AMANDA'S RANCHER by Caroline Clemmons

Montana Sky: Amanda's Rancher by Caroline Clemmons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

REVIEW By Mary A. Adair
AMANDA'S RANCHER by Caroline Clemmons
#MontanaSkyKW


This story begins in a small Georgia town in 1887.
Mara O’Sullivan is awakened from sleep by a barely discernible rustling sound. Her life is about to change.

Mara was raised by her mother, a town prostitute. The fact that Mara’s mother had sheltered her daughter and that Mara herself had never taken up the trade made no difference to the town folk. Though she faced the disdain of the “proper” people, she, as her mother had been, was a kind and generous person who valued right over wrong. When she witnessed a bank robbery she did the right thing, she identified the outlaws to the sheriff. This act put her life in danger and threw her into a desperate flight to find safety.


On this fearful journey she encounters a half-sister and a niece she never knew she had. She learns about her father that was devoid of fatherly love toward any child not born a boy. It was easy for her to love her half-sister, Amanda Eppes, and her own sweet and intelligent niece, Iris Grace.
Mara learns Amanda is on her way to Montana Territory to become a mail-order bride. Mara takes no time at all to make up her mind about what she wants to do. She is faced with a chance to have a real family. Changing her own destination, Mara is thrilled with the notion they can live close to one another and be a help to each other.

The two sisters make plans for the future and look forward to a family neither had ever known. Sadly, their plans are interrupted when Amanda, the sister Mara had only begun to know, dies suddenly. On her sister’s deathbed, Mara promises she will take Amanda’s place. She will pretend to be Amanda and Iris will become her daughter. She prays the plan is solid and the men who want her dead will never find them.
Her plans become salvation not only for herself but for her niece, now daughter, as well. She determines she will marry this unknown rancher. She will be the best wife and mother she can be. Most of all, she will keep Iris close and provide for her a safe and happy home.

Mara and her new daughter continue on the journey to Montana Territory where she will meet Preston Kincaid for the first time. She marries this man she does not know and soon realizes the deception she thought would keep herself and her daughter safe has become a threat to all she holds dear.

I just couldn’t put this story down. I love the way Ms Clemmons weaves a story together. These characters will wiggle their way into your heart, especially little Iris. If you are a sweet romantic at heart, with a bit of daredevil and adventurer mixed in, you will love this story.



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McClintock’s Reluctant Bride by Caroline Clemmons

A delightful story of growing trust and love. I give McClintock’s Reluctant Bride 5 Stars

 

This is a heart-warming story. McClintock’s Reluctant Bride is book 3 in the McClintock series and is every bit as good as the books before. I love Ms Clemmons’ attention to detail and historical accuracy. The characters are well developed, the storyline well-plotted, and the ending totally satisfying.

The story opens with handsome rabble-rouser, Josh McClintock, celebrating his 24th birthday with family and friends.  Josh is a son of the successful McClintock ranching family. He is handsome, rich and self-assured. He suffers no loss when it comes to finding feminine companionship whenever he wants it. Everything is going his way. That is until he wakes up, half dressed, and being dragged out from under the bed of beautiful Nettie Clayton. In a drunken stupor he had mistaken her house for another, left his horse in plain sight in the front yard, climbed up to the second floor, crawled into Nettie Clayton’s window and onto her bed! Worse, when he wakes he is staring up at her extremely angry father. 

Yep, you guessed it, shotgun wedding, loss of freedom to carouse and basically live the ideal life of the most eligible bachelor in town. However, not all is lost. Nettie Clayton may be high-tempered and demanding, but she is also unquestionably beautiful. 

Nettie Clayton’s life is finally coming together.  Her family no longer lives in the coal mining town of Lignite, Texas. They now lived in McClintock Falls where her parents live in a modest, but beautiful home and her brother is free of the expectation of a lifetime of working coal underground. Nettie looks forward to her new position as a teacher in the local school. All is right with her world, or that was what she thought before Josh McClintock climbed into her room through a window and then passed out on her bed.

A delightful story of growing trust and love. I give McClintock’s Reluctant Bride 5 Stars

Amazon http://amzn.com/B011LGDP8U

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Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mcclintocks-reluctant-bride-caroline-clemmons/1122296093;jsessionid=55F2EC55DF788F41BD04EB496DE920AD.prodny_store03-5?ean=2940152252132

Kobo https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/mcclintock-s-reluctant-bride

Google Play Books https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Caroline_Clemmons_McClintock_s_Reluctant_Bride?id=fNsoCgAAQBAJ&hl=en

Apple https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1019315302

My Review of Winter Bride by Caroline Clemmons

Winter Bride is Caroline Clemmon’s latest addition to her Stone Mountain Texas Series. I read this book in one sitting. Winter Bride is not a short story, it is just that absorbing! I could not put it down!
Winter Bride (Stone Mountain, Texas)

The story opens with Sheriff Butch Parrish rushing to the livery to save a woman from a brutal beating by her husband. Her husband is gone by the time Butch arrives to find a gruesomely battered Glenna Tucker.
Despite the poor woman’s seriously injured condition, she manages to tell him her husband is likely on his way home where her sister and children are trapped with no transportation and without food. She begs the sheriff to help them.
Sheriff Parrish packs supplies and hurries out to the small farm the family is leasing from Zach Stone.
If you have read the Men of Stone Mountain stories, you will remember handsome Zach Stone from Book Two.
HIGH STAKES BRIDE (A Stone Mountain Texas Book 2)

Okay… I digress! Back to the story.

 The sheriff is unable to track down the scoundrel on his way to the farmhouse and is shot by the villain. In spite of his injuries, he does rescue Glenna Tucker’s sister, Kendra, eight-year-old Caleb, and his two younger sisters, Mittie, and Abby. Every man in Kendra’s life has been no better than her brother-in-law. This lack of fatherly support, though it molded her into a strong, dependable, independent woman, sadly also caused her to have a distrust for all men.

Kendra loves her nieces and nephew and is determined she will open her own business and provide for her family. Her fear is her brother-in-law will return to steal away his son and murder anyone standing in his way.

Sheriff Parrish is there to give her the support she needs and unbidden her trust for the handsome sheriff grows. Butch Parrish still mourns the loss of his wife. He is not ready to love again. Yet the three children touch a place in his heart that he cannot ignore and his attraction to Kendra is simply undeniable. As he supports Kendra in purchasing a business and home for her family as well as watching over the family’s well-being and keeping the peace in town, his admiration and love for her grows. I do not want to put in any spoilers, but I do have to say if you enjoy Caroline’s books, you will love this one. Ms. Clemmon’s writing style is unmistakable. Her stories are filled with a love and warmth that leaves you running to Amazon to look for more of her work, and there are many to choose from. Author Caroline Clemmons knocked another one out of the park with Winter Bride. This story is filled with personal growth, budding love and the hometown and family interaction that I so enjoy in her books. I would give Winter Bride an easy 5 Stars.

Writing is a Discipline. Story Telling is an Art and Reviews are a Necessity.

Simply said, authors write because the stories inside their imagination clamor to be released. Any art needs discipline, you might say. Of course, that is true, but that special talent that resides within any artist to express themselves in their craft is unique to them. If I picked up an unknown book and began reading, and that book happened to be written by Kathleen Woodweiss,  I would recognize her style of storytelling. I would know, without being told, Ms Woodweiss is the author. 

The same is true for Bess Trissell.

And Caroline Clemmons.              

All great Storytellers, who excel in their craft and are easy to recognize.

Every author I know, wants to find and develop their own particular talent for storytelling, their “voice”. They study and research their topic, they plot, they outline, and then they “Create” the best story they have written.  Believe me, turning that baby you have just produced, and dressed up in the best, prettiest, most exciting cover, over to the publisher is both accelerating and frightful. Of course, a writer must write, so even though the author starts on their next book, they have not turned their back on the newly released book.

There are blogs to write, tweets to be tweeted, announcements to be sent and reviews to be checked. Believe it or not, Reviews are the most important. Honest reviews from readers and fans are necessary for the author to know how well they are doing. Sales are important, true, but it’s the reviews and comments from readers that make the whole process rewarding to an author. Even a bad review is not bad to receive. The reviews, the good, the bad and the ugly, not only help the author hone their craft, but they direct other story lovers to the books they would most enjoy.

So…after finishing your next book, make the author’s day by leaving an honest review on the site you bought the book.

Award winning, PASSION’S VISION will be available FREE at Story Cartel for a short while in exchange for an honest review.

Gabe Kincaid by Best Selling Author Caroline Clemmons

Another great story by Caroline Clemmons I loved this book. I am a fan of the of all the Kincaid books and this did not let me down.

Katie Worthington comes from a good family and is used to a life of plenty. She returns home from spending time with her best friend to discover her grandfather dead and the murders still in her home. When she is locked in her room to await her own murder, she does what any red blooded heroine would do. She escapes out the window and joins a traveling circus. I adored this part!

