Holly’s review of In Love with Her Boss (Montana Mavericks) by Christie Ridgway
Lori Hanson had come to Whitehorn to start over-not to fall head over heels in love with her boss! For she knew better than to risk her heart-her life-on another man. Besides, Josh Anderson was too attractive, too nice and…too dangerous. Nice because he cared about her. Dangerous because he made her want to care about him.
Josh’s alluring receptionist had secrets and fears she couldn’t let go of, and all Josh wanted was to hold her in his arms and make everything better. Okay, so that wasn’t all he wanted. Lori’s presence made it all but impossible to work–except to count the ways to capture her heart!
I’m slowly working my way through Ridgway’s backlist. This is one of the books I got from Abooktrader.com.
This was a sweet story. Ridgway is a master at writing the perfect balance between light and dark. Her books are always interspersed with sweet, light love stories and gritty, darker emotional issues. This book is no exception.
Lori has moved to Montana to escape her past and start fresh. She was in an abusive marriage and wants to get away from the town where her ex lives. Before her mother died, she told Lori about Whitehorn – where she grew up – and Lori thinks she might be able to put some roots down there. She gets a job with a temp agency and her first assignment is taking over for the receptionist at Anderson Construction while she goes on maternity leave.
Josh is surprised when he meets his new receptionist. She gorgeous and immediately starts getting under his skin. Only she keeps sending out mixed signals and he isn’t sure if she’s really attracted to him or not. When he realizes she’s been abused and is scared of him, he goes out of his way to make her feel comfortable. And to earn her trust.
I really liked Josh’s character. He was a very strong man, sweet and caring. The way he treated Lori, both before and after he learned about her past, really touched me. He was a little on the shy side and had a kind of aw-shucks attitude that really worked. He was just what Lori needed.
I enjoyed Lori’s character, too, though more in the beginning than toward the end. I understood the reasons she pushed Josh away in the end, but I still became frustrated by it. I was also frustrated by her actions at the end. I can’t put my finger on what exactly bothered me, but I think it might be the inconsistencies of her actions vs thoughts. She kept saying she had to leave so she could protect Josh, yet she’d think she had to leave because she refused to be taken care of or rely on someone else. She realized her mistakes, so I was able to forgive her, but it was touch and go for a chapter or so there.
I was also disappointed that it ended as it did, without finding out what became of the villain – though there are other books in the series so we may find out later.
Overall I really enjoyed the story. It had some flaws but the character are very well suited and Josh really stole my heart.
3.75 out of 5
This book is OOP from Silhouette Special Edition. You can buy it here or here.
I always seem to love the heroes in books where they find out the woman they’re attracted to has been abused. It really brings out the “softer” side of them and we get to see a part of the character that we may not have seen otherwise.
Great review Holly.