Tame a Wild Heart Tame Series Book 1
Historical Western Romance
Cynthia Woolf
February 22, 2014
315
Catherine Evans fell in love when she was three years old, head-over-heels, forever kind of love. The very first moment she saw twelve-year-old Duncan McKenzie, she told God and her pony that she was going to marry that boy. He was handsome. He was kind. He was strong and smart and all the good things a boy should be. For thirteen years she loved him with every beat of her heart. And on her sixteenth birthday he walked away from her father's ranch, and from her. He didn't look back over his shoulder. Not even once. And from that day forward, Catherine Evans swore off all men. Her heart turned to stone, her will to iron, and her vow to God changed. She'd run her father's ranch. She'd succeed. She'd survive. And she would never, ever love another man as long as she lived.
Duncan McKenzie left the ranch ten years ago, desperate to escape temptation in the form of a budding young lady too innocent to claim for his own. But Catherine's frightened father summons him home. The ranch is under attack and the old man's stubborn daughter refuses to seek help. Duncan left a sweet young girl behind a decade ago. He returns to a defiant siren, a woman whose heart is as wild as the land she would sacrifice her life to protect. When Catherine's father coerces her into marrying Duncan, the fire in her eyes spells trouble, but it's the kind of trouble Duncan has no desire to resist. Marriage is the only way he can protect her. Especially when Duncan's own past comes calling in the form of one extremely dangerous and vengeful outlaw, Catherine's cowardly enemies want the ranch badly enough to kill for it, and his reluctant bride is very much in their way.
This book has been completely re-edited and updated as of February 22, 2014. This western historical romance is a work of historical fiction.
Reviewed by Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
This book takes place in 1880 Colorado a time when women were expected to wash, clean, cook and care for the household. But of course there are always exceptions and that exception was
Catherine Evans who wanted nothing to do with any of that. Catherine wanted to do a man’s job. She and her father, James Evans, have their own cattle ranch and Catherine runs it with her father who long ago gave up trying to make his daughter into a lady.
Catherine runs a cattle drive and does every job any man is expected to do. She is a stubborn, headstrong woman who only wears pants and refuses to go along with what people expect of her. She has a mind of her own and is not easily swayed. In spite of all that, she is truly dedicated to all the important people in her life and I loved reading about her. She was a liberated woman way before her time. It is great to read about a strong woman who doesn’t let any man run her life.
The story opens with a cattle stampede. The cattle have destroyed some wagons, injured one of the men and have run off in every possible direction. Catherine has her hands full until Duncan McKenzie arrives. Duncan was 13 years old when James Evans found him and brought him home. When Duncan got older he decided he wanted to go out on his own, so he left the only home he ever knew. He fought in the Civil War and then turned bounty hunter. He has been called home by James.
Catherine and Duncan had once been in love when they were younger and now that he has returned Catherine is determined not to forgive him so easily. Duncan a typical male of that era and Catherine is a totally untypical female and they are constantly butting heads. The ranch is under attack by John Morgan a man who has discovered that there is gold on the Evans ranch and is determined to have the ranch at all costs. He is working with Roy Walker a man whose only desire is to see James and Duncan dead.
The author paints a colorful picture of the times. I loved going back in time to an era that was difficult at best. There are many wonderful secondary characters. White Buffalo, the chief of the Utes, and his son, Gray Wolf, add a wonderful story line which I won’t reveal. There is Cassie Catherine’s best friend and sister to John Morgan. We meet a couple, Tom and Beth Peterson, who are taken in by the Evans, but I don’t want to go into detail about them and reveal too much.
The story has cattle stampedes, kidnapping and blackmail from the most unlikely person and, of course, romance. I enjoyed the book and would have given it 5 stars except there were many editing errors. I am sure people will truly enjoy this book especially those who enjoy a good Western romance. The love story was beautifully written and the way the secondary characters lives are all intermingled made the story a wonderful read.