Calico Canyon by Mary Connealy

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Calico Canyon
Barbour Publishing, Inc (July 1, 2008)
by
Mary Connealy


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

MARY CONNEALY is an award-winning author and playwright, married to Ivan a farmer, and the mother of four beautiful daughters, Joslyn, Wendy, Shelly and Katy. They live in Decatur, Nebraska. Mary is a GED Instructor by day and an author by night. And there is always a cape involved in her transformation.

Mary has also written Petticoat Ranch, Golden Days, and her latest, Alaska Brides that will debut in August.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Let yourself be swept away by this fast-paced romance, featuring Grace Calhoun, an instructor of reading, writing, and arithmetic, who, in an attempt to escape the clutchs of a relentless pursuer, runs smack dab into even more trouble with the 6R's - widower Daniel Reeves, along with his five rowdy sons. When a marriage is forced upon this hapless pair - two people who couldn't dislike each other more - an avalanche isn't the only potential danger lurking amid the shadows of Calico Canyon. Will they make it out alive? Or end up killing each other in the process?

Running from her Abusive foster-father, a man intent on revenge, the prim and perfectly proper Grace Calhoun takes on the job of schoolmarm in Mosqueros, Texas.

As if being a wanted woman isn't bad enough, Grace has her hands full with the five rowdy and rambunctious Reeves boys─tough Texan tormenters who seem intent on making her life miserable. When, in an attempt to escape from the clutches of her pursuer, Grace is forced to marry widower Daniel Reeves, father of the miniature monsters, she thinks things couldn't get any worse. Or could they?

Daniel Reeves, happy in his all-male world, is doing the best he can, raising his five boys─rascals, each and every one. Since his wife's death in childbirth, Daniel has been determined never to risk marriage again.

When God throws Grace and Danielt together─two people who couldn't detest each other more─the trouble is only beginning.

Will this hapless pair find the courage to face life together in the isolated Calico Canyon? Or are their differences too broad a chasm to bridge?

If you would like to read the first chapter go HERE

MY REVIEW:

Wow! Mary Connealy has come into her own with her latest novel, Calico Canyon. This book is the second in the Lassoed in Texas series and features the school teacher, Grace and Daniel Reeves and his out-of-control boys. I must say, Mary has captured the “spirit” of boys dead-on! I am mother to two boys myself, and I absolutely adored her descriptions of the wrestling, aggravating, punching, screaming, yelling full-tilt energy that would exist in a home with five boys! Poor Daniel didn’t have a prayer until Grace showed up in his life! Funny thing is, Grace didn’t have a prayer either until she was forced to marry the very man who got her fired from her teaching job! But I’m getting ahead of myself.

See, Grace simply could not control Daniel Reeves boys in her classroom. She tried to get them expelled, and Daniel in turn got her fired. Suddenly, Grace finds herself threatened by someone from her past, and she hides out in a wagon for protection. Much to her horror, she discovers that she chose Daniel’s wagon to hide in! To make matters even worse, the Parson and his wife happen along just in time to force them into a marriage. Add a blizzard that bars any hope of getting out of the canyon where their home is located and you have a rip-roaring western romance that will keep you glued to the pages until you finally reach the end of the story!

Calico Canyon has something for everyone! There are laugh-out-loud moments, suspenseful, frustrating moments, tender thought-provoking moments, and a lot of just good old-fashioned fun! All along the way, Mary shows her readers that God is good all the time – even when we don’t understand the reason things happen as they do. God is always faithful, and the characters in Calico Canyon will show you His gentle goodness in a way you won’t soon forget. Don’t miss this wonderful story! It really is delightful! I can’t wait for the next book in the series, Gingham Mountain to release next year! In the mean time, purchase your own copy of Calico Canyon here today!