Restless Rancher

Ryan delights with the sizzling second installment of her contemporary Wild Rose Ranch series (after Dirty Little Secret). Feisty accountant Sonya Tucker was raised in the Wild Rose Ranch brothel in Nevada, and after one of her friends from the Wild Rose uses money from the brothel to invest in Austin Hubbard’s Montana ranch, she hires Sonya to help out. Austin inherited the ranch from his grandfather, causing an insurmountable rift with his ruthless father, Walter, who wants the ranch for himself. Now he’d rather drink his pain away than work to maintain the place, but Sonya’s determined to whip him back into shape. Though flirty Austin and no-nonsense Sonya initially butt heads, they soon develop a bond. But as they start to clear out all of the junk Austin’s grandfather hoarded, Walter resorts to violence to try to stop them, hoping to keep an old family secret buried. Villainous Walter leaps off the page, making his eventual takedown that much more satisfying. Ryan’s expert pacing will easily keep readers enthralled. While this can be read as a standalone, the ending has enough of a hook to make readers eager for their next visit to Montana. [em]Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary. (Dec.) [/em]