I read the first two books in this series back in 2015, and very much enjoyed them, and in 2020 I came across the next two books while browsing in a bookstore and snatched them both up. And as often happens, when I have so many different book series in progress, they then sat on my shelves until now.

I’ll admit that it took me awhile to really warm up to Emma. When the story opens, she’s madly in love with Dean, even though she’s never spoken to him. And when she does finally speak to him, she’s so shy that she can barely stammer out full words, much less a complete sentence. She was sweet enough, but her mother was a piece of work, shamelessly contriving to push Emma and Dean together and telling Emma she needs to “trap” Dean because he’s such a good catch. Much to Emma’s dismay and embarrassment, but to Dean’s amusement. He’s interested, and is willing to let Emma’s mother play matchmaker. Actually, I guess my taking awhile to warm up to Emma isn’t quite true – I liked her just fine, until her mother decided another candidate would be better than Dean, and Emma would not stand up to her. Dean was frustrated, and I was right there with him, while Emma kept insisting that her mother had been through so much that she couldn’t go against her wishes.

I loved Dean. He’s a doctor, and his tending to the other travelers on the wagon train was sweet and compassionate. After a tornado ravages the travelers and Emma’s ankle is sprained and swollen and painful, she and her mother and Dean and dropped off at a way station so she can rest and stay off her feet while they wait for the next wagon train to come along. And that’s when the trouble started. They join the next train, where Emma becomes good friends with another girl, Katie, and where she meets Russ, who went to medical school with Dean, was a surgeon alongside Dean on the battlefields, and who tells everyone that Dean was a deserter, along with lots of other stories. The speed with which Emma’s mother suddenly throws her lot in with Russ and begins pushing Emma to him and away from Dean was astonishing, and I began to hate her mother. That was the point where I also got exasperated with Emma for not standing up to her.

Then Emma and Katie are kidnapped by a couple of Indians, and Dean and Aidan, who has been in love with Emma practically his whole life, take off after them, while Russ refuses to go along, claiming he needs to stay behind to help protect the other women.

Needless to say, Dean rescues Emma, they declare their love for each other (and spend a steamy night in a cave), and everything is right with the world after that. Except that the two had Indians split up and gone in different directions, and when the book ends we still don’t know the fate of Katie and Aidan. Thankfully, their story is the next book.

Received in the Romance Book Box.

I will release this back into the box.

Released in the Romance Book Box.

Please enjoy!

from the romance book box. Thanks!

Glad I'm not the only one who wanted to shake some sense into Emma! This one is heading out somewhere in Lansdale.

Left at LFL on Kenas Road in the park
If you aren't familiar with Bookcrossing, take a few minutes to check out this very cool site. Bookcrossers LOVE books, and more than anything, they love to read books and then set them free for other people to find and enjoy. I would love it if you would leave a journal entry -- you can say where you found the book or how you liked it when you read it. Then, when you are ready, pass it along for someone else to enjoy!
Thanks and happy reading!