Way More than the Typical Western Romance

Only recently have I gotten into reading historical Western romance. I’m more of a Regency kind of girl. But one does sometimes get tired of the same old same old, so I ventured out into Old West romances by authors like Kathleen Lawless and Jacqui Nelson. I was surprised how much I enjoyed a subgenre so different from my favorite! How fun it is to discover new reading delights. When I first saw the cover of this book, I thought it would be a typical Western romance. I am pleasantly surprised that it was so much more than that. The first scene is gripping in the way that all first scenes should be. It starts with a literal bang, almost. Then the author gives relevant backstory in a way that is actually dramatic and fascinating to follow as we watch two people who have been separated by 14 years, lies, and misunderstandings start to try to sort the truth out between them. The characters are truly drawn in a uniquely individual way. And the plot has so much tension you can cut it with a knife. Even broader themes are looked at in this book. The novel had surprising depth for what could have easily been a simple, typical Western Romance. This far exceeds the norm and is everything that a Western romance should be.

Time-Slip Romance at the Time of the Alamo

What a well-written story, and what a twist at the end! I would love to know how Aubrey and Tapley’s story continues after that! I’ll admit that I tend to pick up most time-travel or time-slip romances because I love both history and romantic tales. This one was definitely different but in a good way. The heroine is a modern-day Texas college student. A truck accident somehow pulls her back 1836 before the infamous Battle of the Alamo. She has assumed, apparently, another young woman’s life, complete with a somewhat of a jerk fiance. Life in 1830s Texas is rough in general and particularly tough on women. Unlike many historical romances, the author doesn’t sugarcoat the role of women at the time. The true hero, Tapley, is the almost stereotypical strong-and-silent type, though the author has given him more depth than that would suggest. It’s easy to see why Aubrey falls for him, and of course, we do too. But what is Aubrey to do and how is she to react, knowing what history has in store for people that she has come to care about? The author brings all the feels as Aubrey faces all of this and the aftermath. I love, too, how the author wove in real people like Davy Crockett and actual events. An exceptionally well-done time travel romance that explores a unique moment in American and Texas history.

Excellent Start to a New Series

Even though this is the start of a new series, it is great to see some characters that we’ve seen in passing (or more in-depth) in other books closely related to this series. I loved Grandpa Gus before, so it was a delight to see him again. But this is the story of Brynmor and Lark. She is attempting to make a complete separation from her villainous troupe manager and collect her sisters of the heart after they scattered attempting to run away from Ulysses after he nearly choked Lark to death. Unfortunately for Lark, her sisters are not at their predetermined meeting place—but Ulysses is. He makes moves to reclaim her, of course, but Brynmor is there to save the day. Not everything is resolved in this book, but that’s fine because there’s more to the series. This book is a fast-paced read as the hero and heroine try to sort out the mess as well as their feelings for each other. I like both of these characters. They are both up against so much, yet they are determined and very strong and even stronger together. They are both so willing to protect and sacrifice for those they love. The little lambs added a sweet note as well. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Good Characterization; Flawed Delivery

The author successfully managed to create two very different sisters. She sets this up when the book opens. As one of five sisters myself, I quite enjoy the interaction between these two ladies. In fact, I think the author’s greatest strength is characterization in this novel. All The characters felt distinct. I wasn’t as enamored with the plot. The blurb seems to promise one thing, but the book delivers another.  Also, the book is billed as a western romance, but it seems more heavy on the western revenge plot than the romance part. There were some problems with grammar, punctuation, and usage, especially with dialogue. The author didn’t seem to understand how to punctuate or capitalize dialogue, and that was a little distracting. She also likes to use some very emotive dialogue tags, which can be distracting as well; I’d like to think the sisters weren’t truly exclaiming or demanding as much as the author said they were! I rarely see westerns that are based in Canada, so that was an interesting variation from the typical western.

Complex Romantic Tale of the Old West

This second-chance-at-romance Western tale is surprisingly full of subplots, crazy characters, and double crosses that often happen in stories of the Old West. A greedy land grab? A murderous old man? Precious minerals? Perhaps lost treasure? Long-lost mother showing up? This author has packed a lot into a novella, that’s for sure. Laura has come back to Bullet, Arizona, because she fears that her love from ten years ago is at the crux of the machinations of a dastardly older man who wants Brody’s property. She was able to ingratiate herself with that man’s son and let him think that it was his idea that she become the new schoolmarm in Bullet. But what she really wants to do is figure out this man’s plot against her teenage love. Her and Brody’s relationship ended poorly because she made a bad decision. He has remained unwed, and his heart was broken by her because of her treatment of him back then.

Bullet is a nest of vipers, most working at the behest of Hawkes (the bad older man), as well as a place where good people are just trying to live their lives. The most interesting characters are the men who live at Brody’s ranch, the Copper Moon. They called themselves brothers, and while some are, they are more brothers bound by hard work, a shared history, and a desire for a better future. I really enjoyed the brother characters, and I look forward to their future romances, as the title of the series suggests. All in all, I enjoyed this complex story about the happenings in the small town of Bullet sometime in the late 1800s, and I’m eager to learn more about these characters and seeing what else unfolds in this small town.