The Little Maverick Matchmaker

Montana Mavericks: The Lonelyhearts Ranch #3

by Stella Bagwell

The courtship of dillon’s father

Rust Creek Ramblings

The town’s new doctor, widower Drew Strickland, is dedicated to his job and to his seven-year-old son, Dillon. Young Dillon has set his sights on making pretty school librarian Josselyn Weaver a part of their family. But Drew is afraid to love again, and Josselyn fears rejection. Buckle up your backpacks, dear readers, and see if a bighearted little boy can lead his grieving dad and our favorite librarian down the path to true love!

Genres: Romance

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2018

About the author

At seventeen, Stella married her high school sweetheart: Harrell, and they had a son Jason. She began her writing career almost by accident. She was a hairdresser and worked in her sister's beauty shop. Ironically, Stella developed a severe allergy to hairspray and was forced to resign. With time on her hands, Stella wanted to do something creative. She remembered a high school English teacher telling her she could be a writer if she wanted. Although she always loved reading romances, she never thought to write one herself. Armed with that now notion and an old, manual typewriter, she went to work, attempting to create a story similar to those she liked reading. The result‚ her first book, purchased by Mills & Boon and issued under the Harlequin imprint. After that, she became a full time writer and today, has close to forty published novels. Her for the future is to continue writing romance novels as long as there's an audience to enjoy her work.

Next to writing, traveling is one of her most favorite activities. Yet, because the southwest is dear to her heart, she sets most of her books there in rough, rugged ranch country. She feels it's essential to know a place before writing about it; that philosophy gives her more reason to plan trips! The marriage has always lived in southeastern Oklahoma. But, they purchased a portion of a twenty-two hundred, acre ranch; they now make their home there. Before moving onto the ranch, she had a swimming pool in her back yard and spent most of her summer evenings in the water. Her husband has promised to put in another pool, but for now she has to make do with the creek that runs through their property. The closest town of three thousand is fifteen miles away; she says she loves the seclusion, living among the woods and horses and wildlife. The only thing she doesn't like is making the thirty mile round trip to the post office or grocery store. Worse still, is the eighty-five mile trip to get office supplies!

One of her greatest joys was to see Jason, her only son, graduate from college with degrees in math and physical education. He now lives in Port Lavaca, Texas, where he teaches high school algebra and geometry and coaches football and weightlifting. Family has always come first with Stella and she enjoys spending time with her son when he visits Oklahoma. Sometimes, she and her husband drive down to the Texas coast to see him. However, her mother, step-father and siblings all live nearby and they have routine get-togethers. In her spare time, she enjoys practicing violin and guitar, both of which she can play by ear. She claims to need years of practice before calling herself a musician. Stella also enjoys gardening and being outdoors.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Drew came to Rust Creek Falls from Thunder Canyon to fill in as a doctor at the clinic. With him is his seven-year-old son, Dillon. Ever since the death of his wife, Drew has buried himself in his work, leaving most of his son's care to his parents. Now he is trying to bond with Dillon and having a rough go of it. As the story opened, Drew and Dillon were at a back-to-school picnic, where Drew was counting the minutes until they could leave. Dillon, on the other hand, was determined to introduce his dad to all of his friends and be on the lookout for a girlfriend for his dad. I had to laugh as Dillon zeroed in on Josselyn and immediately made his pitch. Josselyn was amused, but poor Drew was so embarrassed he couldn't get out of there fast enough. But not before both he and Josselyn had gotten a good look at each other. Josselyn was immediately intrigued by Drew and couldn't stop thinking about him.

I loved watching Drew fight the inevitable at the beginning. Dillon had made up his mind that Josselyn was perfect and he was determined to get them together. Once Drew decided that he wanted to get to know Josselyn better, he was off and running. There were some terrific scenes of the three of them together, such as when they all went fishing. Drew also realized that he wanted to spend time alone with her. The biggest problem was that he was still fighting the guilt he felt over his wife's death, blaming himself for what had happened. He was also afraid to love again because that meant he risked losing also. Meanwhile, Josselyn fell fast and hard for Drew and Dillon. She, too, was fighting against telling Drew how she felt. She was afraid that he was still in love with his late wife and would reject her love. Just when it looked like Dillon was going to get his wish, something happened that brought all of Drew's fears rushing back. I ached for Josselyn as Drew ran from his feelings, leaving her heartbroken. I also hurt for Dillon, who saw his dad revert to the grumpy, withdrawn man he used to be. It took a scare caused by a heartfelt note from Dillon for Drew to realize what he was throwing away. I loved his big moment at the end as he finally let go of his fears. The location and witnesses to his declaration were a nice touch.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

The romance in this book was so cute and wholesome. I really liked how Drew and Josselyn built up their relationship over the course of the book. The only part I didn't like was the random conflict at the end when Drew has the nightmare! I was sooo disappointed in him after he seemed to have had so much character development.

I also wish he didn't propose in an elementary school library infront of the kids.

But overall, cute read. I genuinely enjoyed the story. :)

[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Little Maverick Matchmaker (Montana Mavericks: The Lonelyhearts Ranch)" by Stella Bagwell was an enjoyable, stand alone, quick read. It is part of the series, which I highly recommend, but the author does a great job introducing us to all the different characters in this book. This is Dr. Drew Strickland and librarian Josselyn Weaver's story. Dillon, Drew's son, wants a new Mom. He see's his librarian Josselyn at a town function and introduces his Dad to the pretty lady making it known that she would make a great Mom. Drew's is a widower and his wife died tragically when his son was 1 years old. He needs to deal with the past in order to move on with Josselyn and their future. A few mature situations but nothing too graphically written.

[Delacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a sweet read, but also kind of boring. It lacked conflict, and the little that did happen was short and didn't seem to have time to fully develop any angst. This as also one of the books that one of the characters (Drew our H) really needed to have some counseling. Six years after an incident and your still having such guilt, withdrawal and depression you need professional help - I really wish that authors would properly address these issues, instead of trying to say that "the love of a good woman/man will make all your mental health issues go away". Overall, this was just a mediocre Harlequin romance.

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Little Maverick Matchmaker by Stella Bagwell. Drew Strickland and his son Dillon move to a small town. Drew is a baby doctor. His wife died when Dillon was a year old. Dillon is looking for a girlfriend for his dad. When they meet the librarian at Dillon's school, at a picnic, Dillon decides she is the one for Drew. Josselyn Weaver likes Drew from the beginning, but Drew is still not over the guilt about his wife's accident. A very cute and funny at times, romantic book.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: Montana Mavericks: The Lonelyhearts Ranch