Waiting for the Rancher ~ Review

Waiting for the Rancher

High Country Ranch #1

By Jody Hedlund

Maverick Oakley just wants to make everything all right. Unfortunately, everything goes wrong when his best friend's bride-to-be gets pre-wedding jitters. Now, Sterling wants to kill him, and the rest of the Oakley family has made him public enemy number one. Everyone that is except Hazel.

For years, Hazel crushed on her big brother's best friend. But she knows Maverick will never see her as anything other than another little sister. But still, she has her dreams. And at least she can work with Maverick as she helps care for the High Country Ranch's mares and foals. 

Maverick is still mourning the loss of his pa and his ma's decline. Worse, he blames himself for it all. And now that he's ruined his friendship with Sterling, he has no one to lean on—no one except Hazel. Years ago, he promised Sterling that he would never pursue a relationship with Hazel. But something about Hazel is just so right.

Waiting for the Rancher is the first book in Jody Hedlund's new series, High Country Ranch, which follows the Oakley siblings. This series is a companion series to her Colorado Cowgirls. There is plenty of romance for those who love that in their historical fiction (kissing and flirting). This is a case of friends to something more with plenty of roadblocks standing in the way. And who doesn't love a book with horses in it? I know I love horses (I have 10). But those familiar with the author's work won't be disappointed, and if you've never read her before, what better way to introduce yourself to her work than with the first book in a new series.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:

In the high country of Colorado,
there’s nothing more important than loyalty . . . except maybe love.

Hazel Noble loves her job managing the mares at High Country Ranch. As the foaling season begins, she gets to spend even more time with the horses . . . and with her secret crush, Maverick Oakley, the owner of High Country Ranch and her brother Sterling’s best friend.

When Maverick unwittingly ruins Sterling’s wedding, he goes from best friend to worst enemy. With the rift between their families, Maverick is faced with the possibility of losing Hazel, and he can no longer deny how much he’s always cared about her. The trouble is that he and Sterling made a vow not to court each other’s sisters, and he doesn’t want to break his word and cause further problems.

Maverick gathers the courage to speak with Sterling about their vow, but Sterling demands that he stay away from Hazel. When a tragic accident strikes, Maverick is forced to finally choose where his loyalties lie—with his best friend or his best friend’s sister. After pushing Hazel away, will he be too late to win her heart?

• Charming flirt
• Best friend’s sister
• Friends to more
• Secret crush
• Emotional scars
• Unexpected injury
• Horse ranch

*All of the High Country Ranch series books are sweet, closed-door romances with plenty of sizzle. The inspirational themes are light, and the book's main focus is romance.

The Last Chance Cowboy ~ Review

The Last Chance Cowboy 
Colorado Cowboys #5 
By Jody Hedlund 

 

This is the final book in the Colorado Cowboys series which has followed the McQuaid siblings as they sought a new life in Colorado. This is a story of mistaken identity, second chances, and new beginnings. In the previous books we were given glimpses of Dylan as he sank deeper into the life he allowed to trap him. But he has seemingly overcome his drinking and gambling issues. Dylan McQuaid was the prodigal son who had to leave when his actions placed him in danger but now he is back having gotten himself straightened out.  As the new sheriff of Fairplay, Colorado he aims to keep himself out of trouble and make his brothers proud. But everything is threatened when Catherine Remington comes to town with a baby she claims is his. 

Catherine is a woman of means whose midwifery skills put her in a wrong place/wrong time situation and she used the opportunity to deliver Dylan's son to him to remove herself from danger. Determined to be a better man, Dylan makes Catherine an offer. There's just one little problem - she's not the woman he thinks she is. But one thing leads to another and Catherine soon finds herself living a life she never expected to have. But could Colorado offer her the safe place she needs?

This book could be read as a standalone but it is better read as part of the series. But no matter how you read this book if you are a fan of Jody Hedlund's books you won't be disappointed in it. It is a historical romance that finds its heart in the family that takes center stage throughout the series. Family is there for you no matter what, even when you make a mess of everything they are there to support you as you start over, ready to offer you a helping hand.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:

As a midwife, Catherine Remington is successful in bringing new life into the world, but she's failed one too many times in finding true love. When she's accused of a murder she didn't commit, she's forced to flee and decides to run away to Colorado to honor a patient's dying wish to deliver a newborn infant to his father.

