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Montana Mavericks: Return to Whitehorn #1
Letter to a Lonesome Cowboy
A mail-order bride and...her kid brother?
The ad said rancher Rand Harding--a real, live cowboy!--wanted a wife. So orphaned city kid Mack Paxton began planning. He'd pen a gushy letter. Enclose a pin-up picture. Forge his big sister's signature. And presto! Mack would have it nailed: a mail-order marriage for Suzanne and a happily-ever-after home on the range.
Trouble was, Mack's mischief caused surprising friction between rugged Rand and stubborn Suzanne. So Mack aimed to fan those flames and start the home fires burning!
The ad said rancher Rand Harding--a real, live cowboy!--wanted a wife. So orphaned city kid Mack Paxton began planning. He'd pen a gushy letter. Enclose a pin-up picture. Forge his big sister's signature. And presto! Mack would have it nailed: a mail-order marriage for Suzanne and a happily-ever-after home on the range.
Trouble was, Mack's mischief caused surprising friction between rugged Rand and stubborn Suzanne. So Mack aimed to fan those flames and start the home fires burning!
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
12 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Jackie Merritt
121 books18 followersJackie Merritt's first book was published in December of 1988, and since then she's been deeply engrossed in the writing game. While she's gone through dry spells, where she can't write a word that makes sense and every idea ends up in the trash can, for the most part she's usually working on a viable story.
Jackie honestly believes that anyone with a reasonable grasp of language and grammar can write a bookif they're self-disciplined enough to put in the time and effort that writing demands. Starting a book is easy; staying with it until it is finished is the part that stops many would-be authors. Jackie believes she had an advantage that a lot of people do not have. As a former accountant, she was used to working alone and completing long projects. Oddly enough, the same principles apply to writing.
Plus, of course, you have to love it. Jackie's first attempts to write fiction were so bad they were comical, but she still fell in love with writing. She had written hundreds of business letters before that, but never a word of fiction, and there, all of a sudden, was a whole new world for her to explore.
Jackie honestly believes that anyone with a reasonable grasp of language and grammar can write a bookif they're self-disciplined enough to put in the time and effort that writing demands. Starting a book is easy; staying with it until it is finished is the part that stops many would-be authors. Jackie believes she had an advantage that a lot of people do not have. As a former accountant, she was used to working alone and completing long projects. Oddly enough, the same principles apply to writing.
Plus, of course, you have to love it. Jackie's first attempts to write fiction were so bad they were comical, but she still fell in love with writing. She had written hundreds of business letters before that, but never a word of fiction, and there, all of a sudden, was a whole new world for her to explore.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 18, 2011
I'm enjoying this one. The book has a couple plots. First off, lonesome cowboy puts an ad in a western magazine looking for a wife. A bored 14 year old kid who wants to be a cowboy, answers the ad for his loney sister (whose his guardian after their parents died). She's not happy about it, and he runs off to Montana (from Baltimore) to meet the guy himself. Big sister has to follow to try to bring little brother home. Meanwhile, the ranch has had several misfortunate "accidents" as there is a sabatour on the ranch and our lonesome cowboy must figure who is doing it and why. All the while, falling for his new sweetheart and helping out her little brother. Alot going on, but that's good as it keeps the plot moving.
Just finished this and have to downgrade it from 4* to 3*. The reason... the sabatour isn't identified! How can you have it be such an integral part of the plot throughout the whole book then not tell us? . Evidently, there are 15+ books in a Harlequin Montana Mavericks series, all by various authors, that have recurring characters in it. What upset me as much as not finding out who the sabatour was, is that there is nothing in the book that says... "to found out the conculsion, continue with the next in the series...". In other words, I'll never know who was doing all the mischief since I don't know where to continue reading. . I have to say, not giving me an ending to half the plot, and not telling me where to find it.... half ruins the book! Instead of rejoicing in the HEA for our couple... I'm ticked off about feeling duped into not being able to find out who was behind it all. I can't even find out what book to read next to find out! Definetly is NOT a stand-alone book.
