Lani Morgan is on the search for a new home. Not just any home will do though; she needs a home with a stable for her horse. Lani hires Ryan Bayliss to help her search for the perfect property, but almost from the beginning, he’s rude, callous and short with her. Lani tries to tell herself it doesn’t matter and in the meantime, continues her search. When a teenage boy convinces Lani to visit his home, she immediately feels a connection to the home and to the boy and his sister. Though she wasn’t initially looking to rent, after all, Lani is a very wealthy woman who could easily buy any property she desires, Lani is still drawn to the warmth and companionship of living with the children, their father and grandfather. Unfortunately, their father just happens to be Ryan.

With a simmering attraction burning between them, these two butt heads, argue, laugh and start to fall in love. Lani knows she should tell Ryan the truth about her wealth, but she’s afraid by being honest, she’ll lose him. Will Ryan be strong enough to love Lani despite her upbringing and wealth?

A Lonely Heart features a strong and determined heroine who has been searching for a family, for love, and for acceptance for quite awhile. Lani has all money can buy, but what she wants is someone to love and who will share her affection and desire in turn. In many ways, Ryan becomes her emotional adversary. They squabble and disagree, but beneath those disagreements is respect for each other’s logic and intelligence, along with of course, a healthy dose of lust. Ryan is most definitely a tad mule-headed. It’s easy to see why Lani became so frustrated with him during certain points in the story because I too became frustrated with him. However, Ms. McGill uses this frustration to keep the reader engaged in the characters.

A charming country setting, some cheeky kids, two amusing dogs, and a cast of other secondary characters help to build the romantic tension to a crescendo. A Lonely Heart tenderly builds up a romance between a man with a chip on his shoulder and the woman destined to win his heart. It’s a pure and gentle romance that will surely please the romance genre purists, along with just about any other romance fan out there.

Reviewed by: Sarah W