The Rascal

Grace Crabtree is a very opinionated young woman who wants to make her father proud of her. Radically freethinking for her time she blunders around emotionally. She is hoping to take over the family newspaper. Jack Murphy, we learn, is in hiding from his family and former life in Boston. He is apparently a genius at designing and inventing. His free thinking sisters cause him no end of trouble in taking his design of a female unmentionable [corset] and convert the design into the real thing. He left the United States and fled to the territories where no questions are asked and he could be as manly as he choose. He was just not refined enough for Grace. Grace, of course, was against his keeping a saloon in which she had the use of the upper rooms and tried to drive him out. The Temperance League, you know. She was bound and determined to remain single, needing no man to cling to. Jack tries to thwart that idea. She tries to add some polish to Jack. Of course, she ends up enlisting the aid of her sisters, Molly and Sarah. Molly had snagged the lumber man, Marcus Copeland and Sarah had finally wrung a declaration of love from the blacksmith, Daniel McCabe. Her sisters were happy with married life. Grace has a hard time giving in emotionally to the need for a man but cupid worked his magic. And it all started with the kisses. Now you know the series started out with the girls wanting to find out who the matchmaker was. I wonder if they finally did? Grace was a bit too energetic and unsettled for me. But I did love the contratempts between her and Jack and Jack and his friends. Definitely Recommended [with her crawling in bed with Jack]?

What a fun book Ms Plumley has given us I enjoyed the story of the oldest Crabtree sister, Grace, and the town's saloon owner, Jack Murphy from Boston, Mass. Both have their secrets that are so hard to share with anyone. Grace is a suffragette and the town's leader in all things concerned groups and has the meetings in her space above the saloon. She leases the space above Jack's saloon which he'd love to have to create a boardinghouse. Jack gets the scheme to get Grace married and she would give up the space above him. His plan did backfire! LOL Jack and Grace seem to be spending a great deal of time together and liking it. Grace doesn't even understand how men react to women other than with irritation. Jack can't believe he really likes Grace even though she wears those awful men's shoes in the winter. It was great to see Grace's sisters, Molly and Sarah and their husbands, Marcus and Daniel again. They even have a surprise for us LOL Ms Plumley gave all 3 sisters a good story and fun to read. Molly & Marcus in THE MATCHMAKER HH 9/03 and Sarah & Daniel's THE SCOUNDREL HH 4/06.