Historical Romance published by Berkley 5 May 20
Jo Goodman is one of those authors I’d love to constantly ask, “When is your next book out?” I love her western historical romance stories that much and always anxiously await each one. She never lets me down, giving me a plot to sink my teeth into, characters to love, and in this case, be frustrated with, and a romance that I won’t forget for quite some time.
After tragedy struck years ago, Laurel Beth has been running the Morrison Station, the stage line that is soon to be replaced by the railroad – and she aims to make sure the rails are laid her way. She has competition, but Laurel is a strong, independent, and determined woman. She knows her mind and is rarely thrown off track. Until McCall Landry steps off the stage one day. At first she’s glad the man is not staying around. She’s not used to depending on anyone else but her few employees, and she’s certainly not used to being attracted to someone like this gunslinger.
But Call is definitely taken with Laurel from the first glance, and he takes the one job that will put him right in her path – investigating the stolen Stonechurch payroll that happened right under every nose at Morrison Station. Call has also found it easier not to depend on anyone. He’s been on his own for a very long time. Now he’s looking toward the future, and if only he can get Laurel to give him a chance and look in the same direction, but she has a hard time believing he’ll truly stick around.
What I love most about about Ms. Goodman’s stories is, of course, her characters – always interesting and intriguing from the beginning – and I absolutely love the dialogue. She’s a master at moving the story along with the characters speaking to each other, instead of just telling readers paragraph after paragraph what’s going on. That dialogue also gives you a sense of the old west, right along with descriptions of it. I can see her cowboys leaning against the barn, ankles crossed, grunting a “Huh” in response to something. Of course, that’s just one lone example, and in this case, the secondary characters and their dialogue are just as important, especially Rooster, and you can’t help but enjoy the young brothers working for her. They put me in mind of brothers Finn and Rabbit from In Want of a Wife.
This is the first time that I recall her main characters getting a bit irritated with one another – which led to me being a mite irritated with them – and actually don’t speak to each other for a few days. But it works in this case, Call being the first one to share his emotions, hoping Lauren feels the same, but she digs in and takes her time coming to grips with a possible relationship. As she learns, however, she’s not a coward, enjoys learning all about sex with Call, and finally decides the future needs a fighting chance. The mystery of the missing payroll weaves throughout, and I did guess half of the mystery correctly, but it takes a turn I didn’t think about.
As with every review I write for one of Jo Goodman’s books, I always recommend each one and this one is no different. She writes winners every time.
Grade: A
Summary:
Experience has taught Laurel to be suspicious of the men who pass through Morrison Station. She’s been running the lucrative operation that connects Colorado’s small frontier town of Falls Hollow with the stagecoach line since she inherited it from her father, and she’s not about to let some wandering cowboy take over the reins. But newcomer McCall Landry isn’t just any gunslinger. He seems to genuinely care for Laurel, and with his rugged good looks and mysterious past, he could be the one man to finally tempt her off track…
Call Landry doesn’t expect much from Falls Hollow. He doesn’t expect much from anything anymore. But Laurel Morrison took him by surprise when she put in a good word for him, a virtual stranger, after the stagecoach was robbed–and she keeps taking him by surprise. Charmed by her clever wit and fierce loyalty, Call finds himself falling hard. Now all he has to do is convince her he means to stay–in her bed, in her life, and in her heart.
No excerpt available.
