You *know* I have to read a historical romance series with my name in it. Lucky me, I thought this was great! It was surprisingly lacking in drama. Every time I thought there was a barrier rising up between Mariah and Logan, I was wrong. Instead things work out pretty smoothly and there’s really interesting true history woven in to boot. So no soap opera here. Just true love in a sort of cowboy Cinderella setup. ( )

This book just did not make sense. The plot didn't work. The characters were contradictory. Most of the time, I was scratching my head, trying to figure out what the conflict was because it would evaporate after a couple of chapters.

First of all, Mariah's mother and aunt don't talk. But after one argument, she runs away to her aunt's. Again, these women haven't talked in years, yet the aunt lives in the same town, and Mariah knows exactly where it is. Not only that, it's clear she's visited her aunt before. How can she do that and have never asked why the two don't get along? She waited 30 years, until the reader opens the book, to ask that question. Without giving too much away, I can assure you, it was the dumbest reason.

So, Mariah leaves for California and vows to never be a pushover ever again. Here's the thing: when someone's been verbally and physically abused for their entire life, they don't magically get better and never have another issue. Mariah just decided she wasn't going to be depressed anymore, and then she wasn't. Truly miraculous without the help of drugs, and I don't buy it for a second.

This is a pattern throughout the book, and it's disappointing because I can't get invested in their growth. There's also no growth, except the miracle turnaround of Mariah. What's even more obnoxious is that there isn't a climactic moment! There's no point where you think the hero and heroine won't end up together. Nothing to make you clench the book and wonder how on earth they're going to resolve it in 30 pages. And then no payoff. It was all very bland.

Logan's mom was the only cool part of this book. I'd read more with just her in it. She single-handedly saved this book from getting only 1 star. ( )

Not being all that interested in romance novels, I'm glad I was able to let down my guard some and enjoy this. To be sure, the plot is mind-bogglingly simplistic, real tension almost nil, the historical details not always accurate, and the characterization somewhat inconsistent and intentions suspect. But I really liked reading a historical romance by an African American author about African American characters, that the steamy scenes mostly used correct terminology over cheesy euphemisms, and, of course, the whole late-19th century California rancho setting. And that in using the Western setting, Jenkins didn't fall back on likening women to horses during intercourse, which really bothered me when reading Annie Proulx's Open Range (I get that they're operating in two separate genres, but still...*shudder*). If I need some word candy when I get a little more personal-reading-choices time here, I would definitely turn to the second in this trilogy.

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Counting as my Romance for the Read Harder challenge. ( )

3.5 stars ( )

I loved the historical aspect. The history about California was interesting.
I don't care much for romance. ( )