I had a bit of a wince early on in the story when an aristocratic lord in 1870’s London criticised his younger brother for ‘hanging out with’ an actress, and wondered if the whole story was going to be full of such contemporary slang. I’m glad I stuck with it, though, because the rest of the book does feel solidly period, bringing the Wild West vividly to life through the lens of Lady Elizabeth, who chooses to make a new life in America out from under the thumb of her controlling eldest brother.
I do feel I should warn readers who may fall rather for Matthew, Elizabeth’s kind and obviously dyslexic brother at the beginning of the book; he gets killed off very quickly, thus leaving her at the mercy of strangers and eventually bringing her into contact with Logan Best, the bounty hunter who’s the hero of the story.
With a wife and child lost to him in the most brutal fashion, Logan enjoys hunting down the lawless who prey on the weak. He was already on the trail of the man who stole Elizabeth’s fortune when they meet, and needs no incentive to take on the job to help her. He’d far rather do the job alone, but she has no intention of being left behind, and out on the trail her determination impresses him despite her previously pampered existence.
The pair seem like an odd couple, and it’s a slow process which sees them come to first a mutual respect and then to love. Elizabeth learning just how hard frontier life is from a farmer’s wife she stays with for a few days was a really interesting glimpse into just what life was like in the era. Because of the few anachronisms and my disappointment that Matthew didn’t eventually turn back up alive, however, I can’t quite give this five stars. I’ll settle for a solid four.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review through NetGalley.
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