Title:  A Rancher’s Surrender
Series:  Frontier Montana #1
Author:  Michelle Beattie
Genre:  Historical Romance, Western Romance, Cowboy Romance
Published:  October 3, 2016
Publisher:  Tule Publishing
My Rating:  4 s tars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

Denied entrance into vet school because of her gender, fiery and determined Jillian Matthews trained at her father’s side and then headed west to Montana Territory after answering an ad using only her father’s initials and last name.

She is convinced that her skills will override local ranchers prejudice. She’s wrong and handsome Wade Parker, the one who hired her, is the first to make his displeasure public. But Jillian refuses to back down and sets out to win Wade’s approval. Soon that’s not all she hopes to win.

Widower Wade Parker is furious the new vet he helped hire is a woman. The fact that she’s beautiful, smart and wakes parts of him that he thought dead burns even more. Feeling tricked, Wade is determined to send her back east but when the town turns on Jillian and her enemies become dangerous, he steps up to be her protector. And that’s not the only role Jillian has him contemplating.

Titles in this series include:  A Rancher’s Surrender (with more to come)

Read on for my thoughts on A Rancher’s Surrender.  No true spoilers, promise.

For several years now I have enjoyed the romances set in modern day Marietta Montana and the surrounding small towns.  Well, I might as well admit to my addiction to these stories in truth for I find them touchingly full of everyday normal folks kind of love stories – and who doesn’t love that.  When I saw A Rancher’s Surrender I hesitated.  Not because I didn’t think it would be a good story, but because the American West is not my usual reading preference.  Yet… I was also drawn to learning about the Montana Territory that was the actual basis for the lives and families of the people I love to read about from today’s Montana.  So I took a chance.  And I’m very glad I did… and chalk up yet another addictive series to follow.

Jillian was good with animals.  Pets, wildlife, livestock – didn’t matter, she has a natural affinity to helping them when they’re injured, in pain or simply keeping them healthy.  She learned almost everything she knew about animals at her father’s side, and what he couldn’t teach she researched on her own.  It was unfortunate that she was denied the chance to attend school based completely on the fact of being female.  Instead she took her father’s lessons to heart and with determination, spunk and perhaps a prayer or two she applied for a vet position in a small town in the Montana Territory.  If she used an initial for the first name… well, sometimes you just have to prove yourself on the job instead of on your gender.  Or so she told herself.

To say Wade was furious to discover that the vet he’d helped hire was in fact female would be an understatement.  It didn’t help her cause one bit that she was also beautiful, stubborn and brave enough to pull this off.

She had honestly believed that once the ranchers and townsfolk saw that she was capable and able to tend to their animals’ needs that things would work out.  Unfortunately, she was wrong on that and it didn’t take long for disaster to strike and make everything worse.  It just might need a miracle and the love of one good man to save any part of her dreams.

Montana Territory in the late 1800’s is far, far different from the tight knit communities of the area that we have come to love.  I found myself quite annoyed with the people of this area.  In my head, I knew the times were so very removed from today, yet that didn’t stop the feeling that folks were just being stubborn, unfair and holding on to notions that heading out West should have shook them free of.  And of course there are always troublemakers no matter the era.

Wade and Jillian really are perfect for each other.  Their banter and growing romance while overcoming some major differences of opinions was touching, sexy and felt completely real.  It’s always a sweet touch for me to see the protective side of any male character come into play.  Maybe I’m not as modern as I like to think.  *grin*

I’m definitely looking forward to the next story in this series.  I don’t know if A Rancher’s Surrender has won me over to the American West stories… but if has won me over to this particular series for certain.

*I received an e-ARC of A Rancher’s Surrender from the publisher, Tule Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*

Available for the Kindle