Choices (Love's Valley)
Douglass Esmeralda Sullivan, half-Mexican and half-Irish, wanted an adventure, but placed her trust in a sorry Yankee rascal who would have bedded and abandoned her. So she descends the stagecoach in the middle of the desert and perches on her trunk, awaiting help, only to be accosted by Captain Monroe Hamilton, a true gentleman (albeit another Yankee), who insists on seeing her to safety. Caught in a tangled web of lies, fearing pursuit by her brothers and incarceration in a convent for her misbehavior, and plotting revenge against the dastardly Raymond, Esmie finds herself willy-nilly on the road to Philadelphia with the handsome captain, who is alternately exasperated and amused by her antics. While not up to her usual standard--much of it reads like a rehash of her previous series--Brown's latest is nonetheless an enjoyable light and frothy historical romance with plenty of her trademark sass, down-home descriptions, and verbal sparring.Lynne WelchCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved