Truly Madly Montana

Medicine River, Book #2

By Fiona Lowe

ISBN# 9780425276969

Author’s website: http://www.fionalowe.com/

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Jerjen

Review

Millie Switkowski is a nurse and a medical student. When she returns home to Bear Paw for her summer clinical rotation, she is happy with her life. She is one year closer to earning her medical degree, she is managing her diabetes and she is sure that she is no longer in love with Dr. Will Bartlett. Nothing is going to prevent her from enjoying her summer and learning as much as she can during her clinical rotation. Even when Will shows up for a wedding that Millie is the best man for, she knows she can handle seeing him for a short period of time.   But when she finds out that Will is going to be her supervising doctor for her rotation, things start falling apart. How can she spend an entire summer near him without letting her feelings show?

Will Bartlett is missing Australia and thinks maybe it is time to go back home. But he does not know if he will be able to deal with being back after the death of his twin, Charlie. He feels like he lost a part of himself when his twin died and everything back home reminds him of Charlie. So he is more than okay with accepting the position of supervising physician for Millie because it will delay his return home for three months. By then he may be better able to handle the loss of Charlie. He does not expect to develop feelings for Millie, because, after all, she has always been “one of the guys”. But when he spends more time with and gets to know her better, he no longer sees her as a “pal”. He does not know how he can spend an entire summer with her without letting his feelings show.

Ethan Langworthy is the town librarian and he is the one that everyone loves to make fun of. Every time he does something embarrassing, someone is right there to snap a picture and place it on social media. He does not seem to mind, though. He is happy living his life his way and if he can entertain the town he is alright with that. When he is arrested trying to break into his own house by a female policewoman, Tara, he is alright with the entire town laughing at him. He just wants to get to know her better.

Tara has taken a job in Bear Claw because she needs a change of pace. She has not had an easy childhood and after being in the military, she craves peace and quiet. She does not realize that policing is a small town will not be easy. She does not know about small town life and she finds it difficult to fit in. And when she accidentally arrests Ethan, she is not sure that she will be ever be able to adjust. And when she finds herself attracted to Ethan, she thinks she made a big mistake ever taking the job. She does not want anyone in her life because she has been disappointed too many times in her life by people she should have been able to trust.

Will and Millie are characters that you can enjoy reading about and want to learn more about. The fact that Millie is diabetic added another level to the story and it is very important to their relationship. Millie does not want anyone feeling sorry for her or mothering her because of her disease. She wants to be treated like everyone else and do things that she enjoys without worrying. She knows how to control her diabetes and she monitors it very closely. After Will finds out that Millie is diabetic, all he can do is worry about her. He wants to protect and keep her safe and smother her, which angers Millie. But he cannot help himself. Ever since he lost Charlie, he has an irrational fear of losing someone else he cares about. This seems to be an obstacle that they will not be able to overcome.

Ethan and Tara are my favorite characters. There is something so heartwarming watching them find their way to each and opening up to each other. Tara hides behind her badge and wants the world to think she is tough as nails. But in reality, at times she is still the little girl who had a rough childhood. She wants to have girlfriends and do the things that other women take for granted, but she does not know how. She wants to find someone special but she does not think that she is capable of having a trusting loving relationship. Ethan is happy with his life and the person that he is. He does not take life too seriously and he is able to laugh at himself. But when he meets Tara, he knows that he has met someone special and he wants to spend his life with her. But he knows he has to take things very slowly if he is to have a chance. Watching their relationship unfold just felt right and natural, and I could have read about them all day long.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. During the course of reading this book, I laughed, I cried, I sighed and I cheered. In my opinion, it would be difficult to elicit all those responses from the readers. But this author does it expertly and I really appreciate that.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well-crafted contemporary romance. In fact, you will be getting two romances because of the four main characters. And in my opinion, that is a great thing. This is the second book I have read by this author and I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*