The Rancher's Redemption by Melinda Curtis, is the third book in the Return of the Blackwell Brothers series. Each book is the story of one of the five Blackwell Brothers and is written by a different author. I am thrilled with this series and how well the books flow together. The characters recur in each story and those stories fit together seamlessly. In this story, Ben Blackwell, has Rachel, a childhood friend and lawyer is suing the Blackwells after losing the rights to water for the Double T Ranch, her family home. Ben returned reluctantly after leaving five years earlier when his fiancé left him at the alter and married his grandfather, Big E.

This book is a heart tugging story and I loved it. I loved how Ben was so protective of Rachel and her little girl and seeing the chemistry between Ben and Rachel sizzle. Ben has some big decisions to make in this story. Is he going to step up and right a wrong, admit that he is an unethical lawyer, forgive his brothers for their betrayal, and the biggest decision of all, will he stay in Montana or head back to New York. The Blackwell family dynamics continue to be intriguing and entertaining, particularly as the brothers navigate the mess Big E left behind when he and Zoe took off months earlier. Well-placed humor blends well with the more serious moments, and the importance of family and helping one another. This was a great read which continues the series momentum and the ending sets the stage for the next book nicely. I actually started reading the next one right away because I can't wait to see what is in story for the brothers and what Big E has up his sleeve. If you enjoy a heartwarming romance with some great family moments, then pick up this book, in fact start at the beginning and follow the Blackwell Brothers as they fall in love and try to sort out Big E's mess. The author generously provided me with a copy of this this book to read upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.
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Acquired Book By: I received a complimentary copy of “The Rancher's Redemption” direct from the author Melinda Curtis in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

If I felt the Blackwell brothers had more drama and inconvenient adversities arising in their lives previously, nothing quite compares to being on the fringes of losing your inherent water rights! Water is a premium in the country - especially on ranches such as theirs - as you have to secure enough access not just for crops or livestock but for those years where there could be storms or droughts; anything can alter your security on a ranch, which is why the kind of rights being put on the line here are the kind that would make any rancher question if they had enough security on their water resources as they ought too.

My first impression of Ben Blackwell was about a close cousin to Rachel's - he was brass, he was full of himself and he had only put miles in distance between his past and the present; he never had actually taken the time to heal emotionally from how he was wounded. That in of itself was a bit telling - as he had a boiling temper under his persona of a city lawyer who hadn't the time nor the inclination to deal with a country lawyer such as Rachel. The fact the two were interlinked in their past was just another spur in his boot to be frank!

Rachel had her fair share of hard knocks - the fact she had a louse for an ex was only half the story, her dedication to her daughter Poppy is what shined out of her will not to lose her composure. For Rachel, you could tell she was trying to make the best choices she could - not to focus on the choices she had regrets over nor on the prospects of what a future could yield. Everything was a bit too far away for those kinds of considerations when you have a custody dispute where your wings are clipped and your options are running on empty. You feel for her because she's a hard-working single Mum who has the unfair disadvantage of having her daughter's father more concerned with legalities than the actual duties of being a father! Aye.

The vexations mounting on Rachel's spirits were reaching new layers of angst - especially as you could definitely feel the energy in her unravelling. Here she was trying to hold everything together - carrying the weight of the family's ranch on her shoulders, inking out an honest trade as a lawyer and juggling her ex in her life to boot! Something had to give and it felt like this old timer ranch hand Henry was past his date of retirement! There is nothing worse than someone who doesn't see the urgency in what is needed to get done and that is what was vexing Rachel the most. Here she was trying to make do with what she had - work an honest day and still sort out the ranch which hadn't been properly managed since her father's death. You had to just give the girl credit for not wanting to take the easier route out and sell.

The more we get to see Rachel and Ben interacting with each other, the more complicated it all feels as these are two best friends who had become jaded in life. It wasn't entirely their fault, even Ben is being placed in a bad spot by his grandfather Big E (who hasn't?) and that was leading into a nightmare of a situation involving Rachel as she was trying to defend her own ranch against the rights his family has had all these years. If you looked at it from the outside - they were two individuals caught in the quicksand of bad choices others had made but were now the only people who could attempt to put things back to rights. And, there's the rub - how do you remain angry at your former best friend?

It isn't often you get a wicked brilliant supporting character who can cut a man's ego down - this is exactly what happened when Ben went up against Judge Edwards and happily lost. Judge Edwards might have a slightly minor role in this novel but one thing she has plenty of is spunk! I loved how she had the upper hand the whole time, even using inside knowledge to her advantage and taking Rachel off-guard by how she could unnerve Ben! The whole sequence was a dish of joy because it was showing how despite his appearances, Ben isn't as confident in his abilities as he appears. There is a fracture there underneath his persona - you can tell a bit of that starting to erode when he almost hesitates to see if he's gotten away with something. Almost like he's waiting for someone to call him on his behaviour. (as they should!)

The intricacies of water rights and the dearly agonizing worries of ranches are played out well, as Curtis takes us closer to understanding how big ranches like Ben and Rachel's are able to be run. The irony for them is that they started off as frenemies and are drawing closer towards the friends they used to be for the sake of their ranches. It also speaks to the way a small towne operates - as there is more going on behind the water dispute than their squabble over the rights which affect their properties directly. This points to how land owners have to stay in constant and resolute observation of what is happening around them because something that is writ in iron one year might be reversed during another without giving much lead-time to fix.

I am still curious about Big E - we get glimmers and glances at what he's thinking about and where he's currently living - but overall, he takes so many absences from his family, I keep hoping by the final conclusion in book five we'll have some resolution for him. Or, at the very least, understand what motivated him to make choices that not only affected his own family but the towne he lived in for so long. He has a lot to answer for and I'm unsure if there is enough time to give him that allotted time to explain.

As we re-align into this installment in the series, we are met head-first by the temper of Ben and the disillusionment of Rachel. Both of them have reached a cross-roads in their lives - though, I bet if you were to ask either of them, they might feel you were crazy! They each though had come to that pinnacle moment where nothing in their lives made much sense anymore. His career was on the outs, hers was barely viable - both had enough pride to repaint the county and neither of them wanted to admit when one of them was wrong. Not the kind of people to yield nor to concede, yet how they were going to work through this recent wrinkle of adversity Big E left on their doorsteps is a wonderment.

Curtis picks up the threads of the story quite well. By the time I was watching Rachel losing her resolve chasing after a loose cow, I knew she had sorted out her rhythm into the series. Curtis did a good job at bringing back all the craziness of Zoe (Big E's younger wife) - from her improvements on the ranch, to her plans of turning into something other than a traditional operation and to her ornate style that raises more than a few brows on first impression. These reminders were part of the carry-over truths from the first two installments; each writer has done well at keeping serial continuity together. Not just for the Blackwell brothers themselves but for the series overall. You can re-enter and know your reading the story next in line after concluding one ahead of the current one your reading. That in of itself was a blessing - as without this kind of continuity it would have made it more difficult to read.

// This is a quotation of my full review originally shared via jorielovesastory.com

Rachel Thompson’s got her hands full as a single parent with her family’s ranch to save and trouble garnering respect from family members and a ranch hand who refers to her as “Little Lady.” Her dad is gone. Stress over their Double T ranch contributing to his demise, Rachel is determined to set the neighboring Blackwells straight over river water rights that they’re not entitled to, and which is wreaking financial havoc on the Double T. Ben, The Blackwell brother who’s the high-powered NY lawyer of the family, has been called in to defend their family over the water rights issue. Rachel, also a lawyer, feels out of her league being the small-town attorney that she is, going up against Ben, her childhood friend, now nemesis. To be honest, he’s a little irresistible, but Rachel has to do what she has to do to protect her family’s legacy. If only she knew about the secret that Ben is concealing, a truth that could change the future of the Double T, and their relationship.

The Rancher’s Redemption is Book 3 in the Return of the Blackwell Brothers series. I enjoyed Ben’s and Rachel’s story. One of my favorite scenes was Ben being chased by an Aberdeen Angus Bull named Ferdinand. Ben’s divided in his feelings about the ranch he grew up on and the life he’s made for himself in NYC. Watching his transformation throughout the course of the story was heartwarming. I’m looking forward to book 4. ( )

If any of the Blackwell brothers has a good excuse to never return to Montana and the family ranch, it’s Ben. After all, his grandfather eloped with his fiancée. On his wedding day!

But when some circumstances at his job in New York City come at the same time as a desperate call from his twin brother asking for his lawyer expertise to help with a lawsuit about the Blackwell Ranch’s water rights, Ben caves.

The opposing council is Ben’s ex-fiancee’s best friend—a woman who Ben once called his friend as well. Rachel is stretched thin with all of her responsibilities but it’s al worth it for her daughter.

Y’all, is there anything sweeter and more endearing than a tough guy who has a way with a baby? Despite the chip on Ben’s shoulder, he is drawn to Rachel. He is slowly mending the past with his brothers, and he is finding the man he wants to be.

Melinda Curtis even throws a few laughs in there. The women’s comments about Ben’s running apparel are hilarious! And as we see more of the ranch house that Ben’s step-grandmother/ex-fiancee has decorated, we know an atrocity has been committed.

The authors of this series are doing a fantastic job of weaving their characters and the townspeople into one cohesive series.

Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. ( )