Author: Karen Witemeyer
Publication date: June 7, 2016
Series: A Worthy Pursuit #1.5
Pages: 96
Genre: Historical, Romance , Christian
Synopsis:1890s Texas

Marietta Hawkins has been in love with ranch foreman Daniel Barrett since she came home from school three years ago. Unfortunately, her father’s rule about hands not fraternizing with his daughter has kept him out of reach. She believed patience would prove a virtue in winning him over–until now. He is leaving. Starting up his own spread. To have any hope of maneuvering him into a proposal, she has to act fast or lose him forever. Fans of A Worthy Pursuit will enjoy seeing these characters again!

My Opinion

In my eyes, Karen Witemeyer can do no wrong. She always writes entertaining stories with such witty banter and dialog. I have read just about every one of her books and none of them have disappointed me yet. If you are familiar with Karen’s books – A Worthy Pursuit -, then you might, or should I say you ‘should’ remember our hero, Daniel Barrett aka Dead Eye Dan, and heroine, Marietta ‘Etta’ Hawkins, from this story as secondary characters.

Etta has be in love with Daniel for 3 years, and wishes he would show the same interest in her but her father has a rule that no ranch hands can ever pursue or form a relationship with his daughter. Etta isn’t aware, but that is the exact reason why Daniel is leaving, buying his own spread to start his own ranch so he can finally act on his feelings for Etta. But she thinks he is leaving for good, so she decides to take things in her own hands, aiming to wrangle a proposal out of the man that she has pined years for.

Even though this was quicky – less than 100 pages – it was still good and had that spark that Karen always manages to give her books. I absolutely loved it, but yet again, I am a bit biased as I love anything Karen writes.

Favorite Quotes

• “Your daughter is the finest woman I’ve ever known, and I’ll not abide such slander. Even from you.” Jonah grinned and clapped Dan on the shoulder. “Good. ’Cause I don’t cotton to the idea of handing my little girl over to a man who ain’t willin’ to stand up for her. Even against her old man.” Dan stumbled back a step. “Oh, come on, Dan. Don’t look so shocked.” Jonah actually chuckled. “You and Etta have been pining for each other for years. Did you think I hadn’t noticed?” He’d noticed? Dan felt a bit queasy at the thought. “I ain’t as blind as I pretend to be, boy.”

• “You are the marryin’ kind. Right, Barrett?” Starting to regain his equilibrium, Dan squeezed his boss’s—no, his ex-boss’s—hand and smiled. “Only where Etta is concerned.” “Well, then.” The man’s eyes actually twinkled. “Get on after it, boy. It’ll take me at least twenty minutes to see to my horse.”

• “You’re wrong about one thing, though,” she said. Daniel looked quizzically at her. “What?” Etta reached up to his brow and brushed his hair off his forehead with a gentle caress that set his blood to pumping. Then she tilted her head back and met his gaze. “You are a hero. My hero.”

• “I’m not Dead-Eye Dan. I gave up chasin’ bounties and don’t plan on ever goin’ back. I ain’t a dime-novel hero, but I’m steady, I work hard, and I’ll do my best to give you the life you deserve.” Etta opened her mouth, but he shook his head at her, needing to get everything said at once. “I know I’m a good deal older than you, twelve years by my count, and most young ladies would probably wish for someone younger, less tarnished. I’ve seen a lot of ugliness in this life, Etta. I won’t lie to you about that. I’m rather set in my ways and opinionated about how things oughta be done, but I’d like to think that God gave me some wisdom over the years, too. Wisdom that will help me be the husband and father I want to be, one who will lead his family in a way that honors the Lord.”

• “Dan bit back a growl. No smooth-talking, barely-shaving stripling was going to charm her away. She needed a mature man, one with the skills and experience to protect her, provide for her. Hands balled into fists, Dan inhaled through his nose in an effort to stem the rising tide of jealousy that nearly had him shouting at her again. Maybe he shouldn’t be in such a hurry to send her back to Richland. Where younger men named Clarence waited in the wings.”

• “He’d listened to enough half-truths and outright lies from the outlaws he’d collected bounties on not to notice the slight hesitations in her speech or the exaggerated casualness of her posture. The woman was up to something.”

• “She couldn’t tell him the truth—that she was here to wrangle a proposal out of him. How desperate would that make her look? Besides, no man wanted to think he was being manipulated into marriage. He wanted to be the pursuer, the one in control. She was simply creating opportunities in which that pursuit might occur.”

• “His gut clenched. He’d thought she was different. Thought she appreciated the man he was, not the out-of-all-proportion legend the sensationalists depicted. Was that what she wanted? Some larger-than-life hero? If so, he didn’t stand a chance. She’d never be satisfied with a humble mule trainer. He’d worked hard to put life as a bounty hunter behind him. He wouldn’t be that man again. Not even for her.”

