The Husband Tree

I loved this book. I read the wholes series, but this was my favorite. It is humorous, sad, intense..... you name it, this book has it. Belle is a keeper & her daughters. Great book... hope we hear more about the family.

Mary Connealy has done it again. I knew the Husband Tree was going to be great when we met Belle in Montana Rose. And I was not disappointed. The Husband Tree was riotous fun as well as fascinating. Mary always entwines the characters in the most interesting historical episodes. Women and children working a cattle drive fascinated me. Mary brings out the strength of those pioneers/settlers of the Old West. Not only does she enlighten us with interesting history, but she always provides a good laugh. She writes humor well. I can hardly wait for Wildflower Bride.

Belle Tanner has just buried her third no-account husband along with the others under the husband tree. She's used to doing all the work on her ranch by herself--well, with the help of her daughters, who work as hard as any man, and much harder than her husbands ever did. She's sworn off husbands and is determined to turn away all suitors. She just doesn't know how to pick a good man. Her husbands were all lazy, one a drinker, one a philanderer, and the only good thing they ever gave her was her daughters. But she's not about to make another mistake, even if there is still a fourth side of the husband tree open. When she is forced to thin her herd of longhorns and take a thousand head of them over treacherous mountain trails, she goes into town to round up a few men to help her. She hates to ask the help of any man, but she has no choice. She didn't count on falling in love. She promised her girls she wouldn't! Silas Harden has sworn off women. They are nothing but trouble. But he ends up working harder than he's ever worked in his life, trying to keep Belle Tanner and her four girls safe on the most dangerous cattle drive he's ever had the misfortune to get mixed up in. He didn't count on falling in love with all five of them. This is a wonderful romance. If you're like me and the marriage self-help book, Love and Respect, just frustrated and confused you, then this book might help clear it up for you. Honestly. A light bulb came on when I was getting near the end of this book. I actually felt like I understood men a little bit better. I'd be curious if anyone else gets that feeling when they read this book.

I came upon Mary Connealy by surprise in the bookstore and the cover sounded interesting, so I bought the book. I was back and bought all they had by her. What a great read it was. She has way with words and characters. Her heroes are just the kind you want for your own. I've read almost all her books now, haven't read the story collections, and I was not disappointed one bit in any of them. In this one, Belle Tanner is a hardened woman, having already buried 3 husbands, and marrying them only because women did not do well alone in the old west. She never loved a one of them and they treated her badly. When a wonderful man who respects women comes along, she has no idea how to act around him. I won't spoil anymore of the plot, but it is a super book. The author blends humor to great advantage in her books. You'll find yourself laughing out loud in parts and crying in others, but you always close the book on the last page feeling satisfied and content you didn't waste your money. Read all her books!

It is quite a fact that I have yet to come across a book by Mary Connealy that I did not like. I loved the Lassoed in Texas series and I am enamored with the Montana Marriages series. It is baffling to me how each and every story can grip you further. The catty whit is so amusing and the characters are lovely. The issues dealing with real world problems are incredibly woven in a western historical standpoint and cause a reader to truly think. The growing love between protagonists is breathe taking and palpable. Belle Tanner is not your average western woman, but a woman not to be challenged. She has had her fill of husbands, as is shown by the occupied dirt surrounding three sides of the Husband Tree. The last thing that she wants is another husband nor a romance that leads that general direction. Silas is man with two near misses when it comes to marriage and not looking for another chance. When time has run out and a cattle drive has to be made by Belle and her four daughters, the drifter Silas is her only hope. What God brings together, let no man put apart. As a mother of a new baby reading and watching Belle's days with her girls especially her infant is amazing. I cannot imagine nursing while riding on horseback, much less changing a diaper in mid gallop without missing a beat. I am thrilled and enchanted to the bone by the tale devised by Mary's imagination and I cannot wait for the third installment in the series The Wildflower Bride. In this book you get a taste for what might be in for Wade Sawyer and Abby Lind. *sigh* Anticipation.