eyes.2c Reviews

Winning Maura's Heart  (Hangman’s Daughters #1)   by Linda Broday    ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’m not big on Western romances but thought I’d give this a whirl. It has it all, a feisty heroine and her sister, a tall gunman who appears to be a Deputy US Marshal, a vicious baddie and his gang, a drunken Uncle, three wonderful French nuns and a host of delightful children. The action takes place in and near to San Antonio, Texas in 1867. How they all come together is quite a satisfying yarn. Maura and Emma Taggart are the daughter of the Hangman, rendering them outcasts as far as the local society’s concerned. They are ostracized and worse by the “kindly christian citizens” of the town. Yellow Fever had plagued San Antonio with many dead. The girls had tended the dead and dying with kindness and determination with no thought of payment. These are two big hearted women. They'd looked after the growing number of orphans.  After the worst was over, when there services were no longer ne...

The Scotsman Who Saved Me (Seven Brides for Seven Scotsmen #1)   by  Hannah Howell.   The story begins in the Arkansas Ozarks in 1860. The MacEnroy brothers come across a burnt cabin, dead bodies and two survivors Lady Emily Stanton and her nephew Ned, hidden in a tunnel in the root cellar. The events go on from here. There were some amusing parts. Iain's wooing attempts of Emily for one. The 'shagging' discussion was particularly noteable. (I did investigate to see if that word was in use in these times and apparently it was. Check the Merriam-Webster Dictionary) I liked Iain MacEnroy, I Emily Stanton. There's a batch of interesting secondary characters in this story who stand out. I really liked Mrs. O’Neal and Mabel who was happy to shoot a nasty character if Emily wanted her too. There's a dastardly cousin Albert hunting down Emily and her nephew Ned. There's a nefarious Bank Manager trying to take the MacEnroy's dow...

A Taste Of Fire   by  Hannah Howell                               Antonie Ramirez is a heady combination of innocence and insight, wrapped up in a dangerously delectable parcel. Welcome to deep, wide Texas where men are men and women are more than competent. Honouring her dead father's wishes to repay Royal Bancroft for saving their lives, Antonie Ramirez enters the world of the Bancroft's like a Texan whirlwind. Royal finds himself in danger from outlaws trying to take his land over and from a young woman who confounds and attracts him in equal measure. Sort of Zane Greyish with way more verve and romance, I really enjoyed this departure from the more typical western novel. A NetGalley ARC ****

Reese: The Rock Creek Six, Book 1 by Lori Handeland  I actually don't read Western romances, so it was a huge surprise to me as to how much I enjoyed 'Reese'. The series tells the stories of six crack confederate soldiers, special forces, bound by their experiences, in the post war years. It hints at their secrets and their nightmares. They have vowed that when one calls the others will come. Reese's is their reluctant leader.This first in the series captured my attention, and against my normal inclinations in reading material, after this introduction, I will be reading through them. I can't wait to discover the stories behind the men. I do so love those strong, silent types with inner anguishes who find their defences pierced by managing females with their own internal bedevilments. Reese and his comrades are hired by Mary McKendrick, the teacher from Rock Creek to frighten off a band of desperadoes who are hassling the town. The folk are leaving, the town dyin...