A Rancher's Christmas - Ann Roth (HAR #1472 - Oct 2013)

Series: Saddlers Prairie (Book 5)

A Holiday Change Of Heart

Gina Arnett comes home to Saddlers Prairie to say goodbye to her uncle and sell the family ranch she's just inherited. Her focus is on getting back to Chicago and her high-powered job. Two things change her plans: a sudden blizzard that causes the town to be snowed in, and Zach Horton -- the ranch foreman who tries to convince her to stay.

Gina's boundless ambition is something Zach understands all too well. He's kept his past a secret, and to uncover it, she'll have to reveal her own uncomfortable truths -- and her growing feelings for Zach. He's not the kind of man she dreamed of falling for. But at the Christmas season, all dreams seem possible…. 

Good book.  Gina has come back to Montana to sell the ranch she just inherited from her uncle.  She has no interest in staying there, she wants to get back to her marketing job in Chicago.  She's not happy when she gets snowed in by a blizzard.  Plus, the ranch foreman promised her uncle he'd try to get her to stay.

I had a hard time with Gina for most of the book.  I understood her desire to get back to her job, that wasn't the problem.  What I didn't like was the way she was looking down on Zach because he was a ranch foreman and didn't seem to have the ambition to do anything else.  She realized she was attracted to him right away but since she'd only be there a week she didn't plan to get involved with him.  Plus she figured he wasn't her "type".  She also didn't really appreciate the way he kept trying to talk her into keeping the ranch.  After getting snowed in together she realized that they had more in common than she thought and the attraction between them was growing.  She sensed that he was keeping some secret from her since he wouldn't talk about his past.  This frustrated her but since she was keeping her own secrets I didn't have much sympathy for her.  I did like the way that she started to think more about keeping the ranch.  I thought the solution she eventually came up with was great.

Zach had promised Gina's uncle that he would try to convince her to keep the ranch and stay in Montana.  He and Zach had come up with an idea for a dude ranch that would make it possible.  But Gina was so determined to go back that Zach could barely get her to listen.  He understood her attitude since he used to be the same way.  When one of his deals had unintended consequences he sold his business and looked for a new direction.  Eventually he ended up getting hired on the ranch and found that he really enjoyed it.  He gets a lot of grief from his family about his decision which just adds to his reluctance to talk about his past.  His attraction to Gina is getting stronger the longer she stays but he doesn't want to get involved with someone who doesn't accept him for who he is. I thought he was a really nice guy and loved his non-judgmental reaction to her secret.  I liked the way they finally got together and his part in the ranch solution.

I liked seeing some of the characters from previous books.  I also loved the portrayals of Gina's relatives, especially her aunts.  The two of them with their bickering were so realistic I could practically hear them.  I also loved their obvious attempts at matchmaking.

The Rancher She Loved - Ann Roth (HAR #1456 -June 2013)

Series: Saddlers Prairie (Book 4)

A Chance To Prove Himself

Learning that she was adopted is the biggest shock of magazine writer Sarah Tigarden's life. Falling in love with champion bull rider Clay Hollyer is a close second. Years ago, she shared a sizzling kiss with the handsome rodeo star, only to hear that he was a player who enjoyed toying with women. After her profile of Clay called him on his caddish behavior, she never wanted to see him again.

But as Sarah searches for her birth mother, Clay is unexpectedly by her side. Can this really be the same guy she condemned as a womanizer? As she gets closer to learning the stunning truth about her biological mom, Sarah also finds herself getting closer to Clay. Her head tells her it's a mistake...but her heart isn't so sure. 

I really liked both Sarah and Clay.  After her mother's death, Sarah was stunned and hurt to discover that she had been adopted but had never known.  The private investigator she hired discovered that her mom had grown up in Saddlers Prairie, so Sarah headed there to see if she could learn any more.  She was shocked when Clay opened the door of her mom's old house.  She had known Clay three years earlier while doing a magazine article about him and had been attracted to him.  After hearing him talked about as a player by other women she finished her interview and left, writing a less than flattering article about him.  At first he is quite rude to her, but soon she finds him being nice.  I really felt for Sarah and her search for her birth mother.  She has no family left and is feeling pretty lost.  I liked her determination to find out anything she could.  During the emotional upheaval Clay is by her side.  The more time she spends with him the more she sees a different Clay than the one she saw before.  I really liked the way that she started to wonder if she'd been completely fair in her article about Clay.  She also worried that she was falling in love with him because she wasn't sure if he was still a "no commitment" type of guy.  Sarah also had some issues of her own to face before she could fully open herself up to a future with Clay.

Clay had been a champion bull rider before he got hurt.  Now he is getting his ranch up and running in Saddlers Prairie.  Seeing Sarah at his door brought back a whole bunch of memories, many of them bad ones.  It also made clear to him that his attraction to her hadn't died.  He found himself wanting to help her and support her in her search.  He could see the pain in her eyes when she talked about her adoptive mother and why she had kept the secret of her birth from her.  He tried to fight the attraction but he found that she was constantly on his mind.  He tried to tell himself it was just physical and that he couldn't allow himself to have feelings for someone he couldn't trust not to trash him again.  I really liked the way that Clay was so good at being there for Sarah when she needed him.  I also loved the way that since his accident he has admitted to himself that his old lifestyle doesn't fit him any more and he's ready for a change.  His final admission of his feelings to himself and his approach to Sarah at the end was wonderful.  I loved the epilogue.