My rating: 4 stars / I really liked it
Synopsis
Tina Cahill, newly
arrived from the East, is determined to get the saloon in Broken Wheel,
Texas, closed for good. To that end, she pickets outside the place every
afternoon. Unfortunately, so far no one has paid any attention.
Vince
Yates earned the nickname "Invincible Vince" because of his reputation
for letting absolutely nothing stop him. Not his tyrant of a father. Nor
the injuries he suffered in the Civil War. Nor the fact that he is
Broken Wheel's only attorney and sheriff yet has no law degree.
But
Vince is about to face his biggest challenge yet: his past has just
caught up with him. His father, mother, and the sister he didn't know he
had show up in Broken Wheel without warning. His father is still a
schemer. His mother is suffering signs of dementia. And his surprise
sister immediately falls for one of Vince's best friends. Vince has a
lot of people to take care of, and Tina doesn't approve of how he's
handling any of them. But with almost all the other men in town married
off, Vince finds himself stuck with feisty Tina over and over again. Of
course, Tina is the prettiest woman he's ever seen, so if he could just
get her to give up her causes, he might go ahead and propose. But he's
got one more surprise coming his way: Tina's picketing at the saloon has
revealed a dark secret that could put everyone Vince loves in danger.
My Review
Another fun western adventure from Mary Connealy! I always enjoy the humor that makes her characters so likeable. Although it can be read as a stand alone, I'd recommend reading the previous novels in the series since they are just as wonderful and the group of men that are "closer than brothers" from their experiences in the war prison camp each take their turn as the lead character. The author does do a good job of making sure the reader knows who everyone is and how they are important.
The initial attraction between Vince and Tina isn't very romantic- kind of like they were each the only ones left to pick from- but as they each accept the others quirks and begin to depend on one another, the relationship blossoms and the chemistry has a foundation to build on. What they have in common is that they both put up a strong front in spite of their vulnerabilities, and they come to admire that in each other.
Vince's sweet mother and her dementia was a unique twist to the story, and had everyone pulling together to support her. I was struck with how the perception of mental illness was so extreme back then, and makes me understand a little more the roots of the social stigma there still can be found today.
(Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review)
Check out the other books from the Trouble in Texas series by Mary Connealy!
Synopsis
Swept away when her
wagon train attempts a difficult river crossing, Ruthy MacNeil isn't all
that upset at being separated from the family who raised her. All
they've ever done is work her to the bone. She prayed for a chance to
get away, and then came the raging flood. Alive but disoriented, she's
rescued by Luke Stone... so unfortunately, there are more chances to die
in her immediate future.
Luke is heading home to reclaim the
ranch stolen from his family. But the men who killed his father are
working hard to ensure Luke doesn't make it alive. He has no choice but
to keep moving. Still, he can't just abandon Ruthy, so she'll have to
come along.
His friends—a ragtag group of former Civil War
soldiers—take a fast interest in the pretty gal. Luke thinks that's
rather rude—he's the one who found her. And the more time he spends
around the hard-working young woman who is a mighty good cook, the more
he finds himself thinking beyond revenge and toward a different future.
For the first time in a long time, Luke is tempted to turn from his
destructive path and be swept away by love.
Synopsis
Dare Riker is a doctor
who saves lives, but someone seems determined to end his. It may have
something to do with the traitors he dealt with during the Civil War, or
it might be related to the recent incident with Flint Greer and the
ranch. Whoever the culprit is, he or she seems really fired up, and Dare
can't let his guard down for a moment, which is a challenge, since
right now he's trying to win the heart of the recently widowed Glynna.
Glynna
Greer came west as a mail-order bride and ended up in a bad situation.
Now her husband, Flint, is dead, and she's determined to care for her
son and daughter on her own. She wants to believe Dare Riker is as
decent as he seems, but she's terrified to lock herself into another
marriage. She plans to support her small family by opening a diner—never
mind that cooking is not her greatest talent. The men in Broken Wheel,
Texas, are so desperate for home cooking that they seem willing to
overlook dried-out beef and blackened biscuits.
Glynna can't help
but notice that danger follows Dare wherever he goes. There's the
avalanche. And then the fire. But things really get out of hand when
someone plunges a knife from Glynna's diner into Dare's back. Are
Flint's cronies still plotting revenge? Is Glynna's son engaged in a
misguided attempt to protect his mother? Is a shadowy outsider still
enraged over past injustices? And can Dare survive long enough to
convince Glynna to take another chance on love?
Synopsis
It's NOT a romance. It's
not very funny, there just wasn't much comedy to be mined for me in
Andersonville Prison. It's not even a real story.
It's NOT a romance. It's not a comedy.
It's not a western. No ropin' and ridin' anywhere.
13 episodes of how my heroes from Trouble in Texas met and how they became so loyal to each other.
