When Jodi Thomas graciously offered to send me an advance copy of her latest book, Texas Blue, I was honored and thrilled but accepted with some slight hesitation. You see, I'm not a romance novel kind of girl and tend to head right to the gritty crime or suspense novels. I was also concerned that, since Texas Blue is the fifth Whispering Mountain novel, I'd be missing an important thread by picking up the series in the middle.
But despite my hesitation, Texas Blue was a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable read. Set in the late 1800's Texas Blue is a love story in the typical sense, but the greater love story is the bond the inhabitants of Whispering Mountain have with their horses and their land. Lewt Paterson is a consummate gambler who's grown tired of a vagabond existence and wants to settle down. Emily is one of three daughters of the McMurrray family and uses the responsibility of overseeing the ranch like a mask to hide the scars on her heart.
When Duncan McMurray invites a selection of eligible bachelors to the ranch in an effort to find suitable husbands for his three cousins, Lewt decides to take advantage of the situation by taking the place of one of the gentleman and posing as a suitor himself. Lewt has dreams of marrying a respectable woman with whom he can finally settle down and raise a family. When he meets Em the sparks fly in unexpected ways, and they both get much more than they bargained for.
Texas Blue is a lively, compelling and sensual story that draws you into the lives of the characters and the beauty of the Texas countryside from the first page and keeps you thinking about it long after the last. Newcomers to the series will enjoy Texas Blue as a stand-alone read and Whispering Mountain fans will not be disappointed with the latest installment.
To purchase Texas Blue, click on the amazon.com link in the box to the right of this post!