Out of the Embers

Author: Amanda Cabot

Series: Mesquite Springs #1

Publisher: Revell

Release Date: March 3, 2020

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

New series, same beautiful hill country!

Every time Evelynn Radcliffe returns to the town where her parents were murdered, she always feels that she is being watched. It’s been 10 years since the awful day she was left an orphan. Although many people have left the orphanage she was placed at, she never did. Another young girl named Polly accompanied her today and when they returned, they found the orphanage, and all who were in it, burned to the ground. Wanting to put as much distance between herself and this place, Evelynn and Polly strike out to find a new place to live. They get caught up in a storm outside the town of Mesquite Springs in the Texas hill country where they meet local horse rancher, Wyatt Clark.

Wyatt has aspirations of leaving Mesquite Springs to see the world, or at least the country. Ever since his father was killed by Comanches, Wyatt has felt it was his responsibility to keep the ranch going. With a bit of luck, he has mange to produce a sought-after breed of quarter horses that folks like to use for racing and the Texas Rangers like using for mounts. He has no plans to have a family beyond his mother and sister. When he stumbles on Evelynn and Polly that night in the storm, they become quite the distraction, maybe just the distraction he needs in his life.

I’m a born and raised Texan, so when I get the opportunity to read books set in the beautiful Texas hill country, I jump on it. Amanda Cabot has never ceased to whet my appetite for Texas scenery in her stories. Being transported to the town of Mesquite Springs helped me distract myself from everything going on in the world today. I’m not usually big on historical romances or even western type fiction, but her books always keep me a happy reader. I enjoyed getting to meet the new characters in this setting. Evelynn and Wyatt were both damaged by the loss of one or both parents but had pushed on with their lives. They each had a hole to fill in their lives that they thought could be filled by something else when it turned out to be each other. Sam was easily unlikable from the first time that I met him. His environment growing up obviously fostered this issue, but it kept getting worse. I’m sure we will see him again, probably in the third book, but we will have to wait and see.

If you are a fan of the Texas hill country or historical romances, grab a copy of this book to get your mind in the right place!

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.