
Wild at Heart
by Vickie McDonough
Series: Romance in the Badlands #1
Series Rating:
Published by Mountain Brook Ink
Publication Date February 10, 2021
Genres: Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction, Western, Clean Romance
Setting: North Dakota Gilded Age – US – 1875 – 1900
Written for: Adults
Pages: 142
Synopsis:
Mariah is a woman in a man’s world.
Under the pen name Drew Dixon, Chicago native Mariah Lansing writes dime novels detailing hair-raising adventures of heroines in the Wild West. But then she receives a letter from a rancher in the Badlands of North Dakota who takes exception to her meticulous research. When Mariah finds her fiancé in the arms of another woman, she accepts the rancher’s invitation to visit his ranch and flees Chicago.
Adam McFarland has a dream—to travel the West and document its people and beautiful landscape with his drawings. If only he weren’t tied down to the family ranch in North Dakota. When dime novelist Drew Dixon makes repeated mistakes about his beloved West, he invites the author to visit his ranch. But the author who shows up isn’t exactly who he was expecting. Will Mariah and Adam be willing to share the secrets they are keeping? Or will they allow false perceptions to continue to hinder the plans God has for them?
I received a complimentary copy of this book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.
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“Fancy Feathers”? Adam’s nickname for Mariah was so cute – it came from the annoying way the feathers on her hat found their way to tickle him on his head as he sat behind her on the train. It was fun that he continued to think of her that way, even after they were properly introduced.
Mariah made me laugh. She so wanted to be an independent woman and yet she didn’t have the skills to be the heroine of the dime novels she wrote. Learning to drive a team of horses by observing the man from the livery didn’t quite work out as she had planned! She was ignorant about so many more aspects of ranching than she realized.
Wild at Heart is an enjoyable, lighthearted story with a touch of drama. The author points to the importance of faith in Christ – and in fact, I loved the way she used Mariah’s ignorance about Jesus and the questions she asked to stir Adam’s heart to turn back from his bitterness.
While much of the story was well written, there were parts that seemed to lack depth and places where phrases were overused.
I recommend Wild at Heart to readers who enjoy Western romance.
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