Rescued By the Rancher

3.5*
Meredith Anderson left her overbearing and controlling parents and fiancé to start a new life in Tall Pines to help her sister Melanie run her Wedding Planner business. After a year there she has bloomed into the new and approved confident Meredith.
Gage McAllister arrived to Tall Pines Ranch an a desperate and angry teen. Over the years of being taken in by the Forrester's as part of the family Gage has become a strong and honorable man but is plagued with the secrets from his past.
Meredith and Gage have suffered terrible treatment by people that should of cared for and supported them. Both have been offered a chance at a better life but old hurts and demons have threatened to take them down. False pride and fear of not being accepted may keep them from the thing that can save them...love.
I really enjoyed this story Victoria James has a talent for pulling you into the lives of the characters and you can't help but cheer for the HEA.

Loved the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Entangled Publishing and I am voluntarily reviewing it.

This was a wonderful story. I totally fell for Gage and Meredith. They both had difficult childhoods. Meredith had secrets that held her in a tight grip. She wanted to become a stronger woman and the first step in her eyes was to have a one-night stand. Who better to have this with but Gage the foreman of Tall Pines Ranch. Gage had an alcoholic mother and an abusive step-father. He left home before finishing school. Mr. Forrester the owner of Tall Pines comes to his rescue and becomes like a father to the young man. Over the years, Mr. Forrester dies and his son Cole takes over. Cole and Gage are like brothers. As much as Gage loves the ranch and Cole, he wants to have a ranch of his own. The land in Texas is so much cheaper so within a year, he will be gone. Gage, knowing his time is limited, wants to protect Meredith. When she suggests a one-night stand Gage is all in. The road to their HEA is full of discord and difficulties.

I loved having the dual POV format. Not having endured the tragedies that these two characters have had, it really helped me to identify with the characters so much better.

The author did a beautiful job in writing this story. The plot never stopped moving, it was always moving forward. I sometimes tend to read the back of the story to see how the author pulls off the plot and brings it all together if the story drags but that wasn't the case here. The only sad part was the story ended. I feel at a loss BUT if did purchase the first story in this series as I haven't read it so I am going to read that next.

I highly recommend this story to anyone.