Review for Taming the Outback by Ann B. Harrison

Libby is set on taming the outback as she takes over Quincy Station, but can she tame her rough neighbor, Nathan's, hardened heart as well?

Nathan Miller rattles Libby's nerves more than she cares to admit. He is the one person that stands between her and the family home that has been left to her. So why then does the man stir her up to such an extent, her body pulses with the need to have him? They do nothing but clash and snap at one another, and he makes no bones about the fact she shouldn't be Quincy's Station's new owner, but back in the city where he thinks she belongs.

Having had an unpleasant clash with a "city girl" once before, Nathan does not think Libby has it in her to stick it out. He refuses to give in to his urges. But when Mother Nature brings chaos to Quincy Station and threatens Libby's children, he'll either be proved right in his assumptions or find his barriers taken down by a stubborn woman and her kids.

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Taming the Outback by Ann B. Harrison is a pleasantly romantic and straight-up story with very little emotional obstacles along the way.  It gives us a likable heroine who has to work her fingers to the bone and shows children as mini adults who adjust to change better than adults.  Throw in an emotionally bitter neighbor with prejudice against city girls and you have the makings of a satisfying, if by the numbers, romance.

Libby has recently gained a farm and though she knows nothing about farming she's determined to make a better life for her kids as they're starting to lose themselves in grief over their father's death.  Libby is smart and hard working and I admire her gumption. She wanted to prove herself to judgmental neighbor Nathan and she definitely did so by working her fingers to the bone.  Her interactions with her kids were realistic and heartfelt and showed their strong sense of family.  Where I didn't like Libby was in her instantaneous attraction to Nathan who was judgemental and overbearing.  She went from wanting only sex from him to falling in love with him.  I honestly don't see what she likes in him and don't find their "romance" believable as they spent no time alone together to get to know each other.  The sexual steam was there but not the substance.

Nathan never won me over.  He was abrasive and judgemental at the start and his sudden softening and understanding nature at the end of the story came a little too late to be believable.  His flirty nature was somewhat charming but I sensed sarcasm wrapped up in it.  His sexual prowess did give Libby what she wanted though and did provide some sexy and sensual interludes late in the story that led to their sudden proclamations of love.

While the romance didn't win me over, the location did.  The Australian language and landscape were vivid and totally drew me in and definitely enhanced the story.  From beginning to end I found a satisfying story that ultimately put a smile on my face.

My rating for this is a B-

*I received this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.