Ruthy MacNeil is rescued from a swollen river after her wagon train is washed away by a flash flood. Luke Stone, her rescuer, is returning to his home in Broken Wheel, Texas, to reclaim his family ranch. Friends Darius Riker (the town doctor), Jonas Cahill (preacher), Vince (lawyer) and Big Joe Conroy (Texas Ranger) are now in Broken Wheel to help Luke. The five men met when they were all Regulators in Andersonville, an infamous Civil War prison. Swept Away is fast paced and well written with strong characters and a good mix of action, humour and romance. Ruthy is feisty, hard-working and independent, while Luke is the kind of loyal ad honest Wild West hero everyone wants to read about. My main complaint is that the faith elements are pretty unobtrusive. My personal view is that this is a weakness, but I know some readers prefer low-key Christian content.
Swept Away is a quick and entertaining read, perfect for long winter evenings or a day at the beach. It was good, but not outstanding. I thought the whole story (especially the attraction between Ruthy and Luke) moved too quickly and wasn’t quite believable, but it will be interesting to see it develop further in future books. I also thought it focused too much on the external conflict, with too little insight into the inner motivations of the characters.
It is the first book in the new Trouble in Texas series, and those who have read and enjoyed Mary Connealy's earlier books will notice the references to Callie and The Kincaid Brides trilogy. I expect the future books in the series will chronicle the adventures and romances of the other four Regulators.
Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Mary Connealy at her website.
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