Horse lovers beware!
I don’t read a lot of these collections, but I was drawn to
this one by the horses. I also
recognized a few of the authors that I’ve enjoyed in the past, but honestly, it
was the horses. I LOVE horses!
Normally, I would save my final thoughts for the end of the
review, but due to the number of individual stories included in this
collection, I wanted to put my general thoughts at the top.
Let me start off by saying I was extremely disappointed
at the number of horses abused, injured and killed in this book. As a horse lover, I was saddened to note that
5 stories had something happen to one or more horses. Also, for a Pony Express collection, there’s
more about the stations than the riders.
Only two of the stories have a rider as the hero. I only gave one story five stars, the rest I
wasn’t as fond of for one reason or another.
For specifics, you can read the individual reviews below.
A Place to Belong – Barbara Tifft Blakey
Abigail lives with her uncle at a stop on the Pony Express
route. She helps out with the
stagecoaches that come through and around the ranch. Jacob is one of the workers and is waiting
for God’s direction in his life. When
Indians attack, Abigail’s cousin is injured, and Jacob comes to the
rescue. After that, they start to see
each other differently.
This one was a little strange to me. Jacob was a holier-than-thou type, and
Abigail spoke like a middle school girl instead of a strong young woman (“Oh,
I’m so glad, glad, glad.”). She even fainted
at one point. She started out strong
(after the attack), but then cried, fainted, had a tantrum, then cried some
more. The whole romance between them was
odd as well. She claims to have started
to “love” Jacob after he saves her cousin, but she thought she was in love with
a Pony Express rider at that point. Oh,
and I hated the part where the horse got injured. It just didn’t work for me. 2 stars.
An Unlikely Hero – Mary Davis
June 1861
When BethAnn takes a job as cook along the stagecoach route,
she hopes to earn some money while surrounding herself with big, strong men in
case her past catches up with her. No
one would call Fox big or strong, but he shows up time and again to help
BethAnn when she needs it most. He is
attracted to her, but feels like she won’t be able to fall in love with a man
like him.
I loved this story. I
picked it up and didn’t put it down till I got my happy ending. I loved the characters, and the story was
well done. I’m pretty critical of short
stories, the authors only have a short time to develop their characters and
tell a decent story, and this author did a great job. Highly recommended – 5 stars!
The Gambler’s Daughter – Darlene Franklin
December, 1860
Caroline has come to find her father. It’s Christmas Eve, and she thinks she’s
found him at a station for the Pony Express.
There’s no one in, so she sends away her ride and waits. But her father isn’t the one who comes
through the door. Apparently, her father
abandoned the station and now a young man is running it. A woman comes from town, they get snowed in
and spend Christmas together. The
mystery of Caroline’s father continues as his journal is found and clues about
his disappearance emerge. Martin shares
a great deal of the father’s history and doesn’t want to repeat the man’s, or
his own mistakes.
This one was a bit of a struggle for me to get through. I felt like I was on the surface of a story
that never got into the story itself.
Martin and Caroline don’t have the kind of interactions that would make
me invested in their relationship. I
felt like more time was spent on the mystery of the father: what had happened,
where he was, what was in the journal, etc…
On the whole, if I hadn’t expected a romance, I might not have been as
disappointed. 3 stars.
Her Lonely Heart – Cynthia Hickey
Kansas, 1860
Sadie’s husband died, leaving her in charge of their
station. She’s been doing her best, but
she’s lonely. Luke is looking for his
runaway brother, and when Sadie’s son also runs off, Luke offers to stay and do
what he can until his brother returns.
He’s a city doctor, and his father has high expectations for him. Once Luke sees what a wonderful woman Sadie
is, he starts to imagine his life could be on the prairie. With threats of Indian attacks and the
difference in their lifestyles, it’s hard to imagine them finding a way to make
it work.
I liked this one for the most part. I didn’t understand how the father’s opinion
changed so quickly, but it didn’t bother me that much. And, oh my gosh! Another story where they’re hurting the
horses! WHY?! Other than that, I loved the characters, and
the story was well done. 4 stars.
