Back Cover: Men are optional. That was the credo Emma
Chandler’s suffragette aunts taught her and why she established Harper’s
Station, a women’s colony that offers a fresh start to females in need. But
when a dangerous and shadowy assailant tries repeatedly to drive the women out,
Emma is forced to admit they might need a man after all. One who can fight. And
there is only one man she trusts enough to ask.
Malachi Shaw has finally earned the respect he’s always
craved by becoming an explosives expert for the railroad. Yet when Emma’s
telegram arrives, he rushes back to Texas to repay the girl who once save his
life. Only she’s not a girl any longer. She’s a woman with a mind of her own
and smile that makes a man imagine a future he doesn’t deserve.
As the danger intensifies, Emma, Mal, and the ladies of
Harper’s Station must choose safety or whether to risk everything to fight for
their future.
Review: This was a fun and passionate adventure. This book
is exactly what a summer read should be: entertaining, too good to put down,
and filled with sweet romance. To be honest, I loved everything about this book
except the back cover (which I just read)… I found it somewhat lacking in
accuracy of its description of the book. Everything else was wonderful –
honestly.
To quote Emma herself, Harper’s Station was never created to
keep men out. Emma, who is a seriously spunky female lead, has nothing against
men, and she certainly did not need to be pushed too hard to call Malachi for
help once it became evident that lives could be in danger. Ever since Malachi
left when she was about thirteen, she’s written to him…every month. She’s never
forgotten the boy she rescued and who, over the years, turned into her guardian.
Malachi may call Emma his “Angel”, but it’s hard to see who really saved the
other more over the years. Theirs is such a sweet love story. It makes me smile
just remembering their adventures together throughout the book.
Emma struck me as a natural leader. She is the kind of girl
who grew up with grand ideas, an overdose of passion for life, and the energy
to see things done. She riles against injustice, and has an immovable desire to
fix people and circumstances. This rather formidable set of traits led from one
thing to another, and before she knew if she’d bought an old town and was in
the business of rescuing dozens of ladies. With her charisma and honesty, the
ladies are happy to follow her lead. Armed with her education and the talents
of the ladies that live in Harper’s Station, the women are not only surviving
but really beginning to thrive as they trade with their neighboring towns. They
thrived, however, until someone took offense to their existence.
What started off as mild threats soon escalates into the
dangerous realm. Emma is faced with some hard choices, and the women of Harper’s
Station have to decide whether they flee or they stand and fight.
Malachi, for his part, is the perfect other half for Emma.
His passion and zest for life matches hers and his desire to prove himself is
endless. Much like the girl he grew up with, he has zero tolerance for bullies
and injustice, and together they make quite a formidable team.
Thank-you to Baker Publishing Group and Graf Martin
Communications for a complimentary copy of this wonderful book.
No comments:
Post a Comment