Leisure Books (Paperback), ISBN: 0-505-52430-9
Shakespeare's "What a tangled web we weave" leaps to mind, because Abbie Donegan certainly practiced deceit -- not to mention cussing, smoking an occasional cigar and sipping a bit of whiskey. Some might even say she lied…a lot. Anyway her scheming, complete with a few major lies of commission and a number by omission, began slightly before she crawled through the window of a house of ill-repute and proposed marriage to the man waiting for his servicing.

Well, maybe it started before that when she allowed the entire town to think she was ruined (after being abducted by Apaches). Abbie needed a husband not because she was ruined, but because a husband could throw her dead father's detested and greedy mistress out of Abbie's house (located near another Texas town). She intended to pay the husband handsomely for that deed and to help her rescue her half-sister from the savages…and perhaps a few other things.

On the other hand, Rio McCaine needed what she was offering: the deed to the ranch his half brother drove into bankruptcy and abandoned. Rich enough to give him that and more, Abbie took him in tow, suffered through a pre-nuptial lecture from her aunt, married Rio before he could change his mind and set out on their honeymoon. Rio indulged in some pretty sexy fantasies about the journey. But Abbie neglected to tell him their horseback ride/camping trip would be in the company of two of her half-sisters (one a child, one a nun) and a dog.

Historical romance with sizzle? Absolutely. Historical romance with humor? That, too. Wait until you read Aunt Dorrie's advice to the new bride. It gives new meaning to the terms "saddled" and "churn." No, I won't tell you. You need to read it and laugh like I did until your husband looks at you and…

Fossen uses words, similes, and metaphors that attack your risibilities, make you snicker, grin and totally enjoy her story weaving. She's good.

Patricia Lucas White

Patricia Lucas White's latest historical novel, To Last a Lifetime, was an Eppie finalist for 2003. To Last a Lifetime and two of her fantasy romances, the Sapphire Award-winning A Wizard Scorned and The Godmother Sanction, can be ordered through Hard Shell Word Factory. Her recent contemporary, PS, I've Taken a Lover, is available from Lionhearted Books.

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