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Montana Mavericks: Back in the Saddle #2
Puppy Love in Thunder Canyon
Tongues are wagging all over town that bubbly, quirky pet therapist Annabel Cates has been spotted keeping company with Dr. Thomas North. Yes, that Dr. North--the ever-serious, oh-so-gorgeous and utterly unattainable orthopedic surgeon who has dashed the hopes of so many Thunder Canyon cowgirls.
Will Annabel really be able to domesticate the medical maverick? Folks round these parts can't understand how two such emotionally opposite people even got together. (We give the credit to an unlikely matchmaker with four paws and a winning smile!) Stay tuned, faithful friends, and find out if sexy Dr. North can stay immune to this adorable Cates sister and her irresistible pup!
219 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
27 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Christyne Butler
111 books48 followersThanks to an aunt’s love of genealogy, Christyne discovered both Louisa May Alcott and Harriet Beecher Stowe are members in her extended family tree on her mother’s side, so she firmly believes her love of writing has always been her destiny.
Her father served in the Air Force for twenty years which resulted in her birth in Taipei, Taiwan and she spent her youth growing up all over the world before her family settled in New Hampshire in time for her to attend high school. She followed in her family’s rich military history and joined the United States Navy where she fell in love with romance novels after someone remembered women were serving aboard seagoing vessels and sent a box full of paperback romances to her ship, the USS VULCAN AR-5.
She started pursuing her own writing in 2002, sold her first ever ‘finished’ manuscript in 2006 and made her first sale to Harlequin Special Edition two years later! She writes contemporary romances full of life, love, a hint of laughter and perhaps a dash of danger too. Christyne loves the challenge of the boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl-back and the journey of joy and hardship two people go through. And there has to be a ‘happily ever after’ or she’s just not satisfied.
When she’s not writing, she can be found hunting for treasures at yard sales and antique fairs to add to her collection of memorabilia of women who served in the military, watching classic romantic movies and the great movie musicals of the 40′s and 50′s, and reading books by her favorite authors.
She lives in central Massachusetts with her family, a four-footed double-pawed black cat who rules the house and a shelter-saved pup named Harley (short for Harlequin) who really thinks he’s a cat too!
Her father served in the Air Force for twenty years which resulted in her birth in Taipei, Taiwan and she spent her youth growing up all over the world before her family settled in New Hampshire in time for her to attend high school. She followed in her family’s rich military history and joined the United States Navy where she fell in love with romance novels after someone remembered women were serving aboard seagoing vessels and sent a box full of paperback romances to her ship, the USS VULCAN AR-5.
She started pursuing her own writing in 2002, sold her first ever ‘finished’ manuscript in 2006 and made her first sale to Harlequin Special Edition two years later! She writes contemporary romances full of life, love, a hint of laughter and perhaps a dash of danger too. Christyne loves the challenge of the boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-gets-girl-back and the journey of joy and hardship two people go through. And there has to be a ‘happily ever after’ or she’s just not satisfied.
When she’s not writing, she can be found hunting for treasures at yard sales and antique fairs to add to her collection of memorabilia of women who served in the military, watching classic romantic movies and the great movie musicals of the 40′s and 50′s, and reading books by her favorite authors.
She lives in central Massachusetts with her family, a four-footed double-pawed black cat who rules the house and a shelter-saved pup named Harley (short for Harlequin) who really thinks he’s a cat too!
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 28, 2015
This book is terrible. I didn't like the hero OR the heroine.
Annabel is a happy, idealistic, pushy do-gooder who is half children's librarian half dog therapist. She lives with her mom, dad, and two single sisters. She cries ALL the time. I don't think she should be a therapy dog handler, because she literally cries every time she sees a patient. Any patient.
Thomas is an asshole doctor. You know. Rich, busy, pompous, uptight, bossy, type-A personality. I HATED HIM. HATED. He's such a fucker.
Thomas headed straight toward it and Annabel hurried to catch up with him. "Oh, I'm fine. You don't have to - "
"Annabel, don't argue." He motioned for her to continue moving. "Just walk."
This is on a DATE. How he acts when he's in a "good mood." He's rich, he whines when he can't go to fancy restaurants on dates, he has to be in control all the time or he gets anxious and flustered.
He's perfectly fine have sex with the heroine multiple times but then freaks out when she takes him to a family BBQ because that might mean "commitment." Listen, fucker, this woman screams "commitment." She's the freshly-scrubbed girl-next-door with the golden retriever and the big family. What on Earth gave you the idea you could just sleep with her and yank her around?
And he hates being seen with her in public or eating with her at a public restaurant because "people might gossip that they're dating." You ARE dating her. Fucker.
He breaks her heart again and again and she just keeps coming back and offering him her jugular and I'm like NO. No, no, no. Stand up for yourself! Defend yourself! How can she STAND this asshole?!?!!? Ugh. She says she's in love with him and I'm left completely gobsmacked.
And he's jealous of her dog. HER DOG.
How's the sex, Carmen?
As if I could summon up any interest in what these people do in the bedroom.
...
Tl;dr - A hopeful idiot falls in love with an asshole doctor. DO NOT RECOMMEND.
ONE REAL STAR, ONE ROMANCE STAR
Annabel is a happy, idealistic, pushy do-gooder who is half children's librarian half dog therapist. She lives with her mom, dad, and two single sisters. She cries ALL the time. I don't think she should be a therapy dog handler, because she literally cries every time she sees a patient. Any patient.
Thomas is an asshole doctor. You know. Rich, busy, pompous, uptight, bossy, type-A personality. I HATED HIM. HATED. He's such a fucker.
Thomas headed straight toward it and Annabel hurried to catch up with him. "Oh, I'm fine. You don't have to - "
"Annabel, don't argue." He motioned for her to continue moving. "Just walk."
This is on a DATE. How he acts when he's in a "good mood." He's rich, he whines when he can't go to fancy restaurants on dates, he has to be in control all the time or he gets anxious and flustered.
He's perfectly fine have sex with the heroine multiple times but then freaks out when she takes him to a family BBQ because that might mean "commitment." Listen, fucker, this woman screams "commitment." She's the freshly-scrubbed girl-next-door with the golden retriever and the big family. What on Earth gave you the idea you could just sleep with her and yank her around?
And he hates being seen with her in public or eating with her at a public restaurant because "people might gossip that they're dating." You ARE dating her. Fucker.
He breaks her heart again and again and she just keeps coming back and offering him her jugular and I'm like NO. No, no, no. Stand up for yourself! Defend yourself! How can she STAND this asshole?!?!!? Ugh. She says she's in love with him and I'm left completely gobsmacked.
And he's jealous of her dog. HER DOG.
How's the sex, Carmen?
As if I could summon up any interest in what these people do in the bedroom.
...
Tl;dr - A hopeful idiot falls in love with an asshole doctor. DO NOT RECOMMEND.
ONE REAL STAR, ONE ROMANCE STAR
November 10, 2015
I love the Montana Mavericks Series but this was not worth my time.
In this tale we have Dr. Thomas North, a young, gorgeous surgeon who had to leave his previous position because of a scandal that was out of his control. He had been lied to and deceived. He has decided you can't be a doctor and have love and marriage so as it usually goes - he is down on love, relationships and marriage. Blah blah blah!!! Heads up...I did not particularly like either of the main characters.
Annabel Cates has her masters degree in English and works at the city's library. Her spare time is filled with her golden retriever, Smiley, who is becoming certified as a therapy dog. She visits the hospital frequently and wants to begin a program there using her dog. She meets Dr. North and there is an immediate zing arcing between them. He surprises himself when he asks her to dinner. Following each date and or time spent together (which was very few) he swears to himself he won't see her again and when time passes and she doesn't hear from him like he promised she goes chasing after him. That got very old very quickly. She would use her therapy at the hospital as a reason to stop in and visit him whenever she was there but he never put forth the effort to seek her out. He had asked her out on a couple of dates but other than that she made herself available and let him know it every time she saw him. Gag!! Sorry...but she seemed very weak-willed relationship-wise. He really didn't have to put much effort into their relationship because she handled all of that and it appeared to me to be very one-sided.
Towards the end, after the third break-up, it is going through his head that he made a mistake leaving her and lets you believe he has a good plan to get her back. I have no clue what that plan was because it was never mentioned again. Then....you guessed it...she runs into him again and instead of beating feet the heck away she goes right to him. It sickened me. Her mother treated her pretty crappy making sure to let her know every chance she got that marrying a surgeon would never work and they wouldn't make it. She discouraged her the whole time letting her know over and over every mistake she had made in her life and how this was one more. Then crazy Annabel would hug and kiss her after she made her feel less than an inch tall.
Just not my cup of tea and I don't care for one-sided relationships.
In this tale we have Dr. Thomas North, a young, gorgeous surgeon who had to leave his previous position because of a scandal that was out of his control. He had been lied to and deceived. He has decided you can't be a doctor and have love and marriage so as it usually goes - he is down on love, relationships and marriage. Blah blah blah!!! Heads up...I did not particularly like either of the main characters.
Annabel Cates has her masters degree in English and works at the city's library. Her spare time is filled with her golden retriever, Smiley, who is becoming certified as a therapy dog. She visits the hospital frequently and wants to begin a program there using her dog. She meets Dr. North and there is an immediate zing arcing between them. He surprises himself when he asks her to dinner. Following each date and or time spent together (which was very few) he swears to himself he won't see her again and when time passes and she doesn't hear from him like he promised she goes chasing after him. That got very old very quickly. She would use her therapy at the hospital as a reason to stop in and visit him whenever she was there but he never put forth the effort to seek her out. He had asked her out on a couple of dates but other than that she made herself available and let him know it every time she saw him. Gag!! Sorry...but she seemed very weak-willed relationship-wise. He really didn't have to put much effort into their relationship because she handled all of that and it appeared to me to be very one-sided.
Towards the end, after the third break-up, it is going through his head that he made a mistake leaving her and lets you believe he has a good plan to get her back. I have no clue what that plan was because it was never mentioned again. Then....you guessed it...she runs into him again and instead of beating feet the heck away she goes right to him. It sickened me. Her mother treated her pretty crappy making sure to let her know every chance she got that marrying a surgeon would never work and they wouldn't make it. She discouraged her the whole time letting her know over and over every mistake she had made in her life and how this was one more. Then crazy Annabel would hug and kiss her after she made her feel less than an inch tall.
Just not my cup of tea and I don't care for one-sided relationships.
July 26, 2012
Very good book. I loved Annabel. When she showed up at the hospital to be there for her cousin Forrest, she refused to take no for an answer from the serious and logical Dr. North. Not only did she get to stay for the appointment, she even got him to allow her to set up some therapy sessions there at the hospital. He thought the whole pet therapy thing was hogwash, but he couldn't seem to say no. And then he surprised himself and her by asking her out on a date. I really loved the way that she brought some fun and lightness to his life. Thomas had made some mistakes in his past that he attributed to allowing his emotions to get the better of him, so he had decided that he wouldn't allow them that power again. The more time he spent with Annabel, the more he was amazed at how well and quickly she had fit into his life, and that scared him. He didn't want to find himself making mistakes because he was distracted by feelings. I liked his grandmother and the way that she explained things to him that made him finally see the light. The final scene with Thomas at the animal shelter was so sweet. I hope we don't have to wait too long for Forrest's story.
November 13, 2012
It started out all right, with nice normal people (i.e., not billionaires), doing ordinary things. It was enjoyable enough, if you're in the mood for slightly sappy levels of optimism. After awhile, though, it started to wear on me.
The hero's resistance to love seemed disproportionate, and the heroine's readiness to start imagining herself as Mrs. Thomas North after two weeks of dating... well, it was bothersome. I mean, I've read romances where the the protagonists are planning marriage after a long weekend together, and although that's ridiculous, that's the world the author establishes. Here, the author has the hero experiencing unease a number of times about the heroine and her family's view of him, and all it did was create a feeling of the heroine being a psychotically clingy girlfriend like something in a meme. It was cringe-inducing.
So it went from a promising start to disappointing.
The hero's resistance to love seemed disproportionate, and the heroine's readiness to start imagining herself as Mrs. Thomas North after two weeks of dating... well, it was bothersome. I mean, I've read romances where the the protagonists are planning marriage after a long weekend together, and although that's ridiculous, that's the world the author establishes. Here, the author has the hero experiencing unease a number of times about the heroine and her family's view of him, and all it did was create a feeling of the heroine being a psychotically clingy girlfriend like something in a meme. It was cringe-inducing.
So it went from a promising start to disappointing.
March 4, 2016
Enjoyed the storyline and found it uplifting. First book time I have a book by Christyne Butler.
March 10, 2013
A good story and I finally figured out two things and you can correct me if I'm wrong.
The title referred to the "puppy love" Amanda seemed to have for Dr. North. Am I right or was it the way everyone loved Smiley? or the new puppy Thomas was thinking of acquiring?
Also, I now get why the series is called MM:Back in the Saddle.. Dr. North got back in the relationship game.. just like Jace did in the first book.
Not exactly an Oprah "Ah ha!" moment I know but small things amuse small minds.
The title referred to the "puppy love" Amanda seemed to have for Dr. North. Am I right or was it the way everyone loved Smiley? or the new puppy Thomas was thinking of acquiring?
Also, I now get why the series is called MM:Back in the Saddle.. Dr. North got back in the relationship game.. just like Jace did in the first book.
Not exactly an Oprah "Ah ha!" moment I know but small things amuse small minds.
April 12, 2014
Great romance to add to the loads of others I have read. Better story line than others though,
July 19, 2012
A quick and fun read!
July 29, 2012
A quick read, but very much like a teenage romance. I liked Annabel's spunk, but it was lacking actual romance. There was one, short racy scene.
August 3, 2012
Kind of typical--she volunteers with her dog as an emotional therapist, cute idea.
May 15, 2019
This was a cute and quick book. Annabel Cates is a librarian whose passion is really taking her dog, Smiley, on his therapy visits. She wants to set up a program at the local hospital, and has to talk to Dr Thomas North to get things set up. Thomas moved back to Thunder Canyon to practice medicine after getting caught up in a small scandal at his last hospital. He's determined not to let another woman get in the way of treating his patients. But somehow Annabel and Smiley get under his skin. My favorite thing about this story was Smiley! 3.5 stars.
October 10, 2022
This was a great book with a lot of twist and turns . I liked at the end of the book the man changed his man and let love in his life after he had blocked it from his life for so many years and this man finally realized that it would not hurt his carrier after listening to his grandmother .
October 29, 2018
Love it
May 10, 2019
Protagonistas: Thomas & Annabel
Profesiones: Medico & Bibliotecaria
Pais: USA
Profesiones: Medico & Bibliotecaria
Pais: USA
February 24, 2021
Puppy Love in Thunder Canyon review
Puppy Love in Thunder Canyon is the second sweet romance in the Montana Mavericks: Back in the Saddle series written by author Christyne Butler.
Puppy Love in Thunder Canyon is the second sweet romance in the Montana Mavericks: Back in the Saddle series written by author Christyne Butler.
May 26, 2023
La historia realmente tiene potencial me hubiera gustado que tuviera más desarrollo la relación de los personajes y ya para cuando estaba llegando al final quería golpear a Thomas por su indecisión.
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December 27, 2014Miniseries: Montana Mavericks: Back in the Saddle
Category: Heart & Home
Category: Heart & Home
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews