My disclaimer: A lot of times, these novella collections will
tie in the characters with a series the author has already written. I tried to make the connections where I could,
but if I miss one, I apologize in advance.
The Husband Maneuver by Karen Witemeyer
Marietta is in love with Daniel, has been for years
now. He’s under an oath not to do
anything resembling courting as long as he works for her father. Now that he has his own spread, her time is
running out to convince him she’d make him the perfect wife.
Fans of A Worthy Pursuit will be happy to know that Dead-Eye
Dan is back. If you haven’t read A Worthy
Pursuit, you won’t be lost, though.
Dan’s character was one that I loved when reading the novel, so I was happy
to read his story. In this novella,
you’re actually getting two stories in one.
You’re reading about Dead-Eye Dan, dime novel style, and Dan the real
person. I’m pretty critical of novellas,
since there’s so little time to tell a good story, but Witemeyer pulls it off
brilliantly. She not only creates depth
in her loveable characters, she basically tells two complete stories. Great job! 5 stars
Her Dearly Unintended by Regina Jennings
Katie Ellen is watching over her home while her parents are away. A storm washes out the bridge and she’s
trapped with the one person she doesn’t want to see: Josiah. She was rejected by him and wants to send him
on his way, but a stranger causes the plans to change. Josiah is now posing as her husband until they
can figure out what the stranger is after.
I wasn’t fond of the first part of this one. Katie Ellen fights openly with Josiah in
front of the stranger while they’re posing as a married couple. Since they’re unaware of the man’s intentions
or if he’s dangerous, it would have made more sense for her to be a little more
cautious, at least at first. Once the
bickering stopped, the story took off and ended up being a pretty cute
story. This is a story teaching that
things aren’t always as they seem. 4 stars
Runaway Bride by Mary Connealy
Carrie is on the run from the man her father is marrying her
off to as resolution of a gambling debt.
She’s bringing her brother with her, and the first thing they do is run
into Big John Conroy. He’s been sent by
Carrie’s sister, Audra, to bring her safely to Colorado. Being a Texas Ranger, he knows what to do,
and he’s going to need his skills to keep Carrie away from the man who will
surely track her down. When they’re
spotted by one of the man’s hired men, their destination changes as John seeks
help from old friends.
This was a cute story, but there are oodles of
characters. They appear to have ties to
part of the Trouble in Texas and Kincaid Brides series. I haven’t personally read either of those, so
trying to keep track of all the characters was a challenge. There were almost too many for such a short
story. John’s change of heart with the
marriage idea threw me for a loop, and I wished there had been some sort of
explanation of what changed his mind.
Overall, a decent read, 3.5 stars
Engaging the Competition by Melissa Jagears
Harrison has been asked to talk to an old friend about her
upcoming marriage. He’s been avoiding
Charlotte (Charlie) ever since she humiliated him with his own gun. But since her father has died, he feels a
responsibility to make sure she knows what she’s doing. A storm leaves Harrison without his glasses
and it’s going to take some time to get new ones. Charlie feels like she needs to help him,
since he tried to help her during the storm and agrees to assist him in his
teaching job. As they work together,
they come to discover that their feelings for each other are the same, but
Charlie has her mother to think about, so marrying Harrison doesn’t seem like
an option.
This story was really cute and I enjoyed it. I sympathized with Harrison a great deal,
because I would probably be as helpless without my glasses as he was. Charlie was a lovable character with her
dedication to her mother. When she was
able to see herself through Harrison’s eyes, she came to realize her own worth
and the story had a great ending. 5 stars
Overall, this was a good collection of four stories with
unusual proposals. I did enjoy a few
more than the others, but I didn’t have one that I didn’t like at all. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to any
hopeless romantics out there! Good Book!
*I received a copy of this book from Bethany House through
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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