I love finding new authors (well, new to me) and Curtiss Ann Matlock captured my imagination from the first page. Her narrative voice is so friendly and quirky—I was pulled in to the character even before I picked up on the plot.
Rainey Valentine is a complicated woman. Complicated in a good way, though. She’s been divorced twice but still believes in true love. She’s taken a little time off from her ‘real’ life to follow a dream—her mother, champion barrel-racer, left her the prize horse and trailer in her will, and Rainey is driving around the country to compete in different rodeo events.
One night she’s driving along the highway when she sees a man stumble out of a ditch. Her overactive imagination kicks into gear and she slams on her brakes, wondering if she hit him. But then she wonders if he’s a dangerous criminal, so she gets out her daddy’s gun, just in case, and goes to check on him. Turns out, she didn’t hit him—his car went off the road and he needs help to get to town. She gives him a ride to her uncle’s, and strangely enough, they start to form a friendship.
His name is Harry, and he’s running from a past he’d just as soon forget. No, he’s not a criminal—he’s a doctor who throws up whenever his patients are in pain. It’s pretty inconvenient.
He comes with Rainey to her competitions and becomes her best cheerleader, and soon they’ve become more—Rainey thinks she could easily spend the rest of her life with him. But he’s got to go back to the life he abandoned, and so does she.
I loved the characterization in this book. The story, the descriptions – all of it. It was a fabulous read. I do warn that there is some language, although none of it was over the top, and I also suggest that if content is a concern, you skip pages 206, 311-313, and the top of 347.
(This book was published in 1999 by Mira.)
Related Blogs: