Petticoat Ranch by Mary Connealy

Mary Connealy has done for the western Christian romance what Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban have done for country music...revived and re-energized it! I loved this book!

"Petticoat Ranch" has a genuine western flavor. Set in the heart of Texas, it's the story of Sophie Edwards and her four daughters (hence the title of the novel!). One dark and stormy night Sophie encounters a wounded man who looks strangely familiar. She and the girls bring him back to their makeshift shelter and nurse him back to health.

Turns out, he is her dead husband's brother (the scene with Sallie is hilarious), and he follows the Old Testament command to marry his brother's wife and to provide for her. Only problem is Clay hasn't spent much time in the company of women, and now he lives with five of them!

So, Clay relates to them as he would any men...um, women...um, nieces...um, daughters. No crying, no giggling, no screaming...yeah, right! And when he sets out to teach them how to act like men...well, let's just say Clay is in for some surprises!!

Added to this hilarity is the real danger of Judd Mason, a man who is bent on destroying Sophie, her family, and stealing her ranch. Judd and his gang trail the now McClellan family back to their ranch, and it's actually interesting to read how he and his gang are handled in the story.

There are some elements in this story that I don't want to ruin, but they testify to the power of prayer and the bond of friendship...and what it means to go the extra mile.

We have ranch, we have cattle, we have branding, we have Texas Rangers, and we have sprinkled throughout the power of God in a believer's life. I look forward to more from Mary's PC. I haven't read much in this genre...haven't really cared for the western Christian romance...until now.

"Petticoat Ranch" is a pleasant surprise...I'm glad I took a chance, and I think you will be as well.

Petticoat Ranch gets the full five bookmark award!!


Happy Reading!

Deena