Guest Review: Val’s Rancher by Debra Kayn

Val McDougal knows all about heartbreak. First, the love of her life, Sam Turner, left to join the rodeo circuit two years ago. Now she faces a new kind of pain—her beloved father is dying. The last thing she needs is Sam’s unexpected return to Pike, Montana, to take over his family’s ranch, stirring up desires Val doesn’t think she can handle.

Sam knows he made the biggest mistake of his life when he broke things off with Val. He’s determined to win her back, this time for good. But despite the sizzling heat between them, Val keeps pulling away. He has to convince her to trust him—and her own heart—again, especially as the time draws near when she’ll need him the most…

I never cease to be amazed at the arrogance of human beings, myself included.  We take responsibility for so many things over which we have no control–over which NO ONE could ever have control.  The familiar lament:  If only I hadn’t done that!  or Why did I do or say that?  Somehow we assume that in the cosmic order of living and all things relational that our actions or words can bring about disaster or influence the course of another’s life.  Now don’t get me wrong.  We can injure or wound others with words, and often those injuries do indeed change a person’s reactions and influence future choices.  But to take responsibility for everyone’s life?  I don’t think so!!  And yet, that is exactly what Val McDougal seemed to be doing about everyone in her life.  It is her irrational fears that seem to drive nearly every decision she makes, especially in regards to her relationship with Sam.

This is the second in a series of stories about sisters, all of whom had been named for specific kinds of lace.  All of them have their issues and even the sister highlighted in book one continued to have a part of the back story in Val’s story.  All the sisters were deeply wounded by their father’s battle with ALS, none more than Val.  

This is one of those kinds of stories that seemed awash with hurt, old wounds, present griefs, and possibly a love affair gone awry and one that couldn’t ever be made right.  That Sam was willing to face his own mistakes and do whatever he needed to in order to restore Val’s faith in him testified to his maturity and his commitment to their love.  But Sam was only one of the characters who couldn’t seem to be able to get past Val’s irrational fears.  Admittedly he was the primary focus of her fear, even though she wanted her relationship with Sam to be restored and to flourish.  The reader gets the feeling that no matter what Sam tries to do, Val won’t be able to get past her fears.

Yet with all situations that seem hopeless, we romance fiction fans know that while love may not conquer all–in fact it can go serious wrong–there is never really a hopeless situation.  No matter how long a love is put on life’s “back burner,” it will simmer and age and just get better in many cases.  Sam’s time away on the rodeo circuit seemed to be the end of their affair–at least, that is what Val is feeling.  Yet it may have been what Sam needed to discover the hole in his heart he would always bear if Val wasn’t there to fill it.  I liked book one of this series a lot, but I think this second book had a greater level of intensity, due, in part, to the worsening situation with Val’s dad.  That kind of grieving is especially poignant to those readers like me who have experienced the loss of a parent or have had to deal with loving and caring for a parent through a long debilitating illness.  

Ms Kayn has written a novel that will pull at the heart strings and feed the libido that all of us nurture regularly with our love of romance fiction.  The characters live in the real world, dealing with real challenges that often are not discussed but are real and influential, nevertheless.  It is a very good read and a worthy sequel to the first book.  I look forward to reading subsequent stories featuring the remaining McDougal sisters.

I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5.

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