Saturday, March 1, 2014

Book Review ~ Dawn Comes Early by Margaret Brownley


Dawn Comes Early (The Brides Of Last Chance Ranch, #1)

Title:  "Dawn Comes Early"
Series:  Last Chance Ranch Book #1
Author:  Margaret Brownley
Publisher:  Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: 3/13/12
Pages:  353

Book Description:

Looking for a woman of good character and pleasant disposition willing to learn the ranching business in Arizona territory. Must be SINGLE and prepared to remain so now and forever more. Will be given ownership of ranch. -Eleanor Walker
Disgraced dime novelist Kate Tenney fled the city that banned her latest book for a fresh start at a cattle ranch in the Arizona Territory. She hopes ranching turns out to be as romantic as she portrayed it in her novels.
But what awaits her is a much harder life. There is no room for mistakes on a working cattle ranch in 1895, and Kate is ill-prepared for her new life. She quickly learns that dawn comes early . . . every day. But she is tenacious.
Having been abandoned by a string of men, Kate has no intention of ever marrying. But she didn't expect to meet Luke Adams either. Luke awakens feelings inside Kate she doesn't recognize, and his steady presence is a constant distraction. She has only written about love in the past, never known it herself. But her feelings for Luke stand in the way of all she has to gain if she is chosen as the heir.
Perhaps God brought Kate to the barrenness of the desert to give new life to her jaded heart.

My Overall Feeling of the Book:

This was a sweet story about overcoming our past to embrace our present and our future.

Kate worked so hard to earn Last Chance Ranch.  She believed that land was the only thing that mattered and would never leave.  All she had to do was agree to never marry.

Luke is a simple, hard-working man.  He doesn't have the education that he thinks Kate would desire in a mate.  It takes him a while to accept himself as worthy as the man he is.

I really, really enjoyed the second part of the book where the romance was mainly located.  The beginning of the book had a lot of set-up for the series.  I do believe it was worth it as I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

A Brief Excerpt:

"Lula-Belle leaned over and whispered in Kate's ear, 'That was before they invented passion.'  Kate smiled politely, not sure she'd heard right."

Page  243

The Cover:

There are some discrepancies with the cover.  The ranch house was an adobe building, not a white clap-board house.  It also took place in the desert and I don't think it looks very desert-y.

Other than that I like how the heroine's features are highlighted.  I like being able to put a face to the name.

Other Notes:

~  This is a nice, clean read.


Rating

4/5  Really Enjoyed It!

On to the next book,

1 comment:

  1. This sounds like a sweet read. Glad to hear that you enjoyed it. :)

    ReplyDelete

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