Sandy M’s review of Montana Dawn by Caroline Fyffe
Historical Western Romance published by Leisure Books 27 Jul 10
I said in my review of Ms. Fyffe’s debut book, Where the Wind Blows, that she’s an author to keep an eye on. With Montana Dawn, she solidifies that opinion for me. Her books are heart-warming, optimistic, and life-affirming stories.
Her characters are people you like to know. They’re everyday folks just trying to live life the best they can, especially when life throws them curves that hurt and devastate. They keep going on, however, just to get through to the other side where peace and contentment and love and happiness can be found.
Luke comes from a close-knit ranching family. He’s in the middle of his first cattle drive, his chance to prove to his father he’s capable of more responsibility. Scouting for strays in a storm, Luke happens upon a wagon mired in mud. Checking it out, he’s startled to discover a woman in labor. Nervous and not sure what to do, he first begins to head back to camp to get help, but then guilt sits and he can’t leave her in her current condition. So Luke mans up and soon there is a new baby girl who steals his heart at first sight.
At first the stranger scared Faith when he loomed over her in their broken-down wagon. But with the next contraction, she knows she needs help. Hoping against hope the man isn’t a criminal of some kind, she succumbs to nature taking its course with the assistance of a handsome cowboy. Finally with her new daughter in her arms, a new protector to keep her safe for a while, she’s on the road to a new life, though still on the run from the people who only want to hurt her and her son.
I really like the cattle drive portion of this story. The men take to Faith and her kids, especially newborn Dawn, and it’s Luke who keeps his distance. Ms. Fyffe does a terrific job of describing what a long and arduous journey a drive must be; including danger during a river crossing with churning waters, anxious animals, and near tragedy.
Once safe and sound at the family ranch, Faith wishes she could be part of a family like Luke’s, something she misses terribly, especially since once she married she never got the hearth and home she expected. Luke’s family also takes to Faith right away, and her guilt kicks in because she knows she can’t stay and put these good people in danger.
Their romance grows slowly and surely as they get to know each other, but it’s Faith’s lack of trust in Luke that sets him on a trip to find out what it is Faith is running from. Not knowing where Luke is going, Faith decides to take the opportunity of his absence to move on, not wanting to say a goodbye that will hurt her heart. When it’s nearly too late, when she’s about to lose all, that’s when her trust in the man she loves finally thrusts through her defenses, but all will be for naught if Luke can’t get to her and the kids in time.
There’s so many lovely scenes throughout this book that will stick with you. Luke being beaned by a frying pan (one of those nice heavy-duty, old-fashioned cast iron ones too), the daring river rescue, Luke sharing his book from the Bible with Faith, Luke learning to be a father to a young boy whose trust in men has been damaged are just a few of my favorites.
Ms. Fyffe’s books are how I picture what it was like in the West’s early days, when family meant everything, life could change in an instant due to death or weather but most especially new life, living was hard but satisfying, and love was for as long as God decreed.
If you’re a western romance fan, you’ll enjoy this latest by Ms. Fyffe’s. It will make you feel good, simple as that.
Grade: B+
Summary:
Luke McCutcheon found Faith Brown unprotected and about to give birth, crouched in the corner of her dilapidated wagon. Though his family’s cattle drive was no place for a widow and a newborn, neither was the open trail. Honor demanded he bring them along.
Delivering her child was only Luke’s first kind act. Honest and wholesome, handsome and strong, the cowboy seemed a knight from some long-ago tale. Faith could tell they longed for the same things. But, fleeing the past, trust was a luxury she could little afford. It lay at the end of the road like a warm hearth and home, like a loving family, like a bright Montana Dawn.
Read an excerpt.
