Review: An Awesome Book!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 10, 2014
I really enjoyed reading book 3 of the Bride Train series which takes place in Tanner's Ford, Montana. This story starts out with three unlikely men who are from Britian who have come to the United States to make their own way thru life, and by playing cards Ace wins a ranch called the Double Diamond from Symthie fair and square. So Kenrick Ace Langford, Charles Sin Statham & Henry Bennett take possession of their ranch, but of course they are considered green-horns because none of them have ever worked or lived on a ranch before and has no idea what it entails. They have purchased half of the herd of cattle that the Elliot's just brought up from Texas, but don't know anything about what is required to get their cattle on their ranch. Ranger Elliot, has just introduced a young cowboy to the three green-horns, now really he's trying to help his new neighbors out, by introducing them to a cowboy who is very competent and can work the ranch from sun-up to sun-down and run rings around these men. Though he's helping his new neighbors he's also making sure the young cowboy doesn't get settled on his property, because you see this young cowboy is his sister Jessamine Bonham Elliott. She was promised by Ranger, Patrick & Ben that when they took possession of their ranch Bitterroot she would be able to buy in and be the fourth owner of said ranch. She has been off at the Virginia Female Institute, where she's learning to become a lady for the last two years.  Once she completed her schooling her mother's sister Aunt Bonham gave her an inheritance that she would then use to buy into the Bitterroot Ranch in Tanner's Ford Montana with her four younger brothers. However Ranger has decided because she has a bad temper and a smart mouth he's going to teach her a lesson  by pawning her off on their new neighbors, the deal is she doesn't tell them she's a girl and she shows them how to work their ranch and she must keep her temper in check for three weeks. If she can manage to do this, she's welcome to become a full partner on the Bitterroot ranch. So she takes the deal, she slowly meanders over to speak with Ace and ask if he could use some help running the ranch for the next three weeks, he wants to know why he should give this bratty boy a chance, because I can run rings around the three of you, and I know how to cull cattle, and you don't. He talks it over with his two partners and they decided to give Jessie a chance they will give her a trial job for room & board for three days, if he works out he can stay for three weeks, she excepts the job. That afternoon they have to cull the cattle split them in half, steers and Mamma's with baby's on one side and steers on the other this takes all afternoon into the evening. The next day the calves need branding & castrating so Sin pulls calves to one side and Jessie brands the mamas and cast rates the bulls and then Ace brands them, then they run off and Henry moves them into Double Diamond side or Bitterroot side, they work well into the night and when it was over Jessie completely collapsed right next to the fire used for the branding. Read this book because it will make you laugh, cry and cum up a storm. The author did an amazing job with the characters, giving them much confidence & perseverance to be able to handle the day to day life on a working ranch, in the late 1800's. The family dynamic between the partners & their wives, and then their brother's who they haven't seen in years to the cousins who they also haven't seen in a long time is truely amazing. I can't wait to read book 4.