What do you think?
Rate this book
Montana Man
Montana Man by Barbara Delinsky released on Sep 22, 1995 is available now for purchase.
248 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1989
7 people are currently reading
334 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Delinsky
321 books4,380 followersI was born and raised in suburban Boston. My mother’s death, when I was eight, was the defining event of a childhood that was otherwise ordinary. I took piano lessons and flute lessons. I took ballroom dancing lessons. I went to summer camp through my fifteenth year (in Maine, which explains the setting of so many of my stories), then spent my sixteenth summer learning to type and to drive (two skills that have served me better than all of my other high school courses combined). I earned a B.A. in Psychology at Tufts University and an M.A. in Sociology at Boston College. The motivation behind the M.A. was sheer greed. My husband was just starting law school. We needed the money.
Following graduate school, I worked as a researcher with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and as a photographer and reporter for the Belmont Herald. I did the newspaper work after my first son was born. Since I was heavily into taking pictures of him, I worked for the paper to support that habit. Initially, I wrote only in a secondary capacity, to provide copy for the pictures I took. In time, I realized that I was better at writing than photography. I used both skills doing volunteer work for hospital groups, and have served on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and on the MGH’s Women’s Cancer Advisory Board.
I became an actual writer by fluke. My twins were four when, by chance, I happened on a newspaper article profiling three female writers. Intrigued, I spent three months researching, plotting, and writing my own book - and it sold.
My niche? I write about the emotional crises that we face in our lives. Readers identify with my characters. They know them. They are them. I'm an everyday woman writing about everyday people facing not-so-everyday challenges.
My novels are character-driven studies of marriage, parenthood, sibling rivalry, and friendship, and I’ve been blessed in having readers who buy them eagerly enough to put them on the major bestseller lists. One of my latest, Sweet Salt Air, came out in 2013. Blueprints, my second novel with St. Martin’s Press, became my 22nd New York Times bestselling novel soon after its release in June 2015. Making Up, my work in progress, will be published in 2018.
2018? Yikes. I didn’t think I’d live that long. I thought I’d die of breast cancer back in the 1900's, like my mom. But I didn’t. I was diagnosed nearly twenty years ago, had surgery and treatment, and here I am, stronger than ever and loving having authored yet another book, this one the non-fiction Uplift: Secrets From the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors. First published in 2001, Uplift is a handbook of practical tips and upbeat anecdotes that I compiled with the help of 350 breast cancer survivors, their families and friends. These survivors just ... blew me away! They gave me the book that I wish I’d had way back when I was diagnosed. There is no medical information here, nothing frightening, simply practical advice from friends who’ve had breast cancer. The 10th Anniversary Volume of Uplift is now in print. And the money I’ve made on the book? Every cent has gone to my charitable foundation, which funds an ongoing research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Connect with me on Facebook: facebook.com/bdelinsky
Look for my photos on Instagram: instagram.com/barbaradelinsky
Following graduate school, I worked as a researcher with the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and as a photographer and reporter for the Belmont Herald. I did the newspaper work after my first son was born. Since I was heavily into taking pictures of him, I worked for the paper to support that habit. Initially, I wrote only in a secondary capacity, to provide copy for the pictures I took. In time, I realized that I was better at writing than photography. I used both skills doing volunteer work for hospital groups, and have served on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and on the MGH’s Women’s Cancer Advisory Board.
I became an actual writer by fluke. My twins were four when, by chance, I happened on a newspaper article profiling three female writers. Intrigued, I spent three months researching, plotting, and writing my own book - and it sold.
My niche? I write about the emotional crises that we face in our lives. Readers identify with my characters. They know them. They are them. I'm an everyday woman writing about everyday people facing not-so-everyday challenges.
My novels are character-driven studies of marriage, parenthood, sibling rivalry, and friendship, and I’ve been blessed in having readers who buy them eagerly enough to put them on the major bestseller lists. One of my latest, Sweet Salt Air, came out in 2013. Blueprints, my second novel with St. Martin’s Press, became my 22nd New York Times bestselling novel soon after its release in June 2015. Making Up, my work in progress, will be published in 2018.
