Lately I’ve discovered that I have more interest in exciting, action-filled tales of the Old West than I ever thought possible and this tale of evildoers, a feisty rancher, and her beloved horse-tamer certainly fills the bill. This is a fun read, although lacking somewhat in emotionality.

Walks in Shadow is a white man who lived with the Comanche from the time he was a toddler. The ways of his own people are foreign to him, but circumstances force him to take the name of Holden Walker and live in the white settlers’ world, finding his way as a superlative horse trainer. For reasons made clear in the prologue (and which I will not spoil for you here), Holden finds his way back to the Timberlake ranch.

When he arrives, the ranch is in an uproar over an ungovernable wild stallion found by Samantha Timberlake, the owner’s daughter. The horse’s beauty and spirit captivate her and she is determined that this shall be her mount. When conventional methods of taming the stallion fail, Holden is able to garner a job at the ranch and tame the horse. His methods naturally capture the attention of Samantha and she finds her thoughts wandering often to the tactiturn ranch hand. Holden fascinates Samantha, a fascination that grows as they spend more time together.

However, Samantha and Holden’s budding relationship faces both internal and external pressures. Because of his past, Holden is afraid to let himself court a white woman. In addition, Samantha’s formidable aunt is uneasy about Holden and discourages Samantha from getting to know him. The encroachment of the Timberlake’s melodramatically evil neighbors who presume that Samantha will marry their son does not help matters.

Samantha and Holden’s romance does not always hold center stage here and that is both good and bad. On the one hand, the characters and setting are more richly evoked than in many novels. In addition to meeting Samantha and Holden as a couple, the reader gets to see them as individuals, including tantalizing glimpses of Holden’s development from Comanche warrior to white horse trainer and Samantha’s transition from a disturbingly “feisty” heroine from Central Casting into a more levelheaded businesswoman. There are also vivid descriptions of life on the ranch and the campy fun eeeevil doings of the neighbors.

Aside from a few eyeroll-inducing plot twists involving various villains, the only major drawback for me was the lack of internal emotion in Holden and Samantha’s story. This was definitely more of an action-driven romance, but I still found myself wondering at times exactly what was going on in the heads and hearts of the characters. The lack of sex was not a problem for me with this particular story as it seemed realistic given the time period and the circumstances, but more scenes of emotion between the hero and heroine would have done much to make this book unforgettable.

Walks in Shadow is an entertaining read, indeed. From the great cover to the very end of the story, I found myself flying through the pages and enjoying my trip to the Old West.