Genevieve Waters-Ewing is married.
She’s married to a man she doesn’t love, and didn’t agree to marry. The scoundrel dragged her to the altar, and now everything is going to change. In a split second decision, she runs away, and stows aboard a chuck wagon that’s leaving on a cattle drive, heading north to Montana Territory. She doesn’t know where she’s going, or what she’ll do, she only knows one … only knows one thing – she has to escape from Fort Worth, Texas.
Thomas O’Reilly’s finally got the chance to prove himself to his Pa. After finding gold in Montana Territory, he travels to Texas to buy a herd of longhorns to take back north with him, where demand for beef is high. Everything is going his way until he discovers a beautiful, young woman asleep in the back of his chuck wagon.
A woman on the trail is bad for business, especially in a group of rough and rowdy cowboys. Will she ruin everything he’s worked so hard for? Or will she be the one thing he really needs?
Follow their journey, from Texas to Montana Territory, where challenges lurk around every corner, and love is forged in the heat of battle.
*Please note : This book continues the story of Bill and Sarah Hanover, from The Strong One (Cutter’s Creek #2)
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The book begins with Genevieve being forced into marriage by her evil stepfather. His best friend, Quincy, has coveted her for a long time. Now that Fred is ready to find himself a wife, he agrees to the marriage. However, Jenny definitely isn’t ready for marriage, especially to the filthy and cruel Quincy.
She becomes a stowaway in a wagon and soon finds herself on the way to Montana with a cattle drive. The handsome owner, Thomas O’Reilly, finds her and agrees to let her come along on the drive against his better judgment. Thomas is determined to prove himself to his father by driving a herd of Longhorns from Texas to the gold miners in Montana. When he tries to find out why Jenny is leaving Texas, she refuses to tell him the reason or that she is married.
Of course, as in all of Ms. Holt’s wonderful books, there is plenty of misunderstanding along the route to true love. How can Jenny love Tom when she is married (even though reluctantly)? Then, you have the side story of Sarah and Bill, which I hope to learn more about in subsequent books.
Since my husband is an avid Western movie/TV fan, I have seen plenty of movies about cattle drives. Ms. Holt does a great job describing the hazards, the long days, and the hard work involved. The characters are wonderful and realistic, the story is uplifting, and of course, we have a HEA ending. Jenny is a typical heroine in that at times, I wished I could shake some sense into her for her reticence!
The narrator, Cody Roberts, adds a lot to the enjoyment of this book. He does an outstanding job.
Wow, can I just say I am so glad I found these audible stories by Vivi Holt! What is more exciting is this is the start of a series so I have several more hours of wonderful listening to enjoy!
Genevieve was forced to marry a terrible man due to her stepfather “giving” her to his friend who lived across the street. They even forged her name on the marriage certificate. But when they left her alone to go celebrate, she took off and saw her chance when she came upon a wagon that appeared to be headed out and she stowed away.
Thomas and his crew of cowboys were headed to Montana with a hugh herd of longhorns and he knew this was his chance to make something of his life. It would be a long road from Texas and many dangers ahead. When he found Jenny hidden after they were down the trail, he could not believe it.
Again I say wow. With the amazing writing of Vivi Holt and the narration of Cody Roberts, who voiced perfectly all of the characters, this is a journey that had my heart pounding and totally engaged in this journey of hope.
4 stars
I purchased a copy of Paradise Valley Series book 1:Of Peaks and Prairies/ Cutter’s Creek: Sarah and Bill by ViVi Holt and this review was given freely.
Texas born Genevieve stows away on Thomas’s Paradise Valley,Montana bound chuck wagon in order to escape the abusive man her stepfather forced her to marry.
Full of action, drama and vivid descriptions which portray the hardships of life, the good and bad of a cattle drive, and two clean romances.
Good, but not very realistic.
I love the romance in westerns that is just nice and not so steamy. This book did not disappoint! Very nice.
It was a good book, however just when a plot was interesting, it ended..kind of quickly and seemed like it was missing something each time