Montana Rose

Title: MONTANA ROSE
AUTHOR: Mary Connealy
Publisher: Barbour Books
July 2009
ISBN: 978-1-60260-142-0
Genre: Inspirational/historical romance

Cassie Griffin’s husband, Griff died and suddenly as her husband is laid to rest, virtually every man in town shows up, demanding Cassie marry him—right away. Griff left Cassie heavily in debt, pregnant, and homeless, and every man in town wants a “turn” with the “China Doll.”

“Red” Dawson has long admired the “China Doll” but figures he’ll never marry her. After all, he’s a minister, and can’t marry an unbeliever. But still, he’s the one that ends up married that day… Red is determined to treat Cassie well, but well, sometimes it is hard because the only thing Cassie is good at is cooking. She brings mayhem everywhere else on the ranch and is turning even Red’s mildest horse into a nerves wreck.

When another local cowboy who was denied the “China Doll” begins stalking her, suddenly Red finds his life in danger, and Cassie living in fear. What will it take to be set free from this nightmare?

MONTANA ROSE is the first book in Ms. Connealy’s Montana Marriages series, and it is loosely based on Ms. Janette Oke’s Love Comes Softly series. MONTANA ROSE is filled with laugh out loud moments and mayhem, and with non-stop action. I literally couldn’t put MONTANA ROSE down.

Cassie is a real sweetheart, totally different than the “China Doll” image that most of the town folk had of her, and her first husband was abusive, so she learned to read signals and try to be that kind of wife, so she wouldn’t get knocked around. Red is a real sweet hero, but sometimes he became a bit difficult, so he did have some flaws. I enjoyed getting to know both of these characters and think this is the best book by this author I’ve read to date. Looking forward to the next book in this series. 318 pages. $10.99