2018? Yikes. I didn’t think I’d live that long. I thought I’d die of breast cancer back in the 1900's, like my mom. But I didn’t. I was diagnosed nearly twenty years ago, had surgery and treatment, and here I am, stronger than ever and loving having authored yet another book, this one the non-fiction Uplift: Secrets From the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors. First published in 2001, Uplift is a handbook of practical tips and upbeat anecdotes that I compiled with the help of 350 breast cancer survivors, their families and friends. These survivors just ... blew me away! They gave me the book that I wish I’d had way back when I was diagnosed. There is no medical information here, nothing frightening, simply practical advice from friends who’ve had breast cancer. The 10th Anniversary Volume of Uplift is now in print. And the money I’ve made on the book? Every cent has gone to my charitable foundation, which funds an ongoing research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Connect with me on Facebook: facebook.com/bdelinsky
Look for my photos on Instagram: instagram.com/barbaradelinsky
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
October 9, 2017
Montana Man is an early romance novel by American author, Barbara Delinsky. Lily Danziger is on the run from her ex-husband’s family in Hartford with her five-week old baby. She’s in a late-model sporty Audi, headed for Quebec, determined to make a new start in life, but it’s not a car that’s built for negotiating a northern Maine snowstorm. She takes a chance on picking up a stranded hitchhiker, a taciturn cowboy named Quist, who’s less than impressed when this obviously spoilt city girl runs out of petrol.
After spending the night bundled up in the car, waiting out the blizzard, Quist heads off to find better shelter. Quite a trek later, they’re in a cabin, where they can at least be dry and warm, desirable as it looks like they may be there for some days. Aware of the need to stay civil in close quarters, they try to rein in their irritation. Nonetheless, sparks fly, not all of them verbal. Perhaps a little slow moving, this is quite a sensual and moving romance.
After spending the night bundled up in the car, waiting out the blizzard, Quist heads off to find better shelter. Quite a trek later, they’re in a cabin, where they can at least be dry and warm, desirable as it looks like they may be there for some days. Aware of the need to stay civil in close quarters, they try to rein in their irritation. Nonetheless, sparks fly, not all of them verbal. Perhaps a little slow moving, this is quite a sensual and moving romance.
August 12, 2009
At last, a book has come along that justifies my guilty habit of swiping free romance novels whenever they are available (but only if they fit certain criteria -- this one fit my criteria of "romances about cowboys.") I have to admit that this is one of the few romances I've read where I enjoyed almost every minute of it. Although it fell into the usual romance tropes, including my pet peeve of oh-so-masculine men and oh-so-feminine women, both characters in this book feel real rather than just romanticized "types." I liked that they both had romantic histories prior to the book (the woman was divorced, and the man had been around the block a few times). The other compelling factor in this book is that 90% of it takes place within one context: a blizzard that leaves two strangers stranded. The dialogue between them sounds real, and there are no pesky real-world distractions from the love story. There are also none of the annoying blown-out-of-proportion miscommunication and misunderstandings that most romances include (which makes me REALLY doubt the characters' ability to have a grown-up relationship with one another).
The one thing that did irk me a bit was the obligatory offspring in the epilogue. There must be some rule someplace that says no romance is complete without a baby or two on the last page. Hey, I like babies, but I do wish there was more diversity in how we envision the happily ever after. (I'd actually give this 3.5 stars if it were an option. It wasn't *that* spectacular).
The one thing that did irk me a bit was the obligatory offspring in the epilogue. There must be some rule someplace that says no romance is complete without a baby or two on the last page. Hey, I like babies, but I do wish there was more diversity in how we envision the happily ever after. (I'd actually give this 3.5 stars if it were an option. It wasn't *that* spectacular).
