Review: This faith-based Western romance literally "cooks" with passion, humor, and danger.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 1, 2014
Caterina is the author's second installment of the Pendleton Petticoats series, a sweet faith-based romance which takes place in Eastern Oregon at the turn of the century.Caterina Campanelli is the youngest daughter of Italian immigrants living in New York City. Cat has worked most of her young life in her family's restaurant. Beautiful, impetuous, and fiery of temper, she has insulted one of the city's most powerful mafia figures, Luigi. As punishment, Luigi will wed Caterina against her will. Terrified, her family and her four brothers attempt to sneak her out of the city. Spirited on a train to Chicago, then to the west coast, it seems one of Luigi's men has tailed her all the way. A helpful conductor gets the mafia pursuer off the train in Wyoming and Caterina safely makes it to Pendleton Oregon.Befriended by Aundy and Garrett Nash, as well as their family and friends, Caterina is homesick for her family and fears she will never see them again.Enter Kade Rawlings, Garrett's best friend and Deputy Sheriff of Pendleton. A huge hunk of a man, Caterina is dwarfed by his size but she is more than his match in wits and temper. The encounters between these two is electric with passion and they carry on a tempestuous love/hate relationship.Caterina wants to open an Italian restaurant in Pendleton and become more independent. She fears the mafia will discover her in Pendleton or will seek to harm her family. Kade worries that his work in law enforcement is too dangerous for a relationship and Caterina doesn't yet trust Kade due to her encounters with the police in New York who are getting bribes from the mafia.All four of Shanna Hatfield's sweet Western romances are full of love, romance, humor and perfectly timed dangerous encounters. It is gratifying to read about how relatives, friends and acquaintances in the story rally around to help those who are down and out.Again, the series can be read as stand-alones but they're all equally entertaining with a similar unfolding pattern. The incurable romantic in me recommends the entire wholesome series.For best comprehension, read them in this order: Aundy, Caterina, Ilsa, and the just published Marnie.