I would rate this 3-1/2 stars, but it had the potential to be a 4 star book. What I liked about the book, which revolved around Holt, the half-brother and (fourth of McKettrick's brothers stories in this series), was that it was well-written, had descriptive and detailed prose and vivid, interesting and diverse characters. I was disappointed for much of the same reasons -- the story, while well-written, had too many sub-plots. It was difficult to know what was the "main" story being told. Nor, was any chemistry whatsoever between Holt and Lorelei, though I kept reading in the hopes that there was a romance to be found. There was no true dialogue between this hero and heroine, which would have allowed for such a relationship. In fact, Lorelei had more conversations with Rafe (the brother)than with Holt.

The ending, while "satisfying" was also too good to be true, and felt a bit rushed. After reading pages that takes readers on a long journey, which included broken relationships, cattle drives, reunions and a bit of mystery, I expected more depth to the ending.