With only two weeks to go until his marriage to Pepper Paige, Tap tries to handle problems ranging from a gang of rustlers invading his ranch to missed bank payments, trouble at the local dance hall, and a sniper
Stephen Bly (August 17, 1944 - June 9, 2011) authored 100 books and hundreds of articles. His book, THE LONG TRAIL HOME, (Broadman & Holman), won the prestigious 2002 CHRISTY AWARD for excellence in Christian fiction in the category western novel. Three other books, PICTURE ROCK (Crossway Books), THE OUTLAW'S TWIN SISTER (Crossway Books), and LAST OF THE TEXAS CAMP (Broadman & Holman), were Christy Award finalists. He spoke at colleges, churches, camps and conferences across the U.S. and Canada. He was the pastor of Winchester Community Church, and served as mayor of Winchester, Idaho (2000-2007). He spoke on numerous television and radio programs, including Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family. He was an Active Member of the Western Writers of America. Steve graduated summa cum laude in Philosophy from Fresno State University and received a M.Div from Fuller Theological Seminary. The Blys have three sons: Russell (married to Lois) and father of Zachary and Miranda (married to Chris Ross) and mother of Alayah, Michael (married to Michelle), and Aaron (married to Rina Joye) and father of Keaton and Deckard. A third generation westerner, Steve spent his early years working on ranches and farms.
2.5 stars Well, let’s see. This book has * Six bad buys. Four are shot and killed but the other two must be taken care of in the next book since they weren’t in this one. * One rich, spoiled, idiot who doesn’t seem to know anything except how to be obnoxious. * Lots of shooting––at people not hunting. * A big fist fight with injuries and betting on who will win. * An entire town (if it could be called that) filled with outlaws, thieves, crooks, and bad guys in general. * Blizzards, snow, freezing temperatures. * Dance hall girls. * Cattle rustling, arson, stealing, attempted murder. * One girl addicted to laudanum. * Death of several people including outlaws. * Multiple dreams that started getting annoying. * A wedding. * Some casual prayers, mentions of doing things right, maybe mention of reading the Bible. * A handful of good guys to try and keep everyone alive and right wrongs as no sheriff is around.
Oh, and did I mention that all of this happens in two weeks?
Part of me wants to maybe read the next book just to get the last two bad guys taken care of, but part of me groans at the idea of reading more of this constant drama. It’s clean as far as no swearing, no s*x, no gory details of wounds, no descriptive kisses. Just drama and more drama with a little bit of "Christian" sprinkled in.
Tap has to ventilate several sidewinder and fight one blizzard after another, but the wedding must go on. Sort of like Pepper planned, except for the 20 guests that are marooned on the ranch with them, putting a definite crimp in their honeymoon. Classic Stephen Bly, therefore, excellent!
This is a book written by a very rich privileged white straight male that somehow believes he is more morally superior than any other white straight person that walks this earth, and anyone that doesn’t happen to have the exact same perspective of him. Unfortunately, these ignorant writings are written from a stereotypical perspective that has little understanding of cultural implications. I Would not recommend this book and would not read it again.
Book 3 of the series about Tapadera Andrews, would be rancher, and his girlfriend, Pepper. They finally get married. Will see what the future holds for them in the rest of the series. Entertaining reading.
The wedding day has finally arrived. But Tap keeps having strange dreams and Pepper is jealous as female guests arrive. Is it possible for everything to go smoothly or will it all fall apart?