Cover Image: The Rancher Meets His Match

The Rancher Meets His Match

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I am not a huge fan of cowboy romances but I was hooked to this series from the first and awaited each new chapter in the Miller family saga.  Julie and Kaiden have been childhood antagonists who found the other attractive but ended up maintaining a bristly exterior to keep their feelings safe and hidden.  Apparently things haven't changed much now that they've met again which makes for romance being more subtle than I like. 
Kaiden is a master craftsman and more than willing to help his neighbor Juan Garcia remodel his house to handle his continued physical degradation as Juan's MS continues to advance. He does not however plan on running into Juan's daughter, his high school nemesis for whom he once had the hots for and surprising still finds extremely attractive.
Julia couldn't wait to leave the small town she grew up in for the bigger and brighter pastures of the big city. Home to help her father out and supervise the remodel she can't help but fall back into finding Kaiden too distracting for her peace of mind. She handles this attraction the way she always has with an abrasive front aimed at keeping him away. It doesn't quite work as successfully as it did when she was a teen and Kaiden manages to worm his way deeper into her heart and body.
In other news;  Kaiden's dad is quite the handful challenging Kaiden on every front such that Kaiden is forced into an action that he might regret.  Julia's brother who's been incommunicado in his special ops job shows up for a not so pleasant cameo appearance.  It doesn't look quite so promising for Julia and Kaiden but this is a romance and kudos to the author for bringing it all together and tying a bow around it.
This is definitely not my favorite Miller family story but there are other siblings and I look forward to rediscovering the magic I first found in this series.

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Kaiden Miller may be the family jokester, but he takes his work on their ranch very seriously. And as a sought-after master carpenter to boot, he’s busier than ever. Still, when he’s asked to renovate the neighbouring Garcia ranch, he’s more than willing. The owner, Juan Garcia, is suffering from MS & whilst he was in remission for a few years it’s now back & Juan is usng his wheelchair much more, Kaiden expects to find the property pretty run down. He doesn’t expect to find his old nemesis—Juan’s daughter, Julia. Julia’s not sure why Kaiden never liked her. But if working with him makes life easier for her father, so be it. Yet to her surprise, not only is Kaiden great with her father, he’s great with her too. As the weeks pass, it becomes harder to ignore their simmering attraction.
I just love the stories from Morgan Valley & the Miller siblings’ stories are a delight. Kaiden is toe curlingly gorgeous, he's always had the hots for Julia but he thinks she doesn’t like him so hides his feelings by snide comments & sarcasm. However Julia has always fancied Kaiden too, so when they spend time together sparks fly. A well written, engrossing read, the pair are just meant to be together but misunderstandings, assumptions & lack of communication make for an unputdownable read, I loved it,
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

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I would give this book 3.5 stars. I liked the family dynamic, the situation with Julia and her job, and even the situation with her boss. I made the story interesting.

What I had a problem with was Kaiden and Julia's relationship. I was so tired of them going back and forth. There was too much uncertainty. To the point I started to think they really didn't need to be together. They can't manage to have a conversation without one of them stomping off in anger.

Then there was the part about the past with Kaiden and Julia's brother Miguel getting into a fight and Julia being angry at Kaiden. I think I know why, but I don't feel like I got enough details to clarify exactly what went on with them.

Kaiden and Julia got their HEA. In all honesty, I would have liked to have seen them being able to get along and have a smoother relationship for a bigger portion of the book. Not the entire book, just more than I got. Or, a least an epilogue where they seemed to be happy with one another.

I voluntarily read and reviewed the Advanced Reader Copy of this book received via NetGalley.

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The family sagas continue. Enjoyed reading about Kaiden and his love match. Family drama, ranching issues, and health problems all add to the tale. Engaging and interesting story. As usual, I skipped over the intimate details.

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The Rancher Meets His Match is the fourth novel is Kate Pearce's Millers of Morgan Valley series, a series I've been following since it began, and I'm sorry to say that this is perhaps my least favorite novel in the series thus far, and for a number of reasons, and I can only in good conscience give it a 3-star rating.

