About The Book
In 1870, Mariah Stover is left for dead and with no memory when the Deadeye Gang robs the stagecoach she’s on, killing her father and brother. As she takes over her father’s blacksmith business and attempts to move forward, the old-fashioned townspeople meet her new occupation with disdain.
Handsome and polished Clint Roberts escaped to Western Wyoming from the painful memories he left back east. In the hope of a new life, he opens a diner where he creates fine dishes, but is met with a harsh welcome from the townsfolk who prefer to stick to their old ways.
Clint and Mariah are drawn together by the similar trials they face in a new town, and Clint is determined to protect Mariah at all costs when danger descends upon her home. As threats pursue them from every side, will they survive to build a life forged in love?
Mary Connealy steals you away to the atmospheric American West with an adventure-filled, charming nineteenth-century tale.
My Thoughts
I have been reading this author’s books for years and have always enjoyed the strong faith message in them.
Mariah Stover is no shrinking violet, despite being on a stagecoach that was robbed and that took the life of her father and brother she knows she must go on. She is left with no memory of the incident. I enjoyed seeing Mariah cast as a strong woman taking over her father’s blacksmith shop, a job at this time period known to be a man’s job. The town’s people are not accepting of her doing this as they are used to seeing men do this and are stuck in the old way of thought.
Hoping to escape painful memories Clint Roberts comes to town for a new start and opens a diner but the townspeople are not accepting of him either.
Mariah and Clint become friends bound together by a common ground of nonacceptance and find they have a lot in common. Despite this closeness danger seems to follow Mariah. Is someone trying to eliminate a witness because she is still alive after the robbery?
This is a wonderful start to a new series and it’s so refreshing to see women doing male dominated jobs including her friend Nell who as a talented seamstress makes chaps for cowboys. This story taking place in Wyoming has such a wonderful description of the barren and dusty area that I can just picture it now.
I was going to give this book 4 stars but I am removing one star for it including animal abuse. I could never condone animal abuse and including it does nothing to enhance the story. There are several instances where a dog is abused, and I was so disappointed to read this.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House through Interviews & Reviews for my honest opinion.
About The Author
Mary Connealy writes romantic comedy with cowboys always with a strong suspense thread. She is a two time Carol Award winner, and a Rita, Christy and Inspirational Reader’s Choice finalist.
She is the bestselling author of 65 books and novellas.
Her most recent three book series are: Braced for Love, A Man with a Past and Love on the Range for Bethany House Publishing. She’s also written four other series for Barbour Publishing and many novellas and several stand-alone books for multiple publishers.
Mary will be a published author for ten years in 2017 with nearly a million books in print. She has a degree in broadcast communications with an emphasis in journalism and has worked at her local newspaper.
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