I picked this one up from Liquid Silver books today, and was glad I did.Half-Kiowa rancher Grady Hawks owns 9,000 acres of water-enriched Texas grassland. But when the Eastern Land Company moves to steal Hawks Nest Ranch, claiming Grady is too Indian to rightfully control it, Grady decides to apply what he's learned in mixing different strains of cattle. He needs to find a red-haired wife and breed back to the fair skin and Scottish features of his father.
With a white child and wife, he plans to appease his neighbors and outmaneuver the greedy Eastern consortium of businessmen who are trying to steal Texas land. But when Grady marries auburn-haired widow, Julie Fulton Rossiter, breeding cattle is the last thing on his mind. Julie doesn't want a husband, but with an accusation of murder threatening her, Grady Hawks' offer of marriage is something Julie needs. When unexpected passion burns hot between them, want and need take on a whole new meaning
What worked for me:
*I LOVE books with abused heroines forced to overcome their past in a new relationship. Being forced to marry a man (for a year) she's just met in order to avoid a murder charge and to prevent those in power from taking her young twin babies from her, Julie had to get over her fear of men and intimacy, and luckily Grady was a patient man
*On that note, I adore when the husband in an arranged marriage is incredibly patient with his skittish wife.
*I'm also a big fan of historicals where a main character is a NA or has NA heritage, because I'm a sucker for social outcasts in my romances.
What didn't work for me:
*References to the twins "toddling" at an age that, in my experience, most children are only crawling. As a mom that bugged me.
*The arrival of Dawn and the reason behind it -- I'm a big proponent of certain parenting actions, and it bothered me as to the reason. Yes that's intentionally vague so's not to be a spoiler lol
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this read. A good solid 4 Stars
 - Gem Sivad)