The primary characters, or should I say antagonists, in this novel are Julia Garcia, who left Morgan Valley to become a lawyer, and is now working at a prestigious San Francisco law firm. She's recently been passed over for a promotion she was due, in favor of a rather incompetent male lawyer, Blaine, who is only too happy to have her do all the work, while he takes all the credit for it. This well-paying job is one she needs because she's trying to support her father, Juan Garcia, who has multiple sclerosis, and is now wheelchair bound as his ranch crumbles around him. If he's to stay on his ranch, structural changes will be necessary for his convenience, and Julia will be paying for those herself. Her brother, Miquel, is in the military, and doesn't seem to care what happens to his father, Julia or the ranch, despite repeated attempts to contact him.

The other antagonist in this novel is Kaiden Miller, who was good friends with Julia's brother through their school years, and he harbored a secret crush on Julia. Kaiden chose to remain on his family ranch with his verbally abusive father, a man so ill-tempered and nasty that his wife left him and her children behind decades ago. Kaiden loves carpentry and is a masterful craftsman, and he's been hired to renovate the Garcia home, putting him back in touch with Julia, who has taken two weeks of vacation time away from her job to help her father, find someone to cook, clean and care for him, and to oversee the renovations. She's always been attracted to tall, hunky, handsome, Kaiden, but doesn't take him seriously because of his easy-going, joking manner, and this is where my problem with this novel began.

Julia and Kaiden, while physically attracted to one another, are not well matched--the only time they're not at odds with or misunderstanding one another is when they're in bed, which isn't often. This reader is of the opinion that there's a lot more to a long-term relationship than a couple's ability to burn up the sheets. Outside of sex, these two are constantly bickering, which became rather annoying as the novel slowly progressed. In addition, Kaiden and his father spend a lot of time bickering too, as do Kaiden and his brothers.

Considering the length of this novel, it was almost all bickering with very little character development and very little forward momentum. There are also a few allusions to a backstory that supposedly was the beginning of the strife between Miguel, Julia and Kaiden, but we're never given the full story, just left dangling in the wind wondering where, why and how all this animosity began. Without including spoilers, all I can say is that Kate Pearce is a better writer than is evidenced in this novel. Yes, there's a sort of HEA ending to this novel, but it was far too little and came far too late to actually redeem it.

I voluntarily read and advanced reader copy of this novel. The opinions expressed are my own.

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Kaiden Miller brings love and heart to everything he does. From his responsibilities on he family ranch, to his self appointed position as peacemaker among his dad and his siblings, defusing conflict with humor and hiding his feelings behind the jokes, to the joy in his job as a master carpenter, repurposing and restoring the old buildings in his home of Morgantown. Despite his hectic schedule, he's also more than happy to help out when asked to help remodel the Garcia ranch to make it more livable for Juan Garcia, now wheelchair bound. The only snag in his otherwise enjoyable days is Julia Garcia, Juan's daughter who has come home for a few weeks to make sure her dad is settled.

Julia left Morgantown for bigger and better things. She now works as a lawyer in a high powered firm. Still stinging from being passed over for a promotion that should have been hers, she's taken two weeks off, much to the chagrin of her new boss, When she arrives home what she finds shocks her. Now she's feeling guilty for staying away for so long. Add to that, she has to deal with Kaiden Miller each day while he finishes the remodel of the Garcia ranch. As kids, they were often at odds, but if he's helping out her dad, she'll suck it up and deal.

As they are forced to see each other everyday, old animosities fade Kaiden and Julia begin to learn who they are now and a new found attraction begins to emerge. When a surprise visit from Julia's long absent brother threatens their new found relationship, they are forced to answer the questions of where they might be going and if they can get their together.

I've followed the cowboys in Morgantown since Ms. Pearce's first Morgan Ranch story and I'm always happy to return. I was invested in Kaiden and Julia from the start. The emotions of the characters were palpable. I felt deeply the pain Kaiden kept hidden and could identify strongly with Kaiden and the issues he was having with his family. I laughed with him, I cried with him and got frustrated, worried and angry with him. For me a story is only as strong as its characters. Kaiden and Julia made this a meaningful and memorable read.

