The Maverick's Christmas Baby - Victoria Pade (HSE #2301 - Dec 2013)

Series: Montana Mavericks: Rust Creek Cowboys (Book 6)

RUST CREEK RAMBLINGS

Rejoice, ye merry Mavericks! As Christmas approaches, we here at The Rust Creek Falls Rambler thought we'd reward our devoted followers with a blind item guaranteed to put a little extra jingle in your stockings. Which rugged Rust Creek Traub has been spotted canoodling with a very pregnant lady of the Crawford kind?

Astute readers will guess we're talking about divorced rancher Dallas Traub, who rescued expectant shopkeeper Nina Crawford from a snowy car wreck a few weeks back. Can these holiday honeys survive feuding families, three boisterous boys and a little bundle of joy intent on an early arrival? Only Santa knows for sure. . .and he might just be bringing the gift of love down the chimney this year!

Good book.  The feud between the Traubs and Crawfords has been going on for so long that no one really knows anymore how it started.  When Dallas came to Nina's rescue during a blizzard-induced car wreck, it opened the door to a peacemaking of sorts.  Dallas has been walking around in a funk ever since his wife deserted him and his sons the day after Christmas the previous year.  Seeing Nina and her determination to make the best of her life has started to bring him out of it, even if she is a Crawford.  There's something about Dallas that is causing Nina to take notice, even if he is older than she is.  Can they each overcome their issues and the long-standing family feud to forge a truce of their own?

Nina spent four years in a relationship with an older man.  He was very set in his ways and she found herself making all the adjustments in their relationship.  When he told her he didn't want kids that was the last straw and she broke things off.  Not wanting to wait any longer for a family of her own, Nina went the artificial insemination route and is now quite pregnant.  She is open to finding love again, but she is determined to make it on her terms.  She is very independent and content to be a single parent if that's the way things work out.  When Dallas comes to her rescue after she wrecks her car during the blizzard she is drawn to his calmness when she is worried about her baby.  She also notices his good looks in a way she hadn't before.  Nina sees his struggles as he tries to make the holiday a good one for his sons and she wants to help.  She knows getting involved with a Traub is probably a bad idea but she can't help herself.  The age difference also worries her, for fear that she could end up falling for someone just as rigid as her ex.  I loved seeing the way that she showed up at Dallas's with the Christmas tree and decorations as a way to thank him for her rescue, standing up to her brother to do so.  As the days went on she fought her growing feelings but couldn't resist being with him whenever possible.  I also enjoyed the way she was able to see the differences between Dallas and her ex.  Opening herself up to him at the end was scary for her but she accepted the possibilities in a way she hadn't before.  I loved how she realized at the end that she trusted him and their love would see them through any changes they needed to make. 

Dallas is still recovering from his wife's desertion and their divorce.  The holidays are especially hard and he's having a hard time finding any Christmas spirit.  Meeting Nina and seeing the way she has taken control of her life is a bit of a kick in the seat for him.  He is attracted to her but wants to resist it.  He worries that her youth will create the same kind of discontent that his ex suffered from and he can't go through that again.  He can't stay away from her and, in spite of their families' feud, discovers that she is changing his life.  I loved the way that he stood up to his family over his friendship with her.  Including her in so many things brought his family closer to accepting their relationship.  I really enjoyed seeing all the things that they did together and how they opened Dallas's eyes to how different Nina really was.  I loved seeing him with her baby at the end and how he loved her like she was his own.  

I really liked seeing how the romance between Dallas and Nina had an effect on both families.  I found it interesting to see how differently the two families behaved.  Dallas's family was cautious and disapproving at first, but were accepting of Nina as they got to know her and see what a difference she made to Dallas and his sons.  Nina's family was really obnoxious about the feud pretty much throughout the book.  They were very vocal with their attitudes and pretty nasty about it.  I loved seeing Nina stand up to her brother over the Christmas tree.  She also told her mom to get over it if she wanted to be able to spend time with her new granddaughter because Nina wasn't going to put up with negativity around the kids.  All in all a very good conclusion to this Montana Mavericks cycle.

