Talk about a 180º shift…book 2 for this year was wholesome, sweet, Christian fiction; book 3 is hot, steamy, western romance!
But I have a thing for country boys (case in point: my Maverick from Eastland County, my cowboy and my coach who is also my knight in shining armor), so when I saw a Linda Lael Miller that I’d not already read next to the register at Walgreens, Big Sky Secrets somehow ended up in my cart.
No one does western romance better than Linda Lael Miller. She’s one of my very favorite authors – as in, I own and have read well over 100 of her books. Her McKettricks series includes both historical and contemporary stories; they reside at the top of my “Love to Re-Read” list, and they introduced me to some of my all-time most loved characters.
For all those reasons, I am a bit sad to give Big Sky Secrets only 2 stars **
I fully comprehend that there is a specific formula for writing successful romance, and after 37 years of writing them, Miller is far more of an expert than I. Add to that the fact that this book has been published 21 times and in 4 different languages…obviously, it has been a big hit.
Unfortunately, though, I never engaged in the characters nor their journey. The hurdles they had to overcome were stated over and over until they felt boring and tedious; the backstory was disjointed segments scattered throughout as afterthoughts.
On top of that, I sensed that the reoccurring characters (from other books in the Parable, Montana “Big Sky” series) were thrown in randomly; if I was not already familiar with them from reading those her previous books, I’d wonder why they were mentioned at all in this one.
But I’m not a quitter…I will definitely be reading more of Miller’s work, more love stories, and more about irresistible country boys.
On the bright side, the highlight of the book was actually the novella at the back:
Book 4 for this year is A Magnolia Reunion by Michelle Major, a 41-page, delightful tale that earned 3 stars ***
The characters are down to earth, honest, and cute. Their story is believable, and the ending is quick and painless.
I don’t read a lot of poetry or novellas as I tend to go for the big, thick, doorstop type books, but I figure if I count those in my annual reading challenge, then I should count the short ones, too 😉
Enjoy!
With love and hugs,
Ashli
Lisa Pool says
Hi Ashli! Please continue to post about the books you are reading. My goal is 24 books this year…with hopes that I actually read more than that. I have read Class Mom and You’ve Been volunteered (both written by Laurie Gelman). Today, I started reading How to Walk Away by Katherine Center.
Lisa
Ashli Montgomery says
Thank you for such sweet encouragement! I haven’t read anything by Laurie Gelman, so please let me know what you think. I have read How to Walk Away by Katherine Center, and I really liked it!!