Customer Reviews

Touch of Texas

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

 

 

Rachel Hudson has settled in for the blizzard, along with her younger brother and their animals when she hears something, or someone, at the door. Texas Ranger Jack McCain has nearly frozen to death and it's up to her to keep him alive. Which would have been a bit easier if he weren't so darned sexy. Rachel has done her best to flee her mother's past and develop the kind of reputation a schoolteacher needs in rural Texas. Having a sexy male snowed in with her won't help that reputation at all.

Jake McCain is on the trail of the man who killed his father--and who left him to die in the snow. It's a quest he's certain he won't survive, but then, Jake has never had much reason to want to survive. Half white, half Apache, Jake has never been accepted into any society. Any woman who takes up with him is doomed to be rejected as well--which means he can never have Rachel no matter how much he wants her. But Rachel gives him a reason to want to live--just when he's certain that's impossible.

In her debut novel, author Tracy Garrett combines western historical adventure with sizzling romance to deliver an entertaining and enjoyable story. Wounded hero Jake is definitely a sexy treat and Rachel, with her mother's past haunting her, makes a sympathetic heroine. Garrett's writing appeals to the senses--although I was reading the novel in the midst of a Texas heat wave, Garrett nevertheless made me feel the sting of blown snow and the winds of the open plains.

Western historical romances have been unjustifiably on the outs in recent years. It's great to see Zebra bringing them back, and with an author like Garrett leading the way, this just might be an entire genre to watch.

In the tradition of Lorraine Heath's emotionally charged Western Romances, Tracy Garrett makes her debut with this outstanding novel TOUCH OF TEXAS.

What a beautifully written story! It captures the spirit of the old west and the simplicity of the lives living in that era. Though it depicts the harsh times that families were subjected to and the lawlessness in the territories, it beautifully captures the richness of the American spirit and how people come together at times of strife.

Texas Ranger, Jake McCain ha never thought about anything other than his job. Nothing has deterred him from capturing the thieves and murderers that he is after - after all it is his job. Half white and Apache, he stumbles in the dead of winter on Rachel Hudson's doorstep. Unconscious and badly wounded he is dragged into her cabin by Rachel and her brother Nathan.

The time spent with Rachel and her brother shows Jake a different side to what he is accustomed in life. He falls in love with her and cares deeply for her young brother but realizes that there is never any hope for a white woman to ever fall in love with a half breed.

The story that follows is richly narrated, with heartfelt secondary characters, horrid villains and daring rescues. You will definably fall in love with Jake and his unbelievable sense of justice and kindness. How he protects the innocent and punishes the murdering outlaws! The sizzling and emotionally charged romance between Jake and Rachel is lovely. Jake is a wonderful treat of a wounded sexy hero who immediately falls for Rachel's sweet and open nature. Rachel who is haunted by her mother's less that respectable past makes her a wonderful mate for our hero. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Nanette

This debut novel by author Tracy Garrett was quite a good book. One of my favorite catagories of romantic fiction is the western historical but for a while publishers didn't seem to be putting out many new books in this genre. I was pleased to find this book by Tracy Garrett and even more pleased to enjoy reading it.

I appreciated the things this author did with the plotting of this book which gave it more interest and kept it from being just another cookie cutter romance. The addition of characters after the first half of the book was a calculated risk and could have gone very wrong if not handled well. Happily, this author took the time to make those new characters come to life by giving them as much depth and description as she had with the major characters in the book. She also took a calculated risk by having the villain dispatched so early on in the book. I looked at the page number and realized that there was quite a bit of this story left to read. How was the author going to fill those remaining pages? The answer to that question was very satisfactorily answered and helped to keep the book fresh and interesting.

The Rachel Hudson character was so well developed that I can say that I liked every instance of change and growth that I watched her go through. Her character could have been entirely too meek and submissive just because of her background but that never happened for me. I had sympathy for her and the struggles she continued to go through but I never wanted to lecture her about the necessity of growing up and moving along with life. The portrayal of her relationship with her brother was completely realistic. Not too syrupy sweet and clingy but showing a willingness to let him grow up and learn the lessons of life.

In the case of Texas Ranger Jake McCain, I liked his character, his determination and his grit. These were traits necessary for a man to have in order to function under the hardships of working alone as a lawman in the old West. Perhaps his struggle with the reality of his parentage went on for a while longer than I wanted it to, but I do understand how the double burden of being a half breed and a bastard probably would have been a huge hurdle to overcome. I liked the idea the author had about how the death and burial of his Indian mother came about. I just wish that more information had been given about it. I have come up with three different scenarios to fill out the details of this incident but have no way of knowing which might have actually occurred. Burial with Native American tribes was very much a ritualistic episode. I wish more details had been given. Was this a true traditional burial practice or was it completely fictionalized by the author? I don't know. It went by so quickly, with so little detail, that I was left to try to puzzle it out for myself.

All in all, an interesting book. I enjoyed reading it and will look forward to getting the second book due out in a short while. In my personal record book I have given Tracy Garrett the distinction of a full page all to herself. I have given this book a 3.75 star rating but since Amazon will not accommodate that fractionalization, I will round it up to four stars. I am looking forward to watching this author for future interesting reading experiences.

Texas Ranger Jake McCain has suffered a terrible beating and is lost in a blizzard. He is on the trail of some vile lawbreakers and wonders if he will ever catch them in the freezing snowy conditions. He passes out on a doorstep and is saved by Rachel Hudson, living with her younger brother Nate near a small mining town in Texas.

Jake is drawn to the kind school teacher and her brother. He is a half apache and appreciates their hospitality and genuine kindness.

Rachel is fascinated by Jake who is unlike anyone she has ever met. But her kindness toward the Ranger has repercussions in the town when locals hear that she was with a man for two days. She loses her teaching position and her fiancé.

Jake feels for her but does not want to marry since he doesn't want this wife to be rejected because of his Apache heritage. He tells Rachel this but in actually it makes little sense why he doesn't marry her. She is already rejected by the town.

Jake is still looking for the lawless gang that beat him up. Coincidentally, Rachel has a connection with them and Jake fears for her safety.

I liked the characters of this novel much more than the story. Jake would wander in and out of Rachel's life, not giving them a lot of time to develop strong emotional connections. I wanted them to have more time to explore their feelings for each other. Rachel was incredibly sincere and trusting, I liked her and Jake instantly but Jake's fear of commitment and quite frankly his inability to see how his actions would affect Rachel were surprising. He knew she was shunned by the town, yet did nothing to make sure she could gain respectability. Finally, the villain in this novel is so wicked that I hated reading about his deeds. I am glad the author did not go into detail but it was awful to even imagine some of the things this man did.

Rootin' Tootin' Cowboys are back and I am thrilled to see it. Debut author, Tracy Garrett, gives a solid historical romance set in the Old West. She delivers a sexy hero, an engaging heroine and a novel that simply sizzles. Garrett truly brings to the story a passion that lets the reader really experience the setting.

A snowstorm finds Rachel Hudson all snug against the coming blizzard. That peace is shattered when sexy Texas Ranger, Jack McCain, comes a knocking at her door. He's nearly frozen from the storm. Rachel works to save his life, paying little heed that being a school marm would see her reputation ruined from being snowbound with a man.

Jack is a man on a mission. He is out to find the men who killed his father and left him to die.

Garrett strikes a strong not in this debut novel, sounding that she is an author to watch.

Very highly recommended.

Overall I was quite impressed with this one. There were a couple of things a bit off which I'll get to in a minute, but it was offset by the fact that it was so nice to read a good Western.

The heroine of this book, Rachel Hudson was one I really liked. She was young and poor but she had a high set of morals that I really liked. She did what was the right thing to do and I admired that about her.

I liked Jake too although after a while I got a little tired of his excuses as to why he couldn't stay and be happy with Rachel and her younger brother. It was explained a little late in the book - earlier would have been better, but he was a man of honour and he was very protective of this small little family who saved his life. I liked that. Other than that he made quite a fine loner of a hero. Another thing a thought a bit off was a certain story line that could have made all the difference for Rachel just seemed to be dropped for no apparent reason I could figure. I don't want to say what it was a give it away, but it did have me scratching my head a bit. But overall I don't have any problems recommending this book in a genre that we see far too few of for this little Western lover. Ms. Garrett has another book coming out and I will be looking for it and buying it.

This book needed a different editor. It had every western cliche under the sun it: Texas Ranger, innocent young woman, orphans, strict preacher, prostitutes with hearts of gold, mining accident, gold found, mean towns people, outlaws. Just too much.

Jake is a Texas Ranger hunting for a bad guy; the bad guy is hunting for Rachel, the young woman who has relocated with her kid brother to a small town in Texas -- Lucinda. Rachel saw her mother (a prostitute) killed by the bad guy and fled with her brother; they became foster children of a preacher and his wife, both of whom had no use for Rachel. Rachel and her brother move to Lucinda where she teaches other kids. Jake lands at her doorstep in the middle of blizzard and she takes him in. Of course, the only way to warm him was to get him nekkid and lay on top of him. Of course, he woke up horny and wanting her, and Miss Innocent is suddenly filled with desire.

It goes on like that.

He can't marry her because he's a half-breed. So, they play that lame game for a while. But, as the bad guy closes in on her, Jake must protect her and the thought of losing her makes him realize nobody but he can have her.

Blah, blah, blah.

It just had too much of Jake traveling miles and miles after the outlaw, but always seemingly winding right back at Rachel's house. I mean, c'mon. Texas is a huge state. That kind of travel on a horse isn't just a hop, skip, and jump to anywhere. But, it was for Jake.

Anyway, it wasn't horrible, but nothing to recommend.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
There were no major problems, but nothing surprised or delighted me. It felt like a formulaic western romance novel. I would have preferred more interesting character development and dialogue.

STORY BRIEF:
Jake is half Apache and half white. He is a Texas Ranger on the trail of Harrison, a vicious killer. Harrison's gang surrounds Jake, beats him up and leaves him to die in a snowstorm. Somehow Jake survives and walks with his horse to a nearby cabin where Rachel lives with her brother. She takes him in and nurses him back to health. Rachel is the local school teacher. Harrison had stopped at Rachel's cabin before Jake got there. She refused to let him in. He went to the nearby town telling people that she was a prostitute and performed services to him and his men. The town shuns her, and she loses her job. They won't believe the truth told by Rachel or Jake. Jake and Rachel start to fall for each other, but he must leave town to pursue Harrison. He doesn't believe he can offer her a life because he is a half breed and not accepted by most people.

DATA:
Story length: 291 pages. Swearing language: moderate. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 2, about 3 pages each. Setting: 1890 Western Texas. Copyright: 2007. Genre: historical western romance.

Jake stumbles upon a cabin in a ruthless blizzard. He reaches the porch and passes out due to his injuries. Rachel and her younger brother bring him in and save his life. Rachel is trying to build a good reputation for herself and she believes that having Jake in her house is not good. Jake a Texas Ranger is on the trail of the man who killed his father. Jake knows that because he is a half-breed he is trouble for anyone. You keep turning the pages to see how each problem is solved. By Ruth Thompson author of "The Bluegrass Dream" and "Natchez Above The River"

Nice story, nice pacing and nice characters. It was a pleasant diversion for a rainy afternoon.