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The Rancher Meets his Match by Kate Pearce is the latest book about Morgan Valley and the families that live there. It is a wonderful addition to the series and enjoyed the whole story line!
Kaiden Miller - yes one of those Millers - helps on his family’s ranch and is a carpenter. He is a bit of a jokester, a hard worker, and quite busy with all he does. Yet, when he finds out a neighbor needs his ranch house overhauled, Kaiden offers to help. Little did Kaiden expect he was going to find Julia Garcia at her father’s house overseeing and in fact paying for the renovation. Kaiden has always had a thing for her, but she has hated him for years because of something he did years ago.

Julia has enough going on in her life! She has a new boss who is not capable. She has found her father’s ms has gotten much much worse and his house needs to be made adaptable for him. Then she discovers Kaiden - the man who embarrassed her when she was a teenager - in charge of the changes.

Kaiden isn’t giving up on Julia, until he does. Julia isn’t ready to trust Kaiden, until he lets her down. On top of that, we have deception and lying by family members and bosses. Kaiden and Julia have a chance, if they can just give each other a break. The Rancher Meets his Match by Kate Pearce is another great book about Morgan Valley! The story about Julia and Kaiden will tug on those heartstrings. The Rancher Meets His Match by Kate Pearce is a fun read.

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I enjoyed the storyline, but I do like a book to read a lot faster with a good flow from start to finish.
Kaiden Miller was a happy go lucky guy, or so he let everyone think. Would love to see his etchings, er, his wood carvings, as he's well known for his attention to detail and preserving history, and seems firmly planted in Morgan Valley.
Julia, left this ranch life to become a big attorney in SanFran. Now she's back because her father's MS has gotten worse. She's overseeing and footing the bill for a makeover to all wheel chair accessibility, and trying to get her father's ranch back to order. Kaiden is there to help, like a good neighbor, nevermind he's been in love with her since high school. However, she's heading back to her job and Kaiden has no plans to leave his valley, so why start anything, right? The air fairly crackles around these two, and nature along with fate, even try to play at matchmaking, or at least throw them together. What happens in the cabin, stays in the cabin (wink wink).
Their journey is realistic, riddled with maybe too many cons, often including their own pigheadedness, but small towns do have a unique way of getting all up in your business that can help, mostly hinder.
Received an advance reader copy from Kensington via NetGalley. I am voluntarily giving my own thoughts and opinions on The Rancher Meets His Match.

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I really enjoy Kate's writing and love a good small town/family series. I think it's not that common to find cowboy romances with the steam that Kate brings to the story and I love it. I liked Kaiden. I liked Julia. I liked their story of conflict and coming together to be better for their family. I personally don't love a miscommunication trope. Because I like them and trust in Kate's story telling, I kept going, but felt frustrated often when a conversation could have changed everything. For a reader who doesn't mind that kind of story, this is a great book!

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This is a steamy story about love and forgiveness. It’s a great read but it will definitely get a little steamy at times so be ready. It was a little too much for me and I found myself grazing over that part. The overall story is good, though.

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This book was an unexpected surprise for me. I am not usually the biggest fan of Western Romance Novels, but this book hit the spot. I will say that the chemistry wasn't the best between Kaiden and Julia. The supporting characters and the additional drama made the book. However, Kaiden was completely relatable as the hero. The biggest personality trait that endeared him to me was the making a joke of things to hide his feelings. There was an "unexpected" twist that caused a bit of angst in the book, but it was not overdone and well written.

-ARC received for review

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I think this was my favorite out of the series. Such depth and love to their story. In a world gone crazy, it’s amazing to see our Hero and Heroine “Make It Work”. Julia determined to do what’s right even though it caused some friction in her family and Kaiden was just awesome... the touches he added to the cabinets and the. Memory box just proved how he really understood what makes people tick. Highly recommend this as a must read!
ARC provided in exchange for honest review.
-Blender2007

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This is the 4th book in the Millers of Morgan Valley series. Kaiden is the 3 Miller brother, and he’s the family joker. He uses jokes to deal with everything. He tries not to take anything too seriously, unless it’s his ranching, or his carpentry. When he’s asked do a handicapped accessible remodel, he’s more than willing to help a neighbor. But he doesn’t realize the rancher owner’s daughter will be there. They didn’t like each other in school, and tried to avoid one another. What he doesn’t expect is how attracted to her he will be.
I adored this story. And I can relate a lot to Kaiden, I’m not wanting to deal with the hard issues, and just avoiding them. He is a great character, and you can see into his heart. Julia is also an amazing character. She’s determined, and truly loves her father and wants the best for him. This book was well written, and definitely worth a read. It held my attention, and I didn’t want to put it down.

