Sweetwater

Wyoming Frontier #6

by Dorothy Garlock

As stated in a will, well-bred, cosmopolitan Virginia Hepperly will earn the rights to a Wyoming Territory ranch if she spends five years teaching Native American children in the territory. Discovering that her two little stepsisters are being mistreated by their guardians, Virginia takes them with her to begin a new life. But after arriving, she finds that there are those who want to destroy her--and her future. Features a 16-page insert with 30 frontier recipes and home remedies used by characters in the author's books.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Westerns, Western Historical Romance

496 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1998

About the author

Dorothy Garlock was a best-selling American author of over 60 historical romance novels, most of them set in the American West. More than 20 million copies of her books are in print, in 18 languages. Her books have been on the New York Times best seller list seven times. She was named one of the 10 most popular writers of women's fiction four years in a row, from 1985-1988. In 1997, she was awarded the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award. Garlock is also a member of the Romance Writers Hall of Fame.

Garlock worked as an editor, agent and publicist for most of her writing career. She was a native of Texas who grew up in Oklahoma then married and moved to Iowa. Garlock donated many of her manuscripts and other unpublished writings to the University of Iowa libraries.


Pen names include:
Johanna Phillips
Dorothy Phillips
Dorothy Glenn

Reviews

[Sheri Vasconcellos Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book a few times it never leaves me hanging. One of my faviorts. It's about family, loyalty,longing to fit in. Has the best characters. Can't help but to fall in love with the story

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have to give it a 5
Typical very good historical romance
Made me remember why I used to read so many.

[Laura Aase · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was kind of Calamity Jane falls in love. Basic premise was great - girl who kidnapped her abused siblings goes to Indian school in territory to hide and teach the Indian kids. She gets in the way of the crooks in the town who are robbing the reservation blind and want to drive any teachers away to get the land for themselves. Good story. I found, however, that the plot line was the same as Larkspur-I know it's a series but come on - shake it up a little!! I also couldn't stand the Colleen character who was Calamity Jane and her love interest evolved into the same character. Very irritating and unbelievable. What a disappointment!

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Above average western historical romance with a fairly predictable storyline but an interesting cast of heroes, heroines, and villains. This was my first Dorothy Garlock novel but plan to read more.

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jenny Gray kidnaps her abused half-sisters from her other half-sister and moves them to Wyoming territory where she's hired to teach Indian children. The Indian agent is corrupt and wants her out of there. She's persistent with the help of several strays she collects. Trell McCall, a neighbor falls in love and with everyone's help, gets rid of the bad guys.

Somewhat a continuation of previous books.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was concerned about this since I really didn’t like the last book I read by this author but overall I did enjoy this. I really enjoyed the first half. The second half fell apart a little bit and got messy but I still was happy with the way everything turned out.

[Autumncandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad that Jenny actually knew how to accept help from the ML, didn't say that she shouldn't fall in love with the ML because she's arrogant, and that the ML and Jenny had an healthy romance!

Btw, Coleen and Cassie had some serious chemistry together

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Glenda Kinard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful well written story!! This was my first book by Dorothy Garlock but certainly won't be my last a very good Western Historical with good strong characters. I throughly enjoyed this read!!

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very satisfying western romance by Dorothy Garlock. The only disappointment was that this is the last of a series (see below) and I read it first!

It took an epic 458 pages to tell the story of twins, Trell and Travor McCall. Actually, the story begins with the women who will play an important part in the twins' lives, Jenny Gray and Colleen Murphy.

Jenny absconds with her two younger sisters (because they are being abused by Jenny's older sister, Margaret, and husband, Charles). She finds that she must move to a territory and change her last name, in order to protect the children.

She signs a contract to teach Shoshoni children in the Wyoming Territory. When the 3 arrive, nothing is as promised. On top of that, the citizens of the closest town are enraged that a teacher has been hired to teach Indians - while they don't have a teacher for their children.

No one seems to want Jenny there including the Indian Agent, Alvin Havelshell. The school has been vandalized and the house assigned to Jenny and her sisters is unwelcoming and abandoned.

