Paisley Bell knows the eccentric people of Savage Wells. From the absentminded shopkeeper who always thinks she’s been robbed to the young man who has returned shell-shocked from the war, Paisley has compassion for them all. When the sheriff up and leaves town, Paisley steps up and assumes the responsibility, partly because she loves the work, but also because she needs the income to take care of … care of her sick father. So when the town council decides that the position of sheriff should really go to a man, Paisley finds herself fighting to prove that she’s the perfect candidate for the job, even though she wears a skirt.
Cade O’Brien is heartily sick of shooting people. In his many years as a lawman, Cade has seen his share of blood and violence. So when he answers an advertisement for a sheriff job in the sleepy town of Savage Wells, he believes he’s found the peace and quiet he’s always desired. But when he discovers that his biggest competition for the job is a woman, he begins to question his decisions.
Tension between the two begins to sizzle when both Cade and Paisley realize the attraction they have for each other, but when Paisley’s former beau shows up in town, along with a band of bank robbers, the blossoming relationship between the two sheriffs is tested. They will have to work together to thwart the bank robbers and keep the town safe.
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I just listened to the audio version of this book. I’d read the book some years ago (original review below) but had forgotten how funny the banter is. It cracked me up. I’d also forgotten about the dementia element and that was still hard for me to listen to. So hard to watch a parent decline like that. But we’ll focus on the more fun parts of this book. The narrator did a great job and added to the enjoyment of the story with her varied voices.
*****
I enjoyed this story. I found the banter fun and intriguing because I would not have responded to it positively like they did much less fall in love over it. So it was fun to see how a different personality might respond. I enjoyed that the female was strong even when society wouldn’t allow her to follow her dreams. And I liked that Cade could see her weaknesses/insecurities but loved her for them. And I liked that there were some men that did believe in her abilities and encouraged her dreams.
The hard part for me was Paisley’s father. Having watched my mother go through Alzheimer’s I have a harder time reading about people with dementia. I could feel Paisley’s pain, sadness, fear and frustration. Not pleasant emotions.
Overall I thought this was a fun read and enjoyed it as a clean romance.
Sex: kisses
Language: no
Violence: yes
Listened on Audible (Included). Good narrator. Fun banter between the love interest. The town is a character—and full of characters. Nice western. Looking forward to the next book in this series.
A tongue in cheek, hilarious comedy that entertained me throughout this story. I loved Ms Eden’s sense of humor and the way she put words to the page. Her descriptions of the characters would make you chuckle and envision them easily. I could easily see this story as a movie. I loved the way the narrator read this. She had a wide range of voices plus just the right emphasis on certain words to make the comedy even more entertaining. The romance was a very slow burn only due to the candidates of the job for sheriff. Our romantic pair of the competitors, Cade and Paisley, bantered continuously. Firstly, it was with fierce competition and gradually turned into a more gentle banter with words of affection.
This story also includes underlying themes which afflicted the secondary characters such as prejudice against women working in a man’s world, dementia, PTSD, etc. Paisley was very good and equally as capable as any man at the job of being the sheriff of their small town of Savage Wells. However, as soon as it was made known that the bank was expecting higher monetary deposits in the immediate future the town council agreed the job of sheriff needed to be a fierce, intimidating, and strong man who would make the robbers think twice about attacking their town’s bank rather than a woman.
I loved the dry humor that Ms Eden wrote into this story and how the narrator spoke and emphasized certain words to allow us to understand that dry humor. I’m not sure the reader of the ebook or paperback would understand that dry humor just by reading it. The audible version I highly recommend.
What starts out as a competition for the job of sheriff of Savage Wells turns into a love story I will read again and again. Cade (not his actual first name ) and Paisley were true to real life characters that you just can’t help but cheer for. The “special” townspeople are glorious and the bank robbery was a bit easy to figure out but I still loved it! I plan to read Gideon’s story soon (I can’t wait to see those “special” townspeople again).
Paisley Bell is not like any other woman you are likely to meet in the town of Savage Wells. She carries a gun, arrests bad guys, and enjoys some friendly shooting competitions. She’s hoping that her short, but successful career as temporary acting sheriff will be permanent, but she has serious competition from Cade O’ Brien, a famous sheriff.
Paisley Bell won me over with her love for the townsfolk and wanting to see criminals brought to justice. At first glance, I saw a tough, quirky young lady with impenetrable walls she has built to protect herself. But, as I learned more about her, I saw how sweet and caring she was in taking care of her ailing father and helping people. There is a scene in the book that had me laughing as Cade O’Brien, a hands-down favorite for the sheriff’s position sorts out a fight over a lady (who, unbeknownst to him, is of the livestock variety).
Paisley Bell is not as confident as she allows people to believe, she has self-doubts about her abilities and her worth. She isn’t sure that the town see her as a viable sheriff candidate and her previous failed engagement has left her wary of men. I enjoyed seeing Paisley gain quiet confidence in herself and learning to trust and love.
This book is a quirky—very quirky—change of pace from the British Regency Romance Books I’ve been reading so much recently (and which Eden writes a lot of). It’s fun and different. But also maybe a little too unlikely.
Paisley Bell is the kind of character that makes feminists stand up and cheer, for her willingness to put herself out there in a “man’s world” and not care what people have to say about it. She’s fiery and fierce, a quick shot (and she never misses), compassionate to the eccentric members of her town, and desperately loyal to her father. It is a bit hard to reconcile this Paisley with the one that was engaged to Joshua, though.
Cade O’Brian is typical rough and tough lawman, who has made a name for himself and he’s more than a little proud of that. He squashes rebellion before its had time to form and puts criminals behind bars before they’ve had time to realize they’ve been caught. He’s just good. But he’s also pretty dang full of himself. He gets a bit of humbling as the book goes on, it just takes him awhile. I do admire how much he finally starts to see Paisley as his equal, though.
The town is so quirky, with so many eccentric people, and I kind of loved it. I think I’d love to live in Savage Wells (as long as the gossip brigade never caught sight of me doing something “odd”).
One thing I don’t like (and anyone who knows me knows this is a pet peeve of mine in books) is how quickly Paisley and Cade fall head over heels for one another. They barely meet and sparks are flying. It’s just not a believable time-line.
Mostly though, I think the story is pretty unbelievable. It’s so unlikely that a woman in the 1870’s would ever be left in charge of a sheriff’s job while a new sheriff is sought after. It’s inconceivable that she would have been entrusted to help the former sheriff at all. It’s also unlikely she would have been allowed to participate in the little “contest” to have a shot as sheriff. Women didn’t do work like that. Do I think it possible a woman could have been as good a shooter as Paisley is? Yes! Do I think she could have done the job? Without a doubt. Do I think Marshall Hawk and his proposal about Deputy Marshall is awesome? So much! Does the feminist in me love the idea of it? Absolutely. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a “true to form” historical fiction.
One little narrative quirk that started to bug me was the quite constant use of “even as” in the description. For example, “Cade smiled even as he walked to his chair” (not a direct quote but you get the idea). I sincerely love Eden’s books and have never before noticed something that bothered me in her writing style, but this particular little quirk occurred so often I couldn’t help but notice it.
One thing I love about Eden’s books is how she talks about problems that had to have occurred way back in the day, but no one ever talks about how those problems would have been handled. In this book, she covers both severe PTSD suffered by a soldier and dementia. Both are prickly topics even today, but I love that she finds ways to talk about how those things could have been handled before we knew very much about it. Sometimes it’s just a tiny snippet, sometimes nothing much comes of it, but I love that things aren’t perfect for her characters. They deal with the same kinds of problems we do.
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Read by Kiersten Potter. Good reading. I like that Kiersten’s male and female voices are distinct enough you can always tell if she’s narrating for a male character. She also does a handful of good different voices for the various characters.
Savage Wells is in need of a new sheriff. Cade O’Brien has been a lawman for years and has the experience to handle the job in a quiet town. Paisley Bell knows the eccentric members of the town and has been handling the responsibility of sheriff for months already. Who will win in this competition? Can love flourish in spite of the differing opinions?
This was an absolutely lovely read. The banter and back and forth between the characters made things interesting. We learn about Paisley’s background slowly through the story and come to understand her better.
Cade was not much of a mystery. He is looking for a quiet place to call home after too many years of violence and bloodshed. He is taken aback by the strange characters he meets in the small town of Savage Wells but takes them in his stride. When real trouble hits, he relies on Paisley’s experience in the town.
The plot moves at a good pace. The entire cast is entertaining. There are heartwarming moments and moments when my heart cried for what Paisley was dealing with.
For a clean romance, this is a perfect choice.
I love Sarah M. Eden! I was so excited when I saw she had a new book coming out. And I loved it!! The first chapter pulled me in and from there it just got better. Cade and Paisley are a great pair! I really enjoyed their witty exchanges. I loved watching their relationship develop and their respect for each other grow. The citizens of Savage Wells added so much to the story. What an endearing bunch! This definitely goes into my re-read pile!