review: Enjoyable read
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 12, 2014
Jillie and Kim go on a trail ride that Jillie found out about from Mack, a cowboy Jillie is enamored with.  On the ride, Jillie comes up with an idea of going on a 12 day pack trail by taking places of two guests who have cancelled.  Since neither of the women have ridden before, this is not a good idea.  But Jillie wants to be with Mack so she talks Kim into going. Thad is Mack's partner and doesn't want the women to go on the trail but he knew they needed the money so he agreed.Not only did Kim lie about knowing how to ride, she is a city woman who looks down on cowboys (anyone from the country)  and always goes after what she wants, never backing down whether she is right or wrong. Thad is even more stubborn so they don't get along at all. Poor Thad is attracted to Kim but is determined to live by his professional ethics of not getting involved with any of the guests so instead of letting Kim know how he feels about her, he is very nasty and critical of Kim. It made me wonder how they would get through the trail without killing each other.The description of the country was so clear that I could picture the mountains and streams easily. I really liked the characters, especially Kim and Thad. I couldn't imagine them getting together and was impressed with the way the author made it work out. Kim's best friend, Jillie, was a fun but manipulative person.One thing that didn't work for me in this story was that Thad or Mack couldn't tell that Kim had no riding experience as soon as she arrived even though she said she did.  An experienced rider can tell at a glance if someone knows their way around horses. Because of this, I struggled through the first trail ride.  I just ignored that part thinking that I didn't enjoy it because I was a riding instructor/trail guide and know it just wouldn't have happened that way.This was one of the books I won this book in the Unforgettable Heroes Box Set.