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Maria and the Montana Rider
Not yet published
Expected 24 Jun 26A family feud. A masked vigilante riding in the moonlight. A woman whose heart needs healing.
Maria Gilbert has problems. The restaurant where she works as line chef is closing. Her boyfriend just broke up with her. And her family’s in debt to her estranged grandmother in Montana.
Then Maria gets a letter from her Montana grandmother, inviting her to work in the ranch kitchen over the summer. Curious to see the ranch where her mom grew up, and hoping to solve her money problems and reconcile the two halves of her family, Maria takes the job.
Thrown into a world of handsome cowboys, daring rodeo stunts, and quarreling relatives, Maria meets everyone from her acidic grandmother and spoiled cousins to the mysterious, masked Montana Rider who rides around by moonlight claiming to protect the ranch. And when someone starts vandalizing the ranch, it becomes apparent that it needs protection. When Maria’s grandmother offers her a surprising deal—and when a romance starts to blossom where Maria least expected it—she is forced to make decisions that could completely change her home, her family, and the fate of the ranch itself.
Maria and the Montana Rider is an action-filled, character-driven story by Ursi Engebretsen. If you like clean contemporary romance with cowboys, masked vigilantes, and cute romantic moments, then you’ll love this heartwarming story of family, trust, and determination.
Maria Gilbert has problems. The restaurant where she works as line chef is closing. Her boyfriend just broke up with her. And her family’s in debt to her estranged grandmother in Montana.
Then Maria gets a letter from her Montana grandmother, inviting her to work in the ranch kitchen over the summer. Curious to see the ranch where her mom grew up, and hoping to solve her money problems and reconcile the two halves of her family, Maria takes the job.
Thrown into a world of handsome cowboys, daring rodeo stunts, and quarreling relatives, Maria meets everyone from her acidic grandmother and spoiled cousins to the mysterious, masked Montana Rider who rides around by moonlight claiming to protect the ranch. And when someone starts vandalizing the ranch, it becomes apparent that it needs protection. When Maria’s grandmother offers her a surprising deal—and when a romance starts to blossom where Maria least expected it—she is forced to make decisions that could completely change her home, her family, and the fate of the ranch itself.
Maria and the Montana Rider is an action-filled, character-driven story by Ursi Engebretsen. If you like clean contemporary romance with cowboys, masked vigilantes, and cute romantic moments, then you’ll love this heartwarming story of family, trust, and determination.
Paperback
Expected publication June 24, 2026
About the author
Ursi Engebretsen
3 books17 followersUrsi Engebretsen has always loved a good love story with a happy ending. So she decided to write some of her own—cozy clean romances with sparks flying, strong family themes, and picturesque settings, with the light and joy of the Gospel shining through. Although her characters have their struggles and problems, she wants her readers to walk away happy and uplifted at the end of every book.
Ursi grew up in Michigan and received her BA in liberal arts from Thomas Aquinas College in California. She’s a Catholic Christian, a writer, a musician, a voracious reader, and a country girl at heart. Her day job is directing music and playing the pipe organ at her church. She likes bubble tea, a good sunrise, and using too many exclamation points. (She’s working on that last one.)
Ursi grew up in Michigan and received her BA in liberal arts from Thomas Aquinas College in California. She’s a Catholic Christian, a writer, a musician, a voracious reader, and a country girl at heart. Her day job is directing music and playing the pipe organ at her church. She likes bubble tea, a good sunrise, and using too many exclamation points. (She’s working on that last one.)
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Review of advance copy received from Author
"Maria and the Montana Rider" brings an abundance of themes and plots together beautifully! Well-developed characters, family dynamics, mystery, suspense, intrigue, romance, and faith are woven throughout the novel. This heartwarming novel offers readers of any age a Christian storyline that exemplifies innocence, honesty, purity, modesty, and charity.
Displaying 1 of 1 review