seems like it is going to be a great book. loved it ( )

Texas Blue by Jodi Thomas. I really enjoyed reading this one. It's about a Duncan trying to get his cousin's married off. He tells his friend Lewt who is a gambler that that he can't marry his cousins. Then Duncan goes on a mission for the Texas Rangers. Lewt sets out to prove him wrong and goes to Whispering Mountain anyway to meet the girls. When he arrives there he meets Rose, Emily, and Bethie.
Emily is determined not to get married so she has her friend fill in for her, then she goes by the name Em (all she want's to do is work the ranch. After a day at the ranch Lewt gets bored and goes out to the barn where he meets Em. He asks her to help him learn about the ranch so he will know what to do when he marries one of the girls.
This story is about learning to trust. I don't want to tell anything else because I don't want to ruin this story for you. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did. ( )

I am an unabashed fan of all things Jodie Thomas. This one was great ( )

Gambling man, Lewton Paterson wants to marry into a respectable family. He goes to Whispering Mountain and gets enticed with Emily McMurray the daughter of ranch owner. She has switched places with a employee. ( )

Lewt Paterson is a thriving gambler, but is looking for something more real in his life. He decides that he needs a rich wife and when he hears his friend talk about trying to marry off his cousins, Lewt thinks this might be the answer to his situation. When he arrives at Whispering Mountain Ranch as one of the suitors there to woo the cousins, he find that he is more drawn to the female ranch hand, Em.

Emily McMurray doesn't want to get married, so she persuades a friend to pretend to take her place entertaining the suitors. But when Lewt decides to spend more and more time with her, learning about the ranch, Em isn't sure what to do with the unfamiliar feelings assaulting her.

Texas Blue is part of Jodi Thomas' Whispering Mountain series. Even though I've not read any of the other books, this one is book 5, I found myself intrigued with this little corner of Texas that Ms Thomas has carved out and the family that has settled there. The book stands alone quite well, but characters from previous book (and likely future ones) do make their appearances (or at least are well mentioned).

Lewt and Emily both had scarred childhoods, and it's interesting to see how it effects them in adulthood and colors how they see the world and the opposite sex. I like how Ms Thomas really develops the friendship between the characters as the foundation of their relationship instead of just focusing on the attraction.

This book made me cry numerous times. And I also found it to be a page turner when the action (involving a rescue mission to Mexico) picked up in the second half. I recommend this book and am going to be finding myself copies of earlier books in the series as my interest as been piqued. ( )