The Gunslinger’s Guide to Avoiding Matrimony (Gunslinger #2)

Michelle McLean

Blurb:

At the ripe old age of twenty-eight, desperate-to-retire gunslinger Adam Brady has exactly two rules. And one of them is never, ever get married. So he’ll be danged when his dreams of permanently avoiding the bounty hunter on his tail in Desolation, the only town where notorious men like him can find respite, comes with one helluva string attached. The town has a new rule: gunslingers welcome—if they get a job…or marry.

Without realizing it, Adam stumbles into a big town wedding and accidentally marries Nora Schumacher, a sassy-mouthed mountain of a woman with legs as long as his wanted poster. So what’s a gunslinger to do but get himself unhitched and find a job. Any job. Except Adam keeps getting fired, one odd circumstance after another. And he’s running out of options.

Desolation was supposed to be his safe haven. Except, he’s not only running from his past but from the irresistible woman he married. And worse, he’s finding that he rather likes the enticing, if damnably independent, wife of his. But some men just aren’t the marrying kind. Only, if he leaves, his own life won’t be worth living. If he stays, he puts the lives of his newfound family and the woman he loves on the line. So much for Desolation being the answer to all his problems.

Themes: Historical Western

Rating: 4.25 stars

Heat Rating:

Review:

I am a huge fan of westerns, when they are done right, and though I was a little bit skeptical when I first picked up on of Michelle’s MacLean’s westerns, I decided since I loved her Scottish Historical Romances so much I’d give her a chance. I loved the first novel in the series for sure and truly had high hopes for this book, and though it wasn’t a blow away success I can say I laughed a lot, cried plenty, and ultimately fell in love with both characters so despite some lulls I will definitely be continuing the series. Adam Brady is on the run, again, from the lawman that is hunting him when he stumbles into the hidden down of Desolation and thinks he’s found salvation until his bad luck once again catches up with him. Nora Schumacher is trying to get her drunk father into her wagon in the center of town when she stumbles into Adam and a heated argument between them suddenly leaves them married—sort of. Now Adam has his oldest enemy (sort of) wanting him out of his town and a woman wanting him to agree to make their marriage legal, but all he wants his peace. But as he tries to meet the cockamamie requirements to stay in town without having to marry Nora (fully), spending time with the amazing and sensual woman soon leads Adam to wonder if he might be able to make a different choice with his life. But when strife catches up with him and places the woman he has come to love and the friends he’s made in danger, he knows what he has to do, even if it will kill him to leave his new home. Nora’s character was the best mix of vulnerability and strength, a truly great woman that has made her own way in a world where men rule and I loved seeing her battling and bantering with Adam. There was no question that she was full of sass and her determination to succeed without having to rely on anyone else, sometimes to her own detriment, was overwhelming at times, but she was also sweet and soft when she was showing emotion. I loved seeing her let down her walls with Adam and finally offering him the opportunity to be there for her when she’s been let down by every other man in her life. Adam was, well let’s face it he was a nuisance through most of the story, but he has a good heart, works hard for what he wants, and cares for those that offer him a chance to be a better man. I liked seeing him battling himself as Nora came to mean more and more to him and once he gave into his feelings the love he offered her was undeniable and endless. These two were the definition of sparky, one minute throwing insults and fighting and the next passionately embracing, and I loved experiencing every moment of that hunger. I am looking forward to what comes next in the series, maybe Preacher will get a story and a woman will knock him out of his boots next, but whatever it is I know it’ll be hilarious, heart-wrenching, and filled with love. A great romantic western with plenty of attitude and drama, thank Michelle for the experience.