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Great read! First book I read from Kate Pearce and loved it. The story is of Julia and Kaiden in small town Morgan Valley. They have a history that goes back to their youth, but Julia couldn’t wait to get out of town. She became a lawyer and seldom came home, but her father has MS and needs her help. Kaiden is the 3rd son of a large ranching family and was also at one time Julia’s brother Miguel best friend. Kaiden was always the joker, class clown and rubbed Julia the wrong way. He is now a carpenter and Julia needed advice and help renovating her dad’s house to accommodate his wheelchair. Sparks ignite and temperatures flare. The characters are wonderful.....looking forward to reading more from Kate Pearce.

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We are back in Morgan Valley with the Millers. Boys, now men, that grew up to become good men in spite of growing up with a very difficult and unkind father.
This story belongs to the middle child, Kaiden Miller, the jokester and “happy one” , and Julia Garcia, the girl he always had a crush on, now a lawyer in San Francisco.
Kaiden , is a talented carpenter as well as working part-time in the family’s ranch. Julia decides to take time to come home and help her dad who is now confined to a wheelchair due to MS, and hire people to make his home home wheelchair friendly. For that purpose Kaiden is hired as the contractor.
The attraction grows as they spend time together but he feels she’s classy and lives in the city , while he is the local carpenter. In the middle of all the stress Julia is dealing with her father, her problems at work keep on mounting. Especially when dealing with a back stabbing new boss.
A great deal of misunderstandings arise, having both saying things they’ll regret. Will they be able to get at least their friendship back? Or will their only contact be from afar?
While the plot was engaging the story is truly about the complexities and dynamics of families. It’s also a story about finding that someone that “gets you” and where one feels “safe”.
This was a good addition to the series.
I was entrusted a copy of this book by Netgalley. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

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Julia has a difficult life. Both at work and at home. Kaiden ends up being someone she can talk to and he seems to understand, before his pigheadedness gets in the way. Kaiden has a difficult father. He's afraid he'll end up just like him. At times he does. Talking it out and listening is what it takes to save all of the relationships in this book.

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I've been looking forward to Kaiden Miller's book. I like the author pairing him up with Julia Garcia. They make a great couple. Really good for each other. This is the fourth book in The Millers of Morgan Valley series by Kate Pearce. I've loved all the previous books in the series and this one is no exception.

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Kaiden and Julia don't have a pleasant history so when they see each other after all those years they are not very happy about it. But after spending some time together they see that they both changed in a good way. The only problem is the distance. A great love story between two different people that work very well together. Both Kaiden and Julia are well developed and likable together they make a great couple but the journey for them being together is not very smooth and they must overcome a few obstacles for their HEA.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for NetGalley

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This is a great addition to the Millers of Morgan Valley series. It is well written and revolves around Kaiden Miller and his attraction to Julia Garcia. After a lot of misunderstandings, jumping to the wrong conclusions and admitting to their own shortcomings, their is a HEA for them but it did not come easy. There is a lot going on in this story which makes for a great read. I would highly recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley and are voluntarily leaving a review.

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3.5 stars

I have to admit that I didn't like this book as much as I had hoped. I feel like 90% of the book Julia & Kaiden were fighting each other. And not even in a good way where you could tell that they really liked each other. They just fought.

These two had a crush on each other when they were teenagers, but the other one didn't know. They reunite as adults when Julia comes home to take care of her father's house after his MS progressed. Kaiden is the carpenter that will build her dad's ADA kitchen cabinets.

I just didn't see any chemistry between these two and don't get me started on how short tempered each of them was. Did I mention that they got on my nerves with all their arguing?

It was a cute book, but not a great book.

I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review. The opinions stated above are mine without biases.

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