I have read many romance novels by Teresa Medeiros and Lisa Kleypas, but this is the first time that I have read a romance novel by Jodi Thomas! “The Texan’s Wager” is the first book in Jodi Thomas’s “Wife Lottery” series and it is full of hot romance, drama, adventure and excitement that will make this book one of a million!

Bailee Moore was thrown out of a wagon train along with two other women named Lacy and Sarah after Bailee had supposedly committed a murder in her hometown and was thrown out of town. After the three women got to the city called Cedar Point, they meet up with a vicious man named Zeb Whitaker who starts assaulting them and that led the three women into beating him up to defend themselves. The three women are then thrown into jail and the sheriff proposes that the only way for the three women to get out of jail is if they are selected in the “Wife Lottery,” which is where men come all over Cedar Point and pick one of the three women to be their wives. Bailee Moore is then chosen to be a wife to Carter McKoy, a silent man who has not spoken a word since his parents’ brutal deaths. However, Bailee will soon realize that there is more to Carter than meets the eye!

Wow. All I can really say is…wow. I have never in all my life read such an exciting and romantic western romance novel that is full of drama and pure romance! Jodi Thomas has definitely done an awesome job at writing this story as the characters were righteously perfect and the action paced plot of the story is never truly over the top! I can name out so many things about this book that I simply loved, but that is too many to list, so I will just mention the characters themselves. The heroine of the story, Bailee Moore, is such a lovable character! I loved the way that Bailee has such a caring and courageous nature, especially when she tries to do everything in her power to protect Carter from any kind of danger that comes their way, even if it means putting her own life on the line. I will admit that sometimes I get a little irritated whenever Bailee does not seem to trust Carter completely, but her heroic actions throughout the novel truly makes up for that. Another character I really loved in this book was Carter McKoy himself as he was the first silent hero I have ever read about in any romance novel I have read! The aspect of Carter’s personality that truly stood out for me was his slightly silent nature because he sometimes uses sign language to communicate what he wants to say with everyone and I have always wanted to know how to sign language myself, so this aspect of Carter’s personality is so interesting to me since it shows another level of communication that I rarely seen in most romance novels. I also loved how courageous Carter is as he will put his life on the line to save Bailee from any misfortunate that befalls her and it’s that aspect that I truly love in a hero! The best part of the entire book was the romance between Bailee and Carter as it was genuine and caring enough to put other romance novels’ romance to shame! Sure, at first Bailee and Carter did not really trust each other because they did not know each other at first, but as the book goes on, Bailee and Carter’s romantic relationship was truly astounding as I loved the way that Bailee did not judge Carter because he did not speak at first, but once she starts realizing what a wonderful person Carter is, she starts falling madly in love with him and does everything in her power to protect him. I also loved the way that Carter treated Bailee because even though at first, he was really shy to be near her, I admit that the moment that Carter first began to talk clearly with Bailee, I was totally surprised yet felt cuddly inside that Carter felt comfortable talking about anything with Bailee and that proved how solid and real their relationship with each other is.

There are some brief sex scenes in this book, although it is not as explicit as most romance novels I have read. So, anyone who does not like reading about certain sex scenes, might want to skip over these scenes.

All in all, if you are looking for drama, sizzling romance and adventure in the Wild West, then “The Texan’s Wager” is definitely the right romance novel for you!

Now that I read the first installment in the “Wife Lottery” series, do you think that I want to read more of this series? You bet I do! I am definitely looking forward to read the next book in the “Wife Lottery” series, “When a Texan Gambles” so it will definitely be interesting to see more of this series!

I would like to thank my Goodreads buddy, Lady Danielle, for recommending me this book!