Dakota Born is an uncomplicated, straightforward book about a North Dakota farmer who falls in love with a “city girl.” Unfortunately, the characters are flat, the farmer is a jerk, and the story is about as exciting as watching grass grow.

Buffalo Valley, North Dakota is a town that’s dying on the vine. Once a thriving farming community, it has deteriorated so much that it’s mostly boarded up shops and vacant businesses. When the town’s high school teacher dies, everyone is sure that it will be the last straw. The town council begins a half-hearted search for a replacement, but they don’t hold out much hope.

Meanwhile, Lindsay Snyder of Savannah, Georgia has problems of her own. She’s just broken up with a man who won’t commit to marriage, and she needs a fresh new start. Her father is from Buffalo Valley, so she decides to take the teaching job for a year so she can make a clean break with her fiancé. She crosses swords with Gage Sinclair almost immediately. Gage is a hard-working farmer who loves his land and his community, and he’s sure a city girl like Lindsay isn’t going to last. He thinks she ought to turn around and go back home before she gets everyone’s hopes up.

You can pretty much guess how it goes from here. Lindsay and Gage have several fights about her status as an outsider. When she tries to help people, Gage tells her she doesn’t know what she’s doing and will never understand because she’s not “Dakota born.” In between every argument, Gage, overcome by passion, kisses Lindsay. Don’t be misled by the “subtle” sensuality rating though – the only sex is between secondary characters. Aside from the whole “city girl” conflict, the only sticking point between Gage and Lindsay is a dilemma involving Gage’s brother Kevin. The solution to this particular problem is obvious, but none of the characters seem to realize that. However, you can be sure that it all works out in the end, and Lindsay the city girl lives happily ever after in Buffalo Valley.

None of these people make very good characters, but they all make excellent stereotypes. You can almost see them in a morality play wearing placards that say things like “City Girl,” “Proud, Noble Farmer,” and “Hard-working Shopkeeper.” Even the most obtuse reader could not miss the message of this book, which is that all farmers are proud, hard-working people with hearts of gold. They are honest. They are self-reliant. You get the picture.

If the book just stuck to this message, its bland plot might be a little easier to swallow. Unfortunately, however, the hero is a complete jerk. He’s thirty-five but he acts more like he’s thirteen. As soon as he realizes Lyndsay plans to stay for a year, he rudely tells her that he doesn’t want her there. Once he apologizes and gets to know her a little better, he continues to lose his temper with her with little provocation. Lindsay is not really an interesting character herself, but I still couldn’t see why she would be attracted to a rude, obnoxious man like Gage.

The one point of interest in this book is a subplot about Gage’s best friend, a man having marital difficulties. His problems are not resolved during the course of the book, so presumably he’ll show up again in the next book of the trilogy. Actually, there aren’t many people in this town, so chances are they will all be reappearing. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any of these characters enough to give this trilogy – or this author – another look.