November 5, 2020
DNF. I’ve never disliked a female character more. She picks up a random man off the side of the road during a snow storm. Then she gets them lost and they’re stuck in the car. Eventually you find out she has a 5 week old baby. The man she picked up is 40 and hates women. But he’s the one telling her that she needs protein to keep up milk so she can feed her baby. That she should hold her baby close in her coat for body heat to keep the baby warm. That running a heater with no gas will only put out cold air. She has absolutely no common sense whatsoever. And the guy is a total jerk who is really mean to her and has a history of paying women for sex. Even if the writer didn’t make the woman character incredibly stupid, she made the man incredibly unlikable. I couldn’t stand either of them.
December 10, 2010
This was a vast improvement on the last romance novel that I read from this author. Barbara Delinsky is one of my favourite writers and I've started investigating some of her earlier works. While I was disappointed by An Irresistible Impulse, this novel had the typical Delinsky charm. Well developed characters, excellent interaction and chemistry, a cute baby, a couple of subplots and one of my favourite plot devices - snowbound in a cabin! While initially I was a bit annoyed that Quist conformed to the typical aplha male stereotype of an aloof, masculine woman-hater, Delinsky quickly made him into someone that I could sympathise with and enjoy reading about. Both Quist and Lily make judgements about each other and come to realise that first impressions aren't always the best, and end up liking each other...and falling in love, obviously! I appreciated that they both had pasts, particularly that Lily had come from a broken marriage and had a baby. But one aspect of romance novels that has always bugged me is that men are allowed to have been promiscuous but even women who have been married have to have had bad sexual experiences until they met The One. I'm not a fan of this double standard! This book was originally published in the Harlequin Temptation line, so there is a fair amount of sex, some of it described quite graphically. This isn't normally something I look for in a novel, but the engaging characters and plot made up for it. I was particularly pleased with the ending, where the catalysts for Quist and Lily meeting - he looking for his sister and she escaping her husband's family - came to a head. It was nice to know that these subplots weren't forgotten in the whirlwind of romance, and it made the characters and their histories all the more realistic. All in all, this novel did have its faults where typical romance stereotypes emerged, but otherwise this was a sweet romance and a perfect comfort read. 8/10
July 1, 2012
Popped into the library to get out of our record breaking heat here in Colorado and just grabbed a book off the shelf to read while I cooled down. It started out okay and was fitting for the type of read I was wanting at the time (easy, chick lit). Well, now I've discovered I'm done with the helpless, waif with no common sense type of heroine. Ugh, would have loved this in my 20s but now I prefer a funnier chick-lit type of romance with a woman who (excuse my French) has some cajones in some way (or at least some sense). My first Barbara Delinsky and probably my last.
February 28, 2017
Barbara Delinsky writes great romance novels and this is a good one. Lily Danziger and her month old daughter are heading out to start a new life. She picks up a stranger whose car has broken down. Soon they find themselves in a blizzard and lost in the wild of Maine. Quist saves them all while she saves Quist from his drab life.
June 9, 2010
A quick, finish in one evening book. A somewhat off-beat western romance which begins in Maine!
December 5, 2022
Just another sappy romantic story I had on my bookshelf.
June 10, 2018
My first book by this author because a colleague recommended her. The characters annoyed me - she with her lack of assertiveness and he with his lack of understanding and knack for being an ass. All’s well that ends well... but I argued with them too often and was irritated at times. And there’s a bit of a trigger warning for lack of consent in sexual activities. Eventually she wanted it and was willing, but she was written in a way that made her seem desperate and that she didn’t really know what she wanted - and that a man knew best. :/
July 4, 2024
Lily and her newborn child are on the run from her ex husband's family when they are caught in a Maine blizzard. They pick up a stranded hitchhiker, a taciturn cowboy named Quist, who's less than impressed with his obviously spoiled woman driving an Audi. After a grueling three hour trek, they find a cabin in the woods where their story continues.
It's a very sensual and moving romance that truly changes the lives for all three. Barbara is a great storyteller and narrator Lesa Lockford did a super job!
It's a very sensual and moving romance that truly changes the lives for all three. Barbara is a great storyteller and narrator Lesa Lockford did a super job!
