Following the death of her parents, Sage Willows had lovingly nurtured her younger sisters through childhood. She loved her sisters. She’d seen each one married, and was glad to see them settled and happy. Furthermore, she held no resentment at never having found a good man of her own to settle down with. Yet, regret is different than resentment—and far more haunting.
Still, Sage found as much joy as was allowed a lonely young woman—in being proprietress of Willows’ Boardinghouse, and in the companionship of the four beloved widow-women boarding there. Until, that is, the devilishly handsome Rebel Lee Mitchell appeared. It seemed Reb Mitchel instantly and forever vanquished Sage’s feigned contentment.
Dark, mysterious and secretly wounded, Reb Mitchell utterly captured Sage’s lonely heart. Nevertheless, to Sage Williows, the powerfully attractive cowboy—admired and coveted by every female in his path—seemed entirely unobtainable. How could a weathered, boardinghouse-proprietress resigned to spinsterhood, ever hope to hold the attention of such a man? And knowing she couldn’t—would Sage Willows simply sink deeper into the bleak loneliness she’d secreted for so long?
Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Marcia Lynn McClure grew up influenced by the reminiscent stories of rugged, rural Colorado farm life fascinatingly recounted to her by her parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts…tales of runaway buckboards, mule-drawn plows and dust pneumonia; verbalized images of stream-flooded meadows, frozen over in winter, where a child could peer through the crystal clear ice in wonder at the small fish, snakes and mice sealed in the meadow grasses beneath; stories of hardship and tragedy, love and loss. But always the stories, and the people telling them, bore evidence of the wonder and worthiness of simpler, yet sometimes brutal, times.
These influential people and the family legends they detailed, coupled with her own life experiences and utterly romantic nature, led Marcia to begin writing novels as Christmas gifts for her closest friends…friends who long for a breath of the past and miss the romance of bygone eras; friends searching for moments of distraction from the stressful, demanding times we live in.
And so, knowing that it is the breath of the past and the "take me in you arms and kiss me" kind of moments that so many women long to relive, Marcia spins her tales of love, life and laughter…adventures woven around those compelling, romantic instances that most appeal to a woman's loving heart. Marcia feels that if her readers close one of her books with a contented sigh and a delighted smile, feeling rejuvenated, cheerful and edified, then she has achieved what she set out to do…shower refreshment and happiness on anyone having experienced the story.
Marcia lives in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. There she writes her stories surrounded by her beloved friends and family...and the beautiful desert landscape of New Mexico!
Story Sage was orphaned at a young age and had to take care of her younger sisters. Now that they are all grown and married, she finds herself a bit lonely and unsure about her future. Things start looking up when a new rancher moves to town. Reb and Sage are both hesitant to start anything, but their chemistry makes it hard to stay away.
Characters & Romance Sage is a likable heroine, very sweet and caring. Reb is charming and kind. I love how he treated the widows. While I think Sage and Reb have a good relationship and have an instant chemistry, I was a bit frustrated with them towards the end. I loved the end when the widows kidnapped Sage, so funny! My curiosity is killing me...what did the note say?? I thought the story about Ruthie was touching and added a sweetness to the story.
I would love a sequel with Charlie and returning to this charming town.
Content Rated PG Romance: Kissing Language: None Violence: Very mild
The best thing about this book was the humor offered by The Golden Girls relocated to the Old West. Sage Willows is only 23, but life has passed her by as she cared for her three younger sisters after her parents died when she was just 16. She now considers herself a spinster, devoting her life to the four older ladies who reside at the boarding house she operates. These ladies are liberated by age of the expectations of decorum, and they live it up in hilarious ways. Then they decide to meddle in Sage's non-existent love life.....
Golden Girl Eugenia's great-nephew becomes the targeted love interest. It is too bad that both he and Sage are unknowing accomplices in this 19th century version of a dot.com match-up. McClure always keeps things on a slow burn. Still, she can invest a good deal of attraction in her characters who don't get beyond a kiss and some lusty thoughts.
The story lost it for me in the unacknowledged courtship and the adolescent push and pull between Reb and Sage. For accomplished, more mature people, they both had a shocking lack of confidence, and the romance plot hinged on this. Plus, I like my romantic leads to have a little more insight into each other than these two did.
Love, love, LOVED IT!! I don't know what else to say. I loved Rebel and Sage. I loved the old widows. A fun, sweet love story. Probably one of my faves of MLM.
