The Ranger

What can you say about a book that surpasses all your expectations, pulls you in to the story so you stop everything else around you, and leaves you with a smile on your face? All I can say is thank you! Thank you Ms. Harte for a novel that made me happy, made me feel good, and made me remember why I read romance novels.Delana Wyatt needs to get away from her stepfather, who is trying to essentially sell her to the highest bidder so he can gain control of her future inheritance. She approaches a man on the street, just wanting to get out of town, and she gets much more than she had hoped for.Blu Cahill is a Texas Ranger who is going undercover to break up a ring of wire cutters. He knows that having a pretend wife will help his cover, so Delana and he strike a deal. But they make a promise to each other: their time together is limited, they will go their separate ways when she's old enough to receive her inheritance and that they will not fall in love.But no one can control when they fall in love.Blu is the type of hero I adore. A dark past that keeps him from trusting others or himself, but a heart of gold when it comes to the woman he loves. And Delana makes the perfect heroine: a strong woman with a mind of her own, and a caring, gentle heart that falls deeply in love with her man. This book had many "sigh" moments for me, when I just fell in love right along with the characters. I've never read a Holly Harte book before, and boy have I missed out. She's moved to the top of my "must purchase all titles" list, and I can't wait to read more from this very talented author. If you missed this book when it was released last October, do not wait! Do whatever you have to to find this book. It's a keeper!

In 1886 Austin, a desperate Delana Wyatt quietly asks for help from Texas Ranger Sergeant Blu Cahill. She explains that she needs a safe escort so that she can leave town before her stepfather Henry Lawton marries her off to geriatric Cyrus Townsend. Though he wonders if he wears a sandwich sign advertising "Easy Mark for the Helpless", Blu decides he can use the feisty female when he goes undercover while accomplishing her goal.They pose as a married couple and journey to Brownwood where Blu plans to learn who is rustling cattle by cutting wire. As they live in close proximity they fall in love over her stove, but not only is he on assignment and pledged to also protect her, but he has a past that he must let go of if he is to attain a future with his beloved.This is an entertaining often amusing Texas Ranger romance. The lead couple is an adorable pair though the intrepid heroine acts more like an anachronism with her independent nature and her willingness to escape her planned future via a stranger. Fans of western romance will hunger for more Holly Hart historicals like this tale and her Apache novels.Harriet Klausner