Saturday, October 29, 2016

No Way Up by Mary Connealy....There's No Way You Won't Finish it!

Mary Connealy's latest adventure No Way Up (The Cimarron Legacy Book 1) takes you back to the 1880's New Mexican Territory where there's avalanches, new wills are read, lives changed, and danger threatens the owners of the Cimarron Ranch (CR).

Hired-hand Heath Kincaid's quick thinking rescued his boss Cimarron Ranch patriarch Chance Boden from an avalanche. Prior to boarding a train for Denver to save his leg (and his life) Chance demands that Heath read his new will to his 3 adult children and insists that it is to be enforced immediately.

 The new will states that Cole, Justin, and Sadie Boden are to all live and work at the CR for 1 year or the ranch will pass to a detested distant cousin. Both Cole and Sadie have moved into town away from the ranch. Cole successfully runs his father's mining business and Sadie works at the orphanage in town and feels that she has found her calling and purpose in life. Justin is the only Boden sibling who lives and works on the CR. A characteristic that all the Boden siblings share is stubbornness. But it was great to see how they came together despite their squabbling and differences to save their family's legacy.

I liked hero Heath Kincaid from the get-go. He is loyal to the Boden family, a man of action, equally stubborn as the Boden clan, and he's got a lot of gumption. Not only does he rescue Chance, but the family as well a few times throughout the story.

Heroine Sadie Boden can hold her own. She is the type of heroine that readers have come to expect and love from this author. Ms. Connealy manages to strike the perfect balance when it comes to her heroines. Most often, they are sassy and tough-as-nails, but they always maintain their femininity.

And of course it wouldn't be a Connealy Western without her romantic and sigh-worthy kisses between the hero and heroine.
"Heath's head dipped, and his lips met hers. A kiss. Her first kiss. It was perfect.
Lips slanted across her mouth. He raised the hands they'd joined until he laid hers on his shoulder. Then he let go and slid one arm around her waist. So gently, so mindful of where they were. But just as surely lost in the kiss as she was." (Connealy, 123-124).

Ms.Connealy maintains her fun, adventurous, Wild West storytelling that she's known for in No Way Up. The ending is gratifying, yet leaves it open-ended for more stories. I'm hoping that the Boden brothers, Cole and Justin will get their own stories because I'd love to re-visit the Cimarron Ranch.

I've been reading Mary Connealy's books for several years now and a unique attribute that I noticed is that her books and series always seem to be interconnected through her characters. She does this really well...it's seems effortlessly and seamlessly done, but I'm sure takes a lot of planning and thought.  Hero Heath Kincaid is the youngest brother of Rafe, Ethan, and Seth from her Kincaid Bride series (Out of Control, In Too Deep, and Over the Edge).



If romantic comedies about cowboys tickles your funny bone look no further than Mary Connealy's novels because this genre is her specialty.

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