Poor Lucas Garrett! So many women; so little time. All the other adult men have gone West seeking gold and Lucas is the only man left in a town full of ladies. You have to feel sorry for the man; Lucas is welcome at any table in town, his laundry is done (for free) and women vie to be his paramour. So what can possibly be the problem? Lucas is tired -- he needs a vacation from so many demands on his, um, energy. When I started reading, I was sure this was just some man's fantasy dream -- put to paper.
So, Lucas seeks out his best friend in the world - Priscilla Wentworth - the most prim and proper lady in town. If Lucas and Pris can convince the town's ladies that he is unavailable, because he is courting Pris, then Lucas can get some much-needed rest. Frankly, I burst out laughing that any man could consider Lucas' life to be a problem. Lucas' mother is delighted when she hears, while Priscilla's mom is horror-stricken.
Now, Pris wants something out of this arrangement; she wants a husband. Unfortunately, marriageable men are in short supply. When Lucas drags his heels on his part of the bargain, she tells him that she just wants 'candidates.' She is capable of making the choice herself. Antics with a couple of these candidates are laugh-out-loud funny.
Have you ever read a one-joke book? This is a bit similar. There is lots of humor throughout the book but Lucas' and Pris' desperation gets old after awhile. There is constant angst about their feelings for the other person and the interior talking gets repetitive. Things finally move to a new level when Pris gets a legitimate wedding proposal from an established, older man.
There's another issue I had with this story; the author goes to considerable trouble explaining how morally upstanding Pris is. However, it is Pris who asks to try out Lucas' 'services.' That jarred a bit. But that was nothing compared to my eye-popping response to what Pris is wearing (and where she was) during the Epilogue! I think her behavior is a bit more modern than the time in which it occurred.
So, Lucas seeks out his best friend in the world - Priscilla Wentworth - the most prim and proper lady in town. If Lucas and Pris can convince the town's ladies that he is unavailable, because he is courting Pris, then Lucas can get some much-needed rest. Frankly, I burst out laughing that any man could consider Lucas' life to be a problem. Lucas' mother is delighted when she hears, while Priscilla's mom is horror-stricken.
Now, Pris wants something out of this arrangement; she wants a husband. Unfortunately, marriageable men are in short supply. When Lucas drags his heels on his part of the bargain, she tells him that she just wants 'candidates.' She is capable of making the choice herself. Antics with a couple of these candidates are laugh-out-loud funny.
Have you ever read a one-joke book? This is a bit similar. There is lots of humor throughout the book but Lucas' and Pris' desperation gets old after awhile. There is constant angst about their feelings for the other person and the interior talking gets repetitive. Things finally move to a new level when Pris gets a legitimate wedding proposal from an established, older man.
There's another issue I had with this story; the author goes to considerable trouble explaining how morally upstanding Pris is. However, it is Pris who asks to try out Lucas' 'services.' That jarred a bit. But that was nothing compared to my eye-popping response to what Pris is wearing (and where she was) during the Epilogue! I think her behavior is a bit more modern than the time in which it occurred.
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