“Then
stay. Stay and learn to dream again.”
Located
in Wyoming, 1887, ‘The Devils Own Desperado’ is a historical romance novel. The
story starts right in the action, where a troubled gunman named Colt Evans is
shot by the younger brother of one of his past victims. Injured with a bullet
wound to the shoulder, Colt takes off on horseback headed in no particular
direction but away. Away from his latest victim, who was just a fifteen year
old kid. Away from the rest of the Matthews Clan who would most certainly be
gunning for him now. Away from his past that would keep him looking over his
shoulder & never allow him to sit with his back to the door. Because
unfortunately for the (now up to two) Matthews brothers, when you draw on Colt
Evans you die. Half dead and unconscious Colt travels a few towns over, and
finds himself in the house of a young woman named Amelia. Amelia lives with her
younger brother and sister, Saul and Jenny, raising the two as if they were her
own, since their parents had been robbed and shot to death almost a year prior.
To say that she has a problem with guns is an understatement. But with little
to no questions asked, Amelia opened her home to help the wounded man. Along with
calling for a doctor, she nursed him back to health herself. However, immediately
the personalities of both Amelia and Colt clashed. They’re both stubborn as
hell and hardened by the harsh ways in which they were forced to grow up fast.
Colt had a rough childhood with an awful stepfather who threw him out at the
young age of thirteen, leading him to pick up a gun and become very good at
using it in order to survive. Amelia from raising two children, her brother who
is nearly a teenage boy, and her seven year old sister, who hadn’t spoke since personally
witnessing the murder of her parents.
But in a matter of a couple days Colt &
Amelia warm up to each other, the kids adore him from the start, and eventually
they all fall completely head over heels for one another. Colt finally has the
opportunity to have a family. His dreams come true. But the nightmare that
comes with his past ends up being too much. And when his past hunts him down,
in the form of the remaining members of the Matthews clan, it’s time to face
what he’s dreaded: His past finally ending him, as soon as he began to dream
again.
As
stubborn and frustrating Colt Evans was, it’s hard to not find him endearing. When
the doctor is trying to help him, Colt goes as far as pointing a gun at them
man and threatening him. The doctor’s
reaction was too casual, considering he had a gun pointed to his face. He should have at least warned Colt that he’d
let him die if he pointed a gun at him again. Thankfully, as the story
progresses, Colt improves his attitude toward people and how he speaks to them.
For such a hardened exterior, he’s very sensitive, almost overly. The younger
brother Saul looks up to him, to a fault, and he handled the kid looking to him
as an idol appropriately. The last thing Colt would want is another kid,
especially the younger brother of the woman he loves, picking up a gun and
dealing with the repercussions that come with using it.
The
youngest sister, Jenny, opens up to Colt from the moment she lays eyes on him,
which was a bit premature considering all she’s been through. But their
relationship will melt your heart.
Amelia
is a tough young woman with a lot of her plate, but she handles her
responsibilities with an impeccable amount of grace. The way she stands up for herself
and what she believes in is admirable. Sure, she has her bad days and can be a little
on edge, but who wouldn’t be? But when Colt gets better, and starts helping out
around the house, with chores & the kids, it’s obvious that she needs help.
She needs a husband, a man to help raise Jenny and especially Saul, who was
about to be a young man himself. She didn’t know the love like she felt for him
existed, that a man like him existed, but now that she did it would change her
forever. There would never be another man for her and she ached for him to stay
and be hers. To be theirs.
The love
story and all of the elements that went in to the relationship was beautiful.
Not only was there a love story between Colt & Amelia, but the whole family
fell in love with Colt & each other. There could have been more action, and
the storyline was a bit slow at times, but overall it was a great read. The
author did a fantastic job of capturing the time period. From the reaction of
the town & all of their gossiping about an unwed young woman harboring a
gunman with an over exaggerated reputation, to the way people conversed with
one another and handled things, I felt like I was in an old western movie!
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