Review: Surprisingly good
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 30, 2013
The guy: Rafe Montalvo, bounty hunter, gun slinger and a man with a whole lot of emotional baggage he can't let go. He's just caught up with a member of a notorious band of Mexican bandits he's been hunting for years, but the man is shot and on his dying breath he reveals the location of a huge amount of stolen gold - but Rafe isn't the one who learns the secret...The girl: Anne Cameron, daughter of a shiftless gambler (now dead), she's hoping to now live with her aunt in Ubiquitous Texas. On the way, she runs into Rafe Montalvo (they don't hit it off too well), and circumstances put her next to the dying man who reveals the secret of the hidden gold. Anne finally reaches her aunt, only to find her dead and her house ready for auction, and she's out of money. What's a girl with no money to do? Why, head out over miles of treacherous desert and find that gold."This part of Texas must be the closest thing to hell on earth. In fact, had anyone asked her for a description of hell, this would have been it."OK, I know Anne sounds like one of those stubborn romance heroines that run off out into danger at the drop of a hat, but she's not. She's had a hell of a time with her shiftless father (details revealed slowly), and she's had to learn to go it on her own and take care of herself. Same thing for Rafe, he's not like all those Regency heroes we're so sick of with their constant pity party whinging and moaning over the awfulness of it all. He's got some serious baggage and the details when they are revealed are why this book made my not-recommended-for-the-fluffies shelf.This is not your usual easy going sexed-up western adventure kind of romance (they're in the desert FGS, not much time for smooching and horizontal mumbo jumbo when you're trying to stay alive). I'm not saying there's anything wrong with lighter romances (like them myself when I'm in the right mood), but there are details that come out that are just not going to set well with every reader. All that said, this really was a great story with plenty of surprises and ups and downs and life and death situations, along with one heck of a nasty baddie and an awesome shoot-out or two at the end. There are a few typos and/or conversion errors (mostly dropped letters), but not enough to detract from the story.Recommended for fans of those old Western TV shows.