Book Review: "A Cowboy's Touch" by Denise Hunter

Summary from BN.com: Abigail Jones intends to spend just one summer in middle-of-nowhere Montana with her Aunt Lucy. Time away from her job is just what Abigail needs to reassess her life. The slow pace has her breathing deeply for the first time in years. And the majestic scenery encourages her to get reacquainted with herself . . . and God.

What she didn't count on was the handsome widowed cowboy who owns the ranch where her aunt lives. When the rancher loses his daughter's nanny, Abigail decides to lend a hand for the summer.

Wade Ryan can't help being attracted to Abigail. But he's given up everything to protect his daughter, and he's not about to risk it all on a pretty face.

Under Abigail's care, Wade's home and daughter thrive. And with Wade's touch, Abigail's heart feels at home at last. But Abigail knows this elusive rancher is hiding something. Will her own secrets separate her from the cowboy who finally captured her heart?

Maybe it's just been me, but lately none of the contemporary romances that Thomas Nelson has been putting out are really doing anything for me. Even though I had loved all the authors' previous works, I just having been feeling too big a fan of the latest releases. I don't know if romance is just not my thing currently or just how it is being portrayed in the stories.

This book is about Abigail who is a journalist who is taking a health related vacation in Montana where she comes across Wade, a former rodeo cowboy in hiding. She becomes his daughter's nanny and begins writing an investigative article about him behind his back but then falls in love with him. Then the story gets a bit predictable. Abigail thinks she can solve everything by doing the article without Wade finding out and of course he does and then all sorts of hijinks happen until the end where they reconcile and end up happily together even though they've known each other only 3 months. I feel like I recently read a story like this in The Queen of New Beginnings and I felt that the story was better handled in that book. This book just seemed very predictable without any twists or turns that would give it a fresh take on the story. Also I felt that the revealing of what happened to Wade's wife happened far too late in the story and by then it seemed not to matter any more.

Hunter writes well and I do love her other books. I did find the story engaging and I grew to enjoy the setting and characters. If you're a fan of cowboys and the western part of the country mixed with your romance, you'll probably enjoy this book. I just wished that the story had taken a different route and explored new ground.

A Cowboy's Touch by Denise Hunter is published by Thomas Nelson (2011)

This review copy was provided by a publicist