The book I’m going to recommend today is one with a romance that completely blew me away. It’s in a genre I don’t normally read, historical western, but though it’s set in this time it doesn’t feel like any cowboy book I’ve ever read. The hero is half Native American, a quiet, dangerous man who’s been misjudged for most of his life, except by the heroine, and the heroine is a “lady” who’s been bullied by her father and sees the world a little differently than the rest of the world.
The two characeters, Anne and Cord, are thrown together in some truly terrible circumstances, and rather than break apart, they join forces and make the best of their situation.
The romance is believable, the love between them growing steadily but slowly as they face obstacles and prejudice. The characters are extremely well formed, coming alive on the page and forcing you to keep reading even when you might want to go to bed (but who needs sleep, really?). I found Anne remarkable in her strength and power of will, and I found Cord incredibly compelling with a gentle side hidden beneath a hard facade and an unwillingness to bend for anyone, except his new wife (Anne). A bonus is the farm they lived on, the animals (especially horses) they worked with, and the satisfaction from an ending that was as beautiful as their love story. Really, the last line of the book was so good, it may have been the best end-line I’ve ever read.
Have you read this? Leave me a comment and let me know if you liked it or not, and if you have any recs in the same genre!