HER RENEGADE RANCHER – Jennifer Ryan
Montana Men , Book 5
Avon Books
ISBN: 978-0-06-243535-4
October 2016
Contemporary Romance

Crystal Creek, Montana, the Present

Though gossip sometimes has it otherwise, only a deep and warm friendship exists between Wayne Travers, the elderly mega-millionaire rancher, and Luna Hill, a waitress at a local diner. Wayne comes in twice a week. On this particular day, he notices how Luna keeps looking at Colt, the youngest ranching Kendrick brother, who watches her, too. Wayne urges her to patch up the estrangement between the two— time flies, and before you know it, it's too late . Luna takes his suggestion to heart. As she joins Colt at the counter, his heart does its usual flip when she nears.

Wayne's heart fails him, however, and no matter how hard Luna and Colt try to save him, he's gone. Colt is supportive of Luna and kindly takes her to the hospital to see if Wayne has somehow made it. He also supports her when they run into Wayne's hostile family—his two spoiled sons and his greedy sister and her husband. They treat her with contempt as though she were a gold digger after the old man's money.

Hmm! That synopsis above doesn't sound very appealing, does it? Don't worry. Ms. Ryan is a much better writer than I am, and her characters are excellently portrayed. You will like them . . . except those who threaten Luna, of course. Luna studied to be a teacher and hopes to someday set up a place where she can help special needs kids through horse therapy. Just as she must decide whether to take the better-paying job offer out of town, she's given a life-changing surprise.

Our hero, Colt, (and he is just that) works the ranch with his two brothers, Rory and Ford. Rory's love story is told in book four, STONE COLD COWBOY, and Ford's tale comes next in HIS COWBOY HEART.

I usually take notes as I read a book for review, but this time I couldn't stop reading to do so. HER RENEGADE RANCHER is both heartwarming and suspenseful, both a romance and a thriller, a real winner!

Jane Bowers