Sawyer's Rose

"Sawyer's Rose" by Kim Turner is a very sweet, western historical romance.  I really enjoyed both the hero Sawyer and the heroine Rose.  Rose is on the run from New York to the west and believes she will be a mail order bride.  She has one problem though, she is already married, but awaiting an annulment.  Seems the man she married only wanted her father's money and was looking to get rid of her after he controlled her money.
Sawyer did not order Rose, but found out his mother did, he is the Sheriff of Cheyenne and doesn't have time for a wife.  Especially no time for a wife as pretty and sweet as Rose.
I did enjoy the story, but there is a lot of back and forth in the book between Sawyer and Rose.  It took a long time for them to get together, Sawyer refused to even admit his attraction until almost half way through the book.  There was a lot of action that sometimes took away from the story.  Numerous gun fights where all the bad guys were dead except Sawyer and his brother.  The writing and ideas of the characters seemed a little too modern, Rose moved into town and Sawyer pretty much stayed with her every night after they professed their love.
There was chemistry between these two, but the book was sweeter rather than passionate.  Good story though, one I would recommend if you like a sweeter less steamy romance.

A great western romance debut!

This appears to be the debut novel of Miss Turner and the first in a series of, I presume, books about each of the McCade brothers, set in Cheyenne in the second half of the 19th century. I’m reading a fair amount of debuts lately, and this one, for me stands out. 

It’s a historical suspense romance that also contains a lot of action. The writing style is crisp; the story is fast paced and mostly written from dual third person POV. The hero, Sawyer, is a tough guy, sheriff, and not afraid to place himself in some dangerous situations. And he does get into a lot of those. He is also as sweet as they come and able to show emotions. He even cried (well, wiped the moist from his eyes) at a very fitting point. He is immediately struck by the attractive mail order bride his mother ordered for him, but also resistant to that attraction because well, his mother arranged it and, as if that isn’t enough, the pretty city girl cannot possibly fit in his world. The heroine, Rose, isn’t really a mail order bride, but is trying to escape a bad situation by hiding in the Wild West and hoping for a name change through marriage. Although she did grow up in the city, she is persistent and stubborn and shows Sawyer she can handle much more than he assumes and doesn’t need him to rescue her (well, not all the time). Slowly and surely they start relying more and more on each other. The slow burn, the resisting and the giving in was truly wonderful to read. There are some secrets in this book, but they are revealed at fitting moments and not dragged out unnecessary. Another strong point of this book: not one stupid misunderstanding.

This being a first in a series, the book does contain introductions to the next leads which took up space that could have been used for the hero and heroine. On the other hand, in this book, it didn’t bother me. The set up was done as a natural part of the story and necessary for the character arc of the hero. Family is important to Sawyer, and so it fits that his family plays a part in his story. I usually don't like too much bad guys in my romances. But somehow, with the setting being the Wild West, those bad guys felt like a necessary part of this book, especially with the hero being a sheriff. But the amount did require a little suspension of disbelief, lol.  

If the second book in this series had already been written at this point, I would have picked it up immediately. I hope it will be Wyatt’s story and that the author will manage to keep the slow burn that’s been going on in this book, going on a little longer into their book. So yes, I will read more by this author and yes, I will recommend this book to my friends. Actively.

In reality this book was a 3 stars read for me, but I liked Sawyer and Rose and the writer's style. This appears to be a debut novel and the first of a series. All things considered, I decided to add one more star. 

I think it's obvious that the writer intends to write a book for every one of the McKaid brothers. Being the first book means that a lot of page space is spent on building the backdrop for a series. Sawyer and Rose seemed like an afterthought, which is the main reason why I had trouble staying focused. I think it quite a shame because Sawyer and Rose were good characters. They had great chemistry and it wasn't just about how the writer has written them. Lisa Kleypas said it in one of her tweets that "some couples just have it" and she wished she "could force it." Sawyer and Rose had one of those "things", but I think the writer did not take full advantage of that special chemistry. 

There are a lot of secondary characters in the book and I would say this is more a family drama than a romance. I like my stories to have an unwavering focus on the lead characters, and in that department this book was disappointing. 

But as I said in the beginning, I liked the lead couple and the writing style. I look forward to the writer's future works to see whether they would match my preferences better.

As a debut author, Kim Turner has definitely turned the head and caught the attention of this NetGalley reviewer.  Though western romance is not my usual genre, I delightfully delve into it once in a while when the synopsis lures me in. Ms. Turner definitely did not disappoint. You know it’s a good book, folks, when you see the images/story unfold in your head as clearly as if you were watching a movie. 

