About book Two Brothers: The Lawman / The Gunslinger (2001)
Ok, so I finished with the Lawman. It was cute and I liked how the prologue tied together the history of both Shay and Tristan. I think I may have liked Tristan just a smidge better but there was something about Shay that you just wanted to hug. Like the Shay says - people either liked him or didn't. I liked him, I admit. Aislinn - the love interest is not bad, she's a bit too soft and innocent for me but by the end of the book she really comes into her own. It threw me for a loop for a whole of eighteen seconds, the difference in Aislinn and Shay's ages but then I realized the time period it's supposed to be in and Aislinn's character seems much older than she appears.Anyway, good romance if a smidge rushed, but still a good one to curl up with.The Outlaw update coming soon. The Outlaw This one was a little more visceral and more of a cowboy tale than the first but if I thought the first story was rushed then hoo doggy! This one was even more so. I think this was more of a short story than an actual novel length piece - I'm not just talking about sheer length I'm talking about the rushed plots, the rushed romance and the lack of character divulging of Tristan in particular. He still remains a mystery at the end of the day. I like Emily and I like Tristan - hell I even like them together and I can buy it, but for one thing, I thought the seduction would take a heck of a lot longer :). I was hoping Emily would be a little more assertive and forceful like she was with her sheep and the confrontation at the shed.Anyway, it was still a good story to curl up to just wish it had been a little longer.
The prologue would have been an interesting story in itself as Mattie Killigrew wrote in her journal of her marriage and cross country move with her new husband into uncharted territory by wagon train.The trip was gruesome for a very pregnant young woman. The day of her last entry in her journal was the day her husband was killed by indians and the very same night she went into labor giving birth to twin boys. Realizing that she would soon be joining her husband, she gave one son, Shamus, to a couple within the wagontrain headed to California and his twin, Tristan, was given to a family bound for Oregon.The story of how the brothers reconnected was a sweet read of western romance and I liked it!
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In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a huge Linda Lael Miller fan-girl and I love her work. Two Brothers is two novellas about, well, two brothers. Per usual, her characterizations are strong and their motivations are logical and clear. The reason I didn’t score this title higher was because both stories felt a little flat to me. Miller’s work normally has a sense of joy or humor and it was missing for me. Even with that said, Two Brothers is a solid read though I’d recommend either the Creed or McKettrick series for great examples of her work. ~ Ana, www.ireadromance.com
—Ana
