Bound for Eden/ Tess Lesue/ 350 pgs

This is a new-to-me author. Someone recommended a book of Lesue's, but it was the second book in a series. I decided to read the first book in the series, this one, so I wouldn't be lost. It's a rollicking adventure with lots of action and those parts I loved. For reasons, Alexandra, along with her sister and brother, are on the run from a violent gang of brothers. They head for Independence, MO, hoping to head out on the Oregon Trail and go to their other brother who lives out west. To disguise herself from the gang who is out to get her, Alex dresses as a boy. In the beginning of the story, this makes sense. Later on, it does not make sense at all, and yet she and her siblings keep the truth from the hero. The hero is Luke, a horse breeder and wagon trail leader. I did not care for Luke and wasn't invested with the romance between him and Alex, which was mostly based on lust. As an Oregon Trail saga with lots of action, this is a great book. The characters were just not for me. Now to decide if I really want to read that recommended second book...

Hard Country (Kerney Family #1) / Michael McGarrity / 608 pages

I read this for a book club and I likely would not have picked it up otherwise. However, lately, when I find myself forced to read a western, I end up really enjoying it. This book is no exception. This is the first book in a trilogy, and I actually really want to know what happens next.

The book starts off with a young man and his pregnant wife living in rural Texas, with the designs of building a ranch. However, the wife dies after giving birth to a son and the man's brother and son are killed by horse thieves. The man gives his sister-in-law his infant son to care for while he goes in search of the murderers. Thus begins a story of revenge, family, horses, ranches, war, and the old west spanning three generations and 43 years.

I especially loved that the characters were complex and multi-dimensional. Not every "villain" you meet turns out to be a bad guy and not every person you expect to be a good guy is all that terribly good. I absolutely loved it!

Blood Oath/ Melissa Lenhardt/ 368 pgs

This is the second book in what I think is going to be a trilogy. It's a western set after the Civil War and takes place in Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. The first book follows a female doctor, now using the name Laura, who runs away from a murder charge in New York. She finds herself at an Army fort in Texas after a violent journey. There she meets an Army captain, William Kindle, whose life she once saved during the war while disguised as a man. Confused yet? There is a lot of plot to these books and the story picks up in this second book, steamrolling on. Laura and William are on the run together now because Pinkerton detectives are still on her trail for the murder charge. William has deserted the Army so he's wanted too. At the end of book one they were attacked by Native Americans and Laura was brutally raped. In this book the couple are continually faced with violence and a kill-or-be-killed frontier while still trying to deal with the aftermath of that attack. As with the first book, there is a ton of violence, but it's also offset by interesting character interactions. I'm still frustrated by all the coincidences but I'm also eager to read the third book. I'm hoping Laura and William are able to find a peaceful life at last.

Sawbones/ Melissa Lenhardt / 432 pgs

This was a 180-degree turn from the short, light-hearted romance I just read. Sawbones is gritty, violent, and not the for the faint-of-heart. And I really liked it.

Catherine Bennett is a female doctor in 1870s New York City. She's a rarity and not always well received. The book jumps right in with Catherine being accused of murdering a patient's husband. In desperation, she decides to run off to the American frontier and disappear. Things do not go as planned. The Texas frontier is a harsh place, which Catherine (now using the name Laura), soon discovers. There's action, humor, female friendship (yay!), and romance here. My one nitpick is that for such a large country, Catherine sure does "coincidentally" run into a fair number of people in Texas that she originally knew from the East Coast. I rolled my eyes and moved on. I enjoyed it all, though I'll repeat my warning that this book has some very dark, violent chapters. Be warned. It's also part of a series, a trilogy I think. I can't wait to read the next one.

Forbidden/Beverly Jenkins/384 pgs

Though published in 2016, this is an old-school romance. And I mean that in a good way. Jenkins builds a community here with a wonderful cast of secondary characters who enrich not only the story, but the lives of the main characters as well.

I loved the premise of this story. The heroine Eddy is an independent woman who decides to move from Denver to San Francisco. While she encounters some kind and generous strangers along the way, she also meets a not-so-nice stranger and ends up stranded in Virginia City, Nevada. The hero Rhine is a former slave who fought for the Union Army in the Civil War. His mother was a slave; his father the slave owner. After the war, Rhine decided to pass as a white man and has built up his fortune and reputation in Virginia City.

