Three half-sisters come together at their late father's ranch in Montana. The terms of his will dictate that all three women must live together at the ranch for one year. If not, his enormous estate will be given to charity. Willa has lived all her life on the ranch and feels anger and resentment at her father's decision. Tess is a glamorous Hollywood screenwriter. She merely wants the cash and a quick escape from the desolate countryside. Lily, trying to hide from an abusive ex-husband, is only too happy to have the opportunity to stay in one place. Their evolving relationships with each other make up the heart of the story. It wouldn't be a Roberts novel if during their year of forced togetherness each sister didn't become romantically involved with tall, handsome cowboys. All six of the major characters are wonderfully written, with just the right touch of genuineness, warmth, and distinctiveness to make readers emotionally invest in their stories. Highly recommended for all libraries.-Margaret Hanes, Sterling Hts. P.L., Mich.
Three bridegrooms for three sisters: Roberts (True Betrayals, 1995, etc.) stylishly moseys into Big Sky romance.
Jack Mercy was a mean "son of a bitch" when he was alive, and as a corpse, buried with his Stetson and his bullwhip, he's not much better. According to his will, his three daughters, who've never met and whom Jack had by three different wives, must live together for a year at his big Montana ranch house in order to win their inheritance. During the long winter, the women bicker and bond and get entangled with three sexy, strapping fellows. Roberts has always been a winner at sexual tension and sexy dialogue, and so the reader gets to see not one but three couples get past the preliminaries and into the sack. The youngest sister, cowgirl Willa, manager of the Mercy ranch and daughter of an Ute mother, matches wits and strong wills with Ben McKinnon, lusty part owner of the Three Rocks spread. Lily, from Virginia, is a delicate, bird-boned creature who's been battered by her husband, but is now taken under the wing of Adam Wolfchild, Willa's Indian half- brother. And, finally, Tess, a sharp-dressing, wisecracking screenwriter from Hollywood who couldn't wait to get back to Rodeo Drive, stays to marry Nate, a frontier lawyer who raises horses, graduated from Yale, and loves Keats. Providing the usual Roberts suspense is a serial killer who guts and scalps his victims—not only humans but (in the newest romance-novel manifestation of evil) calves, cats, skunks and deer. ("Why would anyone do that to Bambi's mom?" wails Tess.) Roberts also includes a genuine, successful red herring, virgin territory for most romance writers, and incorporates all the important rituals of the genre with her customary skill and humor.
A good read on a long winter's night.
A sweeping tale of three sisters who learn to live, and love, as family when they jointly inherit their father’s ranch.”—New Woman
“Exciting, romantic, great fun.”—Cosmopolitan
“Roberts paints a vivid picture of the raw beauty of Big Sky country.”—Chicago Tribune
“All six of the major characters are wonderfully written, with just the right touch of genuineness, warmth, and distinctiveness.”—Library Journal
“Roberts has always been a winner at sexual tension and sexy dialogue…a good read on a long winter’s night.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Crackling dialogue and a snappy infusion of humor.”—Publishers Weekly
“[An] epic tale of love, lust, and overpowering passions…Roberts’s fans will no doubt enjoy this work.”—Booklist