Reread 10/8/2014: I honestly couldn't remember why I loved this book so much because I've read so many since the first time. I remember now. :) The old widows are hilarious. Sage... she just breaks my heart because she is so self-sacrificing. She puts everyone else's happiness in front of her own. Reb is hot and thinks he's damaged and he so IS.NOT. Come let me "fix" you Reb! haha Loved the action, the sweet romance, the humor... Great, fun read!
11/19/23 Such a great story of forgiveness, letting go, and finding love! With a touch of Sage.
Read this for the second time. Oooooooh I missed it! Yummy Reb! Sweet, and clean, and I love the show of how much Reb loves Sage, especially at the end. It has pride and prejudice scenes to it. AWE, I just lived it, and the old ladies I love those sweet women and she brings out the character of each and you just can't help but love each old lady. LOVE IT!!!
One of my favorite, and always will be every time I read it. LOVE IT!
1/2 star. So forget the stupid immature lack of communication and unnecessary drama and the insta-love. Let's look at the friendships.
So for fun her friends had her dress up in a saloon dancing girl outfit that was low cut and above her knee. It was all-girls fun and she was fine with it. Unfortunately her friends had arranged for the man she was interested in to come around to see her in it, then they and he insisted she go out with him wearing same outfit. Okay so to put this is modern terms, you dress up in slutty prostitute type clothes as a lark with all girls , then your "friends" not only cause your crush to see you dressed this way, they also force you to go out in public dressed in a way you find immodest and slutty , making you feel humiliated and trashy.
(The writer doesn't specify the era, but it was definitely pre-automobile so above the knee was considered scandalous.)
Then they do it again, further breaking your trust by having the local church man help. Oh and they kidnap you, take you by force to his remote ranch and then tie you up to the man's bed and leave you there. TIE YOU UP. To his BED. What is the encore? Have him rape you so you'll have to marry him because they know best?
Sage Willows became an orphan at the young age of 16 and had to raise her 3 younger sisters. She also ran a boarding house, where a couple of very delightful widows lived. One of these ladies had a nephew who came to run her ranch...Reb also became the love interest of Sage.
One of my top favorites!! When Reb was chasing another rider down on horseback and then began to beat the tar out of him (which he was over-reacting, but was a mess over Sage and not thinking straight)... I have to say, that was my very favorite part of the whole book! I FELT that situation, and could picture it completely, and LOOOOOVVVVED it!!!!!! And what Reb does for Sage at the end was so sweet and it actually made me tear up.. I could feel what Sage felt at that moment. Such a sweet story full of laughs, misunderstandings and a brooding, angry man! Gotta love it!!! The old women at the home are fun, although sometimes their antics are just a bit over the top and silly, it's still good fun to read about their silliness.
July 6, 2012 - Re-read - still great. Knee buckling kisses, handsome cowboy. Great stuff!
June 19, 2011 I finally was able to get my hands on one of her novels. I've heard such great things about this author and my library finally got in ONE by her. The first couple chapters I was thinking, a story about four older ladies, what? Then, it got better and better. I really enjoyed it.
The only thing I didn't like is that the male character had a mustache and goatie. I like my man clean shaven. So whenever she mentioned that in the book, I gave him a mental shave. Now, I gotta try to get my hands on some more McClure books!
Moral Note: Very passionate kissing scenes & "heck" twice.
Laugh out loud funny! What I wouldn't give to sit around the table with those four crazy ladies playing rummy! I nearly peed my paints at the brazen hussy part near the end! I do have to ask...who picks the covers for McClures books? Could they be more gay! I feel weird reffering them to poeple, one look at the cover and I get a look of "your kidding right".
This one made me laugh multiple times while reading it. The antics of the old widows were hilarious to read. If you like sappy, clean, fun romances you'll enjoy this one. A broken hearted cowboy, a lonely young lady running a boarding house & 4 old widows determined to bring them together make for a delightful romp of a book.
I love all of Marcia Lynn McClure's books. I love the way her books trap you in and you can't put them down. I know if I have one of her books I know not to make any plans because they are that great. She is my favorite author and I highly recommend all of her books.
Absolutely enjoyed this story. It was so much fun. I couldn't put it down. A great romantic ride. Love this author's work.I loved the old women in this story. A funny read.
