Lone Star Romance Collection

For a long time I have loved Cathy Marie Hake and her comic twists to Western romances, and I had read this series of novellas before and wanted to read them again, so when this collection became available for review, I jumped at the chance! The bonus is that there were two more additions to the collection written by Kimberley Comeaux.

All five of these novellas were written with a light touch and a wink. The first two novellas encountered are by Kimberley: One More Chance, and Courtin' Patience. Both are tied together with many of the same characters, but could stand alone as wonderful stories on their own. With girls like Rachel Branigan and Patience Primrose as the stars of the books, the reader can find strong women who overcome some pretty harsh circumstances to make their way in the world and find men to love them in the process.

The other three stories were written by Cathy Marie and while they could stand alone, it's so much better to read them all together. Three brothers are the mainliners in the stories, and the foibles they overcome to find their brides is comical, to say the least. Cathy Marie has taken a verse out of Micah in the Old Testament to wrap the stories together. To Love Mercy, To Walk Humbly, and To Do Justice relates the stories of the three Gregor brothers who have been gifted with amazing blessings by their father who dies on the way from Scotland to the States. Cathy Marie then tells how each brother fulfilled his own blessing in and through the woman who becomes his bride.

This will not be the last time I will read these stories. Even amid the humor, great spiritual truths can be found in these stories. Rachel was the object of gossip and felt herself unworthy of the attentions of Caleb Stone, the new pastor of the church. Caleb was able to find the cause of Rachel's reluctance to be courted by him and in the process end the gossip about her.

Patience was the daughter of the prudest woman in town, and had to make her own way before Sheriff Lee Curtis could see her worth as wife material.

Rob Gregor came to Texas to be a doctor, and unfortunately one of his first patients was Mercy Stein, the victim of a vicious attack. He had more to heal than just her physical injuries.

Duncan was a cobbler with a tender heart and he had to find a way to walk into Carmen Rodriguez' heart and life and to prove his love for her sincere.

Chris felt that his duty was to find the man who killed their friend Connant, who was sheriff when they arrived in Texas. In meeting Wren, he had to overcome his desire for vengeance and to do the just thing instead. In the process, he does get wounded and has to give up being a Texas Ranger for being the sheriff in Connant's place.

Twenty-five stars, ten thumbs up, and a field of Texas Bluebonnets for the Lone Star Romance Collection.