As Rhine and Eddy fall for each other the main conflict is that he is supposedly white, she is black, and any relationship between them is fraught and marriage is illegal. I was hoping for an emotion-filled story that would include a gut-wrenching climax for this couple. Unfortunately that’s not what I got. I was underwhelmed by how their story played out and was hoping for much more for these characters I cared about.

Hard Country/Michael McGarrity/607 pgs

It has been a long time since I have read a Western, basically a few decades.  So when a friend recommended Hard Country, I was a little hesitant and when I saw it was 600+ pages I was even more hesitant.  Fortunately, I decided to give it a try and am glad I did, this was one of those books that grabs your attention and interest in the first few pages, doesn't let go, and leaves you wanting more!

This is what you would call a 'classic' Western; it is a family saga that spans from 1875 to 1918 that not only delves into the history, trials, and tribulations of the Kerney family, but it also celebrates Americana and the expansion of a nation through its fascinating people and the land of the great Southwest.  It is a story that includes love, loss, survival, sacrifice, lawlessness, virtue, Indian raids, cattle rustling, long standing feuds, murder and more.  Enjoy the way Michael McGarrity is able to transport you back in time as you read of the richly descriptive landscapes, historically accurate settings and become attached to the realistically developed characters.

Hard Country is the first in a trilogy.

THE OUTCASTS: A NOVEL / Kathleen Kent / 326 Pages

For those who enjoy a literary Western with a bit of a twist. THE OUTCASTS takes place five years after the Civil War and is told in alternating chapters, following the stories of Lucinda Carter and Nate Cannon. Both are traveling eastward from Texas towards an inevitable meeting in New Orleans.

Lucinda is a 'sporting girl' who suffers from epileptic fits, trying to escape her past so she can spend the rest of her life with her lover. She is also hunting for a lost treasure of gold. Nate is a newly assigned Texas policeman with a strong belief in justice and loyalty. He is determined to hunt down a vicious child killer named McGill.

As their stories move closer together there will be violence, betrayal, and a chance, just a chance, for all debts to be paid in full.

Love on the Line by Deeanne Gist. Narrated Barbara McCulloh. 11 CD

     If you are looking for a fun, light read this is the one for you. It could be listed under Christian fiction but I fear the label would do it an injustice. The novel is set in the Wild West and located in Texas. There is a robber gang on the loose, holding up trains and people at gun point. The Texas Rangers have been after this guy for several years and he always seems to slip away at the last minute. Georgie Gail is the first woman switchboard operator for the burgeoning telephone company. She is very proud of her position and her importance in the community. The Rangers have put one of their very best undercover as a telephone 'trouble man' working next to Georgie. Trouble is Luke Palmer is very handsome and very exasperating. What is a woman like Georgie to do?
     The narrator does an excellent job with the characters in the story. With just a slight change in tone we know it is a male or female and if they are young or old. I enjoyed having a story that moved along at its own gentle pace knowing these two people are slowing falling for each other. The plot telegraphed everything right down the central line. No surprises there. Sometimes that was aggravating but it didn't last long. It is perfect for people who don't want any swear words or heavy romantic scenes. District only has book in Large Print along with the audio.
   6 Degrees of Reading: A Tailor-Made Bride by Karen Witemeyer, Rekindled by Tamara Alexander, Out of Control by Mary Connealy.

Shane / Jack Schaefer / 214 pages

Shane by Jack Schaefer, a classic of the Western genre, set on a Wyoming homestead in 1889, is a leisurely paced book featuring a gunfighter, running from his past,  who is taken in by a family fighting for their land.

Luke Fletcher is trying to intimidate the homesteaders near his ranch into leaving. Shane, both the “most dangerous” and “safest” man ever to ride into the valley, is determined not to let this happen.

This thought-provoking, character-driven novel will appeal to readers of traditional western fiction and classic novels. Read alikes include: Horseman, Pass By by Larry McMurtry; Gun Law by Ralph W. Cotton; Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey.

Doc/Mary Doria Russell/394 pgs.

I don't like historical fiction. I don't like westerns. I loved this book! It's the fictionalized account of John Henry Holliday a.k.a. Doc Holliday. The author takes the reader back to the 1870s during the peak of Texas cattle trade. The main setting is Dodge City, Kansas, and involves the lives of Wyatt Earp and his brothers, Doc Holliday, and  his mistress Kate Harony.  Ms. Russell describes a time in U.S. history when the country was still recovering from the Civil War, and people were heading west to make their fortune.  Ms. Russell does such a thorough job in bringing her characters to life that the reader is easily immersed in the story. Highly recommended!

