Calico Canyon

Mary Connealy is an excellent author. Her series are always colorful, characters, realistic and full of humor. The scenes are set in the west so adding your imagination to the verbiage makes the story even better. I recommend all her books.

Grace Calhoun has not had a good day. In addition to a heart-pounding encounter with a snake, she has sat on a tack and publicly lost her skirt--twice! She can attribute all of her woes to five rambunctious, motherless students and their hard-headed father, Daniel Reeves, who manages before the awful day is finished to get her fired from a teaching job she needs worse than anyone knows. Just when she's convinced things can't go any further downhill, 17-year-old Grace's past shows up in the form of her adoptive father--the last person she wants to see. On the run from this cruel, sadistic man, Grace finds herself stowed away in Daniel's wagon and carried off to his home on the mountain...and his five little terrors. Circumstances converge to force Grace and Daniel into a marriage neither of them want. To their surprise, they soon find themselves drawn to one another, and Grace even falls in love with Daniel's undisciplined rapscallions. But her husband seems determined to keep her at arm's length for her own safety. What can she do to convince him she's not made of china? When Grace's nemesis eventually finds her in her new home, Daniel and the boys discover just how much they've come to love the prudish schoolteacher, who has shown them a wonderful, warm, loving "other" side to her personality. With the Reeves clan willing to go to any lengths to protect their new "Ma," her cruel father discovers it won't be an easy task to deal out his special brand of punishment to this wayward child. The author weaves a mesmerizing tale with a good number of laugh-out-loud moments--and just as many that twist the heart and turn on the tears. A generous spattering of godly wisdom and divine inspiration is expertly woven into the storyline. Their purpose is well served without once becoming preachy or pious. A good book with a gripping storyline. Calico Canyon is a cozy cave full of family fun!

There's not much more to be said by this reviewer that hasn't already been said by others. However, I will say that Mary captured me with the first book in the series and now has a devoted reader because of the second. As much as I struggled along with Cliff in "Petticoat Ranch" while he tried to understand a house full of girls, I could really relate to Grace dealing with a house full of rough and tumble boys. And I had to laugh at a line near the end when Daniel informed Grace that it was "January... the twelfth. It was a Friday. We got home at about six in the evening." I think I laughed over that for five minutes. I am looking forward to the third in the series with much anticipation.

Mary Connealy does it again! "Calico Canyon" is an amazing novel that will grab your attention immediately with the humor and action of the opening classroom sequence! Grace is a proper lady working as a teacher in a small Texas town. Tying to escape her abusive father and rescue the family she had to leave behind from his clutches as well, she secretly sends most of her income back home to her sister, Hannah. When her father finds her, she manages to escape right into the arms of a man she dislikes. The story that unfolds is priceless!!!!! Mary Connealy is the master teller of the "marriage of inconvenience" story! Her humor will have you rolling on the floor. Her touching moments will being tears to your eyes. She writes characters that you want to invest in and are sorry to say goodbye to when the last page is turned. (I loved the reunion with the "Petticoat Ranch" characters!) You had better begin reading this book early in the morning on your day off so that you can savor it throughout the day. Although, I must admit that I enjoyed this book so much I couldn't make the pages turn slower...

This book was, if possible even better than Petticoat Ranch. I feel like the author is more technically proficient in the brilliant follow up novel. I laughed out loud many times throughout. It was so much fun!

This eagerly awaited sequel to Petticoat Ranch delivers on every level. I loved the setting, the pace, the message, and especially the characters. You'll fall in love with Daniel and Grace, and the children in the story will tug at your heart. Mary's done a wonderful job creating a beautiful love story with an endearing cast. Five stars aren't enough.