NOTE: Anyone reading my review who has read more in another book to know who the sabatour was, and whose behind it all... please let me know!
Just finished this and have to downgrade it from 4* to 3*. The reason... the sabatour isn't identified! How can you have it be such an integral part of the plot throughout the whole book then not tell us? . Evidently, there are 15+ books in a Harlequin Montana Mavericks series, all by various authors, that have recurring characters in it. What upset me as much as not finding out who the sabatour was, is that there is nothing in the book that says... "to found out the conculsion, continue with the next in the series...". In other words, I'll never know who was doing all the mischief since I don't know where to continue reading. . I have to say, not giving me an ending to half the plot, and not telling me where to find it.... half ruins the book! Instead of rejoicing in the HEA for our couple... I'm ticked off about feeling duped into not being able to find out who was behind it all. I can't even find out what book to read next to find out! Definetly is NOT a stand-alone book.
NOTE: Anyone reading my review who has read more in another book to know who the sabatour was, and whose behind it all... please let me know!
July 29, 2019
This one is 2 years down the road in Whitehorn. The Kincaid house stands empty. The owner now is little Jennifer McCallum the little girl that was kidnapped by the murder, from Cowboy Cop. The foreman of the ranch is Rand Harding and his fiance dumped him right before the wedding. Now 2 years later Rand is lonely. He doesn't want a "love" marriage. He wants everything but. His had loved his fiance and that didn't turn out. He puts and add for a mail-order bride in a western magazine. A 14 year old boy in Baltimore answers it for his sister. The chaos that cause is a really fun read. Rally liked this one.
February 10, 2025
I loved this unconventional, western romance. Rand is a foreman to a true blue ranch but has no one in his life except the cowhands he lives and works with. He decides to place an ad for a wife in a magazine. Suzanne is divorced and the sole guardian to her 14 year old brother after her parents both passed. Without her knowledge, her brother answers the ad and hopes for the best.
December 18, 2024
This book was originally published in 1998 and was re-issued in 2009. I read it in 2009 and just re-read it now.
It's still a good read even though some of the slang is dated.
It's still a good read even though some of the slang is dated.
September 6, 2025
explicit
June 12, 2019
The MONTANA MAVERICKS series has more than 50 novels and a large number of authors. One of the reasons I found this book disappointing is that the problem on the ranch was not resolved in this book. Perhaps the publisher's belief is that dragging a problem through multiple stories will help sell more books. However, my dissatisfaction with the lack of closure will cause me to dump the rest of the series.
Suzanne Paxton is a recently divorced, recently laid-off accountant, who is looking for a job. Her 14-year-old brother is unhappy in high school and dreams of life as a cowboy. To that end, he finds a (wife wanted) ad in a Western magazine and responds to it in his sister's name. When the 'lonesome cowboy' writes back and offers to pay Suzanne's way, Mack races to Montana.
Mack steals half of his sister's savings to get to Montana and Suzanne spends the rest trying to find her brother. They walk in on various acts of sabotage around the ranch. Unfortunately, the sabotage problem is not resolved before the end of the book. I feel this is an inappropriate wrinkle in the selling of books. Perhaps if enough of us refuse to buy, this ugly trend will disappear.
Suzanne Paxton is a recently divorced, recently laid-off accountant, who is looking for a job. Her 14-year-old brother is unhappy in high school and dreams of life as a cowboy. To that end, he finds a (wife wanted) ad in a Western magazine and responds to it in his sister's name. When the 'lonesome cowboy' writes back and offers to pay Suzanne's way, Mack races to Montana.
Mack steals half of his sister's savings to get to Montana and Suzanne spends the rest trying to find her brother. They walk in on various acts of sabotage around the ranch. Unfortunately, the sabotage problem is not resolved before the end of the book. I feel this is an inappropriate wrinkle in the selling of books. Perhaps if enough of us refuse to buy, this ugly trend will disappear.
March 16, 2021
This one was alright, but I guess after having read a bunch of other mail-order romances recently, this one just felt a bit thin to me.
