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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
I was really loving this until everyone involved just ran from their issues and miscommunicated and caused a giant mess. The ending worked out but I was so over it by then that I had checked out. But the first 65% was adorable. Houston was a total sweetie.
As cringey as you expect from a novel with a bare-chested man on it.
First off, this cover. I learned a fun fact from the woman at Half Price Books when I picked this up. Did you know that men only ever show one nipple?
Second, Amelia in the book is described as having blonde hair, this woman is clearly a brunette. And is the dress supposed to be the clover dress that is mentioned a hundred times in this book? Because that is blue.
What is there to say beyond the characters are your typical one dimensional basic historical fiction characters. Ameila falls in love with the first man she sees, Houston falls in love with the first woman he sees. Dallas is your basic good, loyal older brother. I did like the cute boyish-ness of Austin.
...
My favorite ridiculous line in the book
Houston buying a dress for Ameila "You got something that looks like the earth? The dress maker returns with a brown dress. I didn't say dirt, he grumbled. Something that looks like clover." The dress maker goes on to say if you want green just say green. HA
Never once has any man I know referred to anything as clover. So I asked my husband for haha's. His reaction was equally amusing.
First off, this cover. I learned a fun fact from the woman at Half Price Books when I picked this up. Did you know that men only ever show one nipple?
Second, Amelia in the book is described as having blonde hair, this woman is clearly a brunette. And is the dress supposed to be the clover dress that is mentioned a hundred times in this book? Because that is blue.
What is there to say beyond the characters are your typical one dimensional basic historical fiction characters. Ameila falls in love with the first man she sees, Houston falls in love with the first woman he sees. Dallas is your basic good, loyal older brother. I did like the cute boyish-ness of Austin.
...
My favorite ridiculous line in the book
Houston buying a dress for Ameila "You got something that looks like the earth? The dress maker returns with a brown dress. I didn't say dirt, he grumbled. Something that looks like clover." The dress maker goes on to say if you want green just say green. HA
Never once has any man I know referred to anything as clover. So I asked my husband for haha's. His reaction was equally amusing.
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
**Most of my reviews contain detailed CW/TW sections, which may include spoilers. I have tried to mark them appropriately, but please use caution.**
4.75/5
Audio (Eva Kaminsky)
Summary: When his brother breaks his leg, Houston must travel to retrieve his brother's mail order bride and bring her back to their home on a journey of several weeks through west Texas. On the journey, they encounter all manner of crisis, disaster and danger, and become increasingly close as their mutual tragic pasts, his family estrangement, and her engagement interfere with their love.
Stats: HR Western, M/F, very, very limited open door, part of a series (stands alone)
Notes: This is a lovely story, with all the good stuff of a traditional HR/western, a heap of family drama, and plenty of angst. I did feel like the backstories for both characters were a little overcomplicated, but at least in the MMC's case, it's clearly setting up future books in the series. The final crisis was a little random and out of left field, but was handled in an interesting way. The narrator is very good, but a little airy and ends every sentence on a pretty heavy stop.
4.75/5
Audio (Eva Kaminsky)
Summary: When his brother breaks his leg, Houston must travel to retrieve his brother's mail order bride and bring her back to their home on a journey of several weeks through west Texas. On the journey, they encounter all manner of crisis, disaster and danger, and become increasingly close as their mutual tragic pasts, his family estrangement, and her engagement interfere with their love.
Stats: HR Western, M/F, very, very limited open door, part of a series (stands alone)
Notes: This is a lovely story, with all the good stuff of a traditional HR/western, a heap of family drama, and plenty of angst. I did feel like the backstories for both characters were a little overcomplicated, but at least in the MMC's case, it's clearly setting up future books in the series. The final crisis was a little random and out of left field, but was handled in an interesting way. The narrator is very good, but a little airy and ends every sentence on a pretty heavy stop.
OTT and Spoilery Content Warnings (CW) and Trigger Warnings (TW):
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very predictable and sweet story! I would recommend to anyone in the mood for a cowboy love story.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Strong start and middle, kind of a rushed ending. I was honestly surprised near the ending and was almost thinking this might not have an HAE, but then it did.
This is 1876 post-Civil War with 3 brothers who were named after the city they were born in; Dallas, Houston, and Austin. Dallas and Houston fought in the war with their dad. Dallas has created this ranching empire with 2000 cattle and built this massive god awful house with random turrets and shit. The only thing he's missing is a wife - which is why he posts an ad that Amelia answers.
Amelia is an orphan from Georgia. Her family used to have a plantation with slaves and everything. Later in the war her dad died and her mom and 2 older sisters were brutally raped. Her mom hid her in the coffin with her dead dad while the rape was happening for hours, which is why she's terrified of the dark now. She shows up in Fort Worth with 1 set of clothes and a mostly-empty bag.
Dallas broke his leg trying to break a stallion right before he was supposed to get her so he sends Houston in his place. This is a road trip trope for the first half of the book. They encounter lots of obstacles that force them to slow down and spend more time together - Amelia gets bitten by a snake and he has to care for her while she's fevering, they stop at Beth & Will's? homestead and have to share a bed (nothing happens), they lose everything in a river crossing and this is when he finally kisses her for the first time, and then they come across wild Palomino horses which Amelia makes him stop to catch as part of his small dream to breed horses. Overall their 3 week trip ends up taking 43 days to get back to the ranch.
