TBR Day -- A Convenient Wife / Carolyn Davidson. 2001

I sort of quit doing any TBR posts midway through 2010 and I waited until yesterday to decide whether to join in this year. But I really need to work my way through that pile of books sitting in the closet. TBR Day is a good way to jump start that. My thanks to Super Librarian Wendy who is hosting the challenge this year!

The very kind Janet W. sent me a small pile of books a while back and this category Western historical was among them. I think it's the only category in my TBR pile that is NOT a Regency. Make of that what you will, LOL.

Carolyn Davidson's A Convenient Wife was first published in 2001 as part of a series called "Montana Mavericks." As near as I can tell, there are just over 50 books in the series and they were republished in 2009 for Harlequin's 60th anniversary. Mine has this cover (complete with baby bump):

And according to Amazon it is being released in print again Feb. 1.

Ellie Mitchum is a naive and sheltered young woman who is stuck on her father's ranch cooking and cleaning for him. He's a pretty nasty character and when Ellie finds herself pregnant he kicks her out. The baby's father, wanting nothing to do with Ellie and her baby, had left town and Ellie has few options. She winds up becoming the housekeeper for Winston "Win" Gray, the town doctor. When it's clear her reputation is further compromised by her living and working in his home, Win decides to marry Ellie.

Ellie is a talented, kind-hearted young woman with little to no self-esteem. She blossoms when given the opportunity to take care of Win and his home. It's not long before they've fallen in love, but the road to lasting peace is bumpy. There are separate crises involving Ellie's father, and later, Win's mother. There's a fair bit of action in this book with the various subplots.

All-in-all I found this to be an engaging story with characters I really liked. Despite Ellie's initial lack of self-esteem, when push comes to shove Ellie stands up for herself, even when Win would rather she didn't as he sees it as his role to protect her. I liked how Ellie's character was written.

Some of it was a little over-sweet and near the end when Ellie's father has a change of heart it didn't come across as very believable. Fortunately, that's a minor part of the story. Truly, I was fully engrossed and found it a very enjoyable read. I recommend it if you're in the mood for a Western historical.

The Montana Mavericks series was penned by an impressive list of authors including Cheryl St. John, Christine Rimmer, Susan Mallery, and Lisa Jackson, to name but a few. In reading this one I could tell that at least two couples mentioned in the book were probably in books of their own. I enjoyed this book enough that I will probably try to read some of the other books in the series. The Kindle store shows 3 book bundles for titles 1-12 and a handful of others are available as single titles. I also see that some are historicals and the rest are contemporaries. I may have to go shopping later...