Dawn Comes Early (The Brides Of Last Chance Ranch Series) [Paperback]

Margaret Brownley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 13, 2012 | Series: The Brides Of Last Chance Ranch Series

Looking for a woman of good character and pleasant disposition willing to learn the ranching business in Arizona territory. Must be SINGLE and prepared to remain so now and forever more. Will be given ownership of ranch. —Eleanor Walker

Disgraced dime novelist Kate Tenney fled the city that banned her latest book for a fresh start at a cattle ranch in the Arizona Territory. She hopes ranching turns out to be as romantic as she portrayed it in her novels.

But what awaits her is a much harder life. There is no room for mistakes on a working cattle ranch in 1895, and Kate is ill-prepared for her new life. She quickly learns that dawn comes early . . . every day. But she is tenacious.

Having been abandoned by a string of men, Kate has no intention of ever marrying. But she didn’t expect to meet Luke Adams either. Luke awakens feelings inside Kate she doesn’t recognize, and his steady presence is a constant distraction. She has only written about love in the past, never known it herself. But her feelings for Luke stand in the way of all she has to gain if she is chosen as the heir.

Perhaps God brought Kate to the barrenness of the desert to give new life to her jaded heart.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Margaret Brownley is a New York Times best-selling author and has penned more than twenty-five historical and contemporary novels. A Lady Like Sarah was a Romance Writers of America RITA finalist.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (March 13, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595549684
• ISBN-13: 978-1595549686
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.1 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #334,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

225 is the number of free books Margaret has given away to newsletter subscribers (and counting). To subscribe to Margaret's humorous, enlightening and informative newsletter go to www.margaretbrownley.com
Margaret promises not to bug you--honest!

ABOUT MARGARET:
Thrills, mystery, suspense, romance: Margaret penned it all. Nothing wrong with this--except Margaret happened to be writing for the church newsletter at the time. After making the church picnic read like a Grisham novel, her former pastor took her aside and said, "Maybe God's calling you to write fiction."

So that's what Margaret did. She's now a New York Times bestselling author and a Romance Writers of America RITA finalist with more than 25 novels to her credit. Her first non-fiction book "Grieving God's Way: the Lasting Path to Hope and Healing" has won much critical acclaim. She is currently working on the third book in her "Brides of Last Chance Ranch series."

Not bad for someone who flunked 8th grade English. Just don't ask her to diagram a sentence.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars STRAP ON YOUR SPURS! March 25, 2013

By NoelaN

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Strap on your spurs for this wild ride into the desert of Arizona, and keep a look out for wild boars, deadly rattlesnakes, prickly cactus, a wannabe infamous outlaw, and the most intriguing array of characters... because you'll meet them all and more at the Last Chance Ranch in Cactus Patch in the Cochise County of Arizona. And try hard to stay seated in your saddle with the Laugh-Out-Loud humour that Margaret Brownley frequently and flawlessly weaves into this entertaining, yet heartwarming historical romance.

It's 1895 and Kate Tenney a frustrated romance writer from Boston whose latest work was banned, reads an advertisement for a professional woman to be heiress to a cattle ranch. Desperate for work but mostly for the respectability and security that comes from owning land, she applies for the position. The no-nonsense owner of the ranch, widowed Eleanor Walker, is seeking an heir with a love for the land and similar hard-working ethics to her own.
Eleanor gives Kate four months to prove herself. If Kate then accepts the position, she will have to sign an agreement never to get married so that she may devote her life solely to the ranch. This is something that Kate has no problem with as she is very disillusioned with having had very poor examples of parents and having seen too many bad marriages.
But can this educated lady from Boston even survive the extremely rigorous demands of ranch life? She will be sorely tested, but Kate is resolutely determined to succeed, even when Luke Adams the handsome blacksmith distracts her goals by threatening to dispel her beliefs that all men cannot be trusted.
Luke's not as educated as Kate nor is he great with words, but that was part of his undeniable charm for me, as was his relationship with his loyal wolf dog, Homer.

On your venture into the West, you'll also encounter the wonderfully memorable and unique characters of Cactus Patch, including Luke's comical aunts, Bessie and Lula-Belle; the local bandit Cactus Joe, whose chief aim is to be revered as a serious outlaw such as Jesse James; and the sheriff Marshall Morris who relishes the idea of fame much more than unrecognized law work. The men at the Ranch were a fascinating bunch also, each with his own `barn name' suiting his predominant characteristic.

