Healing the Forest Ranger

The Forest Rangers #5

by Leigh Bale

Rancher To The RescueWhen wild mustangs threaten someone's life, rancher Cade Baldwin springs into action. But he's not pleased when he sees the beautiful woman he's saved is the town's new forest ranger. Lyn Warner is determined to round up the wild horses he loves so much. But she's also the woman who makes him smile like no one else. After her husband died in a car crash, Lyn turned her back on her beliefs and focused all of her attention on her injured daughter. But Cade's strong faith and steady love might be exactly what they all need to create an unbreakable family.

Genres: Love Inspired, Romance, Contemporary, Christian Romance, Christian Fiction

221 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Leigh Bale is Publisher's Weekly best selling author. She won the prestigious RWA Golden Heart in 2006 and was a finalist for the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, the Write Touch Reader's Award and the Bookseller's Best Award. She is the daughter of a retired U.S. forest ranger, holds a B.A. in History with honors and loves spending time with family, weeding the garden with her dog Sophie, and watching the little sagebrush lizards that live in her rock flowerbeds. You can reach Leigh at www.LeighBale.com.

Reviews

[Karen Duvall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was surprisingly good. I hadn't expected to enjoy it as much as I did because I wasn't sure I'd like an inspirational novel, but it was the best book I've read so far this year. The plot was tight, the characters had depth, and I learned something about wild horses. It's a great story.

[Harlequin Books]

Category: Inspirational Romance

[Lindsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lured in by the main character (a forest ranger named Lyndsey) but quickly soured on the cheesy dialogue and writing style. Heavy religious propaganda. The ending / most of the plot was anything but original. "She was maddening, yet he couldn't stop thinking about her!" ... "He was so different, and yet they had so much in common!" ... "They would never get along, and yet they were perfect for each other!" I could've written this, but I'm glad I didn't. Also the ending was terrible.

[Charline Bonham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Former solder, Dal Savatchy, and his doctor friend have started a horse ranch to help disabled children. Working with the children helps Dal forget about loosing his leg. The new ranger, Julie Granger, injures herself while running and Dal goes to her assistance. They knew each other as teens but were separated when Julie's family died. Each has secrets which they feel are insurmountable.

[Jessie Cumpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book.

[Sandra Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing story! Can’t wait to start the next in series!

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mustang herds and shrinking grazing for cattle mean that the new Forest Ranger has to monitor the situation on government land, but a wild stallion sees Lyn as a threat and has to be chased off by Cade, a rancher. Cade is the wild-horse spokesman for the Toyakoi Shoshone Tribe. Lyn also loves the mustangs but she calculates that the poor grazing can support 150 horses instead of the 450 presently grazing. Bighorn sheep and mule deer also need forage and water in this area. Cade doesn't bother making friends.

Lyn has a ten-year-old daughter, Kirsten, who lost a leg when a drunk driver hit her and Lyn is somewhat overprotective. Lyn's husband was also killed in the crash. HEALING THE FOREST RANGER will take time. The last person they expect to find as the specialist prosthetic doctor, however is Cade, himself a war veteran. Spring loaded feet, upsizing as a child grows, a way to walk surely and J-shaped flexible carbon-fibre running feet are all described well. Leigh Bale writes with sensitivity, showing compassion for the vulnerable characters while encouraging them to do all they can do. Feeding an orphaned foal turns out to be a start.

Also author of 'Falling for The Forest Ranger', Bale demonstrates knowledge of and regard for the environment in the McClellan mountains. Overgrazing and horses hogging access to creeks cause a problem to other wildlife, and with willows eaten down, the water gets too hot for fish. Sage grouse can't find seeds and insects while the cheatgrass that horses don't eat is more likely to fuel brush fires. The only real predator is the endangered mountain lion. A roundup is described showing greater care for mustangs than the usual. The Native people are not all friendly to the authorities. Cade knows that someone could get hurt....

HEALING THE FOREST RANGER is an inspirational tale, and Lyn tells us 'I don't need a church to feel spiritual'. With a relationship kindling between two lovers of the outdoors, I am sure many readers will agree. I can recommend Leigh Bale's work as a good, absorbing read and a fine romance.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyn Warren is the new Forest Ranger and her job is to monitor the mustangs and other wild life. During one of her observations she finds herself in trouble with one of the mustangs and Cade Baldwin happens to here's her cries for help, only to discover it's the new Forest Ranger. They soon realize that they have to work together and Lyn learns she needs God to accomplish life's struggles and find love.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A "Delightful" read of a new widow with a daughter who is an amputee. The need to protect and nurture leads the mother into a strained relationship with the daughter who is seeking to find her place in the world and accomplish all that she can. She wants to fit in at school and be a normal kid. A local Doctor steps in with ideas of how to help, that causes more conflict at first, but later he becomes a real "God-Send"! This is a nice story of how God works in the background.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe this is part of a series. Lyn Warner and her daughter are trying to settle in a new town, new job and new school for Kristen. Lyn is an over protective mother of her 10 year old daughter. How can she let her daughter heal from her amputated leg while Lyn struggles with the feelings that she was the cause of the car accident that killed her husband and injured her daughter? Enter Dr. Cade Baldwin! With God's forgiveness Lyn is able to really start her new life.

Love Inspired

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fear is a powerful thing. It can keep us from living life to its full potential. This book is about the fear of a mother for her daughter. An accident causes her daughter to lose her leg and all the mother can see after that is how everything can harm her daughter. Luckily there's a smart guy to help the daughter gain confidence in herself and a God to teach the mother to let go.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyn, a forest ranger, and Cade, a doctor and a ranch owner, "bumped heads" while each, in their own way, tried to save the wild horses. Lyn's daughter, Kristen, played a hugh role in this "love inspired" tale.
Each character needed to be healed but in different ways. Faith and patience was the answer.
What a great easy to follow story.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lyn lost her husband in a car accident and her 10 year old daughter lost her leg. She moves for a new start and becomes a towns Forest Ranger. There she meets Cade who is determined to fight her on a wild mustang roundup. Cade also happens to be her daughter's new Doctor. Will they become bitter enemies or fall in love?

[Kristen Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Read for contest*

Not reviewing.

[Justina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great love story. Also a great story of healing physically and mentally from a tragic accident. Learning to love and have faith in God again.