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Sean was sentenced to hang for his part in a bank robbery, but a rare law in town now has him wedded instead—to a complete stranger. His new wife, Charlotte, only married him to make him a blacksmith in her livery. She doesn't intend to fall in love with Sean in Sean Donovan by author Lori Wick.

This was at least my third time reading the third book in The Californians series, once my favorite series by this author. It was fun to reread some of this wholesome ChristFic I ate up nearly two decades ago.

I'll admit, though, that issues I "winked at" back then are more glaring to me now. The novel's first chapters are vague in places and seem to be in a rush to get Sean's life of crime out of the way so that he can hurry on into the changed-man stage. The story is full of head-hopping, frequently switching between characters' perspectives with little or no warning. Words like "softly" and "gently" are overused, and while tears are understandable, given the dramatic turns his life takes, Sean cries a lot during a certain stretch of the book.

While it's something I've become used to in these novels, the dialogue and descriptions often overplay the sentiment, including where the abundant Bible talk, sermons, salvation lessons, etc. are concerned. Even in Christian Fiction, it takes finesse to present spiritual content in a way that isn't schmaltzy or overdone.

Still, I like that Charlotte is a capable and plucky businesswoman, kind of rough around the edges. And as with the other books in the series, this is a feel-good read for ChristFic historical romance fans who can appreciate something that's easy to digest. ( )

While I enjoyed parts of this story, it just wasn't my favorite and there was some content that made me quite skirmy. I loved the character of Sean in the first book, so parts of this book were very hard to get through because of the things he was going through. His redemption story arc was very sweet though! I wasn't really a fan of Charlotte and her storyline. I mean really, she basically goes from a super-tough-girl-who-doesn't-have-a-heart to a gentle, sweet, loving wife. I felt like there was some inbetween lacking there.

Also, while it wasn't necessarily innapropriate because there WERE husband and wife, there was quite a bit of talkinghinting at intimacy that made be very uncomfortable. I don't really need to know any of that . . .


All in all, not really my favorite book. ( )

Charlotte didn't know men like Sean Dovovan existed.