This undertaking of Kate's and her experiences with the Wild West, pushed her to her limits. Although often when that occurred and she had trouble coping, Kate resorted to her fictional character and imagined what the character would do. It put a great spin on the story and you're rewarded at the beginning of each chapter with a few lines of the novel Kate's writing which also had a relevant reference to her own life.
In this western romance novel, Margaret Brownley gives you the opportunity to gaze into the life and times of the late 1800's in a small Arizona desert town and cattle ranch, while creating an authentic ambience of the era. There is also a great message on the effects of a terrible upbringing and how it is possible to learn to trust and have faith in people and in God again.
This really was a very rewarding and enjoyable story and I heartily recommend this book and series to everyone!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars "Fortunately for us, God gave love a language of its own and it's a language known by every heart." November 9, 2012

By Cheryl Stout TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

The year is 1895 and Kate Tenney answers an ad to try to become an heiress to a ranch. This is a huge happening for a girl that grew up poor in Boston, has been supporting herself writing sensational dime novels and now travels to Cactus Patch, Arizona territory to try to claim some land for herself.

The only problem - if she is able to pass the tests put before her by the present owner of the ranch, Eleanor Walker, then she must sign paperwork saying she will NEVER get married. Not so easy to do when she has met Luke Adams, handsome and very nice blacksmith.

I enjoyed "Dawn Comes Early," a Christian romance. The characters were well developed, even the minor characters such as the cowhands. The historical portions about life on a cattle ranch of the late 1800s were enlightening and there was a fair amount of humor thrown in (I loved the side story of Aunt Bessie and Uncle Sam's rekindling of their romance).

So if you like Christian fiction, westerns, romances or just fun reading, try out "Dawn Comes Early."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THE ENDING CAME TOO EARLY September 14, 2012

By Kym McNabney VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Kate Tenney fled the city she was raised in for what she hoped would be a new life. One that would earn her the respect she sought her entire life. Kate would need to prove to the ranch owner that she was worthy of inheriting her ranch, and learning to ride a horse first would come in handy.

Luke Adams is not one for fancy words, but when he meets the educated Kate Tenney, he's willing to learn. But learning new words is not his greatest challenge. Convincing Kate that she shouldn't throw her life way by accepting the ranch owner's agreement to never marry in exchange for inheriting her land, is.

So what do you say about a book that blows you away, and that's exactly what DAWN COMES EARLY by MARGARET BROWNLEY did. This is not the first book I read by MS. BROWNLEY, but it is the first book in fiction I've read by her, and it won't be the last.

What an unbelievable blessing it is when you run across a book that contains every aspect of writing that is needed to produce a brilliant story. I am convinced that the top priority in a great book is good writing. Without it, no matter if the rest of the qualities are there, it will fail. I cannot finish a book that isn't written well, or at the very least, okay.

I have read countless of what I call, cowboy books. I have a few authors that are my favorites, that I believe get it all right, and thus I can't get enough of their books. I have now added MARGET BROWNLEY to that list.

DAWN COMES EARLY is different than other romances I have read. Typically the hero and heroine meet right at the start, and continue to encounter one another on a regular basis throughout the book. Stories that don't have the main characters meeting often can cause me to lose interest.

What makes DAWN COMES EARLY unique is the amount of encounters the two love interest have in the first half of the book. Oh, he was there, but the main focal point was the heroin's story. It took me awhile to realize the hero wasn't coming back around every corner, and once I did, I couldn't help but become immersed in the heroine's story.

MS. BROWNLEY does an amazing job of weaving an incredible story, one that will not soon be forgotten. Every character is three dimensional, one that you will come to love, with individual personalities. The author's attention to detail brings the story to life in an educational, fun, and realistic way. You are lucky to have one of those moments in a story where you reread a line because it's that good. With MS BROWNLEY'S story, there were many. As an aspiring author, I ate up every word she wrote.

I loved how the author was able to create a character that allowed her to weave faith in, in a powerful, yet non-preaching way. It wasn't the author who gave reference to scripture and prayer, but the character. I have read several books where the main character is a writer, but never have I read one as well done as DAWN COMES EARLY. The way MS. BROWNLEY referenced the main character's fictional story she was writing at the beginning of each chapter, as well as throughout the book, was refreshing and exiting.

Every aspect of the story was remarkable, from the very first page, throughout the middle, right up to the very last line. I can't wait for the next book in the LAST CHANCE RANCH series, THE BRIDES OF LAST CHANCE RANCH, WAITING FOR MORNING.

Hurry up January and get here!