To Wrangle a Rancher

McKnight (Falling in Puppy Love) launches her Hollingsworth Sisters series with a steamy if formulaic contemporary romance. After Olivia Hollingsworth is passed over for the role of vice president of her family’s publishing company, she heads to Montana to regroup while writing a feature on the renovation of her late grandmother’s farmhouse for one of the company’s magazines. Olivia’s plans are quashed, however, by the sight of grazing cattle tearing up the property’s rolling fields. Rancher Kit Granger’s abusive father left him with a mountain of debt that has forced him to sell off parcels of his family’s land. Having the use of the grazing pastures around his neighbor’s farmhouse has helped lessen the burden, but this long-standing agreement is thrown into jeopardy by Olivia’s arrival and renovation plans. Kit has no intention of agreeing to her demand that he remove his cows from her fields—not even after Olivia buys a date with him in a bachelor auction. The sexual tension between Olivia and Kit positively sizzles as the animosity between them gives way to heat. Meanwhile the colorful supporting cast, most notably a housebroken calf named Dog, adds charm. The red hot sex scenes and quirky townsfolk elevate this otherwise unremarkable rancher romance into a satisfying romp. (Feb.)