Edwina Ladoux has suffered through the Civil War, and her family has been decimated. Her parents and husband are dead. All Edwina has left in the world is a ruined plantation and her Black half-sister, Pru. Faced with losing everything, Edwina decides to become a mail-order bride for a man in the west. Edwina knows that she is probably not everything he is looking for in a wife, but how hard can raising four children on a ranch really be? The reality is that Ed can't cook, knows practically nothing about raising children, and had no idea what 'roughing it' really means. Until now. Can this wild land be her happily ever after or will the big burly man she now calls husband and his tribe of children be the biggest mistake she has ever made?

Robert Declan Brodie is a man looking for a means. His first wife ran off and got herself killed leaving him to raise their four children on his own. His children and his home both need the touch of a woman. Hoping to find a sturdy farm girl Declan is quite surprised to see the Southern belle who steps off the train. Instead of one woman Declan now has two, at least one of them knows how to cook...but it isn't' his wife. Struggling in the wilds of Colorado to forge out a living and a town, Declan knows that the dangers that lie here are far from over. Will Ed survive the storm or will she turn tail and run like the other one?

Kaki Warner has written a compelling tale of the hardships of life in the Wild West. The ups and downs that Ed has to face seem to be never ending. From the loss of her family and her home to Indians in Colorado, Ed has truly left one disaster and walked right into another. The backbone that this woman displays is more than most would be able to. Ed never gives up and continually surprised me with her courage, strength, and endurance. Throughout the story Ed was able to raise herself up from tragedy and make the Brodies' ranch into a home. Declan was also a strong character, fighting himself on so many levels. Struggling to keep the family together and fighting his feelings for Ed; Declan soon realized that she gave him more than he had ever imagined she could. Life for Declan had been forever changed and he would have to fight once more to keep the wife he now loves.

I truly enjoyed this book, it was an emotional roller coaster of a tale. The plot kept me on my toes, if it wasn't one thing going wrong it was another. The constant ups and downs only added to the fast paced adventure. I was swept away into the wilds of HEARTBREAK CREEK and became friends with all the characters.