Have you ever sat down to read a book and just not clicked with it? There’s nothing clearly wrong with the story—no major plot holes or overly annoying characters. All the same, you find yourself unable to really enjoy reading it. My latest experience with this feeling occurred when I opened up Promise Me Texas….
I tend to be a fan of tough heroines. As the eldest of three sisters, I try to have a low tolerance for complaining. I guess it’s no surprise that I enjoy reading about other women who just deal with what life throws at them without whining. But honestly, Paradise Valley took that classic character…
Hearts Unbound is not your typical Eastern-lady-meets-frontier-doctor Western, unless you’re willing to all the way across the Atlantic to get your Easterner: the heroine is Basque. Despite historical details which sometimes interfere with the narrative, and a romance that is fine at best, I still recommend the book for its interesting perspective on a relatively…
Capturing the brutality and fragility of life on the frontier, The Double Cross is a strong beginning to a new series set in New Mexico in the 1780s. As a juez de campo, an agent of the Spanish crown who registers and inspects livestock brands in the territory of New Mexico, Don Marco Mondragon knows…
I really thought for the first 75 pages of this book that I had a D book on my hands. I put down the book several times before I steeled myself to read it to the bitter end. I am glad that I persevered because I discovered a nice little story waiting for me among…
After reading The Last Renegade, the first book in this series, I couldn’t imagine how Goodman could possibly follow up such a delightful and enjoyable tale with anything better. Now I know since she’s outdone herself with this book. Set again in Bitter Springs, Wyoming, the story opens with detective Cobb Bridger being hired in…
When I read the synopsis of this story, I thought it looked simple and sweet, and although I don’t read a lot of Westerns in general, I wanted to read this one. While the romance between our two main characters could definitely be classified as sweet, I would never call this book simple. It is…
I’ve long had a soft spot for Beverly Jenkins’ historicals. She tends to put a lot more history into the romance than many authors, and one could never accuse her of writing wallpaper. With Destiny’s Embrace, she starts a new series in 19th century California with a romance between two very strong-minded people who have…
Remember the books from your elementary school history classes that based fictional stories around historical events? With hypothetical names like “Nanuk of the North” (about a hypothetical Eskimo boy meeting polar explorers), they were a great learning tool, making history feel entertaining and personal. Does the same technique work for historical romance? In the case…
I once said that I’d happily read anything Carla Kelly wrote. Unfortunately, this book convinced me what works for her at around 200 pages doesn’t seem as compelling and interesting when the page count more than doubles. No one who’s a fan of Kelly’s expects her stories to be seat of the pants exciting, but…
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