• “She had curled up with those books on more than one occasion, and yes, she had dreamt of a handsome, red-haired man of action, but it hadn’t been Dead-Eye Dan, drat it all. She’d dreamt of Daniel Barrett, the man who worked her father’s cattle, who trained the finest mules in the county, and whose sky-blue eyes could melt her heart with a single glance. Daniel Barrett had stolen her heart before she’d ever even heard of Dead-Eye Dan.”

• “Etta, you don’t have to . . . I never meant . . . You love those books.” “No, Daniel.” She yanked her arm from his grasp and slapped the remaining book against his chest. “I love you. The books were just a way to pretend that a part of you could actually belong to me.” The defiance faded from her eyes to be replaced by abject misery. “And now you never will.”

• “The silence he’d thought a blessing had become a curse. It ate at him. Rubbed him raw. He wanted to return to the easy camaraderie they’d shared before the storm, but she wouldn’t let him. She avoided him. Why? How could she tell him she loved him then immediately start acting as if she didn’t?”

• “No! Loving him was not a mistake. He couldn’t let her go on thinking it was. Dan lurched to his feet, flinging the book down onto the bed as he rose. He marched out of the room without a thought to his hat or his gun. Strode straight for the cabin’s front door and nearly jerked it off its hinges. Time to set the woman straight.”

• “Yet he followed her, stalked her, his eyes never straying from her face. “I don’t care about the books.” “What?” Marietta knocked into a chair and stumbled slightly. “I don’t care that you like to read those infernal Dead-Eye Dan novels,” he said, his voice hard, insistent. “Shoot, I’ll even buy you a new set to replace the ones you burned.” He continued his advance. She continued her retreat. “You don’t have to do that. I . . . I don’t need them anymore.” She backed past the table into an area free of furniture. Nothing to hold on to for support. Nothing to hide behind. “Yes, you do!” He shouted that comment. Marietta flinched. “The books are important.” He scowled at her. “You can’t go around saying you love them one minute and then toss them away the next. It ain’t right.” Marietta stopped. Peered up at the man bearing down on her. Then tilted her head to assess him. Her heart gave a hopeful little leap. “We’re not talking about books, are we?”

• “He treated her like a china doll that needed to sit on a high shelf and be admired but never handled. Marietta didn’t want to be admired from a distance. She wanted to be touched. Held. Embraced. By him.”

• “She’d not allow Daniel Barrett to escape her so easily. She’d placed a bounty on his heart, and she intended to collect.”

• “Ever since she’d come home from school three years ago, she’d been burrowing under his skin, itching like a host of chigger bites. He kept telling himself not to scratch, but invariably he did anyway, fool that he was. And here he was scratching again, thinking about her when he should be focused on the work at hand.”

Final Thoughts

Would I recommend it:
Would I read it again:

Author: Janet Lee Barton
Publication date: June 7, 2016
Series: Boardinghouse Betrothals #6
Pages: 281
Genre: Historical, Romance , Christian
Synopsis: With no teaching positions open, Georgia Marshall agrees to become the temporary nanny for the two little girls next door. But she soon becomes enamored of the precocious children and their dashing but distant widowed father. Though she’s falling for him, she can’t help but think that the nobleman is out of her reach.

After the tragic loss of his wife, Tyler Walker swore he’d never again give his heart away. Until his neighbor brightens his home and brings some much-needed stability to his motherless family. But he refuses to allow this arrangement with the pretty teacher to become permanent…no matter how much he wants Georgia by his side—forever.

My Opinion

I know you shouldn’t pick or judge a book solely on it’s cover, but I couldn’t resist this one. My first impression of it when I was browsing the book isle was ‘Aww, that’s so cute’, which then I flipped over the back to read the plot, satisfied and interested with it, I plopped it in my shopping cart to take it home with me.

At first, it was a little slow but as soon as Georgia started working as Polly and Lilly’s nanny, it began to pick up for me. Her and the girls had an instant connection from the start. She was good with them, making everything fun for them to learn. They were such bright, lively, and not to mention lovely children who soaks up Georgia’s attention like a sponge due to losing their mother one an one half years ago when they lived in England.

As Georgia works for Sir Tyler, she tries to guard her heart as she doesn’t want to lose it to him then to have her heart broken again. She realizes nothing can come of her feelings for him as they are from different classes – him an English Baronet and her, a nanny / teacher. Tyler is an extremely lonely man, he spends his nights alone, craving for someone to talk to about his days as he used to when his wife, Ivy, was alive. He doesn’t want to remarry and experience the lost again of a love one. He tries his darnest, like Georgia, to fight his growing feelings for her, but it’s a lost cause as she has already stolen his heart, but that doesn’t mean he still won’t fight it.

