Natural Persuasion

Lonely Julie Reagan finds herself doing the unthinkable: answering a personal ad placed by rancher Jordan McIntyre. He’s looking for a woman to bear his heir and Julie is longing to be a mother and has no father prospects remotely in sight. Despite a rocky first meeting, Jordan is determined to persuade Julie to travel with him to his ranch, which is set amid the majestic Canadian Rocky Mountains. Following an incident with the sea lions that she studies for a living, leaving her badly injured with only Jordan available to care for her, Julie decides to throw caution to the wind and acquiesces to Jordan’s request for an extended visit. After her arrival at the ranch, Julie meets Jordan’s friends and co-workers and finds that all is not as it seems despite the tranquil setting. As Julie and Jordan begin to explore their burgeoning attraction for one another, will she be persuaded by natural means or otherwise to trust Jordan with her life, love and most importantly, her children?

Once again the marvelous Ms. McPhee has written an absolutely wonderful love story set in the most beautiful parts of Canada ever described by a writer. Ms. McPhee has a phenomenal ability to make her scenery come to life so vividly in the imagination of this reviewer. This reviewer has never read a story by Ms. McPhee that was not riveting and engaging, and NATURAL PERSUASION holds true to form. This story is somewhat more sensuous that others this reviewer has read by Ms. McPhee, but it still can definitely be characterized as a sweet romance. The secondary storylines, especially those of the ranch dwellers, as well as the slight suspense element posed by the mysterious death of Jordan’s first wife, are well crafted and add much to the overall story. The premise of two lonely individuals who fear commitment but long for children could have been very trite in the hands of a less sensitive writer, but Ms. McPhee manages to make these characters very sympathetic to the reader and wholly believable. Superb story by a superb author. NATURAL PERSUASION comes highly recommended to all readers of contemporary romance who like their stories full of love and old-fashioned romance!

October 2006