I usually love Ms. Davis's novels. I have read several others and thoroughly enjoyed them. I tried hard to like this one, but just couldn't get into it. It gives the ending away almost in the first or second chapter, it is so obvious. The characters were not that interesting. In fact, I found them irritating and not believable. If you like the Western Romance type novel, Susan Page Davis has several real good ones out there. I am sorry, but I just didn't think this one was one of them. ( )

Can an outlaw find love and happiness when his life is nothing but a lie?




Springtime in Colorado, 1885. Johnny Paynter is accused of a murder and flees towards his brother’s ranch in Texas. Although when he arrives, he finds his brother Mark dead! Folk in town think that Johnny is Mark, and Johnny doesn’t correct them. He begins to start a new life as Mark and things go rather well. Until he finds out that Mark has a mail order bride on her way to Texas. Deciding that there is nothing else to do, he takes Sally as his wife and continues life as Mark Paynter. With a relationship founded on lies, how can it survive?




The foundation of any relationship should be founded on truth and honesty. If it isn’t, there is much turmoil working through the mess. But there is always hope, the Lord can heal the hurt and His mercies are new every day. We can always begin again. I have enjoyed both books that I have read by Susan Page Davis now. The Outlaw Takes a Bride is a western romance, with really good Christian principles. She reminds us that we should strive to live an honest life, but even when we mess things up, the Lord is there to forgive and restore what has been broken. This book is action packed with bandits, touching and romantic, and an overall good read!




I received a free digital copy of The Outlaw Takes a Bride from Barbour Publishing, Inc. through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
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Title: The Outlaw Takes a Bride
Author: Susan Page Davis
Pages: 314
Year: 2015
Publisher: Shiloh Run Press
Sally Golding is desperate to leave St. Louis. She has been living with a preacher and his wife after the untimely death of her abusive husband. She was unable to make ends meet on her own and was forced to accept the charity of the preacher. However, she didn’t bargain on becoming a veritable slave, doing all the housework, mending and such for no pay and constantly criticized by the preacher’s lazy wife. In her desperation, she answers an ad for a mail-order bride. She has been corresponding with Mark Paynter for several months and he has finally asked her to marry him. She is so relieved that she sets out right away for Texas. When she arrives, she finds Mark less enthusiastic than his letters and wonders if their marriage will survive.
Johnny Paynter has been working on a ranch when he is suddenly accused of killing the ranch foreman. One of the other cowpokes rushes to Johnny to give him the news and offers to ride out with him for company. The two head to Johnny’s brother’s place in Texas to lie low for a while. Johnny had wanted to immediately go to the sheriff to tell him that Johnny wasn’t guilty and had done nothing wrong, but Johnny’s friend convinced him the other ranch hands were in a lynching mood and Johnny’s chances of surviving for a trial weren’t good. Once they arrive in Texas, they find themselves in another mess. Johnny wants to go to the sheriff, but again his friend convinces him how much trouble he would be in if he did that. Johnny lies once again and is miserable doing so, but can see no way out. Then, Sally arrives and the lies continue to build.
This is a story set in the 1880s in Texas. The story moves along with the constant threat of a return of the gang who has looted some nearby ranches and even killed some men, but the drama for me was reading about how the lies impact day-to-day living and relationships. The plot was a bit slow in some spots the ending was predictable, but I still enjoyed reading this historical Western romance.
My rating is 3.5 stars.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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A new twist on the Mail Order Bride packed with a bunch of lies that spiral out of control, and in the end what is the truth. We also have a western story as we are on ranches spanding from Colorado to Texas, along with gunfights.
When the book opens we see what a bleak life Sally Golding is living, she barely exists, and falls in love with a man she has never met by mail. No wonder she was willing to leave St Louis behind and head to the unknown in Texas to marry Mark Paynter.
We meet Johnny Paynter as a friend tells him he is wanted for murder, and he takes his advice. They head to Texas and end up finding his brother’s body, and they bury Mark. Oh dear, we are getting deeper and deeper in lies. Johnny now takes Mark’s identity when he goes to town and people call him Mark.
Of course, he can’t keep on an even keel with these lies, and when he finds letters of the pending arrival of Sally, the next day. Now what? You can guess what is about to happen, or can you. What do you do with Sally?
This is a page turning read and I enjoyed the added twists of not knowing what was going to happen when the truth is revealed.

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publish Barbour, and was not required to give a positive review. ( )