The Headstrong Bride

"The Headstrong Bride" follows,"The Unforgiving Bride" in the stories of the next generation of Whitelaws with the 3 children of Garth and Candy Whitelaw, known as 'The Whitelaw Brats", now all in their 30's. Although, these and the next one, "The Disobediant Bride", all seem to follow a theme; marrying for the wrong reasons, and are somewhat formulized, Johnston manages to keep each story enjoyable, fresh, and the characters unique from the others. Also, these stories stand on their own from the last generation of Whitelaws in the first 5 books, but it is nice to know the background(which we get a little of in these stories as well). The first 5 if you are interested in all the Hawk's Way stories(they are all a pretty nice way to get lost for a while) are:"Honey and the Hired Hand","The Rancher and The Runaway Bride",""the Cowboy and the Princess","The Wrangler and The Rich Girl"(this one is the story of the parents of the next 3 stories up, the Hawk's Way Brides trilogy), and 'The Cowboy Takes a Wife". "The Headstrong Bride"...Youngest sister Callen Whitelaw has been engaged twice. Both times to men her father disapproved of. Each time, she was determined to marry despite her father's disapproval, but both times, she came around and saw the men for who they really were and broke it off. But this third time, really has Garth, and her older brother Zach protesting. She is about to marry her father's enemy, Sam Longstreet. Sam is the most caring man she has ever met and is determined to make her life with him, despite her family's possible estrangement. Sam Whitelaw, may not be the man she thinks he is either, and has ulterior motives for his new bride..revenge on the Whitelaws! The passion between them is great, but Sam can never say 'I love You", knowing that when his mission is accomplished he will dump her. Can Callen tame this lone stallion, and will the Whitelaws and Longstreets be able to live in peace? These stories are sold individually, but almost all the novellas are also sold in 2 in 1, or 3 in one books.You'll find this one along with #'s 6 and 8 mentioned above in the Hawk's Way Brides, 3 in 1 book. A much better deal, and you only have to pay shipping once. Other combo books include 'Hawk's Way Bachelors", and "Hawk's Way Rogues". Some of the books have a family tree in the beginning, so you can keep up with the family and also see the order of the books. For a great Historical Western Romance without getting invovled in a series, try Johnston's full length novel "No Longer A Stranger" Enjoy the read....Laurie

I give this book a five just because it is in the Hawk's Way series. Callen is the daughter of Garth and Candy Whitelaw from The Wranger and the Rich girl. We were also introduced to Callen in her brother Falcon's book The Unforgiving Bride. Callen gets engaged to her fathers neighbor Sam Longstreet, who was also introduced briefly in Falcon's book. Callen's family tries to discourage her from marrying Sam. Callens father Garth tells her that he is just after her money and that he is a dead beat, but Callen has already called off two engagements to two other men because her dad was right about them. Callen refuses to admit she is wrong this time and goes through with the wedding even though she has doubts.Sam is only marrying Callen to get revenge on her father Garth. Sam blames Garth for his own fathers death. Sam plans on showering Callen with love and at the same time driving a wedge between her and her father. Sam has no intention of falling in love with Callen.Finally, it is time for Callen to chose between her father and her husband. Personally, I would have liked for her to dump Sam a long time ago. He was driven by anger through most of the book and his motives were not pure, so it is hard to feel anything for that character. This was probably my least favorite Hawk's Way story out of all of them, but it was still a good book. I am sure that those that read the series will enjoy it even if they like or don't like the character of Sam.