Review for book won at previous group drawing

[Larisa]

And the review from Amazon for "Open Country" the second book in Kaki Warner's trilogy.

Disclaimer:
I was fortunate enough to win a book from Ms Warner and she generously sent me not just the book I won but the preceding trilogy that this book is second in. Thank you Again! Do understand though, a free book doesn't make a likable book, let alone one that makes the "reread" and "must keep" shelves in my home.

"Open Country" returns us to the rapidly changing New Mexico Territory with railway spurs, mining towns and nary a stagecoach. Starting with a sharply detailed disaster and vivid aftermath the heroine takes center stage in a realistic manner that completely avoids the "Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman" trope. She's smart, feisty, fierce and still vulnerably human. The disaster cements the Hero as a strong, silent type - as a person and because of the disaster. His inability to speak for himself is done with a very deft touch.

This book's hero is the brother to the previous book's hero who makes a plausible, necessary reappearance tangling the web the heroine started in motion. Returning characters are difficult and Ms Warner manages them adroitly, using them to enhance the plot while keeping the romantic tension and focus on the hero and heroine. It was also nice to see love hadn't dramatically changed the previous characters.

Again there wasn't a single gratuitous moment in the entire book. It is very clear that the characters are fully realized humans, sexual in the context of their period, station and place, in ways that keep the story moving. This book is also on my reread shelf and Ms Warner's future releases are on my must-read list.

The plot unravels in a quieter, more thoughtful manner indicative of the protagonists' characters - sparing in words, introspective and subtle. The threat to the main characters is enough to created tensions without over shadowing the building relationship between the hero and heroine. The children are also well-rounded characters eliciting the care and laughter that only small children can, never devolving into cutesy stereo-types.

Off to read the third book in the trilogy...yes, they are each unique enough to devour back-to-back and not feel as if you've eaten the same meal three times in a row.