My Dear Adora – Maureen Lang
San Francisco, 1862
Chip’s brother was a Pony Express rider who was attacked and
left for dead. Now, Chip is making sure
those final deliveries make it to their recipients. The final delivery is a letter to a woman
living in San Francisco. He’s not sure
how he’s going to find her, but from reading her letter (since the envelope was
destroyed), he’s already half in love with her.
Adora ran away from home and didn’t find the life she was
expecting. She has a beau, but there’s
just something about him that has her holding back. When Chip shows up with a letter that gives
her hope for the future, she starts to wonder what to do with her feelings for
Chip.
I liked this one, for the most part. Again, the only horse I read about was one
that was shot (really!?), so that was a bit disappointing. I really liked Chip’s character, but I wish
Adora had been a bit smarter. She’d
heard that inconsistencies in Dirk’s stories and noticed them, so I wondered
why she had such a hard time believing there might be something to it. Even though this story had very little to do
with the Pony Express, it was still a good tale. 4 stars.
Ride Into My Heart – Debby Lee
Utah, 1861
Kimimela (Kimi) is part Indian and working at a station
along the Pony Express route. She’s out
for an evening of target practice when she sees her friend get shot. She saves him, but the threat of the men
returning is real. Gabe is a rider that
takes his job seriously, and he wants the men caught.
This one started out pretty good, and it suffered from a
lack of interaction between Gabe and Kimi.
There were a few times a scene was mentioned that I think should have
been included in the story (when she yells at him outside the barn after the
fire), but instead I read about Kimi making a new friend or baking
biscuits. I don’t understand why writers
will classify a story as a “romance,” but have little to no interactions
between those characters so the reader can become invested enough to care about
their relationship. Personal pet
peeve. BUT! Kudos to the author for not
harming a horse in this story – in fact Kimi is upset she scares a horse. 3.5 stars
Echoes of the Heart – Kansas, 1860 – Donna Schlachter
Catherine has an education, but when it’s lost and her
family can’t take care of her, she ends up in servitude to a man with less than
honorable intentions. Her escape comes
when she takes the identity (and stolen items) of her friend who has died. Her friend was bound for Kansas to be wed to
a station master. Benjamin is a man who
deals with an injury and doesn’t think anyone can love him. When Catherine shows up (claiming to be
Maggie) and has letters to prove her story, Benjamin doesn’t know what to say
since he can’t read or write.
This was a pretty good story. There were some inconsistencies here and
there, but overall a decent tale.
Benjamin and Catherine have lots of little misunderstandings that keep
them from knowing how the other one truly feels. Maybe a little too many coincidental
overheard snippets to be believable, but I still liked this one. 4 stars.
Abundance of the Heart – Connie Stevens
Nebraska, 1861
Mercy comes to a station and finds out some of the horses
are injured. Having a special talent for
dealing with horses, she immediately plants herself at the station and isn’t
leaving until those horses are better.
Fletcher runs the station, and at first thinks of Mercy as something of
a nuisance. As time goes by, they come
to see each other in much different terms.
Sigh…another one where the horses are injured. This time with a whip, machete and
spurs. The abuse runs throughout the
whole story and is depressing. I
absolutely loved the part of the story that involved Mercy and Fletcher and
their growing feelings. The problem is
what the author does to the horses. I
mean, a machete – really?! 3 stars.
Would have been higher had the abuse been less prevalent.
Embattled Hearts – Pegg Thomas
Alannah is trapped on the trail with her abusive
stepfather. The man wants her to marry
his son, but instead Alannah runs away with her brother. Stewart, a station master, finds the pair and
offers them shelter. Alannah’s brother
rides off to join the Pony Express and find somewhere safe to take his sister
while she disguises herself as a worker at the station. Knowing her stepfather won’t stop looking,
she’s afraid of what will happen.
This one was good, one of the best in the book. I liked the characters and the story was well
paced. There was a small instance where
a horse falls and ends up limping, but I was still able to enjoy this
story. 4.5 stars – I removed a half star
because I’m tired of the horses getting hurt.
*I received a copy of this book from Barbour Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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