I received this book for free from Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Gunslinger's Vow by Amy Sandas Also in this series: The Cowboy's Honor , The Outlaw's Heart
Series: Runaway Brides #1
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on June 5 2018
Genres: Historical Romance, American West
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Three runaway brides
Determined to escape their fates
Flee West to find freedom that can only be had
in a cowboy's arms...Alexandra Brighton has spent the last five years in Boston, with all evidence of the wild frontier girl she used to be erased. Before she settles down, she's determined to visit her childhood home. When she finds herself far from her destination, she has no choice but to have the rugged Malcolm Kincaid escort her to Montana.
Now that Malcolm finally has the name and location of the man who killed his brother, he has no interest in protecting a pampered Eastern lady. But something about her tells him he just can't leave her behind. And by the time they reach Montana, Malcolm must decide if seeing justice done for past wrongs is worth losing a future with a woman he never expected to need.
*May Contain Spoilers*
Gunslinger’s Vow is the first book in Amy Sandas’ new series “Runaway Brides” and boy was I surprised to see that she ventured out from regency romance and to historical westerns…because I rarely see that happen anymore. And for those fans of westerns…I can tell you right now she CONQUERED this genre….I never felt like anything was missing or that there was a lack of research, it flowed so smoothly and I was fascinated with this “on the road adventure” trope she ventured out with.
Our delicious tale begins with our heroine, Alexandra Brighton. Alexandra grew up being raised in Montana, and traveling the wild west with her father. But when she was fifteen, an event occurred that terrified her and pushed her father to send her to Boston to live with her aunt. And now its been five years, and Alexandra has changed into a woman she barely recognizes anymore. When she finds herself engaged to a man that she barely knows, she can’t continue with the facade anymore. So she leaves everything in Boston, to go find her father in Montana.
She didn’t want to just survive anymore. She wanted to live. To take risks and be free.
Malcolm Kincaid, is on the hunt for his brother’s murderer. He has been hunting for them for eight long years, and he is down to one man left, who has evaded his searches but now he has a clue onto his whereabouts and nothing and no one will stop him from having his revenge. What Malcolm doesn’t count on is a determined young woman who makes him wish for more than he can have.Alexandra’s stagecoach, breaks down and she finds herself stranded in Wyoming with no funds and no people she knows. She is told of a bounty hunter who is traveling to Montana and could help her out. So she enters the saloon of Rock Springs, and finds herself in a more dangerous situation that she ever planned on. She finds Malcolm, and he has no desire to help her out, and even though she senses how dangerous he could be, she knows he would be the best man for the job and she refuses to give up. But then she receives another offer and soon she finds out how dangerous and manipulative people can be and finds herself in the wilderness….alone with nothing but the clothes on her back. But then she stumbles across Malcolm and his fire and somehow convinces him to allow her to travel with him.
Her steps faltered. What kind of stupid sheep walked right up to the alpha wolf? Appearently…this one did.
Malcolm has no idea how this woman has convinced him….a bad boy bounty hunter, to let her travel with him. But Malcolm does have a sense of honor and it doesn’t allow him to let an innocent woman to be stranded in the middle of no where. As they travel to Montana together, the danger increases to them, and Malcolm’s enemies are hunting him just as he is hunting them. But what he doesn’t expect is that the woman he is supposed to be protecting is just as capable as he is and doesn’t back down from a fight and has more courage and spirit than you would expect from a Boston woman. Will the road that Malcolm and Alexandra are on lead them in unexpected way including….love?
Right now…I need you more than life itself.
This story was packed with so much fantastic goodness that I couldn’t help but be swept away in this romance…and man I LOVED everything about this book. The characters…the setting….the romance, this blew my mind in ways I didn’t expect. This is one of those books that you can stay up late reading, because I know I stayed up way too late reading this one here and boy I just went through this story SO QUICKLY…I didn’t expect that. I have really enjoyed reading Amy Sandas over the past few years, however, this was the first time I was so engaged that I couldn’t put it down. I feel like this is one of her best works and its a WESTERN…so this makes my heart happy in more ways that just one.
The characters in this book are phenomenal, there is so much depth to them and I loved seeing the hidden qualities that we don’t see at first. With each new adventure, we get a new layer of their personalities revealed. The heroine especially, I feel, is the center of this story. She goes through so much here and she is on a quest of finding herself, of reconnecting with her past and seeing what she is made of. We do see her deal with a past trauma, of defending herself and how that has haunted her. We see her courage and strength and man she can KICK BOOTY y’all. She is just wonderful, and anyone that can fight off a mountain lion with just a stick and attitude goes up a notch?
The only thing that mattered was this man. This harsh and competent man with his unwavering strength and rugged nobility, and his own silent pain. This man who admitted to a lack of tenderness even as he made her feel more cherished and safe than she’d felt in a long time.
The hero is wonderful, but we don’t see quite as much of him as I would have liked. We see a strong man, that is just surviving on his vengeance and nothing else and discovers that there is more to life than just surviving and Alexandra teaches him about the “more” that you can live for and that its worth fighting for. Malcolm and Alexandra make such a great fighting team, they are both good people who have lost their way and finding themselves along the way of finding each other. The hero is really closes off at times, but there is chemistry and true emotion that builds gradually and we see this slow burn romance take a fiery turn in such a delicious way.
He had every intention of giving her more. Until she was limp and exhausted and so damned satisfied she’d sleep through the morning and awake with memories of love burned so deep in her soul she’d never forget him. Because he’d never forget her. Not for the rest of his life…however long that proved to be.
Overall I found A Gunslinger’s Vow to be a story that sweeps you off your feet in adventure, fighting for your life and finding love in the most unexpected ways. A tale of redemption, healing and discovery and most of all LOVE!! A ROMANTIC TALE TO WIN YOUR HEART!!
Home is wherever we are, Malcolm. Our future together is as wide open as the Montana sky.
About Amy Sandas
Amy writes historical romance about dashing, and sometimes dangerous, men who know just how to get what they want and women who at times may be reckless, bold, and unconventional, but who always have the courage to embrace all that life and love have to offer.
Amy grew up in a small dairy town in northern Wisconsin and after earning a Liberal Arts degree from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, she eventually made her way back to Wisconsin (though to a slightly larger town) and lives there with her husband, three children and a black lab. She spends her early mornings writing then heads to her “other” job, dreaming of the day she can write full-time. The rest of her time is spent trying to keep up with the kids and squeeze in some stolen moments with her husband.
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