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Book Review of The Texan's Touch (McLains, Bk 1)

The Texan's Touch (McLains, Bk 1)
The Texan's Touch (McLains, Bk 1)
Author: Jodi Thomas
Genre: Romance
Book Type: Paperback
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THE TEXAN'S TOUCH is Jodi Thomas opening salvo in a 5 book series. All of them are worth reading. Thomas has a writers gift of grabbing your interest from page 1 and not letting go until the last page.

The story opens when some Confederate soldiers steal a Union doctor from his tent. Dr. Adam McLain tends to the substantial wounds of one of the Confederacys clandestine unit, the Gray Shadows. The soldier turns out to be a woman (Nick); no one in her unit (except her brother) is aware of her gender.

Nick repays his kindness by helping him escape from the Shadows, who were planning to kill him (to keep info about the Shadows from the Union troops).

Soon the Civil War ends and Adam rushes home to see his fiancée, whose family profited from the war -- they have become snobs. After seeing Nick again, Adam breaks his engagement. The 3 brothers decide to leave Indiana for Texas.

Adam opens his practice in Fort Worth helping towns people by day and whores and vagabonds late at night. Wolf sends his sister (Nick/Nicole) to Adam to protect her while he fights to keep their confiscated land (back taxes after the war). Unfortunately, Adams former fiancée, Bergette decides to give him one more chance to come to his senses and marry her.

Adam finds he has both women living under the same boarding house roof with him, a nun, the owner of the boarding house and her son. Things get complicated.

I like this story because it demonstrates the agony of the Civil War and Reconstruction in human terms. It also sets the stage for the 3rd book about Daniel. The second book is Wes McLains tale.

Texas Brothers Series
1. The Texan's Touch (1998)
2. To Kiss a Texan (1999)
3. To Wed in Texas (2000)
4. Twilight in Texas (2001)
5. The Texan's Dream (2001)