Grade B+
Marry Me is the second book in Jo Goodman's Reidsville series. Cole Monroe finds himself accepting a position as town doctor for Reidsville, Colorado after his younger, mischievous sister sends the town his impressive resume. One of his first goals as the new doctor is to see all the patients in the town and that includes the recluses who live in the nearby mountains. Cole is escorted by the local deputy, Will that no account Betty boy to the Abbott's cabin in the woods. When he gets there he finds Runt Abbott in a very bad way. He stays to take care of her and then eventually offers her a position as housekeeper in his home.
Marry Me starts off at a very brisk pace with Dr. Monroe saving Runt or Rhyne Abbotts life. I felt like the author started at the ending of the story and then slowly back tracked to allow the readers to figure out why Rhyne was in the situation she was in at the beginning of the story. This type of writing has the ability to just suck me right into the story and is one of the reason's I just love Jo Goodman. Not to mention that her characters are always fully fleshed out. In the case of Marry Me the situation was very unique and unusual.
Most of the book revolves around Rhyne and Cole, although Rhyne and her back story is the main focus. There are some secondary characters. I think Whitney, Cole's sister stands out the most to me. At sixteen she is a breath of fresh air. Most people think she has a strange way about her. I found her to be refreshing and her vibrancy was not annoying at all. She balanced Cole's staid personality very well. I wonder if she will get her own story down the road.
One little quirk in the book that sort of irritated me was that Will's character was always referred to as "that no account Betty boy". After a while that got old. Essentially, throughout the whole book he was ALWAYS referred to that way. But really, that aside, a Jo Goodman book is always a treat and Marry Me is no exception.
Marry Me is the second book in Jo Goodman's Reidsville series. Cole Monroe finds himself accepting a position as town doctor for Reidsville, Colorado after his younger, mischievous sister sends the town his impressive resume. One of his first goals as the new doctor is to see all the patients in the town and that includes the recluses who live in the nearby mountains. Cole is escorted by the local deputy, Will that no account Betty boy to the Abbott's cabin in the woods. When he gets there he finds Runt Abbott in a very bad way. He stays to take care of her and then eventually offers her a position as housekeeper in his home.
Marry Me starts off at a very brisk pace with Dr. Monroe saving Runt or Rhyne Abbotts life. I felt like the author started at the ending of the story and then slowly back tracked to allow the readers to figure out why Rhyne was in the situation she was in at the beginning of the story. This type of writing has the ability to just suck me right into the story and is one of the reason's I just love Jo Goodman. Not to mention that her characters are always fully fleshed out. In the case of Marry Me the situation was very unique and unusual.
Most of the book revolves around Rhyne and Cole, although Rhyne and her back story is the main focus. There are some secondary characters. I think Whitney, Cole's sister stands out the most to me. At sixteen she is a breath of fresh air. Most people think she has a strange way about her. I found her to be refreshing and her vibrancy was not annoying at all. She balanced Cole's staid personality very well. I wonder if she will get her own story down the road.
One little quirk in the book that sort of irritated me was that Will's character was always referred to as "that no account Betty boy". After a while that got old. Essentially, throughout the whole book he was ALWAYS referred to that way. But really, that aside, a Jo Goodman book is always a treat and Marry Me is no exception.
I can't take it anymore! Let me preface this review by saying 1. I never write a review for a book I haven't finished (and generally have a complex about "being a quitter" so ill muddle through- just to get it over with if it's not a great book) 2. Although I am college educated, I overuse punctuation and many times rely on auto-correct the way people of my generation often do. However, I think when you WRITE A BOOK you should be grammatically correct and string sentences together intelligently! I cannot finish this book....I will commit to updating this review after sleeping on it, if I decide to give it another try.
I am ashamed to admit that I am only on page 54 and just can't stand it. Sentences are long, run on and lack commas & punctuation, forcing me to reread the same passages after inserting a mental comma when it doesn't make sense. Paragraphs are overly wordy and honestly I couldn't understand any of the conversation that took place as they were traveling up this mountain. And no, it wasn't because of the time period...I knew what a "litter" was before they described it and I favor historical romances set in this time period...usually set in England though.
