Reviews

Left at the Altar by Margaret Brownley

vicrine's review

1.0

0/10 DNF

rachelini's review

3.0

This is totally not my normal type of thing. And while the overkill wackiness of the town was too much for me, I enjoyed the chemistry between the main characters.

loverofromance's review

3.0

This review was originally posted on Addicted To RomanceI received this book for free from Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Left At The Altar is the first book in the "Match Made In Texas" trilogy by this author and this ARC is one of the backlogged books on Netgalley. I am super close to 100%, like 98% so I am trying to get through all fo those forgotten books that I didn't even download and do a review for them. Thankfully this author's book are at my library through the Libby app and I was able to find the audiobook for this title. I have been curious about this author's work, I simple adore western romances especially books set in the wild west. I love the pioneer feel to them, and the sense of crafting something new in a very wild and rugged atmosphere. I will first mention the heat in this book is low....its more on the level of inspirational romance style. So it is more fade to black and/or wholesome level. I do not mind this in books but I didn't realize this author wrote with this level of heat.



Left At The Altar is a story that literally begins with that setup. Our heroine, Meg Lockwood, is about to be married to the son of her father's enemy. This wedding will be a way to bridge the gap between the two fathers and mend some bridges and the brutal feud that causes so much splitting loyalties in the town. But then her fiancee breaks it off on the wedding day to pursue his dreams of traveling and admitting his feelings for her aren't what they should be. But her father is furious over it and files a lawsuit against her ex-fiancee and Meg is torn about it. Because while she feels humiliated by the experience, she also doesn't want to force him into a marriage he doesn't want and he is a friend and knows his family couldn't ever pay the 10,000 dollars demanded in the lawsuit. But what she doesn't expect is to attract the attention of a lawyer, Grant Garrison, who has been hired to defend the groom in the case. A match between them currently is forbidden and would force another scandal that Meg doesn't need currently as she is always fighting the current one of being ruined in the eyes of town. But there are secrets that are building this rivalry.....ones that could destroy people Meg care about. Will the secrets that become revealed destroy or unite the town? And will Grant and Meg find a way to be together in ways that will work with her family and the scandal?



Left At The Altar was actually a story I liked, and while I didn't love it like I was expecting to, it was a nice distraction. It didn't have the powerful sexual heat or chemistry I have become used to in westerns, so I had to re-adjust to it since its been a while since I have read a fade to black. But I did enjoy seeing their connection. I will say that there wasn't that much focus on their romance as I would have liked, so it's a mix of historical fiction and historical romance. I did quite enjoy the setup of the story, and there are many other factors that come into play other than the romance itself, there is such a quirky drama plot going about involving the feud and I found it so intriguing and I didn't expect the reason revealed to be the EXACT reason that is revealed. It was so low in my expectations but sometimes I guess we humans blow little things out of proportions but I did enjoy seeing the build-up to the reveal and see the after-effects of it. The romance itself was intriguing, soft and gentle, and not too much conflict despite it being a forbidden theme to their relationship. The angst felt low even though on the surface its not. Not sure if this is a product of the author's intention or just by happenstance, but it made it easy to cruise through this book without getting too involved emotionally.



Overall I found Left At The Altar to be a low steam, sweet romance with quirky moments, laughter, a town feud, and some unique surprises along the way to keep you invested..... A WARM SOLID ROMANCE TO BE ENDEARED TO.