Reread this and had totally forgotten I'd read it until I was most of the way through. I'll stand by my original three stars. Nice read but obviously not really memorable. ( )

I like Joan Johnston as an author and have really enjoyed her other books. I agree with other reviewers that this book felt disjointed and somewhat confused. There were a lot of loose ends and things unexplained. I hope the things that bothered me will be explained in the next book. ( )

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:


WARNING! Gushing ahead!!!

Without a doubt, this is a character-driven story which, combined with fast pace and more than one couple to root for, will take you on a journey of self discovery for all characters. Ms. Johnston made sure that her writing was so good that as a reader, I just ‘wanted’! This multidimensional story left me laughing, crying, and definitely wanting more.

I wanted to know about all the kids that were left behind, and I wanted to know what happened to Jake’s father. I adored this book so much that as soon as I was done with it, I wanted to know more about Jake’s mother and her second husband. I NEEDED to know more, so off I went and bought all of the books connected to this dynamic and dynastic family.

I am all in knots waiting for WYOMING BRIDE (Hannah's story), MONTANA BRIDE (Hetty's story) and BLACKTHORNE'S BRIDE (Josie's story). I am not a patient person, so I’m reading all her books while waiting for these to hit the shelves or my Kindle.

Melanie ( )

I’m glad I gave this series another chance. The first book of the series I read, Book 3, I abandoned as I hated the lead heroine and I felt the untruths went on for far too long. This one, Book 1, is far better in my estimation. It hits the spot perfectly for a western historical romance.

The whole mail-order bride/marriage of convenience thing has become a real weakness for me since starting to read historical romances more often. I loved it in this work as well. Both Miranda and Jacob come from hard-lived, tragic pasts that come with a ton of baggage. Their journey as a couple while dealing with those painful pasts made the book for me.

I liked that the author kept the secrets and misunderstandings to a minimum. Those aspects of historical romance drive me up the proverbial wall, and they seem to crop up in so many titles. The secrets of Miranda’s brothers and Jacob’s daughter come out real quick. Miranda’s sisters stay secret for a bit longer but their existence is learned only about half way through. So that’s not held over the story’s head until the very end, either. I liked that refreshing departure.

As unique individuals, Jacob and Miranda are strong and carry the story well. I liked their combinations of strength, heart, and vulnerability. They dealt with the issues and problems that came their way in realistic ways and developed as individuals as a result of those obstacles. The only chink in the books armor, occurred in this area, though. There were times where Miranda read as too perfect: beautiful, strong, courageous, a bit vulnerable, willing to sacrifice her life for others, hard-working, and sweet. While those aren’t bad in and of themselves, they do stand out starkly if not balanced with a few sins.

I loved the chemistry between Jacob and Miranda as well. There’s definitely a ton of tension of the sexual variety present. Yet, due to Jacob’s no pregnancy rule, the amounts of sexual encounters are lower than one would imagine for a western historical romance. I actually liked that; it left lots of room for the development of their emotional connection. I loved seeing that develop, even if it did over such a short time period that the book takes place during. They seemed to balance each other out so well, filling holes in their souls with each other’s love.

Like I mentioned, I’m glad as heck I gave this author and series another chance. Her characters and romance make the story shine. Even though there are a few romantic clichés and too-perfect characterizations, overall they are not as present as they could have been. I’d definitely recommend this title to lovers of historical romance, especially of the Western variety. I look forward to reading more books by this author. ( )

Typical Johnston. Funny, feisty, feels modern. Johnston seems to have this running theme of men not wanting women to suffer the pain of childbirth -- or death. Overall worth the read and worth reading the other two books ( )