Lone Star Woman is a slow-paced contemporary romance set in western Texas. In fact, the beginning was so slow, I wasn’t convinced the hero and heroine would ever get together. It picked up in the middle, but had such an abrupt ending, that overall, it didn’t work for me.

Jude Strayhorn is the daughter of a wealthy Texas ranching family. Her father and grandfather want her to marry and give them heirs – male heirs. These plans don’t mesh with Jude’s who wants to become manager of the ranch. However, since her father won’t give her any real power despite her education (science and agricultural management), she’s made secret plans to buy a neighboring ranch. Unfortunately, Brady Fallon has just inherited the ranch and he has no plans to sell.

Brady’s had a difficult life. Raised with little money, he was at one time an exotic dancer to help pay for his education. Just when he seemed to have it made as a developer, his wealthy wife divorced him, took custody of their son, and left him with no money. Brady hopes that the run-down ranch he’s inherited will help him get back on his feet.

I like descriptions of settings, but the author gave excessive descriptions of minor things, such as the condition of a swamp cooler, and didn’t offer up enough dialogue. We spent far more time in Jude and Brady’s heads than they seemed to spend with each other. The two had hot sex a few times, but very few actual conversations or other interactions.

I also became lost in the information dumps about Jude’s relatives. Most didn’t seem critical to the story, and left me wondering if this is a set-up for a series about the Strayhorn dynasty. Less information about Jude’s long dead relatives and more interaction between Jude and Brady would have been preferable.

Initially, I liked Brady a lot more than Jude since at first she came across as a variant of a poor little rich girl. Eventually, we learned that there’s more to Jude than meets the eye. She teaches science in a local high school, helps coach girls’ sports, and is also actively involved in the bull breeding program at the ranch.

I was irritated with Jude’s father and grandfather pushing her to marry men she’d already rejected since their behavior seemed like something out of a historical romance. However, I also felt that Jude put up with too much, and needed to get a backbone. I get that she loves the ranch, and its history, but she puts up with too much.

The abruptness of the ending had me scratching my head, wondering if something was left out. I know that many readers long for straight contemporary romances, and this is indeed one, with not a single funny, over-the-top comedic scene. If you like a slow-paced book, and aren’t bothered by all the compromising the heroine does, you might enjoy Lone Star Woman more than I did.