By then they've both fallen for each other but Houston is loyal to his brother and doesn't make any effort to keep Amelia for himself. Amelia ends up going through with the marriage because Houston refuses to admit he loves her, and she has nothing to go back to. Amelia and Dallas actually do get married!!! So crazy.
Before they can consummate it though, she's stolen by the same band of horse thieves who stole Black Thunder, Houston's stallion, from Austin and they steal all of Dallas' horses too. Dallas and Houston rescue her and Houston unnecessarily but heroically sacrifices himself to protect her and gets shot in the shoulder. Amelia nurses him back to health and Dallas can pretty clearly see how much she cares for him, but after he's all better Dallas STILL TRIES TO CONSUMMATE THE MARRIAGE. They're literally in bed with Dallas on top of her and her thinking "Ok this is nice" when Houston barges in and asks Dallas if they can annul their marriage. Dallas AGREES saying any woman will do (jesus). So they get married a few months later (this didn't make any sense, he was dying to bed her but they waited months?) and she has a real wedding dress.
Part of Dallas and Houston coming to terms were that they reconciled with each other.
Dallas was leading regiments and stuff at 19 while 15-year-old Houston was the drummer boy. The reveal is that Houston feels like he killed his father because in the thick of the battle he ran away and his father ran after him, then there was an explosion which killed him and horribly scarred Houston causing half his face to be messed up, lost an eye and is deaf in one ear and there's scars on his body. Houston thinks Dallas hates him because he got their father killed. Dallas thinks Houston hates him in turn because he was the one who forced the doctor to operate and save him, even though the doctor warned that most soldiers in his condition suicide rather than live so disfigured (wtf though he didn't lose any limbs, he's 100% healthy besides his eye & ear). They grow closer as a family when they reveal this to each other and Amelia points out that Houston was younger than than 16-year-old Austin is now.
This is 1876 post-Civil War with 3 brothers who were named after the city they were born in; Dallas, Houston, and Austin. Dallas and Houston fought in the war with their dad. Dallas has created this ranching empire with 2000 cattle and built this massive god awful house with random turrets and shit. The only thing he's missing is a wife - which is why he posts an ad that Amelia answers.
Dallas broke his leg trying to break a stallion right before he was supposed to get her so he sends Houston in his place. This is a road trip trope for the first half of the book. They encounter lots of obstacles that force them to slow down and spend more time together - Amelia gets bitten by a snake and he has to care for her while she's fevering, they stop at Beth & Will's? homestead and have to share a bed (nothing happens), they lose everything in a river crossing and this is when he finally kisses her for the first time, and then they come across wild Palomino horses which Amelia makes him stop to catch as part of his small dream to breed horses. Overall their 3 week trip ends up taking 43 days to get back to the ranch.
By then they've both fallen for each other but Houston is loyal to his brother and doesn't make any effort to keep Amelia for himself. Amelia ends up going through with the marriage because Houston refuses to admit he loves her, and she has nothing to go back to. Amelia and Dallas actually do get married!!! So crazy.
Before they can consummate it though, she's stolen by the same band of horse thieves who stole Black Thunder, Houston's stallion, from Austin and they steal all of Dallas' horses too. Dallas and Houston rescue her and Houston unnecessarily but heroically sacrifices himself to protect her and gets shot in the shoulder. Amelia nurses him back to health and Dallas can pretty clearly see how much she cares for him, but after he's all better Dallas STILL TRIES TO CONSUMMATE THE MARRIAGE. They're literally in bed with Dallas on top of her and her thinking "Ok this is nice" when Houston barges in and asks Dallas if they can annul their marriage. Dallas AGREES saying any woman will do (jesus). So they get married a few months later (this didn't make any sense, he was dying to bed her but they waited months?) and she has a real wedding dress.
Part of Dallas and Houston coming to terms were that they reconciled with each other.
Dallas was leading regiments and stuff at 19 while 15-year-old Houston was the drummer boy. The reveal is that Houston feels like he killed his father because in the thick of the battle he ran away and his father ran after him, then there was an explosion which killed him and horribly scarred Houston causing half his face to be messed up, lost an eye and is deaf in one ear and there's scars on his body. Houston thinks Dallas hates him because he got their father killed. Dallas thinks Houston hates him in turn because he was the one who forced the doctor to operate and save him, even though the doctor warned that most soldiers in his condition suicide rather than live so disfigured (wtf though he didn't lose any limbs, he's 100% healthy besides his eye & ear). They grow closer as a family when they reveal this to each other and Amelia points out that Houston was younger than than 16-year-old Austin is now.
"I’ve got a one-room cabin, a few horses, and a dream that’s so small it won’t even cover your palm. But it sure seems a lot bigger when you’re beside me.”
LOVED THIS SO MUCH
LOVED THIS SO MUCH
Houston playing checkers with his horse was the only thing that kept this from being one star
CW: (Gun) violence, kidnapping, war, physical abuse, rape, slavery, sexual content
CW: (Gun) violence, kidnapping, war, physical abuse, rape, slavery, sexual content
adventurous
emotional
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes