Romancing the West-Beth Ciotta

Romancing the West
Beth Ciotta
Medallion, Jul 2007, $6.99
ISBN 9781932815924

In 1878 in California, librarian Emily McBride lives a double life as a prim and proper preacher's daughter and as the author of somewhat heated romantic adventures. However, she is somewhat ashamed that she loves writing these tales. That is until someone apparently knows about her clandestine vocation and threatens to expose her. Emily worries how her parents, especially her father will react and even worse, her new friend, a literary poet, who would find her novels distasteful

President Hayes established his top secret pet project The Peacemaker Alliance (PMA) to bring law and order to the Wild West. PMA Acting Director Athens Garrett hires lawman Seth Wright to enforce the law by bringing outlaws to justice. However he is stunned and a bit chagrined when his boss assigns him to deliver his proposal to Emily in Napa Valley, and when she accepts bring her to him so he can marry her. Still Seth does the job only to find the bride thinks he is a poet and confesses to him that she is doing some illicit activity. Seth wants to escape this obvious staid lunatic until he finds suitors hounding her. He goes undercover as a dandy poet to insure Emily is safe but also to not ruin her reputation because he is falling in love with the book nut.

ROMANCING THE WEST is an entertaining late nineteenth century romance starring two likable seemingly opposites and an eccentric support cast. Emily is a terrific character whose “steamy” novels embarrass her yet she enjoys writing them; those books showcase how far society has changed with the modern day romance novels. Seth is a courageous soul who throughout wonders if becoming a PMA agent is his thing as first the bride escort assignment, then undercover as a poet, and finally falling in love with an author. Fans will enjoy his courtship.

Harriet Klausner