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The Texan's Wager

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
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THE TEXAN'S WAGER by Jodi Thomas

Jodi Thomas' THE TEXAN'S WAGER is the first book in a trilogy of books that take place in - you guessed it - Texas. These three historical romances take place in the state of Texas during the 1800's, when life was still rough and wild and civilization was considered to be back East.

In this story, the reader is introduced to three strong women, Sarah, Lacy, and Bailee, who are abandoned by their wagon train and left to die because of prejudice, fear and ignorance among the rest of the settlers. The three make it back to a populated part of Texas, but along the way they murder a man to defend their lives. Because of this they are given two choices - go to jail, or be auctioned off to three lucky men who are looking for wives in a land nearly void of eligible women. Women, besides those that work in the saloons, are far from being plentiful in this part of the country, and it seems that nearly all the single men in the town of Cedar Point are in line to find them a wife.

It doesn't take long for the three women to find new husbands. Sarah disappears with her husband, and her story is continued in the second part of this trilogy. Lacy's husband is away at war, so she goes with her future father-in-law to help him take care of the family business. Bailee's new husband is a man named Carter McKoy, who is known by the town to be a very strange and different sort of man. Carter rarely ever speaks a word, and as Bailee struggles to get to know her new husband, she learns why he is a man of no words.

The women's troubles are not over. They soon find out that their lives are in danger when word is out that the man they thought they had murdered, Zeb Whittaker, is still alive and is on the warpath. No one crosses him, especially a woman. At the same time, Bailee and Carter take in an orphan child named Piper, and their lives are now complicated even more, with the child being witness to a train robbery and being the only survivor, her life is now in danger as well.

The plot lines sound a bit convoluted, but Jodi Thomas does a good job at making the story as believable as one could make it. She also does a good job at creating such well-developed characters, which adds to the story's believability. I was very impressed with this book and found it a surprisingly enjoyable one. For those fans of historical romances, I highly recommend THE TEXAN'S WAGER. I plan on reading the rest of this trilogy and will look forward to new books by Jodi Thomas.

This is a story about the wife lottery. Three women confess to murder but since the sheriff can't find the body he gives them a choice. Stay in jail or participate in the wife lottery. Bailee, one of the woman, agrees and is won by Carter, a very quiet farmer. The story is mainly about their relationship and its growth however there is some action in the story which include train robbery and revenge.

Now I really loved Carter. I loved the way Thomas developed his character. Why he doesn't speak (that often), why his home is like a fortress, and why the town shuns him. I felt so much heart ache for his character that even when I finished the book his story remained with me. And I loved the parts about how he would tell Bailee his feeling (I'm not going to give away the secret but it's pretty clear within the first several chapters).

Now Bailee is the one I have a problem with. At times I really liked her but at others I just wanted to smack her. I think the main problem was her fear of intimacy. At first I thought maybe she had been abused or raped and that would explain her actions toward Carter but it turned out just to be low self esteem and feeling no one ever wanted her. Maybe in the begining it was ok but after the way Carter treated her so sweatly I could not figure out why she didn't losen up. This is why I gave the story only 4 stars instead of 5.

I can't wait for Sam and Sarahs story but I'm hoping that Sarah's character isn't going to be like Bailee. That would be a disappointment but still probably a good read.

You can read a synopsis of this story in the Editor's review. I have read several of Jodi Thomas' books, and I am a "Texas Story" lover. I just wanted to say that I found this story truly delightful. It wasn't the usual down and dirty, full of sex story that most romances are. There are a few intense scenes and the final act at the end, but there is so much story in between. There is the story of 3 women, who are down on their luck and have suffered, who band together to survive, emotionally, mentally and physically. They confess equally to a murder (in self-defense) none of them really committed. The comedy, of a sheriff that doesn't really know how to handle this, had me giggling. There is also the sadness and shock that Carter, at the age of 5 or 6, witnessed and survived his parents brutal murder, but never had the sympathy and love of the towns people that knew them. As for Carter and Bailee, I didn't find Bailee too cold, only unsure of herself as a properly raised woman/virgin, who suddenly finds herself married to a complete stranger. I found Carter to be a refreshing change in the hero role, also. He was tough in the sense that he had learned to survive, however, there was still a lot of the confused, lonely little boy in the man. I found it nice that he was new to the sex scene too, and that they had to learn together what marriage and love were about. Maybe some of this stoy is unrealistic, but if a reader wants absolute truth instead of entertainment, find a non-fiction book...I loved it and can't wait to read Sarah's story... When is it coming out?

After she and two companions are thrown off of a wagon train, Bailee Moore is forced to help them kill a man who threatens the three women's lives. Since they are not murderers, they confess as soon as they find a lawman to whom to confess. The sheriff is perplexed as to what to do with them, especially since the victim was scheduled to hang anyway, so he settles on offering them in the wife lottery.

Carter McKoy, a man still damaged by his past, wins Bailee as his bride. It is not long before she completely disrupts his carefully ordered world, breaking down all his defenses and finding her way into his reluctant heart. Then, they invite danger into their home when they shelter a deaf mute girl who is the one survivor of a train robbery and the sole witness who can identify the killers. Their newly discovered love may die a young death if the robbers have their way.

