Montana Man Book

At last, a book has come along that justifies my guilty habit of swiping free romance novels whenever they are available (but only if they fit certain criteria -- this one fit my criteria of "romances about cowboys.") I have to admit that this is one of the few romances I've read where I enjoyed almost every minute of it. Although it fell into the usual romance tropes, including my pet peeve of oh-so-masculine men and oh-so-feminine women, both characters in this book feel real rather than just romanticized "types." I liked that they both had romantic histories prior to the book (the woman was divorced, and the man had been around the block a few times). The other compelling factor in this book is that 90% of it takes place within one context: a blizzard that leaves two strangers stranded. The dialogue between them sounds real, and there are no pesky real-world distractions from the love story. There are also none of the annoying blown-out-of-proportion miscommunication and misunderstandings that most romances include (which makes me REALLY doubt the characters' ability to have a grown-up relationship with one another).

The one thing that did irk me a bit was the obligatory offspring in the epilogue. There must be some rule someplace that says no romance is complete without a baby or two on the last page. Hey, I like babies, but I do wish there was more diversity in how we envision the happily ever after. (I'd actually give this 3.5 stars if it were an option. It wasn't *that* spectacular).