The Law of Love/Nora Roberts/586 pgs

"The Law of Love" is actually two stories - "Lawless" and "The Law is a Lady". "Lawless" is the novel that is mentioned in the book "Loving Jack" - it is the book that Jack was writing during the book, so of course I had to read it. It is a classic western - girl who went to school in the east goes out west to live with her dad who has supposedly made his fortune mining gold. Of course that is all a lie - Sarah Conway gets to Lone Bluff and finds out that her father is dead and that the house he said he had built is really just a one room cabin. She decides to stay and meets up with Jake Redman. It was your typical Nora Roberts romance and so is the other title - "The Law is a Lady". This is a modern day one though - Victoria Ashton is the sheriff of a very small town in New Mexico - Friendly. And one day, Phillip Kincaid, big shot movie director who is scouting movie locations, is caught speeding and decides he doesn't want to pay the fine so Tory throws him in jail. While in jail, Phillip decides that Friendly is his location and that he is going to have the sheriff.

Sisters Brothers / Patrick DeWitt / 325 pages

This is one quirky Western! It's a quick read that gives you a feeling of what it was like to live in the West in the mid 1800's. Two brothers, Charlie & Eli, are notorious hired gunmen and this is the story of their last contract from the Commodore who hires them to take out a "thief" Hermann Kermit Warm. We meet prospectors insane from their solitary lives, shady ladies, villains, traders, hotel keepers, trappers and others. It makes you think what it must be like to live in a basically lawless state with no long term life expectancy. Told from the viewpoint of Eli, the "sensitive" brother with a temper problem, we get a good feeling for the brothers, their viewpoint on their job as hired killers, and their relationship. Recommend

Empire of the Summer Moon/S.C. Gwynne/371 pgs

The subtitle says it all: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History. In an easy and approachable tone, Gwynne takes us through the beginning of the West and the encroachment of Spanish soldiers, Mexican settlers and American people from the East. We learn about the various tribes and the challenges they posed to the conquerors. When the Spanish were finally defeated not by people but by the landscape they left behind their horses. The Comanches learned over time what these new animals could do for them. In just a few short years they transformed themselves from a humble gatherer to one of the most feared warriors on earth. Quanah was the child of a white woman and an Indian chief. We follow his story as well as the Comanche nation as they lose land and experience broken promises. Once on the reservation Quanah took to his new world and learned the value of cattle, friendship and having a long dining room table. He amassed a great fortune only to die a penniless man. Quanah was also a contemporary of Geronimo but isn't it interesting which one we remember? A great introduction to someone looking for early Native American history. Wonderful read.

Etta: a Novel by Gerald Kolpan - 322 Pages

Etta Place rode with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid but is a complete mystery to history. Kolpan decided to use what little is known and construct a story about who she was and how she came to be riding with the infamous Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. Beginning with the untimely death of her father to her time with the famous Harvey Girls of the Southwest to meeting the Sundance Kid to working with Eleanor Roosevelt and finally her marriage to Ralph Worthington Carr, Kolpan has imagined what possibly could have happened to this flaming haired beauty. This engaging novel is a wonderful romp through history.

This is a light story peppered with references to historical places and people and is a wonderful introduction to the myth of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang spurring the reader to find other material to fill in the pages. This is a very quick and light read and there are chapters interspersed with telegrams, newspaper articles, diary entries, and Pinkerton Detective memoranda. The beginning newspaper obituary sets the tone for the rest of the novel: which is a slow reveal of who Etta was. With minimal detail, Kolpan sets up an engaging story and although some plot points were fairly obvious there is nothing that will detract from the story. There is no strong language even though dealing with "hardened" criminals and the historical places and characters are fun to spot.

The pace is very fast moving with many details to entertain the reader. The tone is dramatic filled with exuberant and thought provoking scenes. A special feature of this book is the added newspaper articles, telegrams, and diary entries which add helpful additional details to the time and place. What you need to know about this novel is that it is a complete fiction. The author used what little he could find about Etta but that is minimal at best. The historical characters are truthful but some have been moved around in time.

Similar works might be: Juliet by Anne Fortier, Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier, The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran, or Mary Doria Russell's next novel, Doc (2011)

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