The repetitive descriptions/wording are also incredibly annoying and I don't understand the authors use of then. Will is referred to as a "no-account Beatty boy" so many times I wanted to scream...we get it! Actually I think I'm going to use the kindle search to check just how many.....
I'm really sorry that I am issuing such a bad review after not giving it a full chance, so to speak. However this book was highly recommended, and I thoroughly enjoy reading....but that doesn't mean I have tons of time to do it. I don't want others wasting time and money if the things I mentioned will bother you too. If you don't mind it, give it a try....it's received other great reviews..(were they paid? Lol..just kidding).
PS...39 " no account Beaty boy's" in the book, 39!!...8 in the first 53 pages....really?! He has a freaking name...and we get it...
UPDATE: 4 days later....
Ok, so I managed to muddle through the rest and stand behind my two stars. While I give the author credit for a story that is very creative and a different story line than any other book I've read (props for originality) I still can't get over the way this book is written-to the point it makes it unenjoyable.
Aside from the issues listed above, the author also writes many passages in two different characters voices that can make conversations hard to follow. For example and along the lines of:
"Did you ever ask her", she said
"I didn't have to"', he replied
"It was the same as you knew about me?" . His eyes narrowed. "Yes it was the same.". Rhyne nodded slowly. " Did you see me coming down the ridge?".
I guess all in all the story wasn't good enough to make me overlook these things and want me to be vested in the book. Cole and Rhynes love story was lacking as well which is a huge con for a romance novel. Even the epilogue is weirdly anticlimactic. Given the potential this book had in terms of storyline and the length of the book which allowed for a lot of development and progression, I thought that it fell flat and was not a keeper.
I am ashamed to admit that I am only on page 54 and just can't stand it. Sentences are long, run on and lack commas & punctuation, forcing me to reread the same passages after inserting a mental comma when it doesn't make sense. Paragraphs are overly wordy and honestly I couldn't understand any of the conversation that took place as they were traveling up this mountain. And no, it wasn't because of the time period...I knew what a "litter" was before they described it and I favor historical romances set in this time period...usually set in England though.
The repetitive descriptions/wording are also incredibly annoying and I don't understand the authors use of then. Will is referred to as a "no-account Beatty boy" so many times I wanted to scream...we get it! Actually I think I'm going to use the kindle search to check just how many.....
I'm really sorry that I am issuing such a bad review after not giving it a full chance, so to speak. However this book was highly recommended, and I thoroughly enjoy reading....but that doesn't mean I have tons of time to do it. I don't want others wasting time and money if the things I mentioned will bother you too. If you don't mind it, give it a try....it's received other great reviews..(were they paid? Lol..just kidding).
PS...39 " no account Beaty boy's" in the book, 39!!...8 in the first 53 pages....really?! He has a freaking name...and we get it...
UPDATE: 4 days later....
Ok, so I managed to muddle through the rest and stand behind my two stars. While I give the author credit for a story that is very creative and a different story line than any other book I've read (props for originality) I still can't get over the way this book is written-to the point it makes it unenjoyable.
Aside from the issues listed above, the author also writes many passages in two different characters voices that can make conversations hard to follow. For example and along the lines of:
"Did you ever ask her", she said
"I didn't have to"', he replied
"It was the same as you knew about me?" . His eyes narrowed. "Yes it was the same.". Rhyne nodded slowly. " Did you see me coming down the ridge?".
I guess all in all the story wasn't good enough to make me overlook these things and want me to be vested in the book. Cole and Rhynes love story was lacking as well which is a huge con for a romance novel. Even the epilogue is weirdly anticlimactic. Given the potential this book had in terms of storyline and the length of the book which allowed for a lot of development and progression, I thought that it fell flat and was not a keeper.
I read this book when it first came out but didn't recognize it from the back description. I'm reading it again. Rhyne has been raised by a self-serving arrogant father, Judah, who has led everyone to believe she was a third son. You'll have to read the book to find out why. We enter the story where a new doctor has arrived in town and is making his rounds and Rhyne's place is where we're coming up to. The deputy, That no-account Beaty boy, Will, is with Dr. Cole Monroe and has given Cole a rather colorful picture of who Judah is. During the course of the visit Cole is in the house w/Judah doing his examination and Will has gone looking for Ryan(Rhyne). Will finds her but doesn't think she looks so good. They converse a bit then Will starts back toward the cabin, hears a weird noise behind him and looks back and sees Rhyne on the ground, all curled up, holding her private area and lots of blood in that area. Remember Will thinks she is a he. He goes to assist her and she refuses so he shoots the gun twice to get the doc's attention but Judah told Cole it was target practice so when doc doesn't come Will goes after him. It just so happens that Judah has beaten Rhynes abdomin with his cane and she is miscarrying. I won't tell you who got her pregnant except that it wasn't her father, and I shouldn't tell you any more of the story but I will tell you that Cole does take Rhyne home with him eventually and of course as the book jacket says they fall in love and we all know where that goes. Its a really good book and it keeps moving all the way through it. Lots of interesting knowledge is given during the story. Cole left NY, NY because he wasn't happy there. Cole is interested in research and wasn't allowed to follow it in NY,NY. He does some here. An epidemic breaks out and he finds out what it is and who caused it. This book is a sequel to another one Jo Goodman wrote about a miner lady who inherits this same town and marries the sheriff. Also a good book. Never Love a Lawman. Reidsville is the town name. Hope this helps you. Ms. Goodman is a good author. She also writes a two book combo about a female pirate and I really love that story. This one was formerly named "The Captain's Lady" and when reprinted it was renamed "Passion's Bride". Don't know the name of the sequel. Hope you enjoy her books. I like most all of them.
The best part of this book is the fact that it has the same characters as the first story, NEVER LOVE A LAWMAN. However, this wasnt nearly as strong a story as the first.
Dr. Cole Monroe is going no place in his current position in New York; Whitney, his sister, realizes this and decides to do something about it. She manages to find Cole a new job as Reidsville, Colorados town doctor.
One of Coles first jobs is to meet all of the outliers folks who live away from town but who may need a doctors attention. Many of those folks who live out of town do so for a reason; they tend to shoot first and worry about the consequences later or not at all.
Fortunately for Cole, that no-account Beaty boy, Will, accompanies the doctor. Cole has no reason to realize that his visit to Judah Abbott will change his life but it does.
It seemed a bit odd how well Ryan fit in the doctors household with her background. I wont say any more about this point, but felt it weakened the story for me. Ryan simply didnt have enough experience or role models to be assured of her role and yet she was.
Dont get me wrong, it is a story that kept me busy turning the pages and Im glad I read the book. 4 stars
Reidsville
1) Never Love a Lawman (2009)
2) Marry Me (2010)
Dr. Cole Monroe is going no place in his current position in New York; Whitney, his sister, realizes this and decides to do something about it. She manages to find Cole a new job as Reidsville, Colorados town doctor.
One of Coles first jobs is to meet all of the outliers folks who live away from town but who may need a doctors attention. Many of those folks who live out of town do so for a reason; they tend to shoot first and worry about the consequences later or not at all.
Fortunately for Cole, that no-account Beaty boy, Will, accompanies the doctor. Cole has no reason to realize that his visit to Judah Abbott will change his life but it does.
It seemed a bit odd how well Ryan fit in the doctors household with her background. I wont say any more about this point, but felt it weakened the story for me. Ryan simply didnt have enough experience or role models to be assured of her role and yet she was.
Dont get me wrong, it is a story that kept me busy turning the pages and Im glad I read the book. 4 stars
Reidsville
1) Never Love a Lawman (2009)
2) Marry Me (2010)
