Trigger Warning: detailed description of back-alley abortion, infanticide, father-daughter (blood-related) incest. And on that cheery note...

The final book in the series was a nice ending and quite the addictive read. The stories found within really filled in the blanks in the plot holes of the tv show. After considering the entire series, I must say the books are far superior; if you have a hard time holding your interest in the tv show, give the books a whirl. Although I enjoy the acting on the show, it is not really holding my interest story wise now that I know the full stories. There were a lot of liberties the show's producers took that do not make sense to me now.

Some of the themes of the book are tuberculosis, infanticide, and back street abortions (abortions were illegal in England until 1967). The people featured in this book are a bit poorer economically than the people in the first book. This books really felt like a sequel to the first book; the second book feels a little out of place with the lack of babies being delivered. And Ms. Worth spends a chapter telling the reader where all the people who she worked with did post-Nonatus' house; it was a nice post script.

4 stars.

This review is going to be long and rage-filled. I can't believe a traditional publishing house allowed a book like this to be published; I am now going to use this book as Exhibit A during any debate between self-publishing and traditional publishing. Do not be fooled by those 3, 4, and 5 star reviews - either the author or the publisher must have paid for those positive reviews or she has a rabid fan-girl following who loves all her work. Remind me never to read this author's works again.

Summary: In this humorous historical romance, a cowboy must choose between family bonds that could restore his trust or a love that could heal his heart.

There is no humor in this book and there was a love story that was so twisted, you would think EL James wrote fan fiction about it. Everyone is TSTL on this planet or the other seven in our solar system. Let's meet the wastes of oxygen:

Rafe Kincaid: our hero...the main male character. He is the oldest of the Kincaid brothers and is a douche canoe of EPIC proportions. Just look at some of my updates where I quote this guy's feelings about women in general and the heroine...the main female character. He is beyond demanding that everyone (including brothers and Julia's family) obey his commands. He is common sense smart, but anything outside of ranching is beyond his brain's capacity. But it's okay because to win arguments, he just glares at that person or, in the case of Julia, kisses her without her permission. Dude is the alpha-hole type straight out of Harlequin Presents, dressed up as a cowboy. He demands Julia marry him within 36 hours of meeting her (the entire story takes maybe 4 days tops) so he could protect her and her family. He has plans on breaking her stubborn streak/spirit as soon as they are married and he will have her obeying him in no time, just like the cattle on his ranch. There is a lot of making out/heavy petting for an inspirational, and mostly it is Rafe forcing the kissing on Julia. The guy is toxic, but Julia is just as freaking ridiculous.

Julia Gilliland: really, how did she manage to be 19 years old as stupid as she is? She is the stereotypical red-hair, green-eyed spitfire of a heroine. She is OBSESSED with geology, specifically fossils. Doesn't matter that someone is after her in order to get her father's ill-gotten windfall, doesn't matter that she doesn't have a lick of common sense, doesn't matter that she wants to be in charge of everything all the time even though she starts off every mission to the caves by walking in the opposite direction from which she should be going in, doesn't matter that her future in-laws and husband hate the caves (due to a childhood incident),  doesn't matter that her step-mother is heavily pregnant with her second child in less than two years and is close to delivering - no, none of that matters. All that matters is the caves and the fossils that could be found there. And why are these damn fossils so important to her? Hold on to your chairs:

The fish fossils found in the caves in the mountains could help her prove her theory to the world that the Great Flood (the story of Noah and his ark) really happened, and the whole world would then turn to Christianity/become Christians. She would get recognition, acclaim,  and praise from both the scientific community and the church for her work at bridging the two communities and bringing the world's population to Jesus. 

Yep, that is how the author shoe-horned religion into this story. By making the most unlikeable heroine (selfish, obsessed, short tempered, judgmental, no damn sense) try to connect fish fossils with a biblical story, using very vague science-ish terms. This from the same character who looked west to watch the sunrise over the mountains. ::HEAD DESK::

Ethan Kincaid: the book's sequel bait, although there was so much Ethan and Audra in this book you would think it was about them and not Rafe and Julia and her fossils. He is not a smart man (none of the brothers are bright), and chafes under Rafe's commands.

Seth Kincaid: the youngest brother and the only one who makes sense. He doesn't show up until the last 25% of the book. Julia is extremely, disgustingly vile to Seth, because he is the reason the brothers don't want to go into the caves and explore the fossils with her. Seth was hurt in the childhood incident and was a POW during the war (American Civil War, but the author called it the War Between the States *sigh*) and is suffering from PTSD as a result. Yet he is still the smartest and sanest one in the group and ends up saving them all.

Wendell Gilliland: ne'er do well husband of Audre and father of Julia. He dies by the end of the first half, and the reader wished he could take a few of these characters with him. Typically historical romance villain.

Audre Gilliland: just a couple of years older than her step-daughter, Audre has one child (14 month old Maggie) and heavily pregnant with child number two, despite hating her husband (she follows the tradition of allowing her husband his martial privileges regardless if she feels like having sex or not). She doesn't remember or can't figure out when she got pregnant, so doesn't know when she is due. She doesn't quite understand pregnancy or having babies, despite the fact she ALREADY has one. She ends up physically restraining Seth to keep him from going back into a cave, both lose their footing and end up falling hard to the ground. Her water breaks right then and there, but pretends nothing happens and moves the group back up the mountain (via horseback, riding in a regular saddle) to the Gilliland cabin while in labor. No one in the group suspects Audre is in labor - WTF? Labor is not so easily hidden people! Seriously, the kid shoots out her vagina the moment she is in her bedroom. Julia helps with the delivery, even though Julia still doesn't understand how babies are born despite helping deliver Audre's first kid. Audre is a weakling and weepy woman, but she is stubborn and dumb like her step-daughter.

Tracker: the villain who is taken down by Julia's beating his head in with a rock.

The caves/mountains of Colorado Territory: the story takes place about 3/4ths of the time in the caves. I kept wishing for a cave-in to take out the characters.

Stay far away from this mess of a book. 0 stars to infinity and beyond.

Quick Reference: On a scale of 1-5 regarding the Christian preaching/lecturing, this is a good 3. More overt than the first book, but also more realistic and immersive in the characters' lives. No praying over petty, superficial things.

Review:

Highly addictive read. I stayed up way past my bedtime both nights I read this book. Emily and Carter had great chemistry from the beginning. I think I am a little biased because I have a thing for baseball players/stories.

The story takes place in 1901, six years after book one. Emily is a suffragette summering on Lake Manawa with her grandmother and elderly aunts while her parents travel the world and her brother stays in town to run the family company. Carter is summering on Lake Manawa and playing minor-league baseball before deciding if he is going into the family business or make his own way into the world. Equally, I felt affection for each of these characters, and when they meet again (they were high school peers, but not romantically paired back then), sparks fly. I so enjoyed the romance and catching up with Trip and Marguerite from book one. It made sense to have the first couple in this book, as Emily and Marguerite were friends. It made sense to have Lilly (Marguerite's former maid and dear friend of both her and Emily) in the story as well, without it feeling like sequel bait; rather, it felt cohesive story telling.

The plot was character-driven, but just as intense as in book one. There were a few plotlines to follow, but they were wrapped up neatly by the end of the book. Emily and Carter actually had conversations after disagreements, avoiding the Big Misunderstanding plot trope. And there was a villain, but not moustache-twirling kind like in book one.

It took a lot of self-discipline for me not to jump into book three (the last in the series), but I am saving that for August. I have grown to really love the world the author built into the series. 4 stars.

Quick word about the religious aspect: it is pretty superficial, so about a 1 on a scale of 1-5.

This book turned out surprisingly well once I hit the halfway mark (pg. 140). That is when the lies unravel and the truth gets some page space. There are a number of liars in this book:

1. The heroine (Marguerite Westing) - lies so much in this book, it is pathological. Seriously, little fibs, big whoopers, almost any answer to a question is answered in a lie. She sees lying as a way to circumvent society's ideals about womanhood (the story takes place in 1895 and she is upper middle class/high enough in the social standings of the town) and get her fun. Doesn't matter who she hurts (such as the hero or even herself). Until she discovers the truth about the lies others told her, then lying is a big deal to her. In the end, she is tired of the lies all around and decides to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and ends up saving her family from poverty and blackmail.

2. Captain Andrews (father of the hero) - lied to his son about something so important, then tells the truth after the Captain suffers a second heart attack and almost dies. Seriously, his reasoning is a bit selfish, but also not too selfish - I get why he lied, but I don't condone the lying in the first place and definitely not keeping the lie going for as long as he did. The truth seemed to ease the son's feelings and make way for him to forgive heroine for the hundredth lie she told. Son doesn't hold a grudge against the dad, so that relationship is saved/renewed by the truth.

3. Edwin & Camille Westing - and now we know where the heroine gets her lying gene from. Once everything is discovered, their lies pretty much make the heroine a sacrificial lamb to atone for their mistakes. It isn't until Marguerite stands up for herself against the blackmailer that these two decide to confront the lies they told and work to restore their own honesty.

4. Roger Gordon & Clyde Stone - the villains in this story. You kind of expect it from them; however, by the time the reader gets to their lies, it is over kill.

Seriously, the only people in this story that didn't lie at all was Mark Westing (younger brother of heroine and not just a plot moppet - he actually had a point in the story), Trip Andrews (the hero - and in every sense of the word! great character), and Trips' friends/co-workers (Harry, Lloyd, Mel, & Max). So why the good rating?

Those last 50ish pages....exciting, so much truthiness you expect Stephen Colbert to make an appearance, and a believable HEA that was worth the work to get there. I loved that the heroine saved herself and her family, rather than the hero coming to the rescue. This ending helps me feel better about starting book two in the series tomorrow. 3.5 stars.

I had previously read and enjoyed this author's works, so I had expectation of some good reading time spent on contemporary romance. I am really disappointed; this book was filled with a lot of what makes me turn off from the subgenre: insta-lust, immature characters, and fake conflict. Samantha was a native of the small town who owns a business but sucks at being a business woman, even after six years. Trent is at first a workaholic, but his business is opening in a few short weeks and he has a lot to do....which he skips doing to spend time with Samantha. They feel a instant lust that is not shared by the reader; I found it awkward when they first kissed, and more awkward sex scene. I didn't buy into their lust-turned-to-love journey either. As for the fake conflict, Samantha was a judgmental ass who didn't want anything about her beloved hometown to change, especially catering to the new tourists that come to stay at the resort (Trent's business).

Seriously, the conflict showed just how much Samantha sucks at owning and running her business. She hates tourists, those ghastly people that spend their leisure money in her town, propping up the businesses that the locals aren't supporting. Also, she bought the business (a pub) from her alcoholic father after he drank away profits; she is still in debt after owning the bar for six years, yet she promises the town a great summer solescit festival every year. This year, she is in so much debt that she was going to half ass everything about the festival rather than seek help from other local businesses, including the resort. Honestly, I hate incompetent heroines. Trent is pushy, but he needed to be in order to help Samantha out with the festival. He isn't all that competent in the business world either; his brother did more of the work at getting the resort ready for opening. I didn't find anything really great about him. He bore me more than anything. Overall, don't bother wasting time reading this book. 0 stars.