Review: Rustler's Moon

The cobwebs are thick, the dust not from pixies. The blog, my blog, has run dry for far too long. You don't realize how hard it is to get back into a habit, any habit, until so much time has passed that it no longer feels like a habit. Logging into blogger, checking for new posts from the blogs I follow. All of that fell by the wayside, little by little, until there was nothing left. The old habits were gone and without no true direction, I drifted from one thing to another, making hollow vows to return. But now I'm back. No promises, just reviews when I can. Thanks for sticking with me.

Rustler's Moon
Jodi Thomas
Ransom Canyon/Book 2
Contemporary Romance
HQN/January 26, 2016

On a dirt road marked by haunting secrets, three strangers caught at life's crossroads must decide what to sacrifice to protect their own agendas...and what they're each willing to risk for love.

If there's any place that can convince Angela Harrell to stop running, it's Ransom Canyon. And if there's any man who can reveal desires more deeply hidden than her every fear, it's Wilkes Wagner. Beneath the rancher's honorable exterior is something that just might keep her safe...or unwittingly put her in danger's path.

With his dreams of leaving this small Texas town swallowed up by hard, dusty reality, all Wilkes has to show for his life is the Devil's Fork Ranch. Though not one to let false hope seduce him, he can't deny the quiet and cautious beauty who slips into his world and changes everything.

Lauren Brigman finally has freedom at her fingertips. All she needs is Lucas Reyes's attention—a look, a touch, some sign that she's more to him than a girl he rescued one dangerous night. But now it's her turn to rescue someone, and the life-altering decision may cost her more than a chance with Lucas.

There is a sense of familiar when reading this series. The biggest one for me is the relationship between Lauren and Lucas. It plays out very much like Regan and Noah from Thomas' Harmony series. Lauren is a more vital character with Lucas keeping to the background but we are suppose to feel like they are in love or at the least falling in love. I didn't get that at all. Their relationship felt like it was more a hold-over from high school. It feels like they should let go, but they don't know how.  

The story of Angela and her move to Ransom Canyon peaked my interest from the get-go. The idea of starting over, getting a fresh start and experiencing new things has always appealed to me. (Probably why I like the mail-order bride trope so much.) Add in some mystery, romance and danger and you've got a plot that kept drawing me back. The danger from her past wasn't as fleshed out as much as I would have liked. But it did help to draw Angela and Wilkes closer, although the romantic in me would like to think they would have been draw to each other anyway. 

The subplots of the mysteries surrounding the caves and the Gypsy House really added to the history of the small town of Crossroads, Texas. Even though Crossroads is small, it has it's share of history. (Read prequel Winter's Camp.) The secondary characters of Yancy, Vern and Carter add some quirkiness to the story. I'm glad these three banded together, along with Angie and Wilkes, to solve the mysteries. 

Rating: B

Ransom Canyon Series ~

Winter's Camp (novella)
Ransom Canyon
Rustler's Moon
Lone Heart Pass (April 26, 2016)