Sandy M’s review of Truly Madly Montana (Medicine River, Book 2) by Fiona Lowe
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley 7 Jul 15
Fiona Lowe keeps the charm and fun alive in Bear Paw, Montana in this second book in her Medicine River series. This time around it’s Will and Millie front and center. We met them both as minor characters in the first book. Millie had decided to go to medical school, and now she’s home on a break where she’ll be the “best man” at her best friends’ wedding – Josh and Katrina from Actually Montana – and also to bone up on her emergency medicine through the local hospital. What she’s not expecting is Will showing up at the last minute to be the best man as was originally planned.
Will is Australian, so at first he’s not able to get the time free to make it to the States for the wedding. But he finagles the best he can and is able to hop a plan and makes it just in time to Montana. He didn’t take much notice of Millie last time he was in town, and, truth be told, he doesn’t change much this time around. At first. He mistakenly assumes Millie is a lesbian, and that’s when his attraction seems to take hold.
Mille’s had a crush on Will for a while and it’s high time she gets over it.When she discovers his erroneous belief about her sexual orientation, she goes with it. What better way to keep him at a distance? There’s a lot of laughs during the whole thing as Millie does her best to keep the charade going, even going so far as to include the new and first female police officer in town.
Once Will is clued in, though, things heat up very quickly in Bear Paw. However, they both have secrets and they keep those secrets close to the vest for their own reasons. Mille is diabetic, and she hates how people react when they find out, having lived with the same thing while under her parents’ roof. She learned the hard way to keep her condition under control, so she doesn’t need anyone telling her what to do and how to do it. Which is exactly what Will does when he finds out. Millie ain’t happy when he gets to be a tad bossy. And Will’s secret? It’s big. It involves a dead brother and Will’s way of looking at life since his loss. He’s not about to go through such emotional turmoil ever again. Much to Millie’s distress.
I also enjoyed the secondary relationship between the town’s librarian, Ethan, and the aforementioned law enforcement officer, Tara. Two complete opposites due to their way of living so far. Their first meeting is a riot; Tara going in gung-ho, full throttle arrest mode while Ethan assumes she’s his birthday surprise from his buddies. It’s Tara who has so much to overcome and Ethan is the easy-going and charming man who is so right for her, if she could only see it. It does take her a while to open her eyes to everything he has to offer her, though. Very nicely done.
This book cements Ms. Lowe becoming a new favorite author for me. She writes fun and emotion hand in hand and does it well, keeping the reader invested and entertained. I’m looking forward to more books in this series. Or anything else she’d like to write.
Grade: B
Summary:
Sexy and charming Australian doctor Will Bartlett will do anything to help out a friend, even if it means moving to Bear Paw for the summer. Some small-town hospitality, and the uncomplicated friendship of his co-worker, Millie, is just the ticket to shake off the restlessness that’s been gripping him lately.
Millie Switkowski, RN and medical student, is home for her clinical rotation and she’s determined to make this summer so much better than last. She’s got a year of medical school under her belt, her diabetes is under control, and she’s kicked her crazy crush for Will Bartlett, who only ever treated her as “one of the guys.”
But when Will turns out to be Millie’s supervising physician, without warning the summer just got a whole lot hotter than either of them anticipated. With both of them holding onto thorny secrets, can they walk away with their hearts intact?
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
