cover image Summer at Mustang Ridge

Summer at Mustang Ridge

Jesse Hayworth. Signet Eclipse, $7.99 mass market (384p) ISBN 978-0-451-23982-2

Boston single mom Shelby and her nine-year old daughter, Lizzie, needed a change of scenery, and a dude ranch in Wyoming is as different as it gets. Little did Shelby realize that when she became Mustang Ridge’s summertime cook’s assistant, she also joined the ranch family. The owner and staff collectively embrace Shelby and shower Lizzie with love and attention. Estranged from her own family and bitterly divorced, Shelby is not used to people being nice to her. Ranch life, with beautiful horses, tasty food, and loving companionship, is good for troubled Lizzie, and Shelby finally decides to do something kind for herself by dating head horse wrangler Foster. The Wyoming backdrop is beautiful, watching a foal being born is miraculous, ranch life sounds like a lot of fun, and Foster and Shelby are sweet and tender with each other, but this contemporary Western is slow, meandering, and missing that crucial spark. Agent: Deidre Knight of the Knight Agency. (June)