BIG SKY MOUNTAIN - Linda Lael Miller
Big Sky Series , Book 2
A Perfect 10
HQN
ISBN-13: 978-0-373-77661-0
August 2012
Contemporary Romance

Parable, Montana – Present Day

Hutch Carmody never wanted to get married. Well, maybe he would have married Kendra Shepherd, but she threw him over the minute some titled Englishman came waltzing into town and dangled his English castle in front of her eyes.  And now, years later, Brylee Parrish manages to get Hutch here, inside church, of all places.  Hutch is standing at the altar, Brylee is walking toward him, all smiles and glowing, and all he wants to do is bolt.  Hutch really tried to end this event.  He tried to tell her over and over again, but Brylee wouldn't listen, and now he has to stop this fiasco before it's too late. His step-brother, Slade, advises Hutch to run fast after shocking everyone in the building, so they leave the church and head back to the ranch.

When the wedding party returns home early, Kendra Shepherd wants to run as far as she can. No way does she want to be in the same room with Hutch Carmody; that's why she didn't attend his wedding. Hutch is absolutely not supposed to be here; instead, he should be off with Brylee on their honeymoon. But they're all back from church early, gathered at Slade and Joslyn's home, waiting for the luncheon she promised.  Kendra's adopted four-year-old daughter, Madison, takes one look at Hutch in his cowboy hat and jeans, and falls in love, little girl style.  Hutch has charmed the child in an instant, but all Kendra wants is to be far, far away. She and Hutch were lovers once, before Jeffery Chamberlain swept her off her feet and proposed. Kendra kept waiting for Hutch to jump in and claim her as his, to rescue her, like a knight of old. Instead, she married Jeffery; then divorced him; and later, was at his side while he died. Even after all that, Kendra would melt into a puddle of goo if Hutch just once gave her any indication that he still cared.

BIG SKY MOUNTAIN is the second book in Ms. Miller's Big Sky series and it's a BIG winner! Following BIG SKY COUNTRY (June 2012), BIG SKY MOUNTAIN is the story of star-crossed lovers Hutch Carmody and Kendra Shepherd. After years of separation, time and other people have come between them, but nothing has stopped their feelings, no matter how they each try to deny it. Hutch barely escaped the clutches of Brylee Parish, and now he has to face the scorn of the entire town of Parable, not to mention every man-hater on the internet as well in the wake of the wedding-that-was. Hutch never stopped loving Kendra, and he wonders if she could love him again.  So, he makes it his mission to get to know Kendra all over again, and if he has to do that by charming little Madison, then that is exactly where he'll start. Meanwhile, Kendra tries to avoid Hutch and any entanglement with the man. She still cares for him, and that's the problem. If she lets him get into her heart again, he'll break it, sure as he did when he let Jeffery take her away; sure as he did to Brylee. Now, if only avoiding him was as easily done as saying the words!

Returning characters from BIG SKY COUNTRY are all here: Hutch's step-brother Slade and his new wife, Joslyn; feisty Opal Dennison, and Slade's mother, Callie Barlow. Hutch's best friend, Sheriff Boone Taylor, is quickly making an enemy out of his new neighbor, Tara Kendall, who just bought the old chicken ranch next door. Boone is refusing to clean up his yard full of junk, and no way will Tara stand for a bird's eye view of the old toilet that's Boone's lawn ornament! Look for Boone and Tara's story in BIG SKY RIVER, coming in December.

With half the town out to strangle Hutch for leaving Brylee at the altar, and the other half wanting him to finally propose to Kendra, BIG SKY MOUNTAIN is an exiting thrill! One of the best stories I have read all year, BIG SKY MOUNTAIN is a Perfect 10 all the way!

Diana Risso