Customer Reviews

The Texan (Wanted)

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

 

 

In the 1860s bounty hunter Josh Grady decides the time to retire is now after a shootout with two killers left him wounded. He decides to buy in as a junior partner at a ranch and is grateful when Mr. Ryan allows him to do so and work at the Rocking R Ranch in Shotgun, Texas.

When his partner dies, his Philadelphia raised daughter Emmie Ryan inherits. She immediately heads to Texas to run the spread though her experience is limited to summers. Emmie is shocked to learn her late dad had a new partner whom she detests as much as she wants to kiss him. As they fall in love, Josh is declared an outlaw with bounty hunters and a killer going after him with the preference being him dead. He takes a stand alone only to have his obstinate beloved insist she has his back.

This is an engaging western romance starring two likable lead characters with opposite backgrounds that make them an unlikely couple. Although the somewhat thin plot of a prim city miss and a rough westerner falling in love has been used many times, fans will enjoy tough Emmie the Philadelphia lioness refusing to allow her Texan to fight alone. Bobbi Smith provides an engaging Civil War era romance.

Harriet Klausner

If you want to read about the real "West" Ms. Smith is your author. She grabs you on page 1 and keeps you turning pages. Josh and Emmie are delightful characters, and it's clear from the first they belong together. But Ms. Smith did a twist to the story that I really like--their marriage came first and the love comes later. Do your self a favor, buy WANTED. You will be glad you did.

The quality of writing in this book is not very high. It is "patchy" and awkward at times. Sometimes it seems that a sentence was just inserted without thought or purpose. Other times, conversations seem unnecessary to the story. There is also a lot going on in the story. An escaped convict has false "Wanted" posters made for Josh, so bounty hunters come after him. A suitor from the East follows Emmie to Texas. Emmie's friend, Millie, who comes with her from the East, is courted by Josh's brother. The story sometimes seems to go around and around. Despite these faults, I enjoyed the story to some degree, although I was tempted to stop reading about 1/2 way through. I have read worse stories.

This is my second Bobbi Smith book, and it was more tame than the first one I read. I liked the characters, I liked the writing, it was all very sweet and cute and interesting. It wasn't intense though, but it was still good. I really liked it, and am definitely going to order more from Bobbi Smith.

If you don't want to know the pluses or drawbacks of a story do not read reviews. Read the book first and form your own opinion then write your own review. That said, RT rated this book with 3 stars, which was overly generous by far. I couldn't read this book past page 17. The writing was awkward. The character developement was terribly shallow. The villains were cartoon characters. It was predictable, which isn't always bad if done well. The story lacked emotion and tension reminding me of an old, crusty B-rated Western with no music and bad acting. I've found this to be the case with other Bobbi Smith Western Romances as well.