She poses as Dorothy Duncan and starts out at the circus doing odd jobs. The cards are in her favor and she soon finds she has the opportunity to be a fortune teller. For this role, she assumes the name Majarani Shimza, Mystic of the East. She immerses herself in this role, she evens covers her beautiful hair with a black dye to better look the part, and is good at.

It is good she covered her tracks so well because she has been framed for her grandfather’s murder. Then the unthinkable happens and she fears that her past is closing in on her. This is when she meets Gabe Kincaid. Gabe is strong, upright, and of course, he is gorgeous. But most important, he is with the Law.

Will Gabe discover what she is hiding? Would he believe her if she told him all or would he follow the letter of the law? If you are a fan of the Kincaid Stories this edition will not disappoint. Many of my beloved characters from past stories were in this story as well. I personally love stories with strong family ties and highly recommend Gabe Kincaid

New Boxed Set by Best Selling author Caroline Clemmons

My good friend and Best Selling Author, Caroline Clemmons, is releasing a new boxed set of three of her most popular Western novels.

Here is a short blurb of each. I have read each one and can't say which was my favorite, I totally enjoyed all four. 

                                       Hearts and Flowers

HEARTS AND FLOWERS combines three historical romance novellas sure to entertain and please any reader . Let the cares of today fall away as you immerse yourself in these three historical romances.

SAVE YOUR HEART FOR ME is a sensual western historical romance set in the 1885 Texas Hill Country near the Medina River. Elizabeth Jeffers and Matthias Petrov meet again after six years. Now a widow, Elizabeth has a five-year-old son. Matt is free to tell her of his feelings, and she returns his ardor. But Matt has been sent to rescue a distant relative from kidnappers and help the man claim the ranch he’s been given. Can true love overcome the past to forge a future together?

HAPPY IS THE BRIDE is a mildly sensual western historical romance set in the 1885 Texas Hill country. Bethany Pendleton has sought to please her overly-demanding  parents by agreeing to wed men of their choice—three times. Each time the wedding went awry due to the unsuitability of the groom. Now she’s labeled a jinx by townspeople and considered an old maid. She decides to take matters into her own hands and proposes to her best friend, Mason Whitaker. Fate conspires to prevent this wedding and everything that can go wrong does. Will she be jilted again?

LONG WAY HOME is a sweet historical romance set in 1864 Georgia near the end of the Civil War. Parmelia Bailey has been charged with keeping her extended family safe until the War ends and the men come home. She risks her life to bring her brother’s fiancé to the Bailey family home.  Sad and angry that Darrick McDonald has returned wearing Union blue, she’s loved him as long as she can remember. He left penniless with his family after his father’s death to move north with grandparents. Will Darrick finally propose to Parmelia? More serious complications arise when a maniacal renegade whose proposal Parmelia rejected returns to claim her against her will. Can Darrick protect Parmelia and her family and stop the renegade he’s been sent to capture? 

Click here... Hearts and Flowers  and get your box set today.

My Review of Most Unsuitable Courtship by Caroline Clemmons

5 STARS
I anxiously waited for the next book in the Kincaid Series.  I have to say The Most Unsuitable Courtship was even better than I expected! And believe me; I expect a lot from Caroline Clemmons. Her stories have never failed to meet my expectations.


Rena witnesses the brutal murder of her elderly husband who had saved and protected her from the time of her father’s death. She loved her elderly husband the way one would love a wise and protective grandfather, in fact that was the nature of their relationship. When Federal Marshal Storm Kincaid arrived just after the murder of her husband and destruction of her home place Rena knew, with his help, she would be able to avenge her husband’s murder.
Though Federal Marshal Kincaid opposed her decision, he realized if she did not travel with him she would set out to complete her errand of vengeance on her own and would most assuredly be killed.

With this the two set out, one to seek vengeance, the other to bring justice.  What the two experience range from fear to pain to horror to hope to expectation to love and happiness. In short, a roller coaster ride of emotion and adventure that leaves the reader counting the days till the next story in the Kincaid Series.

I highly recommend this book. All the books in the Kincaid Series are wonderful reads. You need not think you have to start from the beginning to read the series. Each book is a story in itself. It is great fun to read them in order because there will be reintroduction to characters you have already read about and fallen in love with, but it is not necessary to enjoy the story in hand.

I hope you read and enjoy the Kincaid stories as much as I do.