Beautiful, spirited, Texas born Ellie Burnett needs a husband. Fast. Her father, rancher Archibald Burnett, is dying, and she’s determined to marry to protect the ranch and preserve her father’s legacy in Montana’s rugged Paradise Valley. The trouble is, she wants to wear the boots in the family and the man she has in mind, Irishman Thomas Sheenan would never stand for that.
Independent and taciturn Thomas Sheenan isn’t looking for a wife, having spent far too much of his life taking care of others. He’s come to Montana to carve out his own identity, and be his own man. The last thing he needs is a headstrong bride, but when Ellie approaches him with the offer of a lifetime, he can’t refuse.
Thomas didn’t anticipate falling for his new bride. He moved to Montana to stake his claim…he never planned on losing his heart.
Titles in the Paradise Valley Ranch series include: Away In Montana – Married In Montana – Home In Montana –
Title: Married In Montana
Series: Paradise Valley Ranch #2
Author: Jane Porter
Genre: Historical Romance
Published: June 29, 2017
Publisher: Tule Publishing
My Rating: 5 stars
If you have enjoyed any of the Contemporary Romance stories or series set in the small town of Marietta, Montana then you will love this Historical Romance series that looks back to the founding days of the small town we love so much. It’s a fun, and touching experience to recognize so many family names from these stories knowing their modern day relatives as we do now.
Married In Montana gives us a look back to the beginning of the Sheenan family. And the apple didn’t fall far from the tree as Ellie and Thomas’ great-great-(however many greats) – grandchildren have inherited that totally stubborn, bull-headed, prideful gene that runs strong in their ancestors.
Ellie had to marry. She’s aware that her father must see her married before his death – it didn’t matter if it was happily or stupidly in love, simply married. Because of her wealth, or her family’s wealth, there was no shortage of men who would happily take on the stubborn, bull-headed Ellie. None of them would do. Ellie intended to run the ranch, not be some doe eyed wife who stayed in the kitchen – no it was her ranch and she’d be the boss of it. There is one man who fits the type of man Ellie feels she could at least get along with for a lifetime. One man who has no interest in her, or the wealth that the other suitors never try to hide. In a marriage of convenience both parties should get at least part of what they need from the deal. And Ellie has an offer to make to Thomas that he should find difficult to turn down. She never expected to fall in love with her husband.
Thomas had left his homeland to strike out on his own, to make his future with his own hands. Life wasn’t easy in this small settlement, but he’d work hard for what he saw as his future. His plans didn’t include a wife, especially not Ellie who he wasn’t even certain he could stand for more than moments at a time. Yet she made an offer that enticed him. A marriage of convenience might not be a bad way to make his claim to something solid in this new world. He never counted on the woman she became after her father died. He hadn’t expected to care one way or the other if she never left her rooms to face the human race again. He definitely hadn’t expected the sparks that shot off of them, or the beginnings of thoughts for a future that was far more than she’d offered him. He hadn’t expected to love his wife.
Two strong, stubborn, mule-headed people are about to found a dynasty of sorts. First they have to admit that it’s not convenience that binds them and give love a chance to grow in big sky country.
Married In Montana has just about everything I look for in a romance. People who capture my imagination, situations that are tense yet believable, secondary characters that add to the story – and that indescribable something that sparks the belief that this is a couple who will make it against all odds. Thomas and Ellie might not have fallen love the usual way, but their emotions are strong, solid and fit their personalities. By the ending of their story I had no doubts that this was a love match that would endure. And that is what makes a good romance – I can believe in the couple’s reality.
If you love Marietta, Montana stories then going back to how it all began is a treat that shouldn’t be missed. I’d highly recommend this story, and the entire series to any Romance reader no matter your preferred genre.
*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*
Available for the Kindle
