Another truly outstanding read my Ms, Hatfield! Come meet the ultimate odd couple. A handsome rugged bachelor who owns a cattle ranch in Oregon and a lady from England who is beautiful, proper, prim and totally independent. When the two come together sparks fly. She sees him as a backwards hillbilly who has no manners and no style. He sees her as prissy lady that needs to let her hair down and enjoy life a little more.
When finding out his brother has died Thane travels to England to take care of his estate, to his surprised there is more to the estate than selling it. He finds he has inherited a family and puts plans into motion to marry (in name only) Lady Jemma moving the family back to Oregon. You would think this would be easy as Thane finds out Lady Jemma has a few things to say. I would have to say Thane is my favorite character in this outstanding read with his witty teasing ways made this a pleasure to read. I loved how he liked to get under Jemma skin just to see the sparks fly in her eyes.
Lady Jemma finds Thane to be a handsome, outback, ill mannered, detestable, arrogant, and insufferable, the list goes on. The last thing she wants it to marry and move to Oregon with this man. There is no way he is taking the children away that she has raised as her own. What was Henry thinking leaving her penniless and no way to take care of his children. She has little choice but to marry him and move from her home to a place she doesn’t know in a house that is so small and oh my god the dirty in this new land it is everywhere not to mention the snakes and OH LORD an outhouse.
I have to say I loved how she out witted him on how many trunks she could take with her. I would have loved to see his face when he learned he had when out witted. It was a pleasure reading how these two found a happy medium and gave the children a wonderful life when they had lost so much. It does seem Henry has a few tricks up his sleeves which they will find out as the story goes along.
What a wonderful sweet read from a wonderful author who grabs your attention from the first page until the end. The adventure begins as they across the ocean on their way to American with all of Jemma's trunks, horses, a dog and two excited children this is one exciting trip. The author gives you a wonderful told story of warmth as they take two orphan children to their new home and the trials of learning to live together and raise a family that is not their own. This is a marriage in name only, but could be so much more if they follow their hearts and open their eyes.
This is one book I had trouble putting down as she brings the past back to life. Again Shanna brings back wonderful memories of my childhood of living life on a farm. My grandparents had a farm and we lived in a house less than a mile away. I spent all my free time growing up on the farm taking care of animals, with helping with the hay etc and bottle feeding the babies. Even though they had running water and a shower they never had a bathroom. I know firsthand about outhouses, how scary they are, as a small child I was always afraid of falling in, I wasn’t too happy with all the spiders and always wondered if there were snakes down in that deep hole. Going to the bathroom at night was not to thrilling. Even though they are gone I never understood why they never put a bathroom in. Thank you again for bring back wonderful memories of my childhood and two people I adored.
I highly recommend any book by Shanna Hatfield she has come to be one of my favorite authors with her wonderful tales of love, romance and adventure as she brings the west to life. Her stories are believable she does her research and tells a compelling story that you fall in love with. She has wonderful characters that are strong but bend when there is a need to. I am looking forward to try the recipe she gives you of crumpets they sound so wonderful. I for one can’t wait to read the next installment in this series which should be out in April. Thimbles and Thistles looks to be as exciting and entertaining as Crumpets and Cowpies has been.
