Paper Roses (Texas Dreams Trilogy #1) [Paperback]

Amanda Cabot (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2009

Her future stretched out like the clear blue Texas sky.
But a storm is coming.

Leaving her past behind, Sarah Dobbs arrives in San Antonio ready to greet her groom--a man she has never met but whose letters have won her heart from afar. But there is a problem--Austin Canfield is dead, and his brother Clay is driven to avenge his brother's death. As Sarah tries to reconcile herself to a drastically changed future, something is blooming that neither Clay nor Sarah is ready to admit.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Her future stretched out like the clear blue Texas sky.

But a storm is coming.

Leaving the past behind in Philadelphia, mail-order bride Sarah Dobbs arrives in San Antonio ready to greet her groom--a man she has never met but whose letters, her paper roses, have won her heart from afar. But there is a problem--Austin Canfield is dead, and Sarah cannot go back East.

As Sarah tries to reconcile herself to a future that is drastically changed, Austin's brother Clay wants nothing more than to shake the Texas dust from his boots, but first he must find his brother's killer. And then there's Sarah.

Something is blooming out in the vast Texas landscape that neither Clay nor Sarah is ready to admit, and the promise of redemption blows like a gentle breeze through the prairie grasses.

Book 1 of the Texas Dreams series, Paper Roses will sweep you away with a tale of love, loss, and tantalizing possibilities.

Amanda Cabot is an accomplished author under various pen names. She is a charter member of Romance Writers of America, the co-founder of its New Jersey chapter, and an avid traveler.

About the Author

Amanda Cabot is an accomplished author under various pen names. She is a charter member of Romance Writers of America, the co-founder of its New Jersey chapter, and an avid traveler. She lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Revell; ONE edition (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080073324X
• ISBN-13: 978-0800733247
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #243,010 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

With both parents avid readers, it's no surprise that Amanda Cabot learned to read at an early age. From there it was only a small step to deciding to become a writer. Of course, deciding and becoming are two different things, as she soon discovered. Fortunately for the world, her first attempts at fiction, which included a play for her fifth grade class entitled "All About Thermometers," were not published, but she did meet her goal of selling a novel by her thirtieth birthday. Since then she's sold more than twenty five novels under a variety of pseudonyms. When she's not writing, Amanda enjoys sewing, cooking and - of course - reading.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very satisfying read, December 26, 2008

By 

cjhill (Grand Rapids, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paper Roses (Texas Dreams Trilogy #1) (Paperback)

"Paper Roses" by Amanda Cabot is one of the best historical books I've read. I was immediately drawn into the story with its believable characters. After a family tragedy, Sarah Dobbs wants to protect her young sister. She follows her heart to Texas to become a mail-order bride, only to find her dream shattered by another tragedy.

Clay, the brother of her dead fiancé, offers her passage back to Philadelphia. Sarah shows her independent spirit by taking a job and forming a new life for her and her sister. In her new surroundings, Sarah is challenged to put the past behind her and forgive her father's mistakes. Clay also struggles with his painful losses. He is determined to find out who murdered his brother and seek vengeance.

The mystery element in this story was intriguing. I liked the way this book kept me guessing at who the killer might be, and the ending had a surprising twist.

"Paper Roses" was a very satisfying read, and I can't wait for the next book in the series.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trial, testing, and triumph in Texas town, March 14, 2009

By 

M. Smith "PA reader" (Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paper Roses (Texas Dreams Trilogy #1) (Paperback)

In Amanda Cabot's "Paper Roses," Sarah Dobbs is leaving behind her life in Philadelphia to make a new start in San Antonio, TX, as a mail-order bride to a man she's never met. Upon arrival she learns that her fiancé has been murdered, the killer unknown, and she is offered temporary lodging with his brother, Clay, and his father. But mysteries abound. Who killed Clay's brother and why? Why is Sarah leaving Philadelphia and what sorrow lurks in her past? Why is Clay so sullen and bitter around Sarah? And why does he seem so set against her? Who is responsible for the thefts in neighboring ranches?

Set in the 1850's with ranches, horses and wagons, a sheriff, and French and German immigrants, the plot moves along with page-turning suspense, uncovering heartache and revealing the prospect of faith, forgiveness, and second chances. With a cast of believable characters and a few well-turned twists in the plot, this story comes well recommended. I give it five stars.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent western romance, January 4, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paper Roses (Texas Dreams Trilogy #1) (Paperback)

In 1856, Sarah Dobbs becomes a mail order bride for two reasons. First she needs to move on with her much younger sister Thea after the tragic deaths due to influenza of her parents back in Philadelphia and second she cherished the paper roses and loving letters her fiancé Austin Canfield sent her. However, in San Antonio instead of Austin arriving, his brother Clay informs her that her groom was murdered by an unknown assailant. Clay offers to pay the return fare for the two siblings, but Sarah refuses his kind offer preferring to find work in nearby Ladreville than face ridicule and bad memories back home.

Clay, a widower, almost goes berserk when Thea affectionately calls him papa as he wanted to hear that word from his baby, but both the infant and his beloved Patience died. On the family ranch that he takes the two siblings to, he admires Sarah for her spunk in spite of her recent tragedies and her leg that leaves her limping and actually likes the little one though feels guilty for doing so. Soon Sarah and Clay fall in love, but both hide their feelings out of guilt and fear of rejection; rationalizing that solving the murder mystery must come first

The first Texas Dreams tale is an excellent western romance with an amateur sleuth whodunit investigation serving as a minor but powerful support. The two likable lead characters are tied together initially by grief, but soon that becomes love and a precocious (perhaps too much so) young girl enhance their relationship. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Sarah waits for her fiancé to arrive while Clay dreads the mission of telling her he won't and never slows down even with the inspirational message of keeping the faith interwoven from start to finish. Fans will enjoy this fine pre-Civil War Hills Country historical.

Harriet Klausner