I don’t know what it is about summer but I start craving historical Western romances. It’s one of my favorite genres to read and anything by Ellen O’Connell is usually a good choice. I’ve reviewed quite a few of her books, you can see them all here, but there are still many I haven’t read. I decided to pick up Beautiful Bad Man and this is my favorite one yet. This review will be spoiler free.
I like to give a heat level rating for all books with romance. If you’re curious about my rating system, you can check it out here.
Synopsis:
In 1866 on the empty Kansas prairie, two children shared a few desperate moments that changed their lives. For years afterward, each nursed a secret dream—that the other had grown into a special person—brave, good, kind.
When Norah Hawkins and Caleb Sutton cross paths again, dreams die. She is a bitter, suicidal widow. He is a gunman with little conscience and few scruples. Alternately angry, repelled, and attracted, the two form an uneasy partnership to hold land she owns and he covets against a marauding neighbor. Their bargain never included love, or did it?
My Thoughts:
- Rating-
⭐ - Heat Level-
While I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by O’Connell, this is the first of her books I’ve given five stars to. I truly loved everything about it. She tends to write the same type of main male character in every story but I think Caleb Sutton is my favorite of them all. This meme sums him up…
I will EAT UP those types of characters every. single. time. Caleb has had a ton of trauma in his past and has a hard time not only caring about others but allowing them to care for him. Of course, this changes when he meets Norah. Norah also follows O’Connell’s typical formula of being a headstrong and stubborn woman but I loved her. She’s also experienced a lot of trauma and one thing she went through actually made me tear up, but I won’t spoil that.
This is not an instalove kind of story and their journey as a couple is quite difficult. They both have to heal themselves before they can really be together. It’s a fantastic, well written romance set in the Wild West and that’s exactly what I wanted.
Final Thoughts:
If you’re looking for a historical romance with the perfect amount of steam and marriage of convenience, do yourself a favor and read this book. This is the first in the Sutton Family series and I plan to read the rest later. Let me know if this sounds like a book you’d enjoy! Thanks for reading and have a great day!
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