★★★★¼ My first ¼ star “tacked on” rating. I couldn’t help it; this one just didn’t fall to the four stars level, but it wasn’t quite as smooth as Ms. Thomas’ better known works. Still, it is extremely worthy.
Westin McLain, the second of the Indianan brothers who have decided to move to Texas for the Reconstruction, first encounters Allie when he’s at his lowest and she reaches out to comfort him. Pretty heady stuff when you consider she’s caged as a wild girl, about to be brought on stage for a religious revival meeting.
The front of my copy has a quote by author Debbie Macomber that includes the word “poignant”. I’ve tried to find another word, but none covers this book as well as that one. Allie’s story is heartbreaking, and Wes’s approach to her healing is contrary to his nature, requiring him to do the majority of the talking, since she is practically mute. But he is also a torn man, tortured by war memories and a successful cattle enterprise that just slipped through his fingers via a stampede; does he choose to follow a treasure map with a time-clock ticking or try and find an abused young woman’s unknown family? The surprised in this story was my amount of compassion toward Wes as well as Allie.
Ms. Thomas is a master of character development, managing to make distinctly different personalities for each book, even her secondary characters. I love reading about the growth in her heroes and heroines – and the bloom of their distinctive love stories, all placed in the setting of a western action adventure.
Will these two terribly lonely people realize a priceless treasure can be found in each other’s arms? A given in a romance novel, you say? But how will they get there and will the reader believe the outcome? This one delivers that believable HEA, at least to this reader.
Definitely a good read. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series, known by both monikers: Texan Brothers or The McLain Brothers.
The Texan's TouchTo Kiss a TexanThe Texan's Dream