A Maverick Under the Mistletoe - Brenda Harlen (HSE #2293 - Nov 2013)

Series: Montana Mavericks: Rust Creek Cowboys (Book 5)

RUST CREEK RAMBLINGS

Sutter Traub is back in town! It's been five years since that handsome wrangler took off for Seattle, but no one 'round here has forgotten. Especially not Paige Dalton, the devoted schoolteacher everyone thought he was going to marry. . .

Rumors abound. No one is quite sure what has brought Sutter home after all this time -- or whether he is deserving of a second chance. But we are betting there's a certain brown-eyed beauty with a special request on her Christmas list. Maybe the power of her forgiveness will bring the mighty maverick home for the holidays -- and for good!

Very good book, a story of reunion and second chances.  Sutter had left Rust Creek Falls five years earlier after a disagreement with his family.  He didn't agree with his brother Forrest's plan to re-enlist and go back to Iraq and he was told he wasn't welcome anymore.  He was in love with Paige and asked her to marry him and go with him.  Paige was in the middle of her teacher training and also didn't really want to leave her hometown.  She turned him down and they were both left broken-hearted.  When Sutter heard about the floods he returned home to help where he could, even though he was still on the outs with his family.  Then his brother Collin asked him to stay and be his campaign manager during his bid for mayor.  Sutter left his successful horse business in Seattle in the hands of his managers and stayed.  The longer he was in town the more he realized he still cared for Paige, if only he could get her to give him another chance.  Both of them are very stubborn and need to get past their history if they're going to have a future.

I really liked Sutter.  Even though his family troubles had kept him away except for very brief visits, his love for his family was as strong as ever.  There was no way he could remain in Seattle if he was needed at home.  He still was not comfortable around them for long periods so he was living in a guest house on the ranch.  He enjoyed helping Collin with his campaign which went a long way toward healing things between them.  He and Paige mostly avoided each other until the night she stood up for him in front of the town.  At that point, Sutter realized that his feelings for her had never died and that he wanted a chance to start over.  I loved seeing the way that he used his memories of her to get her to spend time with him again.  He worked hard to overcome the mistakes he had made in the past and let her know that he still cared.  He also knew that if he wanted any kind of chance with her he was going to have to settle things with his family.  The scenes with his mother and Forrest were incredibly moving and showed just how important family was to all of them.  The more time he spent in Rust Creek Falls the more he had to admit that he missed it.  He had to figure out how to reconcile his love for Paige and his business.  He still managed to make some bone-headed mistakes that nearly derailed them again, before he got it right.

Paige had been devastated when Sutter left five years ago and didn't try to contact her again.  She had been deeply in love with him but unable to leave with him.  She never expected him to stay away.  Now that he's back she has been trying to avoid him.  She can't stand by and see him attacked for standing up for his feelings and then sends him after her to say thank you.  Paige is desperate to protect her heart from being broken again and she tries very hard to stay away from him when he wants them to go out together.  She knows his life is still in Seattle and hers is in Montana.  She can't resist him any longer though and they end up spending a lot of time together.  She continues to try to deny her feelings, even as she has to admit that no other man has been able to measure up to Sutter.  I liked the way that she realized that he was never going to be truly happy until he reconciled with his family and loved the way she got him and his mother together.  She was close with her own family but they also got on her nerves occasionally.  I loved seeing her stand up to them when it came to her relationship with Sutter.  I understood their desire to protect her but I thought they could be pretty obnoxious.  There was one scene where I thought her sister Lani was lucky that Sutter didn't dump a beer on her she was so rude.  Paige still had some insecurities when it came to Sutter and whether he would stay in Rust Creek Falls.  She pulled a pretty cowardly move when he got called back to Seattle and I wanted to smack her.  It was good to see her finally realize that they belonged together.

Marrying Dr. Maverick - Karen Rose Smith (HSE #2287 - Oct 2013)

Series:  Montana Mavericks: Rust Creek Cowboys (Book 4)

Rust Creek Ramblings

It seems as if all we've been hearing about these days in Rust Creek Falls is folks falling in love and getting engaged. But this latest one tops them all. Dr. Brooks Smith, our favorite veterinarian, the most confirmed bachelor in all of Montana, is taking himself a bride!

