In the second book of the Cimarron Creek Trilogy I found myself skipping ahead through some parts. It wasn't that it was written badly; it had more to do with the explanations and backstories thrown in. I desired the meat of the story. To me, it is always better to discover more about a character than to be told upfront. And I really don't like explanations on why something happened. To me, readers are quite smart and don't need an explanation given for an action or decision in the story.

Other than that, the story was good. I enjoyed the plot twists. Actually I was waiting on them knowing that it would happen. The ending seemed too rushed, but then most historical romances end that way. The set up for the third book has me intrigued. This set up started midway in this book and added more depth to the characters and setting.

Amanda Cabot has a way in describing life in Texas during the late 1800's. I could almost imagine the heat and landscape. There were parts in the book that were pretty gritty and that gave more authencity to the story. This isn't a sweet HEA, although there is a happy ending.

If you love westerns and historical novels with believable characters, then this book is a definite read. You don't have to read the first one before this one, but it would help in understanding some of the characters.

Looking forward to the next book, one that picks up the story from Paper Roses.