What is your favorite
western book or movie? We were on a
western kick the past few years as a family and watched a lot of classic westerns. I think my favorite of the mix was The Man
Who Shot Liberty Valence, but there were a lot of great movies.
A Calder at Heart is a historical
fiction western set in Montana in 1919.
Kristin Dollarhide is a doctor who has returned from WWI to her small
town of Blue Moon. She wants to set up a
practice and be with her family again.
She tries to forget her sweetheart who died tragically. When she meets Logan Hunter, she feels
something again. Logan is searching for
a new life and to feel something again himself.
A Major in WWI, he returned home to Texas to find that the Spanish flu
had killed his entire family. He sells what
is left and decides to move near his Calder relatives in Montana. He discovers that there is a feud going on between
the Dollarhides and the Calders. Is he a
Calder at heart that will get caught up in the feud or will he be able to move
on?
I loved this book. The setting and characters were fantastic. There
were just enough characters and build-up that I felt that I knew them all. The
chemistry between Kristin and Logan sizzled off the page. I love reading about this time period and the
family drama was riveting. I also enjoy
a Romeo and Juliet type story of two feuding families and a couple who finds
love. I loved that Kristin was a strong
and capable woman and Logan was an honorable man.
There were several subplots
in this novel that were also very suspenseful including bootlegging, a young
woman in trouble, and water rights. It
kept me reading nonstop through the end of the novel.
This is the third novel
in a series, but it worked well as a standalone. It made me really want to read the rest of
the series. I hadn’t read any Janet
Dailey novels in awhile, so I looked her up.
Janet Dailey passed away ten years ago, but there is now a ghostwriter
writing her novels. I just wish they had
written in the book who the ghostwriter is for A Calder at Heart as I would
definitely read more of their works. There is a nice set of book club discussion
questions at the end of this novel.
Review Copy from Kensington
Publishing Thank-you! I received a
complimentary copy of this book as part of the TLC Book Tour. Opinions
expressed in this review are completely my own.
Sounds like a great read. Thanks for the review
ReplyDeleteIt does seem odd that they don't acknowledge who the ghost writer is and even that they continue to publish under the name Janet Dailey. Maybe because there is already an established audience for her name?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.