Genre:
Historical Romance/Western Romance
Description:
“1881
Montana. Hardened businessman Sam Taggart hires Emma to care for his
mountain man father and little sister-brat. Emma is neat, plain, a
sock knitting, curvy German immigrant, who alternately enchants and
drives Sam nuts. She isn’t the society businessman’s wife Sam
wants, but he sure wants Emma who is definitely a virgin with every
bachelor in the Territory wanting her and her socks. What’s poor
Sam going to do?”
Author:
“NYTs
bestselling Cait London is published in 28 countries, either as Cait
London or as Cait Logan (both pseudonyms). Currently, she is placing
her early books under the Cait London name and in epublishing. In her
national award-winning career and with millions of copies, she's
written historicals, category/series, paranormal, and now romantic
suspense and women's fiction. She moved to the Midwest from the sand
and sage of rural Washington State. Her novels reflect that small
town western upbringing. In her former creative life, she is/was a
wildlife/scenery artist, specializing in large canvas. 'I love
painting, but writing is where it's at for me now. It's just a
different canvas,' she says.”
For
more, visit Ms. London's website.
Appraisal:
I
don’t read a lot of Historical Romances and I am not sure what drew
me to this Western. It’s an enjoyable read. Sam Taggart has had a
hard life growing up as an illegitimate half-breed whose father,
Harry, never married his Native American mother, Feather, the
white-man’s way. After Feather was murdered, when Sam was only six,
Harry is set on revenge and drags Sam along with him. As a result Sam
left home as soon as he could take care of himself and never looked
back, unless it was in disgust and self-loathing. When Sam decides to
drop in on Harry to show him the success he has made of himself, his
whole life gets turned upside down.
Enter
the girl down the road. Her parents are German immigrants, and Emma
wants to be a business woman. She has no interest in marriage.
However, she sees a way to get out from under her parents thumb.
When Sam drops in on the family, his only interest is hiring one of
the daughters to clean the house he grew up in and to take care of
Harry and Sam’s half-sister, Mary, from Harry's third marriage.
Eleven-year-old Mary hates Emma because she makes her bathe and keep
her room clean. Mary is an unruly character, but is very protective
of her father. I liked her a lot.
After
taking care of Harry’s debts, Sam sets credit up for him at some
local stores and takes off to tend to his business dealings. When he
returns several weeks later to see how Emma is working out, he is
quite pleased with the condition of the house, garden, and other
things around the property. He also learns that Emma has earned a
name for herself knitting socks. She barters for provisions, repair
work, or whatever the passing strangers have to offer for the price
of her socks. She is quite efficient in her small business and keeps
meticulous records.
There
are several twists in the story when Sam decides he could use Emma in
his business dealings by having her keep his books. Mary is thrilled
that Emma will be traveling with Sam until her replacement arrives.
When things start heating up between Sam and Emma you can’t even
imagine the twists and turns that happen. What a fine mess this has
created. Sam has no intention to ever marry or have kids because of
the things he had to endure and still has to deal with due to being a
half-breed. Emma has stars in her eyes and old German traditions that
are important to her and she does eventually want a family. Both Sam
and Emma are very stubborn people, set in their ways, and not willing
to give up what is important to them. Can these two headstrong people
find some middle ground that works for both of them?
Besides
the fact that Emma is a bit whiny and the author seemed to repeat
Emma’s frets too often, I enjoyed the story.
FYI:
There
are several sexual scenes some may find offensive. However, I enjoyed
them.
Format/Typo
Issues:
I
don’t recall any issues of significance.
Rating:
**** Four Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 105-110,000
words
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