I did a special feature on this series last summer and at that time thought it sounded like such a fun series. I am not normally one for western romances, but I loved that the author had a promising modern voice and I thought she might add that as a special twist to western historical romances. The first book had a lot of positive feedback and fans so when this one came up for review, I knew I had to somehow fit it into my summer review schedule.
I have to say, I think the show Yellowstone has brought out a little bit of cowboy lover in all of us which is one of the reasons this book appealed to me—-even if this book is a historical romance, the rugged cowboys are in abundance in this book so I feel like it ticked a lot of boxes for reader appeal. I also liked that it promised some humor, I love romances that are light hearted and make me laugh, so to say I was excited for this one was an understatement.
I was so certain that I would love this book that I ordered the first one in the series so I could have it on standby. Since I hadn’t read the first book, I went into this one blind, I would say no need to read the other book before this one but there are some characters that make a reappearance from the first book. I will go back and read the first book a little later this summer so I will be sure to update this review if that does not hold true.
Summary
The McBride brothers are in for a matrimonial surprise when an enterprising woman answers their little sister’s mail order bride advertisement in this laugh-out-loud historical romance.
As the oldest of the McBride siblings, Morgan had to be protector and shepherd since Ma died and Pa ran off. It hasn’t always been easy, especially when his heart longs to roam on the trail. But now that his brother Kit is married and settled, the time is right for Morgan to leave Buck’s Creek. Little does he know that his hellcat of a little sister Junebug is dead set on keeping him at home and getting more help around the house – all with one honest advertisement in The Matrimonial News.
Epiphany Hopgood has always had a gift for doing the exact wrong thing. She’s too tall, too loud, too opinionated, and too contrary for her family and community. Staring down the barrel of spinsterhood, she and her grandmother answer a seemingly straightforward ad for a bride.
But when Pip shows up to Buck’s Creek, she finds that Morgan McBride is not the husband she expected. In fact, he doesn’t even want to be a husband. But maybe there’s a way to make everyone happy out on the Montana frontier… (summary from Goodreads)
Review
If you are looking for a book that is heavy on the historical element or more serious in nature, then keep looking. But if you like a cute, comical romance with fun characters and a western flair then you want to check this one out! I went into this one with little expectations other than reading a fun HEA and romance. I didn’t expect to learn much about history—-which was the case—-but that wasn’t a deal breaker for me. This book is meant to be relaxing fluff which was exactly what I was hoping for, for my early summer reading. That’s not to say this book is just pure fluff and nothing else—it did have some heart and well developed characters, it just wasn’t heavy on the history. Overall though this book was lighthearted and had a nice mix of romance and characters.
In this book I felt like Junebug kind of stole the show as a character. The main couple was supposed to be Morgan and Epiphany “Pip” but for me Junebug was the one who stood out as the breakout character. The book focuses quite a bit on Junebug as a character which was surprising considering she is supposed to be a supporting character, but it was fun getting to know her and seeing her evolve as a character in her own right. Personally though I would have liked to have seen the focus on Morgan and Pip more than on Junebug. This book did have some spice to it. I know some readers of the first book said that the first book was more ‘clean’ while this one had a lot more innuendo and sex. It personally didn’t bother me but I know that some might not be expecting that. I thought it was fine and for me, it wasn’t ‘raunchy’ but fit well within the steam rating of traditional romances.
The only thing I will say about the emphasis on the sexual part is that Morgan and Pip felt more of a physical attraction to me rather than an emotional attraction. Stylistically, I felt like this was more of a preference thing, I like my romances to have more emotional attachments than physical but overall I didn’t feel like there was NO emotional connection, just not as much as I was expecting. Overall though this is a fun book and I am eager to read the other book in the series and see where the books go moving forward. I think this is going to be a really fun series of frontier or ‘cowboy’ romance and it was a great read for summer!
Book Info and Rating
Format 336 pages, Paperback
Published May 30, 2023 by Berkley Books
ISBN 9780593335598Â (ISBN10: 0593335597)
Free review copy provided by publisher, Berkley Books, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Genre: historical romance, romance, western
The Lit Bitch 