The premise was okay--a struggling sister loses her job, and her younger brother decides to get them out of the city and to Montana by responding to a mail-order bride ad as his sister. Rand, the potential groom, seemed okay overall. I liked him in general, even if he did seem a bit too impressed that Suzanne could cook and keep the books for the ranch. It was just a bit too convenient for me plot-wise that Suzanne had the EXACT skills the ranch needed RIGHT when Rand needed them (two staff members were suddenly MIA--one for a sick sister and another is laid up after a bad fall). I guess I just would've liked the characters to have to work for their relationship more than just stay because it's convenient for everyone.
I also didn't really care for Mack's character (the younger brother). Some of his lines seemed a bit too forced or too simple, and he had no empathy for his sister at all, which annoyed me.
I did like the sweet if a bit fast resolution, but I wished that the loose ends surrounding the odd occurrences at the ranch would've been cleared up in this book rather than getting stretched out over a series, as it appears has been done.
It was something to read, anyway.
The premise was okay--a struggling sister loses her job, and her younger brother decides to get them out of the city and to Montana by responding to a mail-order bride ad as his sister. Rand, the potential groom, seemed okay overall. I liked him in general, even if he did seem a bit too impressed that Suzanne could cook and keep the books for the ranch. It was just a bit too convenient for me plot-wise that Suzanne had the EXACT skills the ranch needed RIGHT when Rand needed them (two staff members were suddenly MIA--one for a sick sister and another is laid up after a bad fall). I guess I just would've liked the characters to have to work for their relationship more than just stay because it's convenient for everyone.
I also didn't really care for Mack's character (the younger brother). Some of his lines seemed a bit too forced or too simple, and he had no empathy for his sister at all, which annoyed me.
I did like the sweet if a bit fast resolution, but I wished that the loose ends surrounding the odd occurrences at the ranch would've been cleared up in this book rather than getting stretched out over a series, as it appears has been done.
It was something to read, anyway.
December 26, 2017
Rand was a ranch forman. He was raised on a ranch, he was good at it and this was this type of work he planned to do. Big ranches were not close to town. He was engaged and planned to marry. Three days before his wedding his fiancee told him about a job at the feed lot and a house she had picked out in town. Rand said NO and Sherry left him standing at the church. One night while reading a ranching magazine, Rand saw a section for personals. Rand could get girls but He wanted a wife. Rand figured it did not have to be love, he had tried that with Sherry. It just needed two people with like values. Rand wrote an advertisement for a wife. An unhappy teenage boy in New Jersey answered this ad for his sister. His letter was great telling Rand she was eager and the picture he enclosed was even better. When Rand replied to Suzanne's letter, written by her little brother, the teenager signed for it, read it, got the address, took money from their savings account and went to Montana to become a cowboy with Rand. By the time his terrified sister tracked him down to save him from this pervert and bring him home, she arrived in the middle of a snow storm. The rest is history.
June 3, 2014
Letter to a Lonesome Cowboy is a romance novel by Jackie Merritt in the Montana Mavericks series. In Baltimore, Suzanne Paxton, divorced, unemployed and running dangerously low on funds, is surprised to receive a letter from a lonesome cowboy, a man she has never met. Montana rancher, Rand Harding put a want ad in a western magazine for a wife and, unbeknownst to Suzanne, her fourteen-year-old brother, Mack answered on her behalf, hoping to live on a cowboy ranch. But Suzanne is furious! So Mack runs off to the Kincaid ranch in Montana, forcing Suzanne to follow. When Suzanne meets Rand, the sparks fly. But a blizzard prevents her from stalking off home with Mack in tow. Suzanne and Rand find that their mutual attraction soon overcomes their animosity. While as a romance this instalment in the Montana Mavericks easily stands alone (with an appealing hero, a likeable heroine and some sexy romantic encounters), the troubles at the Kincaid ranch are not resolved so readers will want to seek out more books in the series. Quite enjoyable.
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April 25, 2015DNF at 12%. a few things didn't ring true for me and then the mean return letter turned me off. just not for me.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews