Wrangler in Petticoats (Sophie's Daughters #2) by Mary Connealy

Buy It Here When It's Available in October

Well, this guy is an odd hero(Logan) for this time period for sure....but there were artists and female wranglers in the 1880s, so how great an idea for a book!

Sally is on her way to be with her sister Mandy whose 3rd baby is due. They've not seen each other in about 3 years since Mandy married her no-account husband. Without giving out a spoiler, Sally ends up in Logan's life, like it or not. He's a  no-account who thinks 'quick draw' means 'sketch a drawing quickly,' not 'save your hide with a gun'. He's obviously a city boy and will die out here in the wilderness soon because what he carries all the time is......a pencil.If that isn't funny beginning to a book, what is?

As always Mary Connealy tells a few stories at a time in one book which I love. I know the entire McClellan family as if they live around the bend from me.

To tell you a bit about how Sally and Logan communicate see this, Logan says:

“More beautiful than the mountains and waterfalls and soaring eagles.” The moment eased a bit when Sally’s smile stretched wide. “I’m prettier than jagged high-up hills; running water; and a hook-nosed, bald bird?” The smile turned to a laugh. “ I reckon you think that’s flattery, don’t you?”

And her sister Mandy thinks very similarly when Sidney (her husband) says:

"I respect who you are, but that doesn't mean you can't learn more womanly manners." Better manners? Maybe she'd say "please" when she took the butt of her gun to his head. And "thank you" after he passes out on the floor.

I"m laughing out loud even as I type this. What's the killer here is that Sharpshooter in Petticoats doesn't come out until 2011. I have no idea how I will get my Mary Connealy fix until then......Somebody rescue me, preferably on a horse, wearing a Stetson and a duster.....thank you very much.

Doctor in Petticoats(Sophie's Daughters) by Mary Connealy

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You know how when a good book ends, you're a bit miffed that it ended when it did? Or you just wanted to know a bit more about these people's lives before it ends? Or 'So where did they end up living'? Well, that seems to be the feeling I get with every book I've read of Mary's! So darn frustrating that the story ends at all, never mind where it ends. I know every character in Mary's books as if they're my neighbors. Beth McClellan is a character close to my heart as I'm the only one in my generation (and only the second in my family) to graduate from college. My mother was a family pioneer of sorts-like Sophie McClellan and I, like her daughter, Beth, am a nurse who wants to take health care back home to give aid where needed. She finds herself giving aid to those around her, before she even gets home, at a stage coach accident. Who does she find to take care of but, Alex Buchanen, an army doctor who's deserted and  has PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)-well, that's what's called nowadays. It used to be called shell shocked in my parent's time and who knows if it even had a name in the 1880's? This book has lots of adventure, praying, and laughs, too. Could it get any better than that? Not if you want a light read that you just can't put down.

What kills me is that this book is the first of a series and the 3rd isn't out yet! I have to get this review done because I have Sophie's Daughter's waiting on me..... there's a gunfight, a broken leg to tend to and Mandy's due for her 3rd child any day! I've gotta go folks...

Wildflower Bride by Mary Connealy

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Another wild Montana ride is in this 3rd and last book of Montana Marriages. It picks up about a year or so after Montana Rose ended. We still have our Divide, Montana territory community of Belle and Silas Tanner..I mean, Harden, and Cassie and Red Dawson and, now, Wade and Glowing Sun (Abby) Sawyer.  Just to give you an idea how funny this series of books is, take a look at what Belle Tanner (a Calamity Jane type) is saying to Cassie Dawson (the extremely sheltered china doll type):

“We’ll work on roping and busting steers and the other chores any decent woman (italics mine) oughta know. It’s unbelievable you’ve never learned bronc riding. What is Red thinking? .... Have you ever cracked a bullwhip?” Cassie shook her head. she’d never even seen one. “I’d love to have you visit.”

My hiney would fall off from all the laughing, if only....you know, 'laugh my hiney off'? I must not be a decent woman then, how about you? Anyways, just as Red Dawson has to kiss Cassie to distract her from a rant, Abby threatens Wade after every kiss and she's very good with a knife!
I couldn't connect with the characters in this installment as well as I could the previous two books though and I'm not sure why. The Wade character is very developed, more than Abby is actually. I wondered a few times why it wasn't named Wildflower Groom. It has everything I like in  good book so, it must've been me.
4 Stars for a Good Story- there are subplots galore and all good.
3 Stars for Chemistry-As my dear friend Angie's new banner says, 'I like my books the way I like coffee, Hot and with Chocolate.' This cup of joe was only lukewarm for me, alas...but I any kind of coffee too.
4 Stars for God's Influence-Wade's sadistic, abusive tyrant of a father even begins to soften a bit with some tough love and Christians all around and I gotta love that.