Title: Matthew
Series: Circle Eight
Author: Emma Lang
Genre: Historical
A man learns to hold what is his…
It is a vast spread in the eastern wilds of the newly independent Republic of Texas, the ranch their parents fought for … and died for. To the eight Graham siblings, no matter how much hard work or hard love it takes, life is unthinkable without family…
In the wake of his parents’ murder, Matthew Graham must take the reins at the Circle Eight. He also needs to find a wife in just thirty days, or risk losing it all. Plain but practical, Hannah Foley seems the perfect bride for him . . . until after the wedding night.
Their marriage may make all the sense in the world, but neither one anticipates the jealousies that will result, the treacherous danger they’re walking into, or the wildfire of attraction that will sweep over them, changing their lives forever.
My first love when it comes to romance books are those stories that take place in the American West in the 1800’s. There is just something about that time period and people ecking out a living from the land, hardened by circumstances and yet still able to fall in love.
One of my all time favorite authors of this time period is Catherine Hart, and I have sorely missed her stories. That is until now. In her new series Emma captures all the emotions and hardships that I fell in love all those years ago and gives them to us in Matthew.
The love story of Matthew and Hannah is one of those stories where two people thrown together by circumstances find that together they are so much more.
At the age of 25 Matthew is suddenly the head of his family and in charge of all his younger siblings except for the missing one who disappeared the day their parents were murdered. The unsolved murder and his missing brother all but consume Matthew and cloud all his decisions. Then he discovers he has to be married to fulfill the dream of his father.
At the age of 23 Hannah doesn’t think she’ll ever be married, and calls herself foolish for even daring to dream of a family of her own. A chance meeting with Matthew however changes all of that. She suddenly has a family that is in need.
I loved watching these two come together as a couple. As they both discovered who they were both individually and as a couple and worked together for their family.
The cast of secondary characters are great as well. There is Granny (Hannah’s who comes with her), Olivia (Matthew’s very bitter and angry sister) Eva (the hispanic housekeeper) Brody ( the Ranger who is investigating the murder and annoys Olivia) and the rest of Matthew’s siblings. I can’t wait to see what happens with Brody and Olivia (there book is next).
I do have to say though that I wished there’d been a clue about Benjy the missing youngest brother and where he might be, and no matter how much I beg Emma refuses to tell me 🙁 I was also really happy with the spanish in the book. I’m normally really critical of spanish in my books but Emma did a really good job with the context and sentences.
If you like historical romances that take place in Texas have hot smoldering cowboys and heroines who are born with steel in their spines you won’t want to miss this book.
Grade A
