Having heard the favorable buzz surrounding Victoria Bylin’s debut novel Of Men and Angels last year (this despite my colleague’s negative review), I eagerly snatched up her latest book. West of Heaven starts off as a touching story about two flawed and rather unglamorous people finding love and hope, but despite its many exciting and wonderful moments, there are, unfortunately, enough rough spots to make this tale occasionally flounder.

As the novel opens, readers meet Jayne Dawson and her husband of only a few days in a New Mexico hotel. Soon, however, Jayne’s mysterious husband is called away, and the next time she sees him is upon the discovery of his body by rancher Ethan Trent. Jayne is devastated, but she is also determined to bid farewell to her late husband properly – a determination that leads her to become trapped on Ethan’s ranch during a snowstorm.

Ethan is a loner who has no wish to deal with Jayne. However, even though he resents her presence on the ranch and is determined to see her on her way as quickly as possible, Jayne’s health precludes her leaving immediately. As she grows stronger, Ethan also finds himself – very much against his will – drawn to her vulnerability, kind heart, and determination to live.

Ethan is a man who has known pain in his life who, after losing his wife and family, shut himself off from the world. As Jayne persists in pushing through Ethan’s barriers, she awakens emotions in him that both upset him and bring him hope. Though Ethan does not want to love Jayne, he finds himself feeling very protective of her, especially as he learns of the danger she faces. Ethan is a rough man at times, and he is not the gallant, perfect hero of many romantic novels. However, beneath his scars and rough manners, there is still something decent left in him, an aspect of his character that Bylin does a very good job of exploring and developing.

Jayne, on the other hand, is in her early twenties and about ten years younger than Ethan. Though she has also been through a lot in her life, she nevertheless remains very innocent about relationships. She seems to want to believe in love, but she fears marriage after both her own experience and that of her mother. Her blend of innocent yearning to trust and fear makes her something of an interesting character. On the one hand, she can be very strong, determined, and almost fearlessly nurturing of those around her. Yet, she is also very insecure and when this insecurity flares up, she pushes people away in a manner that can make her a bit off-putting to readers.

Still, watching Ethan and Jayne grow certainly has its entertaining moments. At times, their conversations become a bit too psychoanalytical for my taste, but it is still touching to see the two of them fighting their pasts and starting to come together. However, that does not mean that this novel doesn’t have its weaker moments. For instance, Ethan is one of those men that always has a nickname for certain parts of his anatomy. For a very tortured hero, this reads oddly, to say the least. In addition, some of the townspeople – especially the sheriff – seem almost like cartoon characters, making some of the scenes in town a bit tedious. Thankfully, Pastor John Leaf is a wonderful exception; this gunfighter-turned-pastor would make an interesting hero himself.

While I would love to recommend this book, the repeated use of very modern language and psychoanalytical conversations simply make me unable to do so. This book is still better than many I have read, though, and fans of Western romances may want to give it a try. Though flawed, it does have some good moments.