In Love with the Bronc Rider by Judy Duarte
In Love with the Bronc Rider by Judy Duarte
June 2008
Silhouette Special Edition
ISBN: 978-0373249077
www.judyduarte.com
If you read the first book in Duarte’s “The Texas Homecoming” series, Romancing theCowboy, then you’ve already met Matt Clayton, a grumpy ex-rodeo rider with more than a few rough edges, and Tori McKenzie, a stubborn woman who works as the housekeeper at the Rocking C ranch. Matt knew what it felt like to be bested by broncs and a car wreck that shattered his old life, but he truly met his match when Tori decided he needed to put the past behind him and live. But could she put her own secrets behind her as easily?
Matt was the driver in a fatal car accident that killed his fiancée and her son. When the story opens, he is weighed down with guilt and grief for their loss, as well as anger toward the boy who caused the accident. There is some doubt Matt will ever be able to walk again, much less ride. Some days, he feels like shutting himself in his room and giving up. But then Tori starts prodding him to begin physical therapy. As Matt retreats behind a prickly wall of surly putdowns, Tori becomes even more determined to help him get his life – and his legs – back. But she is fighting her own demons – dysfunctional siblings who have betrayed her and cost her the one thing she values most. Her career as a nurse.
The theme of the book – that you must be able to forgive in order to heal and move on with your life – is a powerful one that will resonate with anyone who has suffered a great loss, or great betrayal. While trying to heal each other, both Matt and Tori learn to heal themselves by forgiving those who have hurt them. And you’ll probably guess that Granny, Matt’s elderly mother and Tori’s employer, could always see beyond their loneliness and prickly defenses to the tender, loving people they once were – and could become again.
This is the kind of love story that simmers hotter and hotter until it fairly sizzles. The ending is also emotionally satisfying, a real winner. Matt and Tori are clearly made for each other and the reader is so relieved when they finally realize it.
- Reviewed by Donna Maloy