Not being able to help himself, one night he kisses Georgia, then apologizes afterwards, telling her nothing can come of it. Immediately Georgia is hurt and from then on, she tries her best to avoid his presence as much as possible, only coming to the house to solely take care of the children and see to their needs. Tyler hates the strain he felt like he caused on their friendship, wishing it could go back to how it was.

Ivy’s parents shows up to see their grandchild, Margaret (Ivy’s mother), doesn’t care nor warm up to Georgia at first, but then Polly and Lilly tell her how they love Miss Georgia and wish she could be their mama. Margaret confides this information to Tyler, telling him she wishes for him to be happy, Ivy would as well, and that he should marry Georgia. Later that evening he talks to his girls, asking them to help him concoct a plan to win Georgia over.

At Sunday church services, Polly and Lilly convince Georgia to join them for Sunday dinner where a surprise is in store for her. She accepts, but as she arrives, she asks Tyler what is going on as they table is only set for two. He goes on to explain that he loves her, hopes that she could love him and his girls, and he wants to marry her. Of course she accepts then Polly and Lilly burst into the room as typical impatient children asking if he asked her to marry him yet.

This was such a cute heartwarming story to go with such a cute cover. I don’t know about everyone else, but I love reading stories where children are included in it. In my opinion, their shenanigans makes it more interesting to read and more enjoyable, at least for me anyways.

Favorite Quotes

• She wanted… something she’d never have. Others at Heaton House had found people to trust with their hearts, but Georgia didn’t know how she ever would. Not after this past year. And longing for something she was certain she’d never find wasn’t the answer to her problem. Only accepting it was.

• She turned back to see Betsy only to find her waving her hand in front of her face. “oh, my, Georgia. He is even more handsome up close. You’re going to have to be on guard of your heart 0 if you haven’t lost it already!” “Betsy! Shh!” Georgia turned to make sure Sir Tyler was out of hearing distance. “He didn’t hear me.” Betsy chuckled. Georgia hoped so, because truer words had never been spoken.

• “What other subjects were you thinking I should add to their studies?” “Only the one you suggested to me. And yes, they may have dinner with me two times a week once you believe they are ready to.” “Oh, Sire Tyler, thank you.” “And only if you take dinner with us.” “But if they are ready-” “Only if you stay for dinner, Miss Marshall,” Tyler said as firmly as he could. “All right. I’ll stay.” Tyler wished she sounded a little more enthused – this was all her idea, after all. “And thank you for agreeing to my idea,” Georgia said, soothing his ego a bit, “i think you’ll be very happy with the outcome.” Tyler hoped so. One thing he knew was that the prospect of having Georgia Marshall at his dinner table was something he looked forward to.

• Tyler entered his study to find Georgia – he had to stop thinking of her by her given name. Miss Marshall was looking at some of the books on his shelves and he took a moment to gaze at her. He’d taken his breath away when he looked up and saw her bringing his daughters down. She dressed in a cream=colored silk-and-lace gown that made her dark brown hair seem darker, her eyes greener. She was a beautiful woman. But not just outside – she was beautiful inside, too. She loved his daughters, he had no doubt of it, and she was bringing them through their difficult time for them with care and compassion.

• “Georgia… is it being around Sir Tyler that has you so nervous?” Georgia began to shake her head. “No. I- It could be.” “Hmm, I wondered. He’s a very handsome man. And very nice, too.” “yes, he is. He’s also a widower who might still be grieving over his wife, not to mention he’s a baronet and all he other reasons would make it imposs-” Georgia gasped and stopped herself short. Betsy hadn’t asked if she’d fallen in love and she’d said much more than she needed to. “Don’t underestimate yourself, Georgia Marshall. You’re a wonderful person and a beautiful woman. Sir Tyler’s children love you and, well, I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

• Tyler came around the table and got down on one knee. “I know I may be presumptuous, but I have to ask. Georgia, do you – could you love me and my girls with-” “All my heart.” She reached out and cupped his jaw in her hand. “I do love you. I have for weeks now.” Tyler took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. I love you with all that I am. Will you marry me? Become the wife I long for and the mother my girls need?” Tears of pure joy slipped down Georgia’s cheeks. “Oh, Tyler, yes. Yes, I will marry you!” Tyler stood, pulled her to her feet and into his arms. “I love you, Georgia Marshall, and I thank the Lord above for bringing you into our lives. You’ve made us come alive again, laugh again and given me no choice but to fall in love again.”

Final Thoughts

Would I recommend it:
Would I read it again: