Wyoming Brave: A Contemporary Western Romance

Beauty finds her beast with heartache, drama and surprisings twists along the way. Diana Palmer has been a one click author for me since the age of 18. Her colorful characters, family atmosphere and small town stories of action and suspense got me through my teenage years and have followed me into adulthood. Her legacy of strong women and fierce men with rough edges and kind hearts is the stuff legends are made of. Ren and Merrie prove to be another feather in her cap. Wyoming Brave picks up where Defender, Sari and Paul's journey ended and allows Merrie's to begin. The danger is real, but the unions that she creates within her make shift family prove as bulletproof as she turn's out to be. From bad boy gangster's with soft hearts and shrewd minds, to captivating animals and beautiful rugged terrain Wyoming Brave will leave you breathless.

The best part of this book, the mystery and the animals. The worst part of this book, the formulatic, predictable, overdone, storyline. Grumpy, relationship burned, toxic male. Virgin, horrible childhood, naive female. Now, once they figure things out and legally can fool around, they’re pretty hot together. But the best part really was the mystery, and that really involved the side characters and not the main ones

To better understand Merrie's history, you might want to read to Defender. It isn't necessary but it is helpful. That being said, I had a hard time with this story. Ren's "alpha" personality came across as abusive. If he possessed any kindness or compassion or concern for Merrie, I didn't see it. Or maybe I forgot it right after I read it? I'm all for a take-charge man--who isn't?--but he wasn't it for me. The final straw was when he offered money to Merrie for sex. Um, no. And what's not to adore about a virgin heroine? That innocence. Those "first time" emotions. The need to feel and experience it all with that one man her heart knows is her everything. Except Merrie's transition from virgin to not a virgin happened too quick for me. I didn't get that anxious anticipation, the nervousness, the overwhelming desire to slow down because--hello?--all of this is new, and exciting, and strange, you know? The connection they have is supposed to be one of the highlights of this story, as is Ren finally letting another woman claim his heart after his ex tore it all to shreds. Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. I didn't get that heart-to-heart connection; it was purely physical. Awkward physical, but only physical. The dialogue distanced me from this story too. It was archaic at times for being a contemporary novel, and that made it difficult to indulge in or even enjoy. I wish I could have liked this story but there was just so much on top of the aforementioned. Every "alpha" has a redemptive moment in a romance. Ren didn't. Every innocent heroine has that moment of growth that comes with trust in their partner. I didn't get that sense with Merrie. I don't know if I'll read another book this series because even though I like Diana Palmer I'm not sure I can take another so-called alpha like Ren and an instant-seductress like Merrie. Complimentary copy received from publisher