Having a Texas Ranger as the male protagonist typically means that adventure will abound, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that this collection returns, 12 or so years later, to the same setting as Seven Brides for Seven Texans and includes quite a few of the Harts of Hartville, Texas in secondary roles.
In one of the best prologues I’ve read in a Barbour novella collection, Erica Vetsch sets up the premise of Company B of the Frontier Battalion establishing a base in Hartville to pursue their mission of hunting down the infamous Markham Gang. Led by their captain, Hugh Sterling, and his formidable wife Etta, the seven Rangers aren’t looking for love but Etta has matchmaking on her mind.
As with the previous collection of stories set in Hartville, the novellas start with the youngest of the seven men and end with the one who would be voted least likely to find a bride. Those prospective brides range from a woman who has escaped prostitution to a former sweetheart, now a widowed Countess, and whether they are being robbed, held for ransom, kidnapped, or just plain menaced, these are women with gumption who are more than a match for their Rangers.
These novellas are a wonderful combination of action, adventure, and clean romance between tough Texas Rangers and women with the grit and determination to match. Well paced, well written, and not a dud in the bunch – a new favorite among the Barbour collections, possibly even outstripping the previous Hartville set collection.
This review is based on an e-galley read courtesy of the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
~ Yvette (review of Seven Brides for Seven Texas Rangers)