The fact that he has chosen Jasmine "Jazzy" Cates, his new assistant, a visitor from Thunder Canyon, is only fueling speculation. Rumors are this "love match" is really just a business proposition, but sweet Jazzy may have something more in mind. Can she turn her convenient husband's wedding fever into a lifelong condition?

Very good book.  Brooks has been trying to get his father to slow down.  Both are veterinarians but Brooks's dad won't make him part of his practice until Brooks has settled down and gotten married.  He is adamant on the subject and Brooks is just as determined to stay single.  He first tries setting up his own practice to take some of the workload off his dad.  He needs an assistant to help run the new office and settles on Jazzy.  After just a week he realizes she is perfect for the job. There is also a simmering attraction between the two of them that they fight in order to keep a good business relationship. When his dad ends up in the hospital with heart problems Brooks decides that entering into a marriage of convenience is the best way to take care of his dad.  He asks Jazzy to do that for him, offering her something she really wants in exchange. I loved the chemistry between the two of them and also the way that they were so compatible with each other outside that chemistry.

Jazzy is one of a group of volunteers from Thunder Canyon who have come to help with the flood relief.  She was happy to get out of Thunder Canyon for a while.  She recently broke off a relationship with a man when she realized she was only with him because her family approved of him.  There was no real passion between them.  She has realized that she is a "pleaser" who tends to want to do things that make other people happy, sometimes at a cost to her own wishes.  By coming to Rust Creek Falls she is able to be away from their influence and decide what she really wants.  She meets Brooks in the local saloon and they hit it off.  He asks her if she would be interested in working for him as his assistant as he sets up his vet practice.  Jazzy feels an instant attraction to him but tries to ignore it in favor of taking what sounds like an interesting job.  I loved the way that she took to the job right away.  She has great ideas and is able to implement them easily because Brooks actually listens to what she says.  The spend a lot of time together over the next week and get pretty close.  They have a lot of things in common.  Jazzy realizes that she is falling for him, but also that he has no interest in a relationship because of his past.  By the time he asks her to participate in the marriage she is fully in love with him.  She knows she is risking a broken heart but says yes anyway.  I loved the way that she takes care of both Brooks and his father, giving them a kind of care that neither had had in a long time if ever.  The way that she stood up to her family when they tried to talk her out of the wedding was great to see - she was finally to the point where she was willing to stand up for her own wishes.  I liked her sense of honor when she talked to Brooks' dad later on.

Brooks has been worrying about his father.  The man is a workaholic and doesn't take very good care of himself.  He has asked to join with his dad in the vet practice but his dad insists that Brooks has to be married first.  Brooks was engaged once but the woman broke it off because she didn't like the idea of living in a small town and having a husband with such crazy hours.  She wasn't faithful to him either.  Now Brooks has no intention of getting married, blaming himself and his job for the breakup.  He decides to set up his own practice in hopes of drawing enough business from his dad that he'll be forced to slow down.  When he meets Jazzy at the saloon he is drawn to her but also senses that she would make a great assistant for his new practice.  He offers her the job and as they set it up he is more and more attracted to her.  He fights it because of his past and because he doesn't want to lose her.  When things go really bad with his dad he asks Jazzy for the fake marriage thinking that it will solve the problem.  He doesn't expect the attraction to grow and also to start feeling things he never expected to feel.  It was fun watching him fight those feelings so hard and seeing that it just wasn't working.  When he finally gave in to the attraction he panicked, feeling that he was being unfair to Jazzy because he broke his word.  I loved seeing the way it was his father who straightened him out on what was really happening to him.

The Maverick and the Manhattanite - Leanne Banks (HSE #2281 - Sept 2013)

Series: Montana Mavericks: Rust Creek Cowboys (Book 3)

Rust Creek Ramblings

Ever since volunteer coordinator Lissa Roarke rolled into town with her fancy luggage and metropolitan attitude, Sheriff Gage Christensen has been fit to be tied. Everything about Lissa seems to rub Gage the wrong way. She talks too fast, she's too bossy, she's just too…darned…irritating. And readers, you know what that means. It's only a matter of time before these two squawking opposites find their way -- together!

