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Texas Panhandle, October,
1885, the British have
landed
Will Donegan searches for
his brothers and sisters,
which he didn’t know he had until his adoptive mother’s deathbed
confession. He's a blacksmith on the
Single Tree Ranch. Lady Grace Aldridge
has traveled with her father, James Aldridge, Earl of Sheffield from England,
to help
him discover who is stealing from their ranch.
When, Will keeps getting
cramps in his stomach,
believing he is feeling his twin Lee's pain, he truly believes his twin
Lee is
alive somewhere. He has posted letters
to find out about his brothers and sisters, which he receives a
response to,
indicating that two of his brothers are dead.
He is devastated. He
thinks he is
cursed. He has a white streak in his
hair, which is dark, and his adoptive father always told him he was
marked with
the devils curse. Will begins to believe
it. When the owner of the ranch shows up
with his daughter, Grace, Will feels like someone has just branded him. He feels intense heat from her.
Grace Aldridge is used to
be waited on hand and foot,
she finds Texas dry, hot and a long
ways from England. She is hoping to be back home in two
weeks. When she meets Will Donegan she
sees a secret in his eyes, and she believes Will is the culprit and she
means
to prove it.
While Grace is trying to
figure out the truth of the
theft, she is attracted to Will, but knowing she will be leaving in two
weeks
time, she tries to stay out of his way.
She has a fiancé waiting for her in England who is titled, Will is an
orphan, poor and beneath her. Will knows
he doesn't stand a chance with Grace, but he can't help the way his
heart
pounds every time he is near her. He
tries to keep a low profile; he needs this job in order to keep looking
for his
brothers and sisters. He knows Grace
believes he is the person stealing from the ranch. If he can just keep
to
himself and continue his search, he will be happy.
This was a well written
and fun book to read, for the
following reasons: the characters were realistic and the reader can see
Grace
change her selfish ways. She starts
doing things by herself instead of having servants help her. She also
realizes
she has more freedom in Texas than
she does in
England. She realizes that sometimes things aren’t
what they seem, including Will. Will
also starts to see the world differently; he believed people did not
like him
because he was Irish, an orphan, and just a blacksmith.
He starts realizing that people thought him
unapproachable for other reasons, including Grace.
What was a beautiful touch to this story was
to see Will and Grace become friends before they were involved in a
physical
relationship. Even though it is a
historical romance, there are elements of mystery as well.
I hope to see more books by this author in
the future.
Reviewed by
Patsy Glans for The Road to Romance
March 20,
2005
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