Featuring a gun-toting criminal, a feisty female writer of dime novels, and a handsome blacksmith, Dawn Comes Early, by Margaret Brownley, delivers a wild west Christian fiction romance sure to please. When Kate Tenney answers an ad to work on the Last Chance ranch, little does she know that she will meet characters that even her fiction-writing mind could not create. Cactus Joe is a genuine outlaw with a penchant for writing his own life story. Lula-Belle and Bessie are the meddlesome aunts who cook fried chicken as well as they try to find a wife for their nephew Luke. Miss Walker, the owner of Last Chance Ranch, is a feminist far before her time; her contract for her successor forbids marriage.
Brownley takes the reader, along with these colorful characters, through many twists and turns as heroine Kate battles the western elements and her own heart. If she falls in love and marries, she loses the ranch. But the handsome Luke Adams makes that decision very difficult. Kate must deal with this dilemma which is complicated by her own memories of an unhappy childhood and a neglectful mother.
Bromley’s descriptive writing makes the scene come alive. You can hear the horses’ hooves and smell the dust. You remember the lively characters long after the last page is turned. The action is fast-paced and suspenseful.
Cowboy Ruckus is a spiritual influence as he quotes Bible verses and leads the crew in daily prayer. Otherwise, there is not a strong evangelical emphasis. Overall, this story has comedy, romance and a lively plot set in the old west. A great read, it provides pleasurable reading and many smiles.
I received a complimentary e-book from the publisher to review. I was not required to write a positive review and the comments above are my own.
