Sweetwater Seduction: A Novel

I just love all of Joan Johnston's historical western romances. She is a great story teller. This novel is no exception. Great story and well written.

Took quite a while to understand Eden Devlin's angst about her father, Sundance, apparently also a hired gun. Burke Kerrigan agreed to seduce Eden before he even got to know her. Yup! a thousand dollars would come in handy. The Sweetwater Stock Growers Association, headed by Oak Westbrook had brought in the gunfighter, Kerrigan to settle the nesters hash. They wanted the rustling stopped. The Sweetwater Ladies Social Club was headed by Persia Davis, wife of Big Ben Davis of the nesters section. The ladies kept a division between them when they met as they sure couldn't agree on much until Eden came up with the idea of using the conjugal rights to weild a bit of power. And wouldn't you know a couple of kids, Bliss Davis and Hadley Westbrook had to fall in love and complicate the matter. Were they old enough to marry? Every time Kerrigan approached Eden, a too-tall, kind of plain-jane, red-head he found more and more to like about her but no, he was not going to even consider marriage. Not after what he had been through. They slung out witty, humorous jibes at each other which just powered the attraction. But Eden was a 29 year old spinster and wanted marriage and children. She was seriously considering Sheriff Reeves Felton if he ever decided to pop the question. So was Kerrigan's seduction successful? Ha! The characters were great - the secondary romances add more to the plot - the gang of rustlers was a hoot! - The buckshot hurt, whoaa! - the shootout action was a bit smudged - Would have liked to find out if Eden was a crack shot. Would have like to learn more about the dangerous Sundance. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED -- M - have enjoyed her other books.

I love historical romances but I normally don't favor those with a "western" theme. However, "Sweetwater Seduction" is definitely a KEEPER!!! The heroine, spinster schoolteacher Eden Devlin, is smart and spunky and provided a number of laughs. Burke Kerrigan is a gunslinger with a heart of gold. Ruggedly handsome yet boyishly charming, I couldn't help but picture him as Jack Hughman. The chemistry between these two was only slightly overshadowed by the battle of sharp wits that ensued between them throughout the book. Laughs, likeable secondary characters, and a few tugs on the heartstrings (I cried at the end *blush) - I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone!

In 1880 in Sweetwater, Wyoming Territory, the ranchers and the farmers are on the verge of war. The ranchers assert that the farmers are stealing their cattle; the farmers declare that the ranchers are destroying their fences allowing their cattle to roam onto their land and devastate their crops. Neither side will bend. Disgusted with both groups and worried about her students especially the safety of the children of both sides, too tall and too tough for any male, spinster schoolmarm Eden Devlin borrows a concept from the classic Greek play Lysistrata. No sex until the dumb males come to their senses and end the hostilities before someone gets hurt. The ranchers hire gunslinger Burke Kerrigan to capture the rustlers and offer a bonus of one thousand dollars if he seduce Eden and thereby end the boycott. As Burke begins to uncover who is behind the troubles, he and Eden fall in love, but can a cynical gunslinger and a prim teacher find anything in common permanently? Lysistrata in the Wild West is a terrific tale starring two likable individuals who are not quite the extreme stereotypes that everyone believes of both of them. The story line is typical of the range war theme, but is freshened up by the lead couple and a solid investigative subplot as Burke takes nothing at face value including the ranchers' insistence that the farmers are the rustlers. Fans of Joan Johnston will cherish this fine story while the award winning author should gain new recruits. Harriet Klausner

I found this book to be fun, sweet and even exciting. Took a while for the passion to heat up, but that okay. I enjoyed it. I like sizzling page turners like Lindsey and Cynthia Simmons "Anything, My Love"