This book is a bit of a genre mash up. It's definitely a romance, but straddles between romantic suspense and a solid western romance. RUSTLER'S MOON was a slow burn of a book that will satisfy any reader who enjoys fully realized characters with individual and intertwined journeys.
This is apparently the second in a series but did not feel like that at all. The small Texas town that Thomas writes about is almost tangible - I could feel the tumbleweeds roll by and smell the fresh air that comes from having nothing but brush and canyon for miles. The people all know each other in a way that would be awfully claustrophobic to anyone trying to live their own lives there, but was charming to read about.
RUSTLER'S MOON packs three main stories into its pages. The first is the main romance between Angie and Wilkes and it is this one which also bring the most elements of romantic suspense. Angie is running from a threatening but mysterious figure tied to her past. Threatening notes are left on her car, she feels followed as she flees from Florida to Texas, and she is understandably jumpy when she moves to Ransom Canyon to take up a position as their new museum curator. Luckily for her, Wilkes (who is the owner of a local ranch and a bit of a town staple) doesn't scare easily. He's in the long tradition of romance cowboys who are the proverbial tortoise - slow and steady wins all races. Their happily ever after is fully satisfying and charming.
The second story is where I found myself rolling my eyes a bit and wishing Thomas hadn't really delved into it, so let me get back to it. The third was a sweet plotline about a grandpa looking to reclaim a childhood memory and bring focus back into his life. That journey and the people who were on it with him was sweet.
The second story was about the sheriff's daughter, Lauren, in her freshman year of college and was all a little trope-y for my taste. Her navigation of dating, living with roommates, dealing with boundaries, and flirting with dreams of happily ever after read a bit more like what parenting books tell people about teenagers rather than actual teenagers. However, frequent readers of my reviews will know that I am really picky about teenage and young adult characters having worked with those populations for the better part of twenty years. And while this may be authentic to a small town girl from the badlands in Texas, and I will concede that fully, it just rang to me as trite. I am more interested in Lauren at the end of the story and where she goes from here than I was during most of the story.
Overall, however, RUSTLER'S MOON is a solid read about a small town banding together to welcome an outsider and help her create home.
On a dirt road marked by haunting secrets, three strangers caught at life's crossroads must decide what to sacrifice to protect their own agendas…and what they're each willing to risk for love. If there's any place that can convince Angela Harold to stop running, it's Ransom Canyon. And if there's any man who can reveal desires more deeply hidden than her every fear, it's Wilkes Wagner. Beneath the rancher's honorable exterior is something that just might keep her safe…or unwittingly put her in danger's path. With his dreams of leaving this small Texas town swallowed up by hard, dusty reality, all Wilkes has to show for his life is the Devil's Fork Ranch. Though not one to let false hope seduce him, he can't deny the quiet and cautious beauty who slips into his world and changes everything. Lauren Brigman finally has freedom at her fingertips. All she needs is Lucas Reyes's attention—a look, a touch, some sign that she's more to him than a girl he rescued one dangerous night. But now it's her turn to rescue someone, and the life-altering decision may cost her more than a chance with Lucas.
wenty miles away Quinn O’Grady curled into her blanket on her front porch and watched the night sky, knowing that Staten was still driving home. He always came to her like a raging storm and left as calm as dawn. Only tonight, she’d surprised him with her request. Tonight when he’d walked away at midnight, it felt different. Somehow after five years, their relationship felt newborn. She grinned, loving that she had made the first move. She had demanded a kiss, and he hadn’t hesitated. She knew he came to her house out of need and loneliness, but for her it had always been more. In her quiet way, she could not remember a time she hadn’t loved him. Yet from grade school on, Staten Kirkland had belonged to her best friend, and Quinn had promised herself she’d never try to step between them. Even now, seven years after Amalah’s death, a part of Staten still belonged to his wife. Maybe not his heart, Quinn decided, but more his willingness to be open to caring. He was a man determined never to allow anyone close again. He didn’t want love in his life; he only wanted to survive having loved and lost Amalah.
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