The Bride of Johnny McAllister is a sweet, rather gentle western that only just earns a subtle rating – the hero and heroine barely do more than kiss here! It’s smoothly written, and it’s the kind of book that may appeal to readers who like westerns but find many of them too gritty or dark. However, it’s also light on the history and romance, and sometimes the actions of the characters are a little hard to believe. All in all, it’s average.

When Johnny McAllister is falsely accused of robbing a bank and found guilty, it seems like he will surely hang. Fortunately for him, the judge gives him a reprieve: his life will be spared if he will spend a year in a new prisoner rehabilitation program. Johnny is packed off to Barren Flats, a town on the California-Mexico border and put in the custody of retired judge Proctor McMann. Since the judge is confined to a wheelchair, he has a woman who helps him around the house. But Ragan Ramsey is more than just a house keeper; the beautiful young woman is also collaborating with the judge on a book about their prisoner rehabilitation program. She is also more or less in charge of the prisoners, so she spends a lot of time telling Johnny what to do.

At first Johnny can’t help resenting Ragan and the whole town of Barren Flats. He knows he’s not guilty, and he has more important things to do than cool his heels in a small town. Years ago his family was slaughtered by a gang of outlaws, and ever since then he has been trying to catch up with the gang so he can exact revenge. He doesn’t have much use for Ragan or anyone else who stands in the way. But then he learns that Barren Flats has also been plagued by outlaws. Soon he finds himself becoming more involved in the town and its business. Then he starts to notice Ragan’s abundant charms, which makes him wonder if avenging his family is really that important after all.

This is one of those books in which the hero is really the star of the show. We hear a lot about what Johnny is thinking and feeling – and considerably less about Ragan. Johnny is an interesting character, so that’s not really so bad. But this isn’t a very romantic romance. Sexual tension is pretty much non-existent, and the love relationship just isn’t all that believable. One of the reasons for this is that the hero and heroine are in such unequal positions for most of the story. Master/servant and captor/captive relationships can be really hard to carry off in romance, and since these two didn’t do too much talking it was hard to see what they had in common other than the fact that they were both attractive.

As soon as we learn that the heroine’s name is Ragan, it’s pretty obvious that this book will be of the “history as window dressing” variety. Actually, almost everyone in Barren Flats has a made-up name that no one would have had in 1876. There’s Raylene, Shorty, Mazilea, Hubie, Haleen, and Kensil. The actions of the people in Barren Flats are often as unlikely as their names. The entire town cowers in fear because outlaws come through, and no one thinks of shooting back at them. The solution to the outlaw problem, which comes at the end of the book, is extremely far-fetched. And the idea of “rehabilitation” for a convicted bank robber seems a little progressive for 1876 anyway.

Still, Ms. Copeland’s writing flows well most of the time, and this book could have some appeal for those who prefer sweeter, less explicit stories. But if you do like lots of history and lots of sizzle, it’s best to look elsewhere.