Joelle's Secret

JOELLE'S SECRET by Gilbert Morris is the third book in his Wagon Wheel Series. And though some of the plot seemed strangely familiar, it kept my interest none the less. At the passing of her mother, Joelle Mitchell is desperate to get away from the disturbing advances and evil threats her step-father continues to taunt her with. When she feels as if she can't wait any longer, she leaves Tennessee behind and finds herself in Arkansas. When she is confronted with a WANTED sign bearing her name and likeness, she disguises herself as a boy. With her beautiful hair chopped off and wearing baggy clothes, she changes her name to Joe Jones and finds work as a stable hand. When Joelle meets up with Owen Majors -a man down on his luck- she nurses him back to health and decides to head west with him on a wagon train bound for California. Being out on the open range makes it difficult for Joelle to hide her identity. Hiding her growing feelings for Owen proves to be difficult as well. I enjoyed JOELLE'S SECRET, but couldn't help but feel as if I'd read it before. Similarities to other historical's I've read were prevalent, and at times I found myself checking the copyright page thinking I had read the book at an earlier time and this was just a rerelease. I realized that some of the story overlapped with the other books in the series, but there was something about this specific storyline that felt like déjà vu. Even with all that, JOELLE'S SECRET was a quality story and a quick read.