Sometimes you come across a book that has a well-described setting, nice (if sometimes annoying) lead characters, and an interesting plot. Sometimes you read your way through one of these books and forget all about them the moment you finish the last page. This was my experience with The Renegades: Nick; I didn’t hate it, and yet nothing set the book apart.

Callie Sloane is down on her luck. After her father discovers she’s pregnant, she is banished from her home in Kentucky. Things go from bad to worse when her lover dies and Callie finds herself, suddenly, all alone in the world. Desperate for a better life for herself and her baby, Callie travels to Oklahoma to take part in the famous Cherokee Strip Land Race of 1893.

When Callie finally reaches a plot and victoriously plants her flag, the trouble begins, because half-Cherokee Nickajack “Nick” Smith has already claimed the land for his own, even if he did cheat a little (okay, a lot) in the process. He’s unwilling to forsake the land where he grew up, and now that it’s his chance to take back a little of what the government has taken from his people, he will certainly not give it up to this annoying “widow.” The only solution possible is that they end up as neighbors, with their brand new lands adjoining each other.

Their geographical closeness and half-hearted spats develop into an intense sexual attraction, which both of them attempt to fight. Callie is carrying her lover’s child, for god’s sake! How can she be thinking of Nick? But think she does. Nick, on the other hand, carries the memory of a woman’s betrayal and he tries his best to keep his hardened heart from softening toward Callie. But, sure enough, soften it does.

Of course, Callie refuses to reveal the truth to Nick, although she has no qualms whatsoever about those heated exchanges they share. And heated they are, although they did make reading about Callie’s resolve to resist Nick all the more amusing since inevitably, they would just end up locking lips sooner or later, usually sooner. It helps, however, that her struggles are portrayed realistically – when Callie suffers the hard life of life in 1893, it is told without any “prettying up,” and the danger of living without much protection in the middle of so many shady characters is real.

No such luck with Nick. I am, quite frankly, getting tired of heroes who see all females as evil, conniving bitches, just because one woman in their past behaved abominably. And we had this in Nick, the Hero Who Shall Never Love Again, who equates being female with the one woman who did him wrong. This didn’t elicit sympathy or understanding, at least not from me, and made him a less-than-likable hero, considering Callie’s good intentions.

Their Big Misunderstanding was frustrating to read and I did wish that Callie and Nick had been more honest and understanding with each other. Although the setting and background were well written, it was a little tiresome to have this internal struggle taking place, when it could have been more easily resolved. All in all, if you have enjoyed The Renegades: Cole, you will probably enjoy this entry in the series, but if you’re looking for a great Western romance, I would recommend Lorraine Heath’s Never Love a Cowboy instead.