Carter is a hero that presents contradictions; at once he is both naive and wise, with a strength and power that reaches across the page to captivate the reader. Bailee, as with most heroines in historical romances, is a woman ahead of her time, with guts and determination that leads her to strike out and get what she needs, rather than wait for someone to provide it for her. However, not only are the lead characters interesting, but also the background ones, from Bailee's companions to the local whores and the lawmen. Readers will eagerly await the next entry in the trilogy.

i love this book,DO you know why, the fact that he rearly talks was kind of a turn on don't know why but he is the strong, sexy and quiet type and the not talking much was working for him and that he was a virgin i mean the author doesn't say it but its kind of a read bewteen the line kind of thing BUT PLEASE DO NOT LET THE FACT THAT HE WAS ALL THESE THINGS DISCOURAGE YOU from reading it you will know why he is all these things. I found the book to be real funny, witty and fun....NOW WHERE THE BUT COMES IN the build up to the sex i mean i wish it was longer like seriously the man works so hard he should get a longer sex description being it's towards the end, but thus the ending great I mean carter is the most sweetest heros that you can read about. I think i should read another of her books this was my first and i must say this book was really funny to me who knew....

Everybody has a different opinion when writting a review if we all had the same reviews or opinions it would be boring. Reviews can sometimes down play a really good book or up play a really bad book its up to us to read the book and judge for ourselfs and draw our own conclusion thats the best thing about a review its like a silent debate....

A Jodi Thomas book usually guarantees the reader a gentle Western. THE TEXAN'S WAGER delivers on that promise. It is gentle, it is a Western, and it is frustrating . . . and it started with so much promise . . .

Three women are in a hopeless predicament. Their wagon train cast them out! Three helpless women, in the middle of nowhere, who come upon a repugnant, evil man. In self-defense, they club him and leave him, lying in the blood soaked mud. When they arrive in Cedar Point, Texas, all three women confess to the murder. Yet, the sheriff cannot find a body and he cannot let them go. Therefore, the crafty old man holds a "wife lottery" for the town. Why, because Cedar Point, Texas needs women!

Bailee Grace Moore has nowhere to go. Her father asked her to leave his house, her fiancé left town without her, and now Bailee Moore is a confessed murderer. What other options does she have? Life in prison? Hanging? Carter McKoy is an interesting alternative.

Carter McKoy is the town recluse. People call him the dummy's son. He never speaks and he never socializes! When he was a lad, thieves murdered his parents and Carter was alone with the bodies, for days. That entire experience caused him to grow into an emotionally scarred man.

When it is her turn, Bailee draws from the lottery hat and reads Carter's name. He pays her jail fine and they are married. Immediately, Carter's strange behavior takes Bailee back; obviously, he is different from most men. Yet she realizes he is gentle, intelligent, and willing, but his experiences as a child and his remote lifestyle continue to haunt him. Carter cannot relate to people, let alone a wife. He knows the world only through his books.

And this is where Jodi Thomas should have kept her story . . . focusing on the growing relationship between Bailee and Carter. I think then THE TEXAN'S WAGER would have been a winner. Ms. Thomas has the unique gift to write a gentle, tender love story. Here she elected to introduce and run with several subplots, and her story slipped away. What a shame, because as a couple, Bailee and Carter had great potential . . . as they explored, discovered and grew together. Such an uncovering would have distinguished Thomas' idea. Nevertheless, it did not happen. Still, Jodi Thomas remains a golden author, her tender stories usually draw around an unusual source and THE TEXAN'S WAGER is true to that format. However, it had such wonderful possibilities.

Grade: C+

MaryGrace Meloche.

In 1883, the Roland Wagon train tosses out ailing Sarah Andrews whose husband and daughter just died and for helping the ailing woman Bailee Moore and teenage Lacy Dillavou. Bailee takes charge leading the other two women south to Texas. Within a day of Cedar Point, vicious killer Zeb Whittaker tries to take their wagon and Lacy. The women turn the tables and think they killed Zeb. They reach Cedar Point and turn themselves into Sheriff Harmon Riley as murderers.

Harmon knows no Texas jury would convict these women especially here when there is a shortage of females. He decides the best course of action is to host a "wife lottery". Surprising entrant Carter McKoy, who rarely speaks after a childhood trauma, wins the hand of Bailee. As they become acquainted they begin to fall in love especially when he risks his life to save hers and when she sees how tenderly he communicates with a frightened lonely little girl, but Zeb lives and wants vengeance on the three women.

This is an exciting western romance filled with engaging characters especially a deaf five year old girl who watched her mother and others die in a deliberate train wreck. The lead couple is a delight as both, but particularly Carter, must overcome their respective demons in order to become a couple for life. Though the villainy of Zeb seems at times to overwhelm a wonderful love story fans will know they won THE TEXAN'S WAGER by reading Jodi Thomas' deep historical novel.

Harriet Klausner

A couple you really care about and wonderful secondary characters make this story of two emotionally scarred people finding a home with each other a standout. Carter is a hero to steal your heart. You just want to see Bailee "make it all better" for him...although it takes her a little too long to do that.

Jodi Thomas also addresses several prejudices of the era in a sensitive way.

The preview at the end of this book has me chomping at the bit to read the second in this series!! Well done Ms. Thomas! Keep 'em coming!

I really enjoyed this book. Bailee & Carter are both virgins & don't have much clue on love or romance. It's fun watching them discover each other as well as themselves. Carter is not your typical hero. From the beginning he is very shy & quite but it plays into the story very well. You may see him as a weak person when he gets beat up a couple times but I still liked him. Bailee is a little bossy but if I were in her shoes I'd have to set some ground rules also. I highly recommend this book & can't wait to read the next.

Plot description on this book's Amazon page. Interesting and attention getting story. Some sexual buildup, but you have to wait to the very end for the big scene. Good solid character development and growth as two people who are strong and vulnerable learn to live with and love one another. A little mystery story thrown in, some plot tension from the bad guy, but more a love story. There are 3 loose ends, the other two women from the wagon train and the young woman who works (?) in the local whorehouse. There is a preview of one of the other stories at the end of the book. Hope it's as well done as this one.