Customer Reviews

Never Marry a Cowboy

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fortune, Texas, 1870
Christian Montgomery is one of three Englishmen banished from their homeland who make their way to America. Having spent the last four years working beside his two friends and watching them fall in love and start families, Christian is resigned to bachelorhood. After making a decision and acting upon it while still in England, Christian has consigned himself to his own private hell. What better way to court death than to accept the position of
sheriff in Fortune? When his friend David Robertson comes to visit from Dallas begging an unusual favor, Christian is astounded and balks. The man wants him to give his ailing, possibly dying sister a chance at being a bride for a day. Christian's one true love died in his arms; he can never go through that devastation again. When he meets the ethereal Ashton Robertson, all of his misgivings fly out the window and his protective instincts rush to
the forefront. Knowing he is probably making the second biggest mistake of his life, Christian agrees to marry Ashton.
Ashton has faced death all of her young life. She is mortified to learn about her brother's request, but secretly thrilled when Christian Montgomery agrees to give her a wedding day. Ashton has admired and coveted Christian for her own since meeting him at her brother's home a few years before. Suffering from consumption, Ashton has no idea how much longer she has to live and can think of no better way to start facing a little bit of life than
with Christian, even if it is just for a day.
What transpires is a tender and beautiful story about one man's quest to atone for his sins by giving someone a brief glimpse at true happiness. Christian Montgomery is a true hero, strong on the outside, generous and giving on the inside. Ashton appears frail and sickly, but when faced with a frightening situation, surprises herself with an inner strength she never dreamed she possessed. The couple develops a strong bond of friendship while
trying to ignore deeper feelings that may never get the chance to blossom. It was delightful to visit with the characters from the first two books of the series, A ROGUE IN TEXAS and NEVER LOVE A COWBOY, characters that have grown and developed, and have helped to shape Christian into the man he will become. Christian also shares a poignant relationship with his twin brother, Christopher Montgomery, who finds his own happiness in this tale.
Lorraine Heath does for Texas what Nora Roberts does for Ireland. A powerful storyteller, Ms. Heath engages all of a reader's emotions and senses, immersing them thoroughly into this fast paced, gripping tale. I highly recommend NEVER MARRY A COWBOY as Lorraine Heath at her best.

In 1865 England, Christian "Kit" Montgomery suffers through the death of his beloved Clarisse, his unrequited love, his brother's wife. Kit no longer cares about living and especially hates his time with the Ton. He travels to Fortune, Texas in order to escape his past.

In 1870, David Robertson tests the boundaries of Kit's friendship with a proposal. He wants Kit to marry his dying sister Ashton so she can have a beautiful wedding and the fond memory of man to cherish before she dies. He chooses Kit because his aristocratic English background allows room for marriages without love. However, the pain of Clarisse still lives inside Kit's gut. To his own surprise, he decides to do a far nobler thing than he ever did before and agrees to marry Ashton. As she helps him with closing the pain on his grief that he shared with no one, they fall in love. However, will he adapt to the fact that his beloved may never grow old with him or will he flee from a new set of demons?

NEVER MARRY A COWBOY is an exciting western romance that will enthrall fans of historical tales with its deep-rooted characters and powerfully descriptions of time and place. The story line is filled with action and angst as Kit adapts to going through what appears to be hell for a second time. Ashton is a warm heroine who readers will feel empathy towards and hope for the best. Sub-genre fans are most fortunate that Lorraine Heath continues to provide top-notch entertainment.

Harriet Klausner

I am a huge fan of Lorraine Heath and have been following the saga of the English gentlemen in Texas. So here's the skinny on this book. This is the final in a trilogy and is the story about Christian (Kit) Montgomery. In the previous two books ("A Rogue in Texas" and "Never Love a Cowboy") you learned that he was the second born son of an English nobleman, which means he will not take control of the estate when his father dies. He also was not allowed to marry the woman he loved who married his brother Christopher instead. Unfortunately Clarissa, the woman he was in love with in England, dies a painful death so Kit travels to America with his two friends (Grayson and Harry). Kits friends eventually find happiness and marry however Kit remains alone in his own grief over the death of Clarissa. Kit eventually becomes a Marshall of a small town and is approached by David Robinson, a friend, who asks him to marry his dying sister, Ahston. Kit eventually agrees to marry Ashton, whom he had met a few years earlier. Unknown to Kit, Ashton had been secretly in love with him all that time. As Kit and Ashton become closer Kit realizes he might not be able to deal with her impending death as easily as he thought. There is adventure during the story as they suffer through a stage coach accident and a shootout in their small town. Toward the end however Kit finally reveals what really happened to Clarissa and how she actually died (can't tell ya or it will spoil the story). Also, Christopher arrives from England with a little surprise of his own.

