His Unexpected Wife
Grade : D

I've been gamely trying nearly every Western romance author in sight lately, hoping that someone besides Lorraine Heath and Maggie Osborne is writing readable books. I continue to be mostly disappointed, and this book is no exception. His Unexpected Wife isn't really a Western; set in 1894 with barely a horse or a shootout in sight, it's a garden variety American Historical. And a spectacularly dull one at that. Not one character or facet of this book drew my interest, even for a minute.

Annie Trevelyan lives in Denver but is bound for a San Francisco finishing school - or so her parents think. Secretly she has been sneaking out of the house for months to hang out with her actor friends at the theater, and once she gets to San Francisco, she plans to work at acting full time.

Colin McBride might put a kink in those plans. A long-time family friend, he has returned to visit Annie's family after spending ten years away, working for the railroad. He remembers Annie as a little four year old imp, full of trouble. Now she's a grown woman, still full of trouble. Colin happens to be heading to California himself. A mining accident has left him unwilling to work for the railroad anymore, and now he wants to buy a ranch and raise horse and children. He'll need a wife, but Annie has no intention of filling that role. Not only does she see life on stage as incompatible with marriage and a family, she also harbors a secret fear that she will die in childbirth like her mother did.

This might have made for a semi-interesting conflict if I'd cared about the characters, or if the plot hadn't been such a slow boat to nowhere. But I didn't, and it was. Annie and Colin spend nearly half the book in Denver, waiting to leave. They go to the theatre (in one case Annie pretends to ask her father if they can go, but actually sneaks there) and Colin buys presents for the family. They talk about old times. There is little point to any of it. The rest of the time they are traveling to California (by train), but there's not a lot of action then either. There is a little more to the story, like a lame and obvious suspense undercurrent, but that does little to help this uninspired tale.

So what are they doing all this time? Mostly they argue like children, and occasionally think about sex. They think about it, but they don't have it, except for one tepid, paint-by-numbers scene at the end of the book. Their thoughts are pretty repetitive: Annie thinks Colin is hot, and wonders about those mysterious feelings he causes. Colin thinks Annie is hot, but feels guilty for noticing, since he knew her when she was four. Both characters come with a convenient cardboard personality as well. Colin is the Irishman. And it's a good thing the author reminds you of that, because her attempt at dialect is decidedly amateur. She drops the "g's, adds in the occasional "lass" and calls it a day. Other than that he's not really a bad guy, but he's not exactly well-developed as a character either. I assumed from several incidents early in the book that his job at the railroad was something big and important, and that the suspense plot would tie into that. But the suspense plot is more an afterthought than anything else, and we never really learn much about Colin's job or his past.

If Colin is the "Irishman," Annie is the "imp" which is in fact one of the terms Colin uses for her. She's supposed to be headstrong, whimsical, and girlish, but really she just seems like a seventh grader in a woman's body. She pouts and "banters" her way through the book with nary a deep thought in her head, thoughtlessly disregarding everyone's feelings but her own. She lies to everyone, especailly her parents, who are not tyrants but nice people who are concerned about her. I have no objection to heroines who are actresses, but in this case I couldn't help wishing the book had started years later, when she had already run off to be an actress and had perhaps gained a little experience. She hardly seemed mature enough to babysit, let alone fall in love and marry.

Unfortunately, all the problems with this book made it a chore to read. I'll keep looking for good Westerns and American Historicals, but this one didn't make the cut for me. I'd suggest giving it a wide berth.

Reviewed by Blythe Smith
Grade : D

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : November 19, 2001

Publication Date: 2001

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Blythe Smith

I've been at AAR since dinosaurs roamed the Internet. I've been a Reviewer, Reviews Editor, Managing Editor, Publisher, and Blogger. Oh, and Advertising Corodinator. Right now I'm taking a step back to concentrate on kids, new husband, and new job in law...but I'll still keep my toe in the romance waters.
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