The English Spinster Aunt

Two Adorable Children

And The Handsome American Cowboy

 

 

Come along to see what happens when an English spinster is paired with a tough American cowboy.  You will howl with laughter and even cry a few tears. Sparks, snarks, and quips, are going to fly!

STORY LINE:

Americans Thane Jordan and his brother Henry parted ways years ago; Thane to the west and a ranch in Oregon, Henry to England to raise interest in his new invention for cotton mills.  Both are successful in their business adventures.

Thane receives word his brother has died and he must sail to Liverpool to settle his estate.  However, someone forgot to mention taking guardianship of his niece and nephew, their beautiful spinster Aunt Jemma and Sir Rigsley a curly coated retriever.

Come and follow Thane, Jemma, and the children, Lillian(Lily) and Henry(called Jack) on a life changing adventure across the ocean to Thanes’ ranch in Baker City, Oregon and the life they strive to build.  Laughter, tears, snarks and quips follow in their wake as two cultures as different as night and day try to become one!

CHARACTERS, PLOTTING, AND DEVELOPMENT:

Author Shanna Hatfield has created a thoroughly enjoyable book.  I found myself laughing out loud at the trials and tribulations these 4 will meet after a marriage of convenience proposed by Thane is accepted by Jemma.

With her strict English upbringing and vastly different cultural background, Jemma is a hoot in this story.  She is beautiful, strong-willed, independent, and fiercely loyal to those she loves.  Adapting to life in the American west will try all her moral fiber as Thane determination to rag her at any and all opportunities leaves her annoyed and blushing.

“At home,you’ll just have to get used to me ruffling your bloomers.”

He delights in raising her temperature with snarky lines and quips just to see her reaction.

“Tell me, Miss Bryan, what on earth would a barbaric man like me do with a sharp-tongued pampered princess like you?”

Jemma sees Thane as maddening, irritating, and infuriating.

“How could I possible marry you?  I don’t love you, I can’t even claim to like you, Mr. Jordan. You are quite possibly the most maddening man I’ve ever met.”

Jemma’s determined to make a life for the children in this God-forsaken country in spite of the obnoxious Thane and the lavatory, better know as the outhouse, snakes, mice, and heat hot enough to come straight from “you know where”;   this is where Thanes had always said it would snow before he would take a wife.

Thane is handsome, hardworking, trust worthy, dependable cowboy, who thought he had no use for a wife, has a huge awakening in store for him.  Circumstances will teach him a very valuable lesson as Jemma and the children infiltrate his life.  Ms. Hatfield masterfully led Thane through the pitfalls of marriage and parenthood.

The children, Lily and Jack are the sweetest children;  smart and inquisitive.  I wanted to smother Lily in kisses;  she is precocious and darling.  Jack is quite and serious;  his character growth is amazing to see.  The secondary characters in this book are well-developed; they add an extra dimension to the story.  I look forward to seeing them in future books.

The plot and pace of this story was right on target.   The plot will keep you interested from the first sentence to the last sentence.  The pace never slows or lags.  I wanted to read this book straight through as I became engrossed with the story-line and life of Jemma and Thane.

There are many quotes I would love to include in this book review, however space and time limit me.  The sweet love story of family and adaptability is heart warming;  filled with laughter, tears, emotion, and love.

I applaud Ms. Hatfield for a delightfully clean story-line that will leave you sighing and wanting to read more about this part of the American west and Baker City.  Ms. Hatfield masterfully shows that sex, explicit or otherwise, is not necessary to create an intense character driven novel with a great story-line which holds your attention and thoroughly entertains.

Ms. Hatfield added a surprise at the ending I did not see coming. As an added bonus you will find recipes in the back of the book.  You will love this book written by a talented author.

 

RECOMMENDATION: 5 STARS

I do not hesitate to recommend this book to anyone that likes a clean, solid, well-developed and well-written story.  I look forward to future books by Ms. Hatfield in this series.

I received this book from the author and The Romance Reviews in return for an honest book review.  Book reviews of any novel are dependent on the book review author’s opinion;  all book reviews on line under my name and on my blog, are my opinion.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: BIO AND PHOTO PROVIDED BY AUTHOR

Shanna Hatfield creates character-driven romances with realistic heroes and heroines. Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy with-out being explicit in any way.”  A hopeless romantic with a bit of sarcasm thrown in for good measure, Shanna is also a best-selling author of clean romantic fiction written with a healthy dose of humor.  In addition to blogging, she eats too much chocolate, and is completely smitten with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller.  She is a member of Western Writers of America, Women Writing the West, and Romance Writers of America.