C2’s review of A Town Called Valentine (Valentine Valley, Book 1) by Emma Cane
Contemporary Romance published by Avon 31 Jan 12
A new name to contemporary romance (but familiar to historical fans, under another name) begins a series set in a small western town called Valentine. I do enjoy small-town settings, don’t you, faithful reader? Even though they are never anything like the small town I grew up in…no fictional small town will ever match that weirdness. Heh. Onward!
Our heroine, Emily Murphy, is reeling from an unpleasant divorce. She is trying to move forward with her life and will be attending Berkeley starting in the fall. In the meantime, she has driven from San Francisco to Valentine Valley to sell a building she inherited from the grandmother she barely knew. Emily arrives in town late on a rainy night, with not much money and a sickly car. She manages to make it to the parking lot of a tavern and goes in for some dinner. While Emily is there, she notices an attractive cowboy across the room. They flirt for a bit and go into the backroom to play pool – where things get a bit hot and heavy. Before things go too far, Emily calls a halt…she realizes she has had too much to drink and is groping a virtual stranger.
Nate Thalberg, local rancher and businessman, was enjoying the groping and would have been glad to continue. However, he respects Emily’s wishes and lets her go…out to her car that won’t start. When she comes back into the tavern to call a tow truck, Nate and Tony (the tavern owner) explain that no one will be available until the next day and there aren’t taxis either. Nate offers to take her to a nearby motel, but Emily doesn’t have much money and asks to be taken to her building. Instead, after showing her the inhabitable state the building is in, Nate takes her to the Widows’ Boardinghouse to stay until she can fix things up.
During her time in Valentine Valley, Emily works hard to improve her building (trashed by the previous tenants), becomes acquainted with the area, develops close friendships, becomes more confident in herself and her abilities, and is surprised to learn some new facts about her background. She also gets closer to Nate – but not too close…Emily still plans to sell the building and go back to school. A fling is all she has time for. Right??
Nate is happy to fling. He is a busy guy with lots of business interests and also helps run his family’s ranch – and is in charge of the upcoming rodeo. After several relationships that ended badly after he took too active a role – being too helpful, allowing the other person to become too dependent – Nate likes to keep things casual. And if it is more difficult than usual to be casual with Emily, well, she won’t be around long and then things will go back to normal. Won’t they??
I enjoyed the town of Valentine and its residents…it feels very real and not just an afterthought setting. Lots of interesting characters with potential for future stories – without super-obvious sequel baiting. The widows are fun, especially. The dialog is a bit odd in places…like, unusually formal. It’s hard to explain or even to find an example. Somehow, in a contemporary romance, it’s a bit jarring sometimes because it seems awkward and keeps some scenes from flowing properly for me because I’m all “Who talks like that??” and re-writing dialog in my head (and I’m no writer).
”I’m selling the building and returning home to San Francisco.”
Emily is a bit confusing to me. She says early on that she didn’t really enjoy college and didn’t mind quitting when she got married but is so determined to return to San Francisco and start classes at Berkeley…even though she admits she has no idea what she wants to study and isn’t sure what she wants to do. Also, the fact that she refused financial support from her husband after their divorce seems unlikely – even if she didn’t want alimony or whatever – there should have been a split of assets and whatnot, I’m thinking, since California is a community property state (I am not a California resident nor am I a lawyer and I know this, so…). Why did she have no money?? Still, it is always nice to see a heroine who doesn’t sit back and expect people to do everything for her and Emily certainly is very active in moving forward with her life. If she goes overboard in the opposite direction or is a bit narrow in her thinking and ignores some possibilities, well, she is coming out of a difficult time.
Ah Nate – it’s always nice to see a cowboy hero, right? And I didn’t have a hard time believing he keeps things casual because of his past relationships. His relationship with his family is fun (even when they’re fighting) and believable. And Nate tries really hard to not help Emily too much, even if his natural inclination is to help and help and help. Still, the relationship feels a bit awkward.
Overall, I enjoyed A Town Called Valentine and look forward to the next installment. Certainly, the positives outweigh the negatives. If you enjoy small-town settings or are looking for a modern western setting, this book might be just the thing.
Grade: C
Summary:
Emily Murphy never thought she’d return to her mom’s rustic hometown in the Colorado Mountains. But after her marriage in San Francisco falls apart, leaving her penniless and heartsick, she returns to her old family home to find a new direction for her life. On her first night back, though, a steamy encounter with handsome rancher Nate Thalberg is not the fresh start she had in mind…
Nate has good reason not to trust the determined beauty who just waltzed into town–he’s no stranger to betrayal. Besides, she’s only there to sell her family’s old property and move back out. But as Nate and Emily begin working side-by-side to restore her time-worn building and old family secrets change Emily’s perception of herself, both are about to learn how difficult it is to hide from love in a place known far and wide for romance, family ties, and happily-ever-afters: a town called Valentine.
Read an excerpt (scroll down a bit).
