Book Reviews

Book Blurb

When a cowboy meets the guy from the city, he can't know how much things will change.

On the spur of the moment, with his life collapsing around him, Jay Sullivan answers an ad for a business manager with an expertise in marketing, on a dude ranch in Montana.

With his sister, Ashley, niece, Kirsten and nephew, Josh, in tow, he moves lock stock and barrel from New York to Montana to start a new life on Crooked Tree Ranch.

Foreman and part owner of the ranch, ex rodeo star Nathaniel 'Nate' Todd has been running the dude ranch, for five years ever since his mentor Marcus Allen became ill.

His brothers convince him that he needs to get an expert in to help the business grow. He knows things have to change and but when the new guy turns up, with a troubled family in tow - he just isn't prepared for how much.

NOTE: This is a previously published work by Totally Bound in December 2013. There is an additional chapter and the file has been re-edited.

Book Review

The first thing I liked about ‘Crooked Tree Ranch’ is that it has a cast of multi-layered characters that was great to watch meeting and interacting in this first book, but that I am sure will continue to be wonderful in books to come. Then there is the whole “city meets country” angle with Jay, the city slicker, moving on to a ranch in the middle of Montana to help with the marketing, and Nate, former rodeo cowboy and current part-owner, unsure how someone who has never even ridden a horse is supposed to market his ranch. Well, partly his, because there are other part-owners and they cause a whole other level of conflict as the story develops. Looking at all these factors, I am sure the coming volumes will be as filled with drama and sweetness as this first book. Yee-haw!

Jay is an experienced marketing professional in NYC. He has big plans for an amazing career – when he gets laid off and has to rethink everything. Despite the fact that his cheating ex “magnanimously” offers him a job – reporting to said cheating ex – Jay has the backbone to turn him down. He’d rather start from scratch somewhere far away than have to deal with the pompous so-and-so again. And that is exactly what Jay does. He takes his sister, niece, and nephew with him because they depend on his income, but also because they can do with a new start as well. Montana and the people on the Crooked Tree Ranch are not what Jay expected, but they are mostly nice and helpful – except for Nate who is a right pain in Jay’s you-know-where.

Nate is good with horses, running the ranch, and dealing with guests once they have arrived, but marketing and maintaining accounts are not his strengths. When he finds out some suppliers and the vet have not been paid, he is shocked. Marcus, the man who is supposed to take care of it is older, has been ill, and is clearly not as much on top of things as Nate expected. Nate and his two younger brothers come up with an emergency plan, and even though hiring help will cost money, an outside view and a more professional approach are sorely needed. The guy who turns up rubs Nate the wrong way at first, and their fights and disagreements don’t make things easier. But there is also an underlying attraction neither of them can deny, and the gradual deconstruction of barriers was fun to watch.

If you like family drama and a mystery hiding in the past, if “country” meeting “city” and the resulting fireworks are your thing, and if you’re looking for an entertaining read with great characters and a definite promise of more to come, then you will probably like this novel.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Love Lane Books for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 67000 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	16-November-2015
Price	$4.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-crookedtreeranch-1928330-149.html