Today I'm touring Romancing the Ranger by Jennie Marts. Published by Entangled: Lovestruck on March 14th, this contemporary romance features a sexy park ranger who has to face his worst nightmare: a wealthy, 'big city' woman.
I've got an excerpt here to entice you and a giveaway from the publisher!
The Book
Reese Hudson meant to destroy mementos from her last failed
relationship, not burn down an outhouse and incur the wrath of a sexy park
ranger. When the judge rejects her offer to pay for the structure and sentences
her to rebuild it—with the hot ranger supervising—she embraces the challenge to
take control of her life.
Park ranger Wade Baker wants nothing to do with the rich
city girl, no matter how tempting he finds her lush curves. She’s too much like
his ex-fiancée, and if he’s learned anything, it’s that women like Reese don’t
fit into his world. And he sure as hell wants no part of her big city life.
Reese may not know a hammer from a screwdriver, but she’s
working hard to prove she’s not just some pampered princess to be toyed with.
And damn it if Wade doesn’t admire her tenacious spirit. If only they got along
half as well outside the bedroom as they do in it, there might be a chance for
them after all…
Excerpt
“So what were you so
intent on destroying yesterday that you almost burned my park down?”
A faint blush crept up
her neck. “Some stupid mementos from my ex-boyfriend.”
“When did you break
up?”
She consulted her
watch. “About twenty-four hours ago.”
“Ah. You seemed more
angry than broken-hearted. Did he choose someone else?”
“Yeah, himself.” She
let out a sigh. “Brock cared more about himself than he did me. His needs
always came first, and then he told me what I needed. It took me a long time to
see that I have my own wants. My own needs. And he wasn’t one of them. Neither
he nor my father are very happy about my decision.”
Wade’s gut twisted as
she spoke the words wants and needs. He’d known her such a short
time, but he knew he wanted her already.
But needing her was a
different story. He definitely did not need the complication of a woman
on the rebound. A woman who lived a lifestyle that he couldn’t even comprehend.
A spray of water shot from
the falls, and Reese laughed and stepped back into him. His arms came up to
steady her and then she was twisting, tipping her head up, her emerald- colored
eyes shining with an invitation to take her.
And it was too much.
He pulled her to him,
crushing her lips and filling his hands with her sweet, lush body.
She pressed against
him, wrapping her arms around his neck and matching his desire with hers. She
tasted like mint and smelled like summer.
And she felt so damn
good.
Desire engulfed him,
and he yearned to lay her in the grass and get her beneath him. To explore and
touch her exquisite body. He ran his hands down her back, pulling her closer as
he feasted on her mouth, giving way to the brazen thoughts that had consumed
him all day.
He slid one hand up the
back of her shirt. She moaned against his mouth, arching her back and pressing
her breasts up. Her skin was soft, and he wanted to rip her shirt from her body
and feel her bare flesh against his.
The scuffs of hiking
boots in the dirt interrupted his thoughts, and he broke away from Reese as a
couple of middle-aged women rounded the corner to the overlook.
Breathing hard, he
nodded at the hikers, then turned toward the falls to hide his obvious arousal.
The women passed, and
one gave him a knowing smile. She leaned into her companion as they walked by.
“That’s the kind of ranger I’d like to teach me about some birds and some
bees.”
My Review
Romancing the Ranger is a short contemporary romance that pairs a wealthy young woman who wants to take a breather from her controlling father and ex-fiance with a ranger who's ex was a gold digger who left him with a mound of debt and a huge chip on his shoulder.
For the length of the book, I think the basic set-up worked well to cover some ground quickly. I think that a deeper conflict would have been difficult to resolve convincingly in a 150 page novel.
I really liked Reese. She's persistent, adaptable, and determined. I found her attitude to be pretty admirable, all around, even if she's a bit of a pushover at times. Wade was a bit less endearing, but probably only because his emotional baggage was so key to the conflict.
Reading this book gave me a few moments of - "This character is written very well, because I'm really irked with him, but it makes sense that he would react in this way at this time because of his conflicting emotions about even just the possibility of a relationship. But that doesn't mean I like him very much right now." These were solid reminders that I *don't* have to like characters all the time, and can still consider a book to be good.
While the book itself is short, the timeline is not - this isn't a 24-hour romance, which is something else that I appreciated. Reese and Wade spend plenty of time together - enough for me to feel that a deeper relationship was forming. All in all, it was pretty good, particularly once the story was set-up and got moving!
For the length of the book, I think the basic set-up worked well to cover some ground quickly. I think that a deeper conflict would have been difficult to resolve convincingly in a 150 page novel.
I really liked Reese. She's persistent, adaptable, and determined. I found her attitude to be pretty admirable, all around, even if she's a bit of a pushover at times. Wade was a bit less endearing, but probably only because his emotional baggage was so key to the conflict.
Reading this book gave me a few moments of - "This character is written very well, because I'm really irked with him, but it makes sense that he would react in this way at this time because of his conflicting emotions about even just the possibility of a relationship. But that doesn't mean I like him very much right now." These were solid reminders that I *don't* have to like characters all the time, and can still consider a book to be good.
While the book itself is short, the timeline is not - this isn't a 24-hour romance, which is something else that I appreciated. Reese and Wade spend plenty of time together - enough for me to feel that a deeper relationship was forming. All in all, it was pretty good, particularly once the story was set-up and got moving!
While Romancing the Ranger was a bit by-the-numbers in terms of introducing the main characters and the hang-ups that created the central point of conflict, the book was a satisfying read. It's fluffy and light, so if you're in the mood for a quick romance, this could be it!
For fans of rangers, the great outdoors, donuts, contemporary romance, quick reads.
About the Author
USA TODAY Best-selling author Jennie Marts loves to make readers laugh as she
weaves stories filled with love, friendship, and intrigue. She writes
for Entangled Publishing, and reviewers call her books “laugh out loud” funny
and full of great characters that are “endearing and relatable.”
She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of
Colorado with her husband, two sons, two dogs and a parakeet that loves to
tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes
you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.
Her books include the contemporary western romance Hearts of
Montana series, the romantic comedy/ cozy mysteries of The Page Turners series,
the hunky men in the Bannister family in the Bannister Brothers Books, and the
small town romantic comedies in the Lovestruck series of Cotton Creek Romances.
Jennie loves to hear from readers. Follow her on Facebook at
Jennie Marts Books , or
Twitter at @JennieMarts. Visit
her at www.jenniemarts.com and sign up
for her newsletter to keep up with the latest news and releases.
Giveaway
This giveaway is sponsored by the publisher!
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