Dawn Comes Early by Margaret Brownley ~ review

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (March 13, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595549684
• ISBN-13: 978-1595549686
• Series: The Brides of Last Chance Ranch Series

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Disgraced dime novelist Kate Tenney fled the city that banned her latest novel for the emptiness of the desert. Answering an ad to be "heiress" to a vast cattle ranch in the Arizona Territory, Kate hopes ranching turns out to be as romantic as she portrayed it in her novels.

But what awaits her is a life harder than the one she just left. There is no room for mistakes on a working cattle ranch, and Kate is ill-prepared for her new life. She quickly learns that dawn comes early. But she is tenacious.

Having been abandoned by a string of men, Kate has no intention of ever marrying. But she didn't expect to meet Luke Adams, either. Luke awakens feelings inside Kate she doesn't recognize, and his steady presence is a constant distraction. She has only written about love in the past, never known it herself. But her feelings for Luke stand in the way of all she has to gain if she is chosen as the heir.

Perhaps God brought Kate to the barrenness of the desert to give new life to her jaded heart.

My take on this book:

Kate Tenney has formed a rose colored picture of what she thinks the west will be like, but once she gets there its nothing like she ever thought. Kate is a dime store novelist whose latest book is banned, so at loose ends as to what to do she decides to answer an ad for an heiress for a cattle ranch in Arizona Territory. She has the idea that ranching will be romantic but little does she know that it's nothing like what she has been writing in her novels. Life on a ranch is hard but she decides to do what it takes to inherit which includes signing a spinster clause stating that she will remain unmarried, which doesn't seem to be a problem when that is until Luke Adams the handsome, eligible town bachelor comes into the equation. Will she be able to do what it takes to inherit the ranch or will her heart decide otherwise?
I always love reading historical fiction and this one was pretty good. I though the author allowed the characters to develop quite nicely through out the story, especially Kate.I thought the faith based struggles that Kate had seemed very realistic and the way that she slowly finds her way seemed right on. I thought Kate was quite brave to set out to try and do something totally different from what she was accustomed to in Boston. There were bits of humor woven into the story that I enjoyed. I also felt the inspirational message wasn't overdone at all, instead it added another layer to this historical romance. Overall I thought this book was a good read and because of the reading group guide it would be a perfect book club selection. I will certainly be watching for the next book in this series titled "Waiting For Morning" which is due out Jan. 2013.


A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.