June 29, 2017
Quick easy feel good read. Another good book by Barbara Delinsky🤠
August 28, 2017
this was such a good book I was hooked from the very start. I couldn't put it down.
January 19, 2023
montana man by barbara delinsky
December 19, 2025
Cheesy romance, womanhater meets desperate woman.
December 29, 2012
I'm cleaning my shelves of library discards, and I had this one lying around for years. It was time to read it or move it on. Being the book nerd that I am, I had to read it.
This is a basic formulaic romance. It follows a strict format of girl meets guy, conflict ensues, and then they overcome obstacles to find true love. In this case the girl is an emotionally abused divorcee with a newborn. She is oh so feminine and fragile, and of course is named for a flower (Lily). She wants nothing more than to stay home to clean and cook and have babies, even though she is trained as a legal secretary. The guy is eleven years older than her, and a cowboy that reminds her of the Marlboro Man. He is embittered and cynical due to his hanging out with women who are users. He has the bizarre name of "Quist". I suppose it's supposed to be macho, like "Steele" or "Grey", but there's a generic brand of lemon-lime soda pop with that name, and I think the author took the tradition of manly names over the cliff, there. Oooh, "Cliff" would have been a good name!
Okay. They get caught up in a blizzard and end up sheltering together. The forced proximity and shared experience make them start to drool and lust over each other. Hot condom-free sex ensues. They escape from situation and realize they can't live without each other, after being together three days or so. They go to Montana and live happily ever after, because she now gets to spend all day cleaning and cooking and popping out babies.
This book was written in 1989, when AIDS was starting to move into the general population. It was the height of a nation-wide syphilis epidemic and there was and is plenty of gonorrhea, herpes and other STDs (I know, because I treat this stuff for a living and was doing it back then, too). The male lead slept around quite a bit, with fast women, and the image of them having sex without any protection made me cringe. Yes, I know this is porn, but still. The author also seems to be unaware of what all the nipple play described in the book would do to a nursing mother, as our Lily is. The milk would be squirting and oozing all over the place; it would not be clean and pretty as the book would have you think. Plus, wouldn't her nipples be chapped after having to nurse in the cold for days? This question needs to be answered!
Anyway, Barbara Delinsky is capable of writing much better books than this. This one, though, is pure mass market, written for fast money or to fulfill a contract. If you like romances, there are many others more worthy your time.
This is a basic formulaic romance. It follows a strict format of girl meets guy, conflict ensues, and then they overcome obstacles to find true love. In this case the girl is an emotionally abused divorcee with a newborn. She is oh so feminine and fragile, and of course is named for a flower (Lily). She wants nothing more than to stay home to clean and cook and have babies, even though she is trained as a legal secretary. The guy is eleven years older than her, and a cowboy that reminds her of the Marlboro Man. He is embittered and cynical due to his hanging out with women who are users. He has the bizarre name of "Quist". I suppose it's supposed to be macho, like "Steele" or "Grey", but there's a generic brand of lemon-lime soda pop with that name, and I think the author took the tradition of manly names over the cliff, there. Oooh, "Cliff" would have been a good name!
Okay. They get caught up in a blizzard and end up sheltering together. The forced proximity and shared experience make them start to drool and lust over each other. Hot condom-free sex ensues. They escape from situation and realize they can't live without each other, after being together three days or so. They go to Montana and live happily ever after, because she now gets to spend all day cleaning and cooking and popping out babies.
This book was written in 1989, when AIDS was starting to move into the general population. It was the height of a nation-wide syphilis epidemic and there was and is plenty of gonorrhea, herpes and other STDs (I know, because I treat this stuff for a living and was doing it back then, too). The male lead slept around quite a bit, with fast women, and the image of them having sex without any protection made me cringe. Yes, I know this is porn, but still. The author also seems to be unaware of what all the nipple play described in the book would do to a nursing mother, as our Lily is. The milk would be squirting and oozing all over the place; it would not be clean and pretty as the book would have you think. Plus, wouldn't her nipples be chapped after having to nurse in the cold for days? This question needs to be answered!
