Judith’s review of Big Sky Wedding (Parable Montana, #5) by Linda Lael Miller

Wedding bells are ringing in Parable, Montana, but Brylee Parrish hasn’t enjoyed the sound since being jilted at the altar by Hutch Carmody. She’s over Hutch now, and running a multimillion-dollar business is challenging enough for this country gal. So she should avoid falling head-over-boot-heels for A-list actor Zane Sutton. He’s come home to his rodeo roots, but Hollywood lured him away once and just might again. Yet everything about him, from his easy charm to his concern for his young half brother, seems too genuine to resist…. 

Zane didn’t come to Parable for love-but count on a spirited woman to change a jaded cowboy’s mind. Problem is, Brylee’s not convinced he’s here to stay. Good thing he’s determined to prove to her, kiss by kiss, that she’s meant to be his bride.

This entire Parable, Montana Series has been filled with fun reading from the get-go.  I like Miller’s writing anyway, but I was especially enticed to keep reading as she filled these stories with people who weren’t the usual residents of most cowboy Western romances.  The heroine in this story first made her appearance in an earlier novel when she was left in emotional shambles at the altar by Hutch Carmody whose own personal history is unusual and whose relationships have been questionable until he finally seemed to get his head on straight.  Unfortunately, getting his life turned around meant that Brylee Parrish was “out of luck.”

Now she is an award winning, multi-millionaire kind of corporate CEO who also has an interest in her brother’s ranch and where she lives in her own apartment.  Yet she is very much a part of that family made up of her brother’s new and pregnant wife, a woman with which has has been in love for years and with whom he had two children long before they were married.  Brylee is one of those kind of women who felt she had no alternative but to pick herself up and move on.  She may truly long for the love of a good man and a family of her own, but she isn’t sure but what her emotional traumas may not allow her to be open to that kind of future.  Along comes a man who won’t take “no” for an answer and before she knows it, Brylee is being pursued in ways she never dreamed.

This is another wonderful Miller romance set in the modern West but filled with people who live in modern times but have cherished the old-fashioned values of home and hearth.  That doesn’t mean that there are some truly different people in Parable, Montana.  They are the ones that make these stories such fun and whose encounters with one another are the source of repeated chuckles for the reader.  Miller’s story telling abilities are legend and her continued popularity with romance readers testifies to the fact that she manages to keep coming up with characters and stories that entice us to keep on reading.  So it is here.  I was particularly anxious to see what she would do with a woman like Brylee Parrish, a person who needed to gain a sense of herself and her own worth aside from her business prowess.  She needed to get past the hurts and the worries of bygone days and Zane seemed determined to love her into becoming who she really could be.  She was a curious mix of assertiveness in her business dealings but terribly lost and insecure in her personal life.  Ms Miller really has done a character study with this woman and I think it is particularly poignant for women reading this story.  I have a feeling that many will see themselves within the character of Brylee Parrish.

I keep expecting that novels in series will wax and wane, that the tension and intensity will falter.  Not here.  These stories are crafted to keep the reader not only informed in the new chapter of the Parable, Montana people but brings them up to date on the doings of characters from past stories.  In addition, these friendships keep maturing and growing more fulfilling for the individuals as they not only find love but manage to embrace deeper truths within themselves and find ways of sharing their joy with others.  There are iconic characters here.  Take Opal for instance.  She’s the housekeeper/homemaker who shows up with her suitcase and stays just until the family in question doesn’t need her anymore.  She married the town preacher but everyone knows that when she’s needed, she’ll be there.  I think every small town or village has someone like Opal that everyone knows and loves.

This was another great read and for those who like stories set in the contemporary West this will be an enjoyable reading experience.  If you haven’t read the series it is worth starting with Book One.

I give this novel a rating of 4 out of 5

The Series:

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This title is available from Harlequin HQN Books.  You can buy it here or here in e-format.  This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.