On My Kindle ~ Stuck Together by Mary Connealy

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When a lawman who values order gets stuck with a feisty crusader who likes to stir things up, there's going to be trouble in Texas! 

Tina Cahill, newly arrived from the East, is determined to get the saloon in Broken Wheel, Texas, closed for good. To that end, she pickets outside the place every afternoon. Unfortunately, so far no one has paid any attention.

Vince Yates earned the nickname "Invincible Vince" because of his reputation for letting absolutely nothing stop him. Not his tyrant of a father. Nor the injuries he suffered in the Civil War. Nor the fact that he is Broken Wheel's only attorney and sheriff yet has no law degree.

But Vince is about to face his biggest challenge yet: his past has just caught up with him. His father, mother, and the sister he didn't know he had show up in Broken Wheel without warning. His father is still a schemer. His mother is suffering signs of dementia. And his surprise sister immediately falls for one of Vince's best friends. Vince has a lot of people to take care of, and Tina doesn't approve of how he's handling any of them. But with almost all the other men in town married off, Vince finds himself stuck with feisty Tina over and over again. Of course, Tina is the prettiest woman he's ever seen, so if he could just get her to give up her causes, he might go ahead and propose. But he's got one more surprise coming his way: Tina's picketing at the saloon has revealed a dark secret that could put everyone Vince loves in danger.

Sharing my thoughts~

There are only a handful of historical authors whose books I automatically snatch up, and Connealy, queen of romantic comedy with cowboys, is one of them. She had me chuckling from the very first scene, a wild saloon brawl instigated by the heroine. Tina, a woman who's been abandoned for most of her life, is always thinking of causes to fight for, and she's determined to shut down the saloon by picketing. As much as she annoys Vince, a self-acclaimed lawyer and a not-wannabe town-appointed sheriff, he can't help but appreciate her spunkiness. 

Broken Wheel was a north Texas town set smack-dab in the middle of Indian Territory. Only idiots lived here, and idiots rarely needed a lawyer. Vince figured it was only fair to count himself and all of his friends among the idiots.

Vince hightailed it away from his childhood home after he healed from the war, escaping a mother with dementia and a tyrant father. But that doesn't last long and Invincible Vince finds himself caretaker for his mother and a sister he never knew existed. As much as he might enjoy a lasting relationship with Tina, Vince recognizes that it's only a matter of time before it becomes apparent which parent he'll take after, and he refuses to pass either of those genes down to a child or to saddle his wife with a tyrant or a man who can't remember her name. For me, how and when Vince finally resolves this issue seemed hasty and a bit rushed. But then, he was tracking down a...well, I won't spoil your reading pleasure. :)

We met Vince and Tina in the second book in the Trouble in Texas series, Fired Up, where the fireworks were already sparking between these two. You can read my review here. All of the Trouble in Texas books can be read as stand alones, but really, why not scoop them up and settle in for a few laughs? With subtle spiritual references, both mainstream and inspirational romance lovers will enjoy Stuck Together.

Disclaimer: Sending a big thank you to Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reviewing Stuck Together and for the free copy I received in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. This opinion is my own, and I received no compensation.