Anyway, Barbara Delinsky is capable of writing much better books than this. This one, though, is pure mass market, written for fast money or to fulfill a contract. If you like romances, there are many others more worthy your time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 20, 2017
Loved this book, very sweet.
May 29, 2014
Montana Man was just OK for me. To be honest neither of the characters were all that interesting, except maybe Nicki the 5 week old baby. Plot wise, not much happens either. Lily and Quist (what kind of name is that?) get stranded in a blizzard. They find a cabin which of course causes them to become extremely attracted to each other. Sex happens. Then they are rescued. Oh, there are a few other things in there that happen, but that is the gist.
There were so many things that I could find wrong with this book, but I should probably take the time period it was written into account. There was potential to make this a romantic suspense with Quist's pursuit of his half sister or maybe even with Lily's ex-brother-in law, but those avenues fizzled out. Ms. Delinsky has written much better books since this one. I say skip it and try a different book of hers.
There were so many things that I could find wrong with this book, but I should probably take the time period it was written into account. There was potential to make this a romantic suspense with Quist's pursuit of his half sister or maybe even with Lily's ex-brother-in law, but those avenues fizzled out. Ms. Delinsky has written much better books since this one. I say skip it and try a different book of hers.
May 11, 2014
I started enjoying once I got past the beginning with a hero who thinks all women are weak and up to no good (shows its original 1989 publication). But it is warming up and I'm enjoying it for the most part. Narrator Lesa Lockford is really, really good. I'll look for more of her narrations.
Hmm, possibly not for the more modern thinkers in our group. The heroine wants only to be a mom, wife, and homemaker. Living in a part of the country where this is commonplace, I'm fine with that but I'm afraid she may appear weak to many. She seemed a little desperate and on the rebound as well.
4 1/2 stars narration - 3 stars content. The biggest problem was the age of the book.
Hmm, possibly not for the more modern thinkers in our group. The heroine wants only to be a mom, wife, and homemaker. Living in a part of the country where this is commonplace, I'm fine with that but I'm afraid she may appear weak to many. She seemed a little desperate and on the rebound as well.
4 1/2 stars narration - 3 stars content. The biggest problem was the age of the book.
January 15, 2010
Lily was caught in a snow storm while on her way to Quebec. She picked up a hitchhiker, Quist, and then ran off the road and couldn't get her car back on the road. They ended up staying in a cabin for several days until the storm was over.
July 5, 2010
This is a reissue of one of Barbara Delinsky's early romance novels, before she began writing mainstream fiction. Two travelers snowbound in a cabin. Predictable, but just what I needed after reading a violent thriller.
July 27, 2011
Every once in awhile, you just have to watch a movie on Lifetime. The plot is known; the characters are familiar; the ending is predictable. Yet, you watch it anyway.
This was that movie in written form. Read it in a night.
This was that movie in written form. Read it in a night.
September 1, 2024
This was one of those books that was so bad, it was good. The most unrealistic and impractical scenario in existence.
Solid on the entertainment and ludicrous one liners. I still give this a solid 2 stars.
Solid on the entertainment and ludicrous one liners. I still give this a solid 2 stars.
March 18, 2011
PLEASE do not waste the energy involved with picking this book up off the shelf; poor writing, sleazy story –I couldn't finish it
July 25, 2011
We can still find your back list even though it's not listed on your website. She was my favorite romance/women's fiction author for years.
March 12, 2012
too light and flufy - one of her earlier books a think.
August 1, 2012
It was an easy summer read.
Read
May 6, 2014I read this book a long time ago and fell in love with it and 1 scene in particular stuck in my head. Since then he has molded my heroes for me.
I am looking to reread this wonderful story again.
I am looking to reread this wonderful story again.
April 15, 2016
A typical romance novel that pretty much fallows the formula. No major surprises - easy read
November 13, 2016
The beinging was good. Then it turned into a romance novel. Ugh!
January 3, 2011
Good romance.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews