JAKE by R.C. Ryan

Publisher: Grand Central/Forever

Date published:   February 26, 2013

ISBN:  978-1455502448

Genre:   Contemporary Western Romance

Book format: Paperback

Obtained via:  Publisher

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

The last Conway male who is foot loose and fancy free, Jake, has no desire or plans to head down the marital road on the heels of his brothers, Josh and Quinn. Jake likes the ladies and the resident veterinarian has no reason to change his wandering lifestyle. That is, until he meets neighbor Meg Stanford.

Meg left Paintbrush, Wyoming years before. Actually it wasn’t Meg who pulled up stakes and left but her mother. The only reason she has returned to Paintbrush now is her father’s sudden death. Estranged from him since childhood Meg never got over how he turned his back on her. How could a father act like his once loved and cherished daughter no longer existed? Be that as it may, she has a life, a very full and fulfilling life, as a trial attorney in Washington, D.C. With her father’s death she put her career on hold for a week—and one week only—to auction off the ranch and all that goes with it. When she arrives, however, she discovers she has a seven year old step-brother named Cory.

Bemused and upset that Cory will not talk to her Meg is at a loss what to do. When Cory’s pony, Shadow, is injured, she calls on Jake. Jake is quickly taken with not only Meg but the sad little boy, Cory. When the Stanford ranch is vandalized Jake quickly suggests Meg and Cory come to his family home until things settle down. At the Conway ranch he can also keep a close eye on Shadow and make sure the pony is healing. When the vandalism escalates and Cory disappears Jake and his family do what they do best—they stand with each other.  But is that enough to save a scared little boy?

JAKE is the third in R.C. Ryan’s Wyoming Sky series about three brothers who find true love when they least expect it. I’m a huge fan of western romance, particularly historical westerns but contemporaries, such as this series, are a real close second. There is a certain romance to the west, something about cowboys and how they live that makes them a combination of larger than life, but still so very human. I like the Conway family—and not just the three brothers. Ms. Ryan gives her readers a fantastic family with pretty much something for everyone. From grandfather Big Jim to Cole, the father and the two women who have cared for the Conways for years, Ela and Phoebe, they are the kind of family you want to get to know.

This series is formulaic in a lot of ways – for the most part the storylines are pretty much the same with different names for the heroes and heroines and one story melded into the next. The version I read was an ARC so hopefully some of the issues I saw were fleshed out in the final edits—things like Meg goes back and forth how she viewed her relationship with her father as a child. At one point is portrayed as cold and unfeeling and the next as loving and she wonders how such a super dad could have turned his back on her. I also had a bit of a time when she has Meg winning a big case by having a suspect confess in a brilliant courtroom manoeuvre.  Meg is a private sector attorney—it would be a prosecutor who would have brought down the suspect. A prominent attorney would be involved in a criminal case if he or she were defending a suspect, not prosecuting them.

I’m not much for stories that “star” younger children, especially when they are too cute or too precocious. Cory was a refreshing change because he was down to earth and his emotions while dealing with his parents’ deaths and meeting a sister for the first time were well done. When he disappears I wondered why with all the law enforcement there no one used the GPS in the cell phone to track the suspect.

Except for the love scenes, which are well done, JAKE is a cross-generational kind of read. I wouldn’t have a problem with a pre-teen reading it—especially when it comes to Cory and the things he is dealing with in his young life.

Each book is a standalone and do not necessarily have to be read in order however, to truly enjoy they I would.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

 

MONTANA GLORY by R.C. Ryan

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Date Published: November 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-54864-9
Romance/Western
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Tammy
Obtained via: publisher


The third book in R.C. Ryan’s Montana trilogy, MONTANA GLORY, pulls the series together and truly gives meaning to the phrase “gold at the end of the rainbow”.

Riley and her four-year-old daughter have come to Montana to start a new life where no one can find them. As she gets to know the McCord family and its last bachelor cousin, Zane, Riley starts to think she may be able to give her daughter more than just a life on the run. Zane left the ranch and moved to Los Angeles with his parents when he was a child, but he never forgot his cousins or the ranch. Now Zane is back to search for the lost McCord gold and to his surprise, finds himself mesmerized by Riley and her little girl.

R.C. Ryan’s MONTANA GLORY is the perfect ending to a perfect western romance trilogy. The McCord family is bound and determined to find the lost McCord gold and in this final book, readers see that the cousins end up with far more than some shiny stones. Riley and her daughter are just what the ranch and Zane need. And the McCord family, and Zane in particular, are just what they need. While Summer, the little girl, is perhaps too perfect for a four-year-old, Riley is secretive and over protective. Zane is a cowboy with all that entails. The McCords are a close knit family and quickly take Riley and Summer under their wing. The pace of the story is what you would imagine it’s like, to float down a lazy river on a warm summer day; nice and relaxed. The characters are interesting and hardworking. The secondary story, the search for the gold, flows through all three books in the series and serves to pull the stories together.

My only disappointment with MONTANA GLORY comes from the way Riley’s secret is resolved. The bad guys are made out to be comic book like in their bumbling, over the top mobster personas. Readers are left wondering why Riley would feel the need to run from such inept flunkies in the first place. But by then, the gold search has been resolved and the cousins are all headed towards their happily ever afters, so perhaps we can let that go.

All in all, R.C Ryan’s MONTANA GLORY, may not be the best of the books in this trilogy, but it is a sweet and comfy western romance that nicely ties up the series in a pretty package with all mysteries solved. If western romances with happy endings and cowboys riding happily into the sunset with their equally happy honeys are your thing, then R.C. Ryan’s Montana trilogy may be just what you are looking for.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

MONTANA LEGACY by R.C. Ryan

Publisher: Hachette Book Group
Publication Date: March 2010
ISBN: 9780446548618
Contemporary Western Romance
Paperback
Obtained via: Publisher
Reviewed by Penny




Jesse McCord’s childhood best friends were his two cousins. Now with the death of their grandfather, Wyatt and Zane are back. And Jesse is not exactly thrilled with the family reunion. He is sure they will not last longer than a New York minute once they are faced with what it really takes to keep a ranch the size of the Lost Nugget. He is sure they are just there to get their hands on some long lost treasure that their grandfather was certain was buried somewhere on McCord land. And to make matters even more complicated, Amy Parrish is back as well, to care for her ill father. Amy is the one girl who touched Jesse’s heart and then broke it when she left without a word. Can he come to trust her when she offers to help him find the McCord treasure? Can he trust her again with his heart?


R.C. Ryan also writes under the name of Ruth Ryan Langan and is a New York Times best selling author. While I have not read any of Ms Ryan Langan’s books, I am sure she has penned a number of wonderful tales that readers will absolutely adore. Sadly, MONTANA LEGACY did not hit the spot with me.

First off, let me start by saying the format of MONTANA LEGACY that I read is an advanced copy, not the final published version. I hope the published one differs from the ARC that I read. The blurb on the back cover, in my opinion does not fit the storyline of the book. The blurb is all about Amy and there is much more to this story than just Jesse and Amy. Also, the blurb says that “Jesse’s not about to give her a second chance…” That lasted about a minute. It did not take very long before he was more than happy to let her back into his arms by my way of thinking.

Also, is this bad-ass group of guys that the McCord cousins get into a barroom brawl with cowboys or bikers? I hope that got sorted out in editing before MONTANA LEGACY hit the press. Oh, and just what is Amy’s father’s illness again? Oh that’s right…the book doesn’t say. That is frustrating.

The dialog through out the book felt stilted and forced, the characters are not well rounded and believable. These are supposed to be rough cowboys, but the prose that came out of their mouths was more belonging to a female. I just did not buy it.

While I struggled to finish this book, the who-done-it held a twist that was unforeseen. It was a pleasant surprise that I enjoyed. Unfortunately had this been a book that I had bought to read for pleasure versus a review book I would have never made it to the ending. It is a case of too little, too late.

MONTANA LEGACY was not a book for me. However, I sincerely hope that the next two books in the series, the cousins’ stories are huge successes.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book