Now onto why I only gave this four stars. I was a little disappointed in Ashtons character. I was really looking forward to Kits story and expected the heroine to be stronger based upon the charachter development of Kit in the earlier stories. I also did not like how Ashton turned against Kit when he revealed his secret to her. He did what he had to, out of love for Clarissa and I was dissapointed that Ashton could not see this until she thought Kit was going to die in the shootout. I did like the secondary story involving Christopher and Elizabeth (whom you were introduced to in "A Rogue in Texas"). Other than that it was a good read and I look forward to Lorraine Heaths new book "The Outlaw and the Lady" coming in November of 2001. Heath always writes very emotional books that just make you want to cry.

The #1 country hit by Diamond Rio called "One More Day" could be the theme song for this book:"One more day, One more time, One more sunset, baby, I'd be satisfied, But then again, I know what it would do, Leave me wishin' still, for one more day with you." Ashton Robertson is dying. Her wish is to be married and to be a Bride so Kit Montgomery happily volunteers. Those of us who read a lot of romance novels are used to suspending reality so that we can enjoy these books and carry on reading. But I had trouble with this book from the very beginning. Kit was SUCH a gentleman, SO wonderfully caring and kind to a perfect stranger. Sure, Ashton was charming in her innocence and an "ethereal fairy" to look at - but Kit fell into the role of doting husband much too willingly. Then pretty much NOTHING happened for the first half of the book. No real action, no real conflict. Just an idyllic life between two of the nicest people. Sure, it was great to see Gray and Harry from previous books make appearances here, but it wasn't enough to make this a 5 star book. But having said that, I still enjoyed it. I will always love Lorraine Heath and her Texas trilogy and Book 1 of this trilogy, A Rogue in Texas, are worth re-reading. But the last 2 books in this trilogy just didn't meet the same standard.

Since I'm a Texan I love all of Ms. Heath's cowboy books. This is a very moving romantic novel. He marries his best friend's sister because he is told she is dying. He is a man with a said past. He loved his brother's wife very much and she died. He blames himself. So he attempts to make up for some of it by tenderly caring for his wife. He tries to make her last days happy. I won't tell the ending but there are times you could cry for both the hero and heroine. They are so vunerable.

Lorraine Heath wraps up her English Rogue series with a satisfying ending in her latest book, Never Marry A Cowboy.

This book focuses on Kit Montgomery, one of the three English "second sons" to come to Texas after being banished by their fathers. The three rouges have made a life for themselves in the small town of Fortune, with Harry and Gray marrying the loves of their lives and settling down. But Kit is still searching for the one who will heal his heart. In this story, he finds his true love in Ashton Davidson. The young couple oversome tremendous obstacles, and overwhelming stubborness to find happiness in the end, but the trip there is long and rugged.

Lorraine Heath has once again captured the wildness of the Texas frontier, and combined it with the civility of proper English society to present a fascinating love story that will stir the heart and touch the soul.

I love Heath's books and especially her cowboy/gentleman series, and I actually had to wait a really long time for this particular book. I am sad to say that I was disappointed. I loved Kit from the very beginning of the books, and I still love him in this one, however it is the female lead that disappoints me. I'm used to strong leads, or at least ones that grow some sort of back bone so that they compliment their partners, in this book she didn't even come close to doing so, acting differently than a miss when they were in danger. Otherwise, she spent her time bemoaning her death, which admittedly gets tiresome. I don't know, the storie killed my enthusiasm for the book, as did Kit's almost imidiate love for her. It's a sweet story, don't get me wrong, but it's too sweet for me.

Another great English-Texan storyline by Heath. The only reason it didn't get 5 stars is because I found the Heroine to be whiny and clingy sometimes.

Don't pass this one up!

This story was wonderful! Lorraine Heath never dissapoints me. Her characters stay with me for weeks and weeks. Kit is certainly no exception. Never Marry a Cowboy has everything in it that I love about romance novels. The main character, Kit, is strong, a little sad, and very kind. The heroine, Ashton, is mild but has a marvelous strength of character. I fell in love with both of them. Lorraine Heath's combination of English Aristocracy and Texan frontiers makes for wonderful reading. I've read all of Ms. Heath's books (I think). There isn't one I wouldn't recommend with all my heart.

LORRAINE REALY DID IT THIS TIME! I HAVE FALLEN MADDLY IN LOVE WITH THIS MAN. I CRIED. I LAUGHED, I LOVE IT , MORE PLEASE MORE.