Give Me a Texas Outlaw Anthology
Western
July 1, 2011
Paperback
Zebra

Reviewed by May

Howdy y’all. I’m going to take a stroll down through the wild west with you today and this collection of ye olde Texas themed novellas. There are three things all four stories have in common:

* The “outlaws” featured in these stories might have done something a bit bad in their past, or there is a misunderstanding… but they’re not bad boys or girls.
* All stories are in Texas, are filled with leather and horses and dusty outdoor time and have distinctly western flair. The years the stories take place range from 1852 – 1889.
* There is no sex. Sometimes there is reference, you might see a cowboy steal a kiss or brush against a breast accidentally on purpose… that’s about it.

I will briefly review each one, in order that they appear in the book.

THE OUTLAW by Jodi Thomas

Michael watched her closely. “The truth never crosses your shadow, does it?”
“Not often. My mother used to say life is far more interesting when looked at from a different angle.”
“Well if we do this I’d like your word that you’ll play no games with me. No lies between us from here on out. We’ll be honest with each other for the few days the marriage lasts.”
“Outlaw honor?”

The outlaw Michael in this story stumbles across a bride to be in church on a ranch his uncles are there to rob. They’re bumbling idiots (the uncles) and get caught instantly, meanwhile Cozette talks him into being her groom so that she doesn’t lose her family ranch to her horrible uncle, as her dying father is leaving the ranch to Cozette’s husband instead of her… and she’s already made up tall tales about her husband-to-be that doesn’t actually exist.

Not only did I find the sexual content so badly written and vague that I wasn’t sure if we were still in sexy time or had moved on, but I had serious problems with this heroine. She’s a liar and she acts like a little kid. Ok, maybe she got the raw end of the deal with the guy that compromised her, but she is the one that weaves the intricate web of lies around herself and everything she does. Not only that, but she seems to have no spine, spunk, or real personality. This was by far the weakest story in the novel.

Rating: C-

TROUBLE IN PETTICOATS by Linda Broday

“Diamond, you’re more prickly than a horned toad on a hot rock.”

Our heroine walks into her father’s office to find a man claiming to be a lawyer – who is clearly a – wait for it – outlaw! With his Colt strapped to his thigh she just knows Johnny Diamond isn’t what he claims to be. She soon finds herself riding across the dry Texas land to a border town in the hopes of saving her little sister who’s been kidnapped by her father’s enemies.

This one was so full of western clichés, and yet it was pretty entertaining. I really liked that the heroine had some personality and knew how to handle both a gun and ride a horse, and that they spent about a week together riding and getting to know each other during the story. The author did a good job painting the dry sand filled landscape and really had me right there in Texas with her characters as they save the little girl and ride into the HEA sunset.

Rating: B-

TEXAS FLAME by Phyliss Miranda

“When bulls fly, Dimples.” She glared at him, then said, “But knowing you, you could probably convince a bull to try.”

Ethan Kimble is a Texas ranger who has finally tracked down Savannah Parker, and he intends to return her to her father asap. Why? Well she’s been running around robbing banks with a vicious gang (starting with her father’s!)  and his job is to get her back to her family, and hopefully all can be explained and she’s not really randomly decided to become an outlaw.

This novella managed to have a lot of twists, beautiful scenery, and believable misunderstandings that lead these two towards their happily ever after. I really liked how the heroine didn’t see herself as a victim, but rather a survivor. I also appreciated that the hero Ethan didn’t do a lot of “I’m the law..” posturing or over aggressive moves. He was a gentleman, a lovely Texas gentleman.

My biggest disappointment in this story is that it ended, and when I went to look for works by this author all I’m finding are similar anthologies. If this author ventures out and writes a full length novel in the future, you can bet I’ll be picking it up!

Rating: A

MOST WANTED by DeWanna Pace

“the image of you drunk and shooting at anything ought to have sent everyone in the vicinity running for cover.”

She sighed heavily. “Actually, it did.”

Woman on the run Odessa Kilmore is trying to get back to her hometown so she can clear her name – not that it was a good one to start with. With a mama who is the madam of the local brothel she’s no stranger to being treated poorly. Shadow Rivers is a hired gun who is working on retirement – but apparently he’s not done just yet. When Odessa shows up and wants to hire him he goes for it.

This story was almost great. The names alone were groan worthy, but I did like the writing. The characters were interesting and the plot moved quickly. The problem was, it just didn’t deliver. Heat, reason other than close proximity for falling in love… I didn’t buy any of the true love relationship here. It was still a good story and strong ending to this collection of stories.

Rating: B

**

Looking back in review at this collection, it is not nearly the hot, action packed, desire filled book filled with outlaw bad boys that the cover and blurbs makes it seem like. Instead what we have is a collection of more tender hearted stories, filled with struggle and finding one’s place in a time when nothing was certain, conditions rough, and knowledge of riding a horse a necessity. I am very happy that nobody in the book was portrayed like the yahoo on the cover all decked out as if he’s going to a honky tonk. Instead, I enjoyed my time in this portrayal of the (mild) west.

Overall book grade: B

Recent Reviews:
Goodreads

Amazon l Kindle l Nook l Sony