This is supposed to be Christian historical fiction? OK, yes it is fiction. Yes it is an interesting plot, just _not_ in an historical or a Christian sense. OK, it does not go into anything directly immoral...but I have a higher standard than what is used in this book. Yes, the story line is pretty good...until you get to where it degrades romantically, morally, and historically:
(vague/generalized spoilers follow) -1 star because in my opinion a Christian romance would actually follow Christian principles and not have the guy seriously toying with the girl and her heart when he was "only being friendly". That is just a despicable thing to do. Since when is that romantic? -1 star because I like my *Christian* books to do more than mention God perhaps once and include a preacher (especially one that does things that I don't think a real preacher would do like actually put a man into temptation's way). Christian books, to me at least, actually include Christian spiritual principles and Bible verses. -1 star because to be historically accurate, I highly doubt anyone would encourage a girl to be as compromised in that era as this story would have it. I have read lots of realistic westerns. Also, this story is missing the most common self defense tool there was. The author would do well to read a number of Louis L'Amour westerns before delving into this era again. -1 star because, while the storyline had great potential, it really degraded by the end. To actually use physical force on anyone, even a friend "for their own good", to enter a situation they are uncomfortable with or in an uncomfortable manner is just morally wrong.
I loved the humour in this book. I laughed out loud from the very first page. The four widows living in Sage's boarding house were playful, mischievous characters and a barrel of laughs. I liked them very much. Rosie's "rummy rummy rummy" dance was just so funny.
Sage Willows, orphaned at 16 years of age and still single at 23, thought she'd have to live the rest of her life alone. She had already resigned herself to spinsterhood, since her options were limited. The only available local men were elderly and practically toothless. Any newcomer to town would overlook her for a younger girl. She tried to convince herself that she was content with the life that she led - running a boarding house for widowed women.
Then Rebel (Reb) Mitchell, the great-nephew of one of the widow's, Eugenia, walks into Sage's life bringing hope that there may be a brighter future for her afterall. Rebel is 26 years old, handsome, charming, hardworking and nursing a broken heart from a previous relationship.
Although Sage and Reb were instantly drawn to each other, they were both too insecure to believe that the other was genuinely interested. For a long time they would not openly communicate their true feelings for one another, therefore, doubts, assumptions and fears kept them apart for too long, and I found that a little frustrating.
Overall, I found this book a pleasure to read. I have not yet been disappointed by any of this author's books. They are great escapes and I am looking forward to reading many more of them.
I loved this book! The antics of the 4 widows coupled with the western romance was absolutely delightful. I was laughing out loud. I'm sure this is one I will read over and over and still enjoy just as much as the first time.
From the back cover:
After the death of her parents, Sage Willows had lovingly nurtured her younger sisters through childhood, seeing each one married and never resenting not finding herself a good man to settle down with. Yet, regret is different than resentment. Still, Sage found as much joy as a lonely young women could find, as proprietress of Willows' Boardinghouse -- finding some fulfillment in the companionship of the four beloved widow-women boarding with her. But when the devilishly handsome Rebel Lee Mitchell appeared on the boardinghouse step, Sage's contentment was lost forever.
Dark, mysterious, and secretly wounded, Reb Mitchell instantly captured Sage's lonely heart. But the handsome cowboy, admired and coveted by every young, unmarried female in his path, seemed unobtainable to Sage Willows. How could a weathered, boardinghouse proprietress resigned to spinsterhood ever hope to capture the attention of such a man? And without him, would Sage Willows simply sink deeper into bleak loneliness -- tormented by the knowledge that the man of every woman's dreams could never be hers?
Hmmm, I wasn't quite sure how to rate this book. So maybe I'll say it's 3.5 stars? It was enjoyable, yes. But I didn't swoon. :( And that's something I really want out of a romance. I want for the guy and the girl to get to know each other, spend lots of time together, have lots of almost kisses so that I'm almost dying once they finally do have that magical first kiss. And sadly, I really wasn't all that into the romance between Reb and Sage. Yes they were the typical good characters MLM writes, but I wanted more. (I wish I wasn't so picky these days...really I haven't read a 5 start book in way too long...so sad) I really did enjoy the widows in the story though. They were a lot of fun and such great characters. So if you're looking for a fun, sweet romance this may be the book for you.
Most of the time I wanted to scream at Sage and tell her she is an idiot, that is how into the book I got. I read it in less than 24 hours and could not put it down or stop smiling, (except when I was screaming at Sage for being stupid). I loved the widows in the book, I am thinking of going down to the local nursing home and making me some friends. This was such a refreshing book, I don't usually read romance novels. I will read this author again she is so good at telling a love story without making you feel uncomfortