Hitched to the Gunslinger is goofy. It even has phonetically spelled dialogue. But it is so funny and so charming that I couldn’t help but enjoy the entire enterprise of reading it.
The amazingly-named Gray ‘Quick Shot’ Woodson is a newly retired gunslinger trying to figure out how the simple life works. It’s his irascible horse, Birdie, that directs him to the quiet town of Desolation, where he believes he’ll find his destiny – or at least be able to shed his terminally-cheerful sidekick, Jason Sunshine, who has finally caught up with him.
The orphaned Mercy Douglas wants one thing, and that’s to secure her family’s land and protect it from the avaricious Josiah Banff. She wants to shoot the man herself, before he tries to pressure her into marrying him, but when Gray shows up she realizes there are much easier methods at her disposal. She’ll ask the older, somewhat rumpled man to pose as her fiancé, which will at the least put Josiah off his marriage scheme and buy her more time to think of a solution to her problems. Gray has no desire to get mixed up in Mercy’s affairs, but in trade for a quiet spot in her house and regular meals, he’s willing to pretend to be her man. But will companionship turn to love? Will Mercy get to keep her land? And will Gray ever find something resembling peace?
I enjoyed every minute of reading Hitched to the Gunslinger, which never takes itself too seriously and isn’t ashamed to have a lot of fun with its tropes. Add a sweet layer of found family goodness and it’s an appealing, if not fully historically accurate, trip to the Old West.
Gray is a simple guy who wants simple things out of life, and it turns out Mercy is just one component of that. She, meanwhile, yearns for the same kind of thing – family and stability – though she is less reckless than Gray. They banter with a great deal of humor shared and ridiculous scenarios lived through. Their romance is hot and adorable, and colored by their impetuousness and ridiculous life choices (their dance! Gray trying to cut Mercy out of her corseted dress the first time they make love!) and I loved that Mercy is no virgin and Gray no spring chicken (they’re their mid-thirties and early forties respectively).
The colorful supporting cast reminded me of another western dramady I love, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. Take if you will Mrs. DuVere, the town’s brothel owner… and mayor. Add in the lively Birdie and the smiling Jason and you have a great found family for our characters. I like that it’s not Gray alone but the whole town that ultimately comes together to get rid of Josiah.
What a fun little romp of a story. Hitched to the Gunslinger is by no means perfect, but it is darned entertaining and I highly recommend it.
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Sensuality: Warm
Publication Date: 08/2021
Recent Comments …
These characters sound like empty nightmares whew!
Congratulations on the book!
Congrats, Lynn!
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