Book received as part of GoodReads FirstReads program for an honest review. Thanks for the book!

This book is a solid 3 1/2, but rounded up for overall enjoyability.

The first half of this novel is really hard for me to rate. It starts out with a dramatic confrontation between the main character and her brother-in-law. From there, it's a non-stop train ride of action scenes and dramatic rescues. It definitely kept me engaged and reading with my nose almost buried in the book in anticipation to see what happens next. The exploration of how bleak the world was in the last days of the Civil War was thought provoking and the few glimpses of the romance we saw starting to develop made me buckle the metaphorical seat belt for the rest of the ride this book would provide.

However, all that action, explosions, and rescuing left very little room for those mentioned glimpses of romance and character development. Besides a few glimpses into such things as Morgan's love for her son and Liam's role as a protector, there are very few examples of character development or theme exploration. The action scenes almost seemed disjointed for their lack; I was thrown from one confrontation and explosion to the next with hardly any breathe time. And while that was exciting and kept me engaged, I didn't feel any real deep connection to the characters nor their problems.

The second half of this book really saved it for me. The theme of reconciliation and re-building as Morgan and Liam work forwards a new future with friends and family touched my heart and felt like a breath of fresh air after all the action. Now, don't get me wrong, there was still action elements in building the railroad west and the final showdown at the end with a ghost from their past. Yet, it didn't overtake the developing passion and caring between our hero and heroine and the re-building of their lives.

I really enjoyed seeing the theme of family and understanding explored. The author delves into what it means to be a family with Morgan, Julius, Liam, and Sean forming the nucleus of individuals coming together to care about each other and the inhabitants of the town forming the extended family. I also really loved seeing the different types of individuals in this town that are making a fresh start on the frontier: Chinese laborers, Union and Confederate soldiers side by side, educated lawyers, and rough-and-tumble railroad workers. While there are occasional flare ups of prejudice against the Chinese and women mentioned, overall, everyone is working towards the same goals of building a lasting home in Texas.

I only have one nitpick about the second half of the book, and in a romance novel, it's really minor. I felt there was an over abundance of sex present. Yeah, our couple are falling madly in love with each other and exploring each other's bodies, but really..... Almost every 20-30 pages, I got a sex scene of one form or another?!?! But, again, this is minor really. I expect sex scenes in most romance novels nowadays and was able to shrug my shoulders and just keep reading and enjoying the rest of this wonderful story.

Despite from flaws in story balance (action vs. character development) in the first half and enough sex to steam up any soap opera in the second, I felt this book entertains and makes us think all at once. I enjoyed the romance between our main characters and seeing them build a new life in Texas. I enjoyed seeing both Union and Confederate soldiers overcoming bitterness to build a town with Chinese laborers and all kinds of people. This novel was enjoyable to the hilt! ( )