Tucked Away (Hearts of Montana, #1)

by Jennie Marts

[Lindsey Gray]

When your entire life has gone up in flames, there isn't much you can do to make it any worse. Charlie Ryan decides to start over and find out who she really is when she moves to Montana to take over the ranch her unknown grandmother bequeathed to her.

First of all, I should've known better from the summary to have a box or two of tissues handy when this story began. I had a good kind of cry going off and on throughout this story. The kind of cry that reveals how connected to the characters you've become. Those emotions are some of the most powerful a writer can evoke. I connected with Charlie because I've been at that place in my life when you feel like all is lost. And like Charlie, I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and looked for a greener pasture. The pasture Charlie found had sexy veterinarian, Zack Cooper, grazing in it. Charlie is one lucky gal.

I loved just about every aspect of this story. The setting of the Montana ranch aptly called Tucked Away was breathtaking. The descriptions of the house and all the land surrounding it put me right there with Charlie. The friendships formed in the story were deep and meaningful yet still fun and exciting. The relationship Charlie forms her first day on the ranch with Sophie held my heart in a warm vice. The two helped each other in ways neither knew the needed and ultimately saved themselves in the process. There is even a dog in the story to round out the cast. An abandoned dog Charlie and Zack name Joy brings another element of love into the story as she bonds and protects Charlie.

The romance between Charlie and Zack is slow, but well worth the build up Marts gives us. Zack is wary since his wife left him and his daughter, but the pull Charlie presents every time they are within spitting distance is too strong to deny. Also, Charlie doesn't catch onto the fact that Zack isn't still married for a few chapters.

Once I reached the last page, I had used up at least a half a box of tissues, but I was happy to shed the tears. Marts gave me a story and characters to relate to and a happily ever after under the warm Montana sun.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing and Jennie Marts for gifting me a copy of Tucked Away in exchange for an honest review.