Wrangled Hearts: A single mom, grumpy sunshine western romance

by Aquila Thorne

After eight years in Wolf Creek, single mom, Ella Shaw , had almost convinced herself they were safe—until her ex, the son of Russia’s notorious Mafia lord, the man she'd thought was dead, appeared in her small town. He was after one thing and one thing only, their daughter. Part of her longed to run again, but where? How many more fresh starts could she survive?



Jake Brennen had sworn off attachments since burying his wife, finding solace in the predictable rhythms of his ranch. He'd deliberately avoided his neighbor, Ella, and her curious daughter, Nora—so why, on New Year's Eve, did he find himself rushing to her aid, knowing it might drag him back into the messy world of caring about someone who could be taken away?

421 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 13, 2026

About the author

Born in Southern Ontario, Aquila was raised on the outskirts of a small town. With nothing to do, she took to reading historical romance novels and vowed to write a book of her own one day. Fast forward 28 years and she did just that with her first Contemporary Romance titled Moonlit Night and a Series to follow. She still lives in that small town where she was born, her escape is within the pages of her writings

Reviews

[Tiffany C · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a way to start a new series!!

Love this book. The suspense just kills me as it rips out my heart to then put it back together… will they? Won’t they? Just have to read to find out.

Love Jake and all his broodiness. Nora is darling and Ella is the whole package. Let’s not forget those crazy MacGallans!! Oh and a must to read the Changing of the Guard Series first to find out about the MacGallan Clan!!

[Tracy ann Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of this author, and this new series connected to the Irish mafia family was fantastic. Ella will do anything to protect her daughter while hiding from her husband and his Russian mafia family. Jake has feelings for Ella but keeps her at arm’s length. Meanwhile, someone is watching her, and Jake’s brother shows up, offering to help protect Ella and her daughter. With the support of Ella’s family and plenty of twists and turns, I absolutely loved it.

[Nicole Elshoff]

absolutely LOVED this book! western romance meets Russia mafia?? those are two things id have never considered made sense together but this book was fantastic! cant wait to see what happens next with Jake, Ella, and Nora and of course Caleb and Mikhail!