Roan Penny was born under a waning moon, which is
supposed to be bad luck, and seeing how his life had
gone, it seemed true enough. Roan thought his worries
were over when Mose Mozeke offered him a place to live
until some miscreants threaten Mose for his land.
Then one night, Mose is killed. Roan is captured and left to
die on a deserted road, but he is rescued by Marley Rose
McClain, who was literally
passing by. However, the McClains have problems of their
own: rustlers have been stealing their cattle. It takes a
while for Roan to get back on his feet, he is determined to
avenge his friend as soon as he is able to. He has
become attached to Marley and Marley, whose
marriage prospects are very slim indeed, has become attached
as well.
Roan and Marley are both very interesting characters. Marley
writes children's books and wishes for
them to be published, and Roan agrees. It was nice to see
a hero taking a heroine seriously. Marley wrote her
stories for one of the numerous abandoned children her
parents have taken in, Matt, who is genuinely sweet, even
for a reader who is not too fond of children in romances.
At first, I felt TO CATCH A TEXAS STAR worked as a
standalone, but it seems that Marley was featured as a
child in a previous installment of the Texas
Heroes series. I wonder if some
parts of her backstory had been told in that book,
because it was a lot to take in. Some of Marley's past
was so over the top that the tone was one to which I'm
not accustomed, and I had I known beforehand, I would not
have chosen to read this book.
TO CATCH A TEXAS STAR is a book set in the Wild West, and
very little was missing. There was so much happening, so
many plot twists added one on top of the other that it
became overwhelming and overshadowed what could have been
a delightful romance. What was in fact a beautiful
romance, but the villain acted like he belonged in an old
silent movie -- only the train tracks were missing! -- and
some turns of events were just a tad too convenient.
There was no need, in my opinion, for so much complicated
drama. A more streamlined story would have served our
romantic couple better. There was no lack of chemistry
between Roan and Marley. They were perfectly charming,
and even though Roan had some trust issues, they were
understandable and handled deftly.
Linda Broday creates vivid images of 1899 Texas. I loved
reading about the first sewing machines, the phonograph,
and modern contraptions, and everything that had to do
with horses was riveting. Maybe TO CATCH A TEXAS STAR is
a somewhat realistic view of how it was back then, but I
would have preferred a quieter romance rather than cowboy
shoot 'em ups.
When Marley Rose McClain finds a man lying near death by the
side of the road, she has no choice but to take him home and
nurse him back to health. The son of a notorious outlaw,
Roan Penny yearns to make his life count. He longs to be
with the captivating beauty who saved him—but he knows he'd
bring her nothing but trouble.
When a strange man begins to stalk Marley, a life-long
secret is revealed that threatens to destroy everything she
knows--and everything she could hope to be for Roan. Yet
when Marley needs him the most, Roan rides like a bat out of
hell to save his Texas Star...swearing he'll prove once and
for all that their love is worth fighting for.
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