A Match Made in Texas {Review}
Do you love to read? I do, and I have since I was a young child. My parents encouraged my love of books, over a variety of subject matter, from a very young age. As an adult, I look at the library and book stores like most women look at shoe stores! I “ooh” and “ahh” over new and old titles alike, and work on finding a balance of the new releases from my favorite authors to those older books that I seem to stumble upon. Lately, I’ve found a genre that combines my fascination with the Old West balanced with Christian Romance. So when I was given the chance to read the novella, A Match Made in Texas, which is made up of 4 stories by 4 different authors, I was thrilled!
The first story of the set is A Cowboy Unmatched by Karen Witemeyer. This is the tale of a very pregnant widow, Clara Danvers, who desperately needs help fixing up the run down house and barn before the birth of her child. Enter a handy cowboy, looking to make his own way in the world, Neill Archer. Some anonymous soul in their town of Dry Gulch, Texas, places them in each others’ way and it’s not long before love finds its way into their hearts.
Next in the novella is An Unforeseen Match by Regina Jennings. This story too takes place in Dry Gulch so we get to see familiar “faces” through the tale. Grace O’Malley is a teacher who loses her sight, and is “graciously” moved to the widow Clara’s homestead (who has moved away) and must depend on the kindness of others to get by. Enter Clayton Weber who is passing through town, looking to earn enough money to buy a new horse on his way to a western land run in the hopes to have a place to call his own. That same anonymous match maker puts the two together and we as readers are praying for a solution that will keep them together, despite what seems like insurmountable odds.
The third tale is No Match For Love by Carol Cox. Circumstances force Lucy Benson to leave Dry Gulch and accept a companion position for an elderly woman in another Texas town. It’s not long before she meets her companion’s nephew, Andrew Simms, who longs to get to know Lucy better, including what events would bring a lady forced to seek work outside of her childhood home town. And even more, can he find a way into her heart?
The last story is Meeting Her Match by Mary Connealy. We finally find out who the “match maker” from the previous tales has been! Sadly, she herself needs help before she winds up an old spinster (at least that is her fear). Hannah Taylor is a school teacher who is forced out of her father’s home in order to make room for his new wife. Marcus Whitfield works for his father’s bank in town and is painfully shy, especially when it comes to talking to Hannah. You find yourself wondering when these two will finally talk honestly, even if it’s awkward, and tell each other how they feel!
Overall, I enjoyed all four stories in this series. I was familiar with the authors from other books I’ve read and these didn’t disappoint. For me, there was enough romance for my feminine tastes, but not the smut that a lot of popular books force on us readers. Plus the stories took place around the historical Old West with cowboys, homesteads, and small towns that I enjoy reading about. While each story could have easily been expanded into it’s own full length book, these were wonderful paired together.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Bethany House as part of the blogger program.
rayraycartucci says
Gonna have to add this on my list at goodreads! Thanks for the great review.