The Most Unsuitable Husband

This is the second story of the Kincaid family. Pearl and Drake's story started this series. Now we have Sarah's story taking place seven years later. Pearl and Drake had adopted her half sister, Sarah and half brother, Storm. Thank God, now they have five children of their own. [no namby bamby 1 or 2 additions] Great writer. Returning from her mother's funeral, Sarah rescues three orphaned children, [grin] she is twenty years old now. Enter Nate Bartholomew, who has just escapt being buried alive. He vows to get his half of the sale from the saloon and his mother's ruby ring from Sarah. When Sarah involved Nate in rescuing the children, it started a change in his life. His best friend, "Monk" travels to Chicago to inlist the help of the scoundrel, Hargrove to pull a railroad scam. Boy, does that lead to complications when he wants to call it off. His plans were to seduce Sarah and take the money raised and head for New Orleans with Monk. Ah, what love does to the plans of mice and men. Judge Kincaid and Gabe with Drake and Storm meet the train bringing Sarah and the children home. Ha! they have plans not to let Nate have any free time alone with Sarah. Of course, she botches up their plans to protect her. [I cannot relate her actions with the fear of scandal in that time frame. Regardless of her upbringing and natural moral values and issues of the time she becomes a "fallen woman" - not exceptable for those women] I have great hopes that there will be a story for Storm, Gabe and Monk. Aunt Lily took off with her lover and Lex and Belle now have 2 children. The family is growing by leaps and bounds. Poor Joe survived his terror and made a hero out of Nate. And the solution to Nate's delimma was great and he becomes a hero again in the eyes of the people he tried to swindel. Not to critisize but too much attention to the bed scenes detract from the terror and danger [which could have been some stronger]. All in All HIGHLY RECOMMENDED --M - enjoyable read - great characters - great pace. [could have done with out the "fallen woman part" but if you play you pay].

While travelling from her mother's funeral back to her home in Texas, Sara Kincaid fints three abandoned children starving and sick. She falls in love with them and rescues them, but turns to help from a 'businessman' she met on the river boat to St. Louis--a man who just happened to be nearby at her mother's funeral. Nate Bartholomew (Barton) deserved half the money from the sale of the bar but he can't exactly confront Sarah for it. For one thing, he's supposed to be dead. For another, if he wasn't dead, the law would be after him. Still, he vows that he'll get his money back somehow. How he feels about the children Sarah rescues, how he begins to feel about Sarah herself, has nothing to do with his plan. At least not at first. And by the time it starts to matter, by the time he realizes that he wants more of the beautiful young woman, it's too late. Besides, what respectable woman would have anything to do with a con-man and a gambler like himself? Nate knows that he's not husband material. Author Caroline Clemmons continues her Kincaid series with a sensuous story of love, family, and trust set in 19th century Texas and St. Louis. Fans of the series will be happy to see Storm, Pearl, and the other members of the family again. Nate makes a fine tortured hero. Sarah grows as a character through the story. Always spunky, her love for the children she rescues and her growing affection for Nate allow her to assert herself, to learn to care less about proprieties and more about what is right. THE MOST UNSUITABLE HUSBAND is an enjoyable treat.

In the much-anticipated sequel to THE MOST UNSUITABLE WIFE, Caroline Clemmons returns us to Kincaid County, Texas. In THE MOST UNSUITABLE HUSBAND, Pearl's younger sister, Sarah, gets her own story. For the first time in her life, Sarah is traveling alone. Returning from her mother's funeral in Arkansas, she defies society's strictures and saves three homeless orphans. As she struggles to care for the children, Sarah discovers hidden strengths in herself. Throughout the book, she grows from a biddable young lady into an assertive woman.This transformation alone makes Caroline Clemmons' newest release worth reading. But the book is so much more.The story begins with Nate Bartholomew buried alive! Nate must claw and kick his way out of a pine box and six feet of dirt! Nate is a rogue. A sexy, golden-eyed gambler bent on taking from Miss-High-and-Mighty Sarah Kincaid what should have been his to begin with. His half of the money from the saloon Sarah's mother and his father ran together. Trouble is, Nate is supposed to be dead.So he decides to steal back his money by tricking the people of Kincaid Springs. He's done his share of flimflamming in the past, though on a smaller scale. And why not seduce Miss-Butter-Wouldn't-Melt-In-Her-Mouth Kincaid while he's at it?But Nate soon realizes he can't go through with it when Sarah gazes at him with those violet eyes and sweet innocence. Just because he helped her with those orphans, she thinks he's some hero. Nate is my favorite kind of tortured hero. Raised by a bitter alcoholic father after his mother dies, Nate has lived an itinerate, shady life and believes he's not good enough for Sarah. Even when he almost dies saving a child's life, he knows Sarah deserves the kind of life he could never provide.All the endearing characters from the first book return to support Sarah. With the help of Drake, Pearl's husband, and Storm, Sarah's brother, Nate redeems himself in the end.This poignant Western romance has it all. Action-packed danger, steamy love scenes, a secondary romance, and a tender transformation from a Most Unsuitable Husband to a loving man who is suitable in every way to be a hero in a Caroline Clemmons novel.