Caught in the Middle

February 10, 2014
Jennings (Sixty Acres and a Bride) creates a strong heroine in this historical romance that veers between comedy and drama. Anne Tillerton has become a tough buffalo hunter in Texas, late 1883, for a good reason; there’s trauma in her past. She’s a good enough shot to save the life of Nicholas Lovelace, a businessman from Anne’s hometown, during a train robbery. Nick’s and Anne’s lots become entangled when Anne becomes responsible for an infant who’s been abandoned by the runaway camp cook Anne is pursuing to bring her back to camp. Nick faces ethical problems and Anne social and emotional ones as the two slowly develop an unlikely relationship. Jennings is a strong writer who has fashioned two complex characters. Occasionally the comic tone seems off given Anne’s difficult backstory. And the child she accidentally acquires, Sammy, at times plays the stilted role of deus ex machina in the plot. But character transformation in this tale will certainly satisfy Christian readers, and others may find memorable characters. Agent: Rachel Kent, Books & Such Literary Management.

April 15, 2014
Disguised as a man, Anne Tillerton works as a buffalo hunter in Indian territory. When the cook, Tessa, disappears from camp, Anne boards a train to Garber, TX, hoping to bring her back before her fellow hunters riot. She finds Tessa in a house for "fancy ladies" with a new lover and an illegitimate baby fathered by a former one. Tessa abandons the child with Anne and skips town with her new man. Unready to become a mother, Anne turns for help to the only person she knows in town, Nicholas Lovelace. The two eventually have to decide whether their individual dreams are more important than building a family. VERDICT Jennings ("Love in the Balance") returns with a colorful romance that evokes images of frontier towns, train robberies, "fancy houses," and outlaws. Readers looking for a light, fast-paced pick or Western fiction will enjoy this.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2014
Anne Tillerton is a rough-and-tough, sure-shot buffalo hunter in Indian Territory in 1883, but when the depot cook decamps, her boss sends her to Garber, Texas, to bring the woman back. Nicholas Lovelace is a successful if somewhat dandified young businessman who is planning on making a fortune with his lumbering business by providing timber to build the railroads as they push west. They meet on a train during a robbery when Anne saves Nicholas by shooting in the foot the outlaw who is holding a gun to Nicholas' head. Finding the missing cook turns out to be the start of Anne's real difficulties. The erstwhile cook, intent on running away, abandons her baby, Sammy, to Anne's care. Not knowing what to do with a kid, Anne decides to find Sammy's father, which means she still can't hunt buffalo. Political machinations abound as Nicholas' only client maneuvers to have him appointed county commissioner. Then when he hires Anne to help him in the office, Nicholas begins to see his ambition in a different light. With its nonpreachy depiction of vulnerable but strong characters wrestling with right and wrong, Jennings' entertaining romance will please readers who enjoy tales that embody Christian values as well as readers who like a good, wholesome story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)