Review: Great story about unexpected redemption!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 27, 2013
"The Reprobate" by Dorothy A. Bell is a story about the O'Bannon family and their predicament when the father, Stanley, convinces his sons, Royce and Quinn, to kidnap Stanley's niece, Wren, after her father died, so he could own the family business outright.  To their surprise, Wren's fiancé, the Sheriff Telt Longtree, threw them in jail for their failed attempt.  Only Wren's love for family kept her from sending her cousins away to prison and years of hard labor for their crime.  For six months, her cousins, Royce and Quinn, would have to work for her and stay away from Stanley who has done nothing but train his sons to cause trouble.  Royce never thought the decision to stay on with Wren would lead to a life changing experience.  He'd do his time and get on his way.  All that changed the day he met Cleantha, a crippled woman with the face of a goddess.Set in the Oregon Blue Mountains during the late 1880s, this story will whet the appetite of readers who enjoy Western style stories. Royce's journey from the perfect wayward son to a man willing to do right for a woman who most would not even consider viable for a lifelong relationship, kept me turning the page, hoping each decision would bring him closer to a life worth pursuing.  Cleantha also grapples her status in life by the horns and does not let go until she is seen as a woman worthy of love instead of being treated incapable of taking care of herself or those she loves. The interaction of Royce and Cleantha is amazingly human.I enjoyed the story very much and look forward to more novels by this author.