Big Sky Country by Linda Lael Miller Review and Giveaway

I’m so excited that I got to review another Linda Lael Miller book. This time it’s for Big Sky Country. The other ones that I’ve done in the past were Creed’s Honor, A Creed in Stone Creek, The Creed Legacy and A Lawman’s Christmas. I apparently love her books, and I love to read them. She writes wonderful Romance books, and this newest one is right on point.

Here is the synopsis of Big Sky Country:

Two hostile half brothers—one legitimate and one not—are each left half of their deceased father’s prosperous ranch, but even this sprawling estate isn’t big enough for these two feuding cowboys.  They’re headed for one big final showdown—winner takes all.  BIG SKY COUNTRY (Harlequin HQN, June 2012, $7.99 U.S./$9.99 CAN.), is the first book in the new series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller, set in Parable, Montana—where rugged cowboys and feisty cowgirls abound.

It’s the secret that’s not much of a secret in the small rural town of Parable, Montana—that County Sheriff Slade Barlow is the illegitimate son of wealthy rancher John Carmody. But Slade’s existence has never once been acknowledged by his father, who lavished all his resources and attention on his legitimate son, Hutch Carmody, while Slade grew up barely scraping by with his mother in a small trailer attached to her hair salon, the Curly Burly. With the town’s whispers fueling their hatred, Slade and Hutch have spent their whole lives brawling with each other.

So when the half brothers are notified upon their father’s passing that according to his wishes the very profitable Whisper Creek Ranch and the fortune that goes with it is to be divided equally between them, both are left stunned.

But Hutch has no plans of sharing anything with his half brother. After all, he’s the golden boy who’s been groomed since birth to become master of Whisper Creek and he’s determined to get his way. He makes Slade a whopper of an offer for his share of the ranch, but Slade is in no hurry to give in to Hutch, who’s always had everything handed to him on a silver platter, including the attention of the beautiful Joslyn Kirk, former town prom queen and spoiled brat who slunk out of Parable years ago in disgrace but now is back….

Parable is the one place Joslyn Kirk swore she’d never set foot in again. She was a self-centered little rich girl back then until her stepfather cheated everyone in town out of their savings and she and her mom were forced to slink out of Parable in the middle of the night like criminals. But Joslyn spent years working to secretly pay back—out of her own hard-earned money—everyone her stepfather had bamboozled. Now Joslyn is home to face the people she ran away from years ago. But people in Parable haven’t forgotten the past and aren’t so accepting.

Slade wants to convince Joslyn that she’s not responsible for her stepfather’s mistakes. She has nothing in her past to apologize for. But Slade isn’t so comfortable with his own family issues.

Why doesn’t he sell the ranch to Hutch? Is it because he wants to claim his birthright, or is he just making things difficult for his half brother? Either way, Hutch is going to force Slade’s hand. These cowboy brothers are heading for a final Wild West showdown in front of the whole town with everything riding on the outcome.

The book was wonderful and really drew me in! It’s a believable story and I can’t wait to see how it all works out with Hutch when I get to review Big Sky Mountain, the next book by Linda Lael Miller! I really love series because it seems to keep the characters I adore going some more. Because I always hate it when a book ends.

You can follow the whole blog tour and see snippets of the book by just going to the Big Sky Country Blog Tour page!

Here is my feature of the book:

Slade was not a quick-tempered man—by nature, he tended to think before he spoke and offer whatever response he might make with quiet deliberation, traits that had served him well over the several years since he’d been elected sheriff—but the edge in his half brother’s tone brought heat surging up his neck to pound behind his ears.

“Maybe that was it,” he drawled with quiet contempt as the office door whispered open behind them.

Hutch, who had just shoved back his chair as if to leap to his feet, ready to fight, thrust a hand hard through his shock of brownish-blond hair instead, probably to discharge that rush of adrenaline, and stayed put. He all but buzzed, like an electric fence line short-circuiting in a thunderstorm.

Slade, though still confounded by his own invitation to this particular shindig, took a certain grim satisfaction in Hutch’s reaction. There was, as the old saying went, no love lost between the two of them.

A nice Q&A with Linda Lael Miller:

1. Describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer.  A man and a woman don’t think they’re right for each other.
2. What inspired you to write BIG SKY COUNTRY?  Many things.  The setting, the fictional town of Parable, Montana, is patterned after my mom’s hometown, Choteau.  I love writing about cowboys, and Montana is definitely cowboy-central.
3. Where do you do most of your writing? It varies.  There’s a computer in my room, and I have an office downstairs.  I sometimes write on my laptop on the kitchen table, too—that’s where I compose my blog every morning
4. Are any characters in the book based on people you know or have met in your personal life? Not directly.  They’re all composites of many people I’ve known, I suppose; once they’ve gone through the unconscious alchemy process, they develop into unique individuals in their own right.
5. Which part of BIG SKY COUNTRY was the most enjoyable to write? I loved writing about the livestock auction (go figure), which compromised the hero and heroine’s first date.  (That’s a cowboy for you.)  I also enjoyed penning the horse race scene.

Would you like to win a copy of Big Sky Country? Just use the Rafflecopter form to enter! This is open to both US and CAN!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book in order to write my review. No other compensation was provided.