Lone Star Trail (Texas Trail #1) - Darlene Franklin

This book was free for a time and it looked like something I would like to read.  This is a new author for me and I was unsure what to expect.

Wande and her family have traveled to Texas from Germany to claim land in the New Germany, a land flowing with milk and honey.  Wande is looking forward to being reunited with her fiance, who she hasn't heard from in a while.  Unfortunately, upon arrival, it seems like all they seem to encounter is hardship, heartache and sickness.  When they get close to Victoria, their wagon overturns and they are left to rely on the kindness they can find.

Jud is a descendant of the man who first bred the Morgan horse.  He has been in charge of the ranch since his father died and is dismayed at the amount of Germans that seem to be taking over his beloved Texas.  His first instinct is to leave the Germans on the side of the road, but thanks to his mother and sister, they end up living at his house for a time.

As time goes by, Wande and her family become important to the Morgan family.  An accident gives Wande a job inside the house helping with chores and her brother helps out with the horses.  Their little sister, Alvie, is a reminder of Jud's sister, Billie, who was taken by Indians when she was young.  The presence of Alvie helps to heal Jud's heart.

Jud eventually gets past his prejudice of the Germans enough to see that the people in this German family are good people and can be good friends if he would just let them.  He finds himself seeing Wande as more of a potential bride than an intruder in his Texas.

I enjoyed this book.  It was a complete story with the epilogue to wrap up all the characters in the book.  It wasn't all that original, but overall a nice little book with a happy ending.

I did a little research on this series and it's an interesting one.  It involves six novels written by three different authors.  It spans four generations of the Morgan family between 1845-1896.  Each book is supposedly written so it can be read alone.  I looked and the next one in the series, Captive Trail, was only $0.99.  It is written by Susan Page Davis, another new author for me, but I decided to snatch it up.  Apparently, this one is about Billie, Jud's sister.  I'm anxious to see how it all ties together.

The rest of the series is currently on my watch list.  The four other books in the series are: Long Trail Home, A Ranger's Trail, Cowgirl Trail and End of the Trail.  I'll keep an eye out for them.  Regardless of whether or not I end up reading/enjoying the rest of the series, this one definitely gets my Good Book! review.