But there's a rough road ahead for Rust Creek's sexy sheriff and his do-gooder girl. Can Big Sky and Big Apple make it past the first frost? Just how much will a city girl sacrifice for the strong arms of the law?

Very good book.  It's been a couple months since the flood that wrecked half the town and repairs are going well.  They're about to go even better as Lissa arrives in town to coordinate a volunteer effort from back east.  She gets under Gage's skin right away as he tries to fight the attraction by ignoring her.  Lissa has come to do a job and though she feels the attraction also she refuses to be ignored.  It isn't long before they're working very closely together.

I really liked Lissa a lot.  She is determined to do a great job in her first time as project coordinator.  Gage's condescending attitude toward the "city girl" irritated her and made her more determined to do the best she can.  I loved the way she didn't let him ignore her and made sure that let him know she wasn't happy with his attitude.  When he apologized she accepted it and got him to give her the help she needed.  I really liked the way that she threw herself into the work and motivated her crews so well.  It was also fun to see how the townspeople took to her right away and treated her just like one of their own.  Lissa had always been fascinated by cowboys and getting to know Gage was a dream come true.  She knew she was going to be leaving but being with him was something she couldn't resist.  I loved the way that she was so obviously becoming part of the community, but neither she nor Gage could see it.  I also liked the way that she could see his pain and guilt and and also the protector that he is.  She wanted to stay in Montana and be with him and the rest of the town, but thought he didn't want her when he pushed her away.  I loved her statement "I'm going to tell Gage that he can't fool me.  I have him figured out from head to toe.  I'm not backing down this time."

Gage is the sheriff of Rust Creek Falls.  He works 24/7 for the people of his town.  He feels terribly guilty because he was away on a rare day off the day of the flood.  Now he puts everyone else's needs ahead of his own.  When Lissa arrives in town he is attracted to her.  But she is a city girl and he knows that city girls never stick around in rural Montana.  He tries to solve his problem by ignoring her until she calls him on it.  As he works with her he sees the good she is doing and is drawn to her.  He is certain she won't stick around but is unable to keep from enjoying being with her while she's there.  I loved seeing how his subconscious kept picturing her staying with him.  Gage is so down on himself that he can't see that everyone around him considers him to be one of the town's greatest heroes.  When Lissa arranges for his house to be one of the ones repaired he has a hard time accepting it and tells her that it should have been someone else to get the work done.  In spite of her wanting to stay he just can't believe that a city girl will be able to stand staying and pushes her away.  I really wanted to smack him for being so blind.  I loved it when he finally realized he was being an idiot.

I loved some of the dialogue between Gage and Lissa as Montana met Manhattan and learned to communicate with each other.  I also loved the whole episode of Lissa's misadventures driving in the snow and how references to it ran throughout the book.  I enjoyed Gage's solution for a couple of the troublesome teens, and how one of them ended up showing a lot of heart.  I'm looking forward to the ongoing mayor's race and seeing how it turns out. 

The Maverick's Summer Love - Christyne Butler (HSE #2275 - Aug 2013)

Series: Montana Mavericks: Rust Creek Cowboys (Book 2)

Rust Creek Ramblings

The Great Montana Flood has brought all sorts of interesting menfolk to Rust Creek Falls. At the Ace in the Hole, they're all talking about hunky out-of-towner Dean Pritchett. They say the green-eyed carpenter from Thunder Canyon is in town to help rebuild the elementary school. But we've got the inside scoop!

Rumor has it that Dean has a special interest in our Shelby Jenkins. Yes, that Shelby Jenkins -- the single mom who found herself in a "family way" back in high school. She's been fending off the town gossip forever, but Dean actually got into a fistfight trying to defend her honor! Sweet Shelby fears his love won't last. Just what are your intentions, Mr. Maverick?

