McKettrick's Pride by Linda Lael Miller

This is the 2nd in a little mini-series that Miller has written about some modern McKettrick men. It isn't necessary to read any of the rest of the series or other books about the McKettrick's, but it is a little nice for background. To me, this was actually one of the better ones.

Echo Wells has just moved to town to open a bookstore, and in the process she nearly runs over handsome Rance McKettrick. Ranch is a widower with two young daughters who spends his time mostly away from his home on big business deals. He doesn't really need to work, but it helps with the pain of losing his wife. Initially wary of Echo he finds himself attracted to her and wanting to protect her. But there's not much to be protected from in their town, or is there?

Echo was a great character. Unlike most of the other women roles in the McKettrick series, she wasn't volatile or super-independent. Not that those things are bad at all, it just made for a nice change from the other books. Rance is a little less likable but at least Miller takes the time to explain why he acts the way he does. He has a lot of conflicting emotions, which is pretty realistic compared to some of her other characters. The side characters in this book actually aren't as prominent as they usually are but they are characters we are all familiar with from the other books (if you've read them that is). They were just kind of there instead of moving the story along. I do have to say that I liked Echo's dog though; maybe its just because she's an animal but I thought her mentions in the book were very sweet.

For a plot this one was actually pretty tame. There wasn't a whole lot of serious action or adventure or large plotlines; but there were some minor plotlines carried throughout the book. Which made it seem more like real life than a book because often big events don't happen to everyone and its more the minute day to day life that people deal with. This was a romance so if you're not into the more risque type of reading, you probably don't want to read this one. Miller's writing style is pretty easy to read though and makes for a good book when you just want to relax.

Not a bad book in the series. I definitely enjoyed it and it helped me to look forward for more from her.

McKettrick's Pride
Copyright 2007
376 pages