Heat Factor: Smoulder, smoulder my friends (but behind closed doors)
Character Chemistry: They just kind of systematically click on every level from the first moment.
Plot: Taylor is escaping an abusive marriage with her infant son when her car breaks down in Montana. When she’s rescued and hired by a local rancher, she ends up meeting the rancher’s wife’s brother, Owen, whose steady and secure nature is kind of exactly what she needs.
Overall: This book is SO well done–the worry over Taylor’s precarious and abusive situation, the warmth from the ranchers and the beauty of Montana…it’s really good stuff.
This book was so gripping from the start. Taylor is fleeing for her life with her son after her abusive husband nearly kills her in a rage. She makes it to Montana somehow when her car breaks down, and she’s rescued by a really warm and sweet rancher and his wife. She decides to stay on at the ranch doing basic work while Dana, the wife, watches her infant son.
I read a lot because of this gig (obvs), and I have a bad habit of looking for loose ends (editors edit, it’s just the way it is)–character choices that don’t make sense, behaviors that aren’t explained, plot holes and threads that don’t lead anywhere–but this book just didn’t have any. Every choice and personality quirk has a purpose and moves you forward as you feel what Taylor is feeling; the relief to be saved, the knowledge that that safety isn’t guaranteed, the yearning to trust and the urge to protect.
Owen and Taylor are cute to the max, and I loved watching them figure out how to create a life together in such a beautiful place. This is a book that is really more about how their feelings develop and strengthen and less about the initial flares of passion, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t beautifully romantic.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.
Buy Now: Amazon
Looking for something similar?
The Smut Report 
1 thought on “Review: Refuge by Willa J. Brand (2020)”