Very good book.  Shelby is a single mother who got pregnant in high school and then trash talked by the father of the baby.  She has worked very hard to give her daughter a good life.  She has earned her college degree as a teacher and would like nothing more than to leave the gossipy town behind.  She meets Dean while working her job as a bartender.  Because of her past she is very wary around men.  As much as she is drawn to him she has no plans to get involved with another man.  I really loved her independence and how she took charge of her life.  She has also learned to deal with the haters.  She fully expects Dean to leave her alone after he hears the gossip about her and is surprised when he doesn't.  I loved the slow building of their relationship and how Shelby finally accepts that she is worth loving.  I also liked seeing her finally stand up for herself to one of the worst of the gossips.

Dean and his brother have come to Rust Creek Falls to help out with the rebuilding.  Dean is a very quiet kind of guy.  He had health problems as a kid and spent a lot of time alone becoming something of a bookworm.  Many times he'd rather stay home and read instead of going out.  One one of those rare nights out he sees Shelby as she's working at the bar.  He is immediately smitten.  Dean is usually pretty cautious after having been hurt by a woman pretending that her baby was his.  There's something about Shelby and little Caitlyn that fills the void in him.  I love the way that Dean doesn't let the gossip influence him he just gets to know Shelby as she is..  He doesn't really push Shelby he is just there for her all the time.  It doesn't take long for him to want them in his life forever and he starts to look at a permanent move to Rust Creek Falls.  I really loved his thoughtfulness, not just with Shelby, but with so many others also.  

For all that the town is gossipy and into everyone else's business, they are also there to help out when it is needed.  I love all the flood help going on and also how everyone steps up when Caitlyn is missing.

Marooned With the Maverick - Christine Rimmer (HSE #2269 - July 2013)

Series: Montana Mavericks: Rust Creek Cowboys (Book 1)

"Rust Creek Ramblings
Seducing the Schoolteacher?"
We apologize, dear readers, for our brief hiatus in publication. The offices of the "Rust Creek Rambler" were damaged in the Great Flood, but we are now filing our reports from a bar stool at the Ace in the Hole. And do we have scandalous news for you 

We have it on good authority that during the storm, gorgeous rapscallion Collin Traub was stranded with our beloved kindergarten teacher Willa Christensen--alone. In a barn. "Overnight." No one knows why, but Willa could barely stand the sight of Collin before. And now? Oh, readers--we don't like to kiss and tell. But our sources tell us that the sexy Rust Creek cowboy has set his sights on lassoing the sweet schoolmarm...for good

Very good book.  It starts out with the river flooding out half the town.  Willa is trapped in her car and Collin is the one who rescues her.  Willa is glad to be safe but not real happy that it was Collin who did it.  Four years ago she had made advances to him and been rejected.  Hurt and humiliated she does her best to avoid him now.  Being trapped together makes her realize that she was being silly and she and Collin decide to let the past be and become friends.  Over the next few days she sees a side of Collin that she never expected.  The man with the reputation of the town troublemaker has become one who is calm in a crisis and able to get things done.  The more time she spends with him the more she realizes that she is falling for him.  I love the way that Willa can see the good in him and tries so hard to make him see it too.   I really liked the fact that she admitted that she had misjudged him.  I also enjoyed seeing her stand up to her brother and make him understand that he didn't need to worry about her love life.

Collin is the youngest of the six Traub boys and as such had managed to escape a lot of the supervision that his brothers had received.  As a result he grew up being pretty wild and good at getting into trouble.  He had a reputation as a bit of a heartbreaker because he doesn't get serious about any woman.  He feels that because of that reputation he isn't really good enough for anything permanent with a woman so he doesn't try.  This was the main reason he had rejected Willa all those years ago.  He's always liked her and has been amused by her avoidance techniques, but he's ready to end that silliness.  Getting trapped with Willa gave him that chance, but created another problem.  He discovered that he was also very attracted to her.  As they spend time together working on the flood cleanup he tries very hard to fight his growing feelings.  I loved the way that he finally gave up the fight, but he still didn't believe that he was someone that would be good for her.  As many times as she told him just how wonderful her was he still couldn't believe in himself.  It took awhile for him to realize just how much he loved her, but his big moment at the end was fantastic.

I really enjoyed the background story of the flood and how people are coping with it.  This book shows some of the devastation and the emotions that go with it.  I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series and how the people of Rust Creek Falls repair their town and their lives.