I received a complimentary copy of this book from Litfuse Publicity Group and was under no obligation to post a review. No compensation was received for sharing this review and all opinions are my own.
Source: Litfuse Publicity Group
Genres: Fiction, Historical, Religious, Romance
Pages: 320
Robert came to Galveston to fulfill his promise to a dying man and look after his widow. He didn’t expect to find love in the unlikeliest of places.
Robert Truax, former Second Lieutenant and Confederate officer in the Civil War, made a promise to his comrade Phillip Markham. If anything happened to Phillip, Robert would look after his beloved wife, Miranda. She was his life, his world, his everything.
After the war, Robert is left to pick up the pieces and fulfill his pact. When he arrives at Miranda's home in Galveston, Texas, things are worse than he imagined. Phillip's name has been dragged through the mud, everyone in town believes him to be a traitor, and his widow is treated as an outcast. Even more disturbing is her emotional well-being. Miranda seems hopeless, lost, and so very alone.
Robert had thought his duty would be simple. He would help Miranda as quickly as possible in order to honor a promise. But the moment Robert laid eyes on her, his plans changed. He's mesmerized by her beauty and yearns to help her in any way he can.
He makes it his duty to protect Miranda, turn her reputation around, and to find some way to help her smile again. But it doesn't prove to be an easy task—Robert knows something about Phillip that could shake Miranda to the core and alter her view of the man she thought she knew so well.
This book is the first in the Lone Star Hero series by Shelley Shepard Gray. The second installment is called An Uncommon Protector and the expected release date is February 17,2017. Let me just say that February of next year is a really long time to wait for another installment in a series that started off with such a strong and well-developed story.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I felt there was just the right amount of suspense and romance but I was slightly annoyed with Robert’s initial deception when he arrived in Galveston. This is my own personal opinion but his deception really didn’t add anything beneficial to the story. I get why he did it but I felt that Miranda would have been open to opening up to a friend of her husbands. Otherwise, I really adored Mr. Robert Truax’s character. I felt that he had a strong presence and was genuinely a nice guy.
The characters in this story are really well-developed though I did feel that Bella’s story was a bit rushed. Are there plans to expand on her story in a future installment? I hope so because I’m left wondering. Was she a prostitute or was it just her mom? Did I totally read too much into that? I wanted to know more.
I did feel that the book was a little melancholy at times but that’s okay! Life is not always pretty and I would assume any woman would feel depressed and angry after losing her husband. Add in rumors and threatening mail and of course that would have been a recipe for disaster for this young lady.
Honestly, every book I’ve read by Shelley Shepard Gray has been very well written. The characters feel real and as if you can relate to them. I also enjoy her little quirky ability to work in a little suspense in the sweetest of romances. I am absolutely looking forward to book two!
About Shelley Shepard Gray
Shelley Shepard Gray is a two-time New York Times bestseller, a two-time USA Today bestseller, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time Holt Medallion winner. She lives in Southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.
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