Wylder Bachelor (The Wylder West Book 10)

Maryanne Wagner is forced to run away from the home she’s always known after her father promises her hand in marriage to the cruel William Smythe, for a simple loan. During her escape, Maryanne robs her father before she runs into some unexpected trouble and is forced to hide out in the neighboring town of Wylder. Wounded and afraid, the young woman finds herself in a livery where the handsome Chet Jackson Daniels finds her and saves her, despite his bad experience with helping strangers. The two form an immediate connection and are completely drawn to one another. Unfortunately, Jackson doesn’t really know the truth of Maryanne’s sins, and she is afraid when he finds out, he’ll never look at her the same. Will they be able to push through their indifferences or will their lies catch up to them first?

 

Readers will revel in this captivating, action-packed, Western bonanza which ropes one in with its topics of tragic death and true love. The plotline and characters’ language fits the historical era accurately, but trying to follow the timeline is a wreck. At random chapters there will be time jumps of multiple weeks, so it’s hard to keep track of how long Maryanne and Jackson have known one another. The deep-rooted feminism that exists in the main character’s personality is well-loved, but the rest of the novel lacks an engaging storyline to keep the reader attuned to the story. The rush of events to give the story a happy ending is enough to throw one completely off balance. Nonetheless, the novel has two swoon-worthy, stubborn protagonists whose love is entirely enviable by anyone.

 

Austen Grace