I chuckled my way through this light-hearted love story. Nick Pritchett belongs to the Maverick family, and so many women asked him to do handyman jobs that he started a service for this work. MAVERICK FOR HIRE is the name of his firm.

Cecelia Clifton has been friendly with him for ages and can't believe he's telling her she should treat bachelor men like customers. Nick hurriedly explains that he didn't mean that as badly as it sounds. She should just do more to attract and please them. Cecelia isn't that desperate for a man - but all her friends have paired off, and it's lonely. She works in construction, and steel toecap boots are her usual footwear. Forget sexy dresses, she'd freeze, and she doesn't own a lipstick. Why ever would she not attract men?

I'm used to reading about women in Montana being capable and independent, but Cecelia is a star example, who enjoys baking, referees football games and is determined to help families rebuild their lives following a major flooding disaster in Rust Creek Falls. Why should she have to work hard to attract a man? Why shouldn't a man have to work to get her? I found myself cheering on the lady as her carpenter pal Nick gently guides her through the maze of what men find attractive.

The dates are fun - some set up by Nick - and in a town where beer and darts suffice for evening entertainment, Cecelia starts to find out what she's really looking for in a man. There are plenty of female visitors in town at present, but the wiser men know that the city girls wouldn't stick around in a bitter winter with no shopping. Nick is a really decent guy, who helps out an elderly widower just as quickly as a pretty girl, and who appears too kind-hearted to get rich. He's in big demand though, so there is no reason for him to settle with one girl.

I would call MAVERICK FOR HIRE sweet, but it is also an adult romance with some modern lessons. Seems roles are firmly fixed in small towns and anyone who doesn't conform to the gender expectations is treated with wariness. Leanne Banks is showing us that we need to take ownership of our identity and find the right person, who will treat us with respect.

MAVERICK FOR HIRE is part of a linked series by different authors, and if you enjoy this tale you should look out for The Last Chance Maverick by Christyne Butler.