**spoilers possible**

It is worth commenting the story seemed to center more around Sawyer than just his relationship with Rose.  In fact, Rose felt like a sub-plot at times, especially after half-way through. Sawyer’s job as sheriff, son, patriarch older brother, and all around peace keeper of the town, his family, and handling the escalating, threatening issue with next door rancher Benton, kept him more than just a little busy. Oh, there is also the unidentified reappearance of a mysterious man lurking in the shadows, who years ago shot and killed his father, too. He also become a problem Sawyer had to deal with.

But what can I say? I’m really jealous when it comes to sharing book time with anything other than the main couple’s romance.  Especially when a “surprise you’re a daddy” element is thrown in. No, it didn’t sit well with me when a teenage boy shows up declaring he is the lovechild of Sawyer and a woman, who is now deceased but, up until he met Rose, was Sawyer’s one and only true love. Yes, the author worked the kid’s existence into the plot in such a way it turned out rather helpful, but I am what I am. I just don’t care for baby drama, even if the kid isn’t a baby anymore. He will always be a reminder/link to this former lady love.

Yes, I enjoy sub-plots, and these are well-written, I just felt like they began to overshadow the romance and started to make the book feel overly long. This especially held true at the end. There were several times I whipped out my Kindle fast-forwarding forefinger and went to town skimming over pages looking for Rose, romance, and the story’s final conclusion. So even though the last 20% was action packed western shoot-out drama, I actually grew weary of trying to keep up with the sub-plots and the actions of the large cast of sub-characters. For those who don’t care about the romance portion, you likely will prefer this type of ending.

I am extremely grateful the western theme was not overly done. There were no “yippee-yo ki yays” or “yee-haws.” Everyone spoke in a normal, coherent, non-irritating dialect. There were only a couple of passionate, steamy scenes, as well.

So not to deter you from reading this book, just be warned “The Trials and Tribulations of Sawyer” might be a more fitting title. Here’s to hoping sequels featuring the brothers (Wyatt, Evan, and Dawson) are just as entertaining.

Title: Sawyer’s Rose, Series: The McCade’s of Cheyenne (Book 1), Author: Kim Turner, Pages: 360, stand-alone but part of a series, only a couple very steamy scenes, surprise you’re a daddy due to another woman years ago, no cheating, no love triangle, no OW/OM drama, HEA, some western type violence, western theme was not overly done.

(This review is based on ARC generously provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion. No compensation was paid to the reviewer nor is there any affiliation between the reviewer and author/publisher. It will be posted on Amazon, Goodreads, NetGalley, and Barnes & Noble.)

A lovely romance.

A western for women..one with lawman, horses, gunfights and romance.

A new western series concerning lawmen and a ranching family.  This first book brings Sawyer's tale as he deals with secrets that unexpectedly come to light and Rose, his surprise mail order bride that his mother sends for. Enjoyed the writing and getting to know this family with characters while picturing the story in my mind. Looking forward to reading the next McCade book.

Ebook from Netgalley and publishers with thanks.

Sawyer's Rose is a solid debut for new historical western author Kim Turner. Though I had some issues with this initial book, I'm going to pick up the next book about the McCades of Cheyenne when it is published. There is some real potential here, and I am always pleased to discover new authors for this genre. 

What I liked:  This book starts out strong. The first 25% had me reading along rapidly even though the mail-order bride trope is never my favorite for a historical western. Rose is on the run and is seeking to bury herself in obscurity in Wyoming and with a new last name. Sawyer is the law in those parts, and his story opens in an action-packed prologue. 

The role of women is such that you understand why Wyoming gave women the right to vote nine years before this story takes place. The women in this story run a ranch, write for a newspaper and serve as a doctor for the town. The men who surround them are fairly matter-of-fact about their jobs and capabilities, and I liked that. They were protective but not claustrophobic or restrictive.

The secondary characters are interesting and richly drawn. The McCade brothers are all different and I definitely want to read more about them and how they manage to find love in the Wild West. Even other characters such as Mei Ling and Rose's boss get their moments. Turner provides a certain robustness to all her characters that translates to good storytelling. 

Where it began to fall off for me:
The characters just didn't live up to my expectations. Their mother, Dodge, reminded me of a brasher Barbara Stanwyck, who wore her sexuality like another layer and paired it with smarts, bravery and a little deceit when warranted. (She was one of my favorite Golden Age actresses, if you can't tell). Some things about Dodge are revealed later in the book where I questioned her honor, and it really bothered me. 

Main character Sawyer is reactionary. I wanted him to be swept away by his emotion for Rose and it just didn't happen. Instead, he worries and worries some more. I wanted him to burn a little hotter. Later, Rose doesn't have the ability to calm him in a crisis, which made me question their connection.

Rose starts out her life in Cheyenne with deception. Everyone knows it, including Sawyer. Being the consummate lawman, he is set on uncovering her truth. Unfortunately, she seems to feel little remorse for her deception of an upstanding man. That bothered me.

Not enough crumbs are dropped to keep the suspense building for Rose's past coming to haunt her, the brewing range war, or the mystery of who killed the McCade patriarch. 

At 88% we are suddenly thrust into an omniscient point of view when before it has been third person limited from either Rose's or Sawyer's perspectives. It was a jarring transition.

These were nitpicks, but cumulatively it decreased my enjoyment. However, I liked the tone Turner sets and the western world of her imagination. I definitely want to read more from this new author, and I believe the books will just get better.

I received this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

loved loved loved it!

Well this was a satisfactory read for me. Not bad but not great. The first half was pretty slow. It picked up a little after the half way mark but for the most part it was a slower pace read. There was a few cool wild west type gun fights to shake things up. I think the two major problems I had with this book are 1. It skips around weeks at a time with no clear timeline. That left me trying to figure out what was going on more than once and in general was just confusing. One minute they are eating dinner then it weeks later and it doesn't even say how many weeks later, then it's weeks later again. And it didn't just confuse the timeline it confused the plot and slowed it down. For instance Sawyer would be in his office thinking of Rose then in the next sentence he was at the ranch eating dinner weeks later and I was like what whoa how did we get here. 2. There is not much in the way of relationship development for 3/4s of the book. It was more like "The Days of Sawyer's Life" soap then a romance. I mean Sawyer was interesting, but I wanted love and romance. Although we readers do get some sweet moments the last 1/4 of the book I was looking for more. The couple were almost never together, didn't really speak a lot to each other and did their own things (Mainly Sawyer) then at the 1/4 mark they're in love and I didn't really feel that love because after 3/4s of a book, hundreds of pages I didn't really see how they had been around each other or talked to each other enough to have any feelings at all. It felt very superficial. I liked the secondary characters and I wouldn't mind reading Wyatt's book. Overall this book was an okay read and I would try this author again.

I do enjoy Western historical romances to break up my Georgian/Regency/Victorian stories. Sawyer’s Rose had an interesting premise, with a mail order bride – who really isn’t one.
I understand that the hero had no idea his mother had ordered him a wife until the day she actually arrived, and I also liked that aspect of the story. However, it was not the heroine’s fault he wasn’t told, and I think he was mean to her in a few childish ways at first. He didn’t have to marry her, but he didn’t have to be openly nasty.
For this reason, I thought it was odd that the heroine was attracted to him from the start. I would have kicked him to the curb!
There is actually quite a bit going on in this story, with secrets gradually revealed. I prefer it when authors do what this one did, keeping you turning the pages because you only get bits of the story at a time. The heroine had big secrets we didn’t understand for the first half of the book.
I think that there were a few places where the story could have been tightened a bit. There were a few points where the focus shifted from the hero and heroine, and I wasn’t as interested – I wanted to know what was going on with those secrets!
This is a solid 19th century Western, with some obvious hints at future books. I would have enjoyed it more if it had been a bit shorter, but you could do worse.

I really enjoyed this book very much.  Sawyer McCade was a sheriff out in Cheyenne, part of the wild west.  He was blindsided when his mom met him in town and told him that she had ordered him a mail order bride who would bet arriving on the train in just a few minutes and she wouldn't be there to meet her but he should take care of her and make sure she was settled at the family ranch.   He was adamant that he wasn't getting married.  He didn't need a wife.  He had his hands full being the sheriff and taking care of his younger brothers, Wyatt, Dawson and Evan and his mother, Dodge.  Sawyer's father was killed when he was just 17 years old and his focus for the past 15 years had been to seek justice for his father's death.  

Rose arrived from New York and was trying to escape her own secrets.  She was an independent woman who was searching for protection and acceptance.  She bonded with Dodge McCade and Mei Ling, their housekeeper.  

There was danger and an evil that hovered over their lives and threatened to destroy them all.  Could that evil ever be eradicated before someone was hurt or killed?  Would Sawyer be able to protect them all from the secrets he still kept?  

This story was well written and fleshed out.  I was able to connect to the characters in an emotional way.  I hurt when they hurt and experienced joy when they did, as well.  Well done, Ms. Turner.  

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

super story recommended
a great mail order bride story full of action,well written would read more books by kim