In honor of June, one of the most romantic months of the year, I decided to read and review one of Nancy Martin’s first novels, Showdown, a romance for Silhouette Books’ Desire Series in 1990.
Nancy Martin is the bestselling author of over 50 novels in the romance and mystery genres including the incredibly popular Blackbird Sisters Mystery Series and the Roxy Abruzzo Series.
If you are fortunate enough to hear Martin speak about writing and/or meet her in person, you will immediately be charmed by her warmth and insightfulness.
You will also appreciate her candor. Martin brings these qualities and a healthy dose of humor to her novels giving her characters depth and relatability.
At first glance, Ross Fletcher and Amelia Daniels seem to be polar opposites. Fletcher was a pilot in Vietnam. Now, he has his own charter service in Montana. Though Fletcher loves the freedom of flying, he’s also a well-grounded cowboy committed to saving his ranch and raising three teenaged sons, Jesse, Luke, and Jake. Amelia Daniels is an expert at contract law in New York City. She chose the Big Apple over the wilds of Montana. Amelia storms into his life in a tailored suit and a designer pair of high heels in search of her teenaged daughter, Zoe, who has run away from an elite boarding school.
Fletcher likes what he sees and isn’t shy about letting her know. Amelia is all business, and it’s definitely not the monkey business he’s proposing. She wants to catch up with her daughter before Zoe can reach her grandfather’s place on Tucker’s Mountain. If the weather cooperates, Fletcher’s airplane will be the quickest way to intercept Zoe. What choice does Amelia have?
Fletcher and Amelia are divorced single parents dealing with the challenges of parenting teenagers. Their ex-spouses are both out of the picture forcing Fletcher and Amelia to prioritize work and parenting before their own wants or needs. They are both attractive, age appropriate, and lonely. Fletcher loves the quiet simplicity of the land and open spaces. Amelia grew up feeling trapped by the solitude of Tucker’s Mountain and her father’s remoteness after her mother’s death. There’s no way she wants that kind of life for Zoe or herself. Getting Zoe off the mountain and back to New York is her top priority. Falling for a cowboy is definitely not on Amelia’s “to do” list.
Martin’s characters flirt in a manner similar to the thrust and parry of expert fencers, and scoring the match is delicious fun for the reader. Fletcher and Amelia have such strong chemistry that it’s never a question of whether they will or whether they won’t. We know they will, and it will be hot. The question is how hot will it be? I’m happy to say Nancy Martin doesn’t disappoint in that department, and she manages to bring the heat without being crude. Best of all, she doesn’t resort to overly flowery euphemisms to describe two consenting adults having sex.
Who knew a thirty-five-year-old romance novel could still have so much to offer?
Her books are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple books, and independent bookstores.
For more information about Nancy Martin and her novels, visit www.nancymartinmysteries.com