Review: Texas Pride by Leigh Greenwod

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Romance, western
Paperback, 384 pages
Book Source: Sourcebooks
My Rating: 80/100

From Sourcebooks:

Ivan Nikolai, a Polish prince whose family lost their estates, came to America to seek his fortune but ended up serving in the cavalry during the Civil War.  Unexpectedly, he is given the opportunity to earn enough money working on a cattle ranch in Texas to return to Poland and assume his rightful position…

Carla Reece is furious at her brother for losing half the family ranch in a card game. Everyone knows Laveau diViere got her brother drunk and cheated. She has no intention of allowing diViere or anyone sent in his place to set foot on her ranch, but what can she do when Ivan camps out by her creek?  He’s big, blond, full of charm, has a smile that makes her weak in the knees, and is about as moveable as a mountain…  How can she stick to her guns when everyone, including herself, thinks he’s perfect husband material?

My Thoughts:

This is a nice romantic story with elements I don't normally encounter, such as early Texas, a Polish prince, and cattle thieves.  The western ranch setting was great.  I like d the descriptions and the little town trappings that came along with it.  Those towns always have great characters in them.  I also liked fiesty Carla and her immature brother Danny who foolishly looses the farm in a card game.  Carla was a strong mothering type not to be trifled with.  She was smart, hard working, and wanted to be taken seriously.  Ivan was also an enjoyable character.  He was an honorable, hardworking Prince and learning about his background was interesting as well.

The problem I had with this book was that I felt like I was reading the same conversations over and over again.  "I don't want to lose half my ranch...I understand but this paper entitles me to half of the ranch....but I'm sure my brother was cheated...that may be true but I have this paper..."  I felt as though the conversation went this way through the first half of the book.  So I skimmed the second half.  Sorry but I skimmed to find out what happens in the end, and wasn't concerned about the journey.

Not all books can appeal to everyone.  That's why there is chocolate and vanilla ice cream.  Maybe you'll like book more than I, and that's cool.  Like I said everything else was enjoyable but the dialogue killed me.

Thanks again to Danielle from Sourcebooks for my review copy.

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