However, Jenny is no shrinking violet! She doesn't wring her hands, she finds solutions. Trell visits (his ranch is nearby) and helps her by finding some squatters, Colleen Murphy and her Granny.

Cassandra is priceless: outspoken, intelligent and articulate. Whit is another interesting character; the verbal sparring between Cassandra and Whit is very amusing. Perhaps the story is so engaging because Garlock does such a good job with the secondary characters!

In some stories, characters spend excessive time agonizing internally about their thoughts and fears. Garlock balances internal worry with considerable action. The story moves at a fast clip.

Wyoming Frontier
1. Midnight Blue (1988)
2. Nightrose (1990)
3. Sins of Summer (1994)
4. The Listening Sky (1994)
5. Larkspur (1997)
6. Sweetwater (1990)

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life in Sweetwater is the American Dream. People who work hard can make a living and sometimes a fortune. Friends look out for one another. Bad guys eventually get their comeuppance.

Virginia ‘Jenny’ Gray is teaching in Baltimore when she learns that her young sisters in Allentown PA are being badly mistreated by her older half-sister and her fanatically religious husband. Jenny hurries to her sister’s to see what is happening; the girls are being treated even worse than she expected. Jenny’s concerns are rejected, and she is thrown out of the house. Her only option is to take her sisters and run.

Jenny takes a teaching position in the non-extradition Wyoming Territory. A rancher’s will establishes a school for Shoshoni children on an adjacent reservation. The position provides a house for the teacher. If the teacher is unable to start the school, the property (thousands of acres of excellent grazing land) will be auctioned off, probably at a pittance. There are handsome twin brothers, brave and beautiful young women, a hot-ticket 9-year-old (so astute and mature she is accused of being a 30 year-old-midget), a sleazy reverend, another inheritance requiring a grandson, forced marriage, murder, an assassin, and bad guys trying to scare Jenny and her family away.

The characters courageous and likeable (the nice ones anyway). The bad guys are suitably evil. The rancher’s half Shoshoni son is a poignant and intelligent character. After reading a couple of very dark stories, this is a refreshing, upbeat romance. Recommended.

Readalikes:
Carolyn Brown – Willow; Leigh Greenwood –Pete, part of The Cowboys series; Jill Marie Landis – Summer Moon; Kathleen Eagle – The Last Good Man; Ana Leigh – The MacKenzies: Luke; Mona Gansberg Hodgson – Prairie Song.


Pace: fast
Characters: likeable, well developed; enjoyable secondary characters
Story: plot-driven
Language: engaging
Tone: upbeat, suspenseful, slightly sensual
Frame: 1884; Sweetwater, Wyoming Territory

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was appealing to me because of its topic of a school teacher on the frontier teaching Native American children. Since I am a teacher and had an aunt who actually did teach Native American children on a reservation, I was interested. The book was somewhat predictable, but still pretty satisfying. I would have enjoyed reading more about the actual teaching of the students, but that may be more of a personal issue for me.

[Christel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This oneis set in 1884 in Wyoming in the town of Sweetwater. Jenny Gray is the new school teacher for the Indian school at the Shoshoni reservation. SHe is not wanted by the town people. Trell McCall was the neighboring rancher that helps her along the way. If I say any more I will be giving the plot away. It is really a good book and I love how Ms Garlock develops her characters.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Ended too soon!

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story line...strong characters...some you can love and some you can hate!

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice story, but full of formula characters, and juvenile dialogue. Little more than her usual.

[Paula Myatt]

Great Book !!!!!

[Rebecca Braswell Mattocks]

I loved this one, as i do most all of Garlock"s books. She ties in stories real well to her other books, and her heroins are so relateable.

[Lorrine Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good reading.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review

Sweet. Real. No one can write about the west with such heartbreaking realism as Dorothy Garlock. She will always be a favorite!

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good

[Susan Laine]

have

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was ok .I like reading book about the past and the hardship people went through to survive.

[Debbie Dodd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading but felt that it wasn't finished.