The Rancher’s Twins

by Carol Ross

A combination of the tangles that both city and country life can bring, a sweet romance, a heroine trying to do what is right, adorable twins, and a handsome cowboy—that’s a winning formula for a non-formulaic Harlequin Heartwarming novel by Carol Ross. In the first book of the series, Return of the Blackwell Brothers, Ross introduces a plethora of characters and the many connections inherent in a small town. Because I was not reading an ebook version, with its built in search function, I took some notes on the characters and their relationships. It seemed like a good idea because, I assume, many of these characters will be in the books which follow in the series. (My desire for notes surely doesn’t relate to the creep of age!)

I absolutely loved The Rancher’s Twins. As an educator, I found myself nodding approval as the main character, Lydia, applies practical techniques to teaching the almost kindergarten age twin girls, known to be a handful. She verbally prepares them for events, sets expectations, and makes learning fun and active.

Lydia is running away from a situation in Philadelphia that could cost her her life. Jon Blackwell is expecting a ranch-experienced nanny. When a city girl arrives on his doorstep, he can’t help seeing her through the distortion of pain left by his ex-wife. Lydia has no expectations of, or desire for, romance; she just wants safety and anonymity temporarily in Montana.

I kept turning pages in this book as fast as I could with some “oohs” and “ahs,” lots of nodding and smiles, a few chuckles, and, at the end, a few tears. Lydia is strong and nice and quite capable in many areas. What she doesn’t know, she is willing to learn. I never got bored watching Lydia grow into her position on the ranch and interact selflessly with her new acquaintances in town. Meanwhile, her boss, rancher Jon Blackwell, needs to come to grips with his own emotions as he decides whether or not to ask Lydia to stay on as nanny after a two-week trial period. As the storyline progresses we learn the backgrounds of Jon and Lydia that helped shape their characters.

I highly recommend The Rancher’s Twins and am looking forward to reading the next book in this series: The Rancher’s Rescue by Cari Lynn Webb. Just thinking about The Rancher’s Twins makes me smile. In this rough and tumble, stressful world, I think that is awesome!

I would like to extend my thanks to the author, Carol Ross, for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Romance

Notes: 1. Thanks to Laurie at Cozynookbks (https://cozynookbks.wordpress.com) for recommending Harlequin Heartwarming books and connecting me with the authors of this series.

  2. Clean in terms of language and sex; the romance is not syrupy. 

Publication:  August 1, 2018—Harlequin Heartwarming

Memorable Lines:

He knew it was far from poetic, but he and the girls were like the parched ground after a long drought, eager and hungry to soak up every bit of life-giving water they could get. And this nanny… This nanny was the rain.

Wrangling a pair of out-of-control twins and sparring with their irritable father seemed like a cake-walk compared to what she was running from.

“…hurricane-force winds don’t blow as fast as gossip in this town.”