The repentant prodigal Dylan McQuaid is finally back in Fairplay. Elected as sheriff, he's doing his best to prove to the town he's a changed man and worthy of their trust. When a woman shows up with an infant son he didn't know he had, Dylan is left with only complicated choices on what to do next.

Having grown attached to Dylan's son, Catherine doesn't want to part ways with the infant, but what she doesn't bargain for is how easily she'll fall for the charming rogue, or how quickly her past will catch up with her and put their love and lives in danger.

Bestselling author Jody Hedlund brings her Colorado Cowboys series to an adventuresome close with this page-turning Western romance.

A Cowboy for Keeps ~ Review

A Cowboy for Keeps 

Colorado Cowboys #1

By Jody Hedlund

Greta Nilsson will do anything to save her little sister's life. With the promise that the mountain air of Colorado will cure Astrid's consumption, Greta agrees to become a mail-order bride. But the final stage of her trip to Fairplay, Colorado, is one disaster upon another.  Her expected groom has died, stagecoach robbers took all her savings. With nothing to her name, Greta has few options in a town that is comprised almost entirely of miners and ranchers. So when a rancher claiming to be a friend of the man she expected to wed offers her a proposal of marriage, Greta quickly realizes that is her only choice.

Wyatt McQuaid has been working to get his ranch profitable so that he can send for his ma, brothers, and sister. But starting a ranch in this new land isn't easy. He doesn't have time or the funds to even think about marriage. But when the latest stagecoach arrives in Fairplay after a holdup the mayor offers him a deal - marry Miss Nilsson and, in return, Wyatt will get the funds he needs to expand his herd. But marrying a complete stranger who was set to marry his friend is something that will take some thinking. But Mayor Steel needs the town to grow, to add families of good repute if he hopes to convince his wife to leave the civilization of the East behind.

As Wyatt and Greta deal with their new situation they both have to deal with their pasts. But the past has a way of marking a person and Wyatt and Greta are no exception. Can they see past the hurts to a future of promise or will they allow their insecurities to tear them apart before they even begin?

Without giving away anything - I will say there are a couple of interesting twists that occur that add an interesting element to the story. So be sure you don't jump ahead while reading (I have a family member who does this and then ruins the element of surprise or shock from her books), seriously don't do it. If I had known of these elements before their proper placement in the story it just won't have had the same impact that it did. 

A Cowboy for Keeps is the first book in Jody Hedlund's new Colorado Cowboys series and it is another enjoyable read from a skilled writer. Greta is a character with whom one can empathize, basically kicked out by her family along with an ill younger sister, she is willing to do almost anything to save. But Greta has to learn that going it alone isn't the best way. With her plans crumbling around her she needs to learn in who to place her trust and concerns. Not an easy lesson for any of us to learn. Wyatt on the other hand has a plan to rescue his family from the very situation that he left behind years ago. But he is dealing with the guilt of leaving his family behind, of failing them. Then there is Judd who we learn very little about but what we do learn gives a glimpse into his past. I really like Judd who helps Wyatt see what he needs to see. He is just what Wyatt, Greta, and Astrid need as they live and work together. I'm looking forward to the second book in this series - if the final chapter is any indication of what is to come it should prove most interesting.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:

Greta Nilsson's trip west to save her ailing little sister, Astrid, could not have gone more wrong. First, bandits hold up her stagecoach, stealing all her money. Then, upon arriving in Fairplay, Colorado, she learns the man she was betrothed to as a mail-order bride has died. Homeless, penniless, and jobless, Greta and her sister are worse off than when they started.

Wyatt McQuaid is struggling to get his new ranch up and running and is in town to purchase cattle when the mayor proposes the most unlikely of bargains. He'll invest in a herd of cattle for Wyatt's ranch if Wyatt agrees to help the town become more respectable by marrying and starting a family with Greta. But when old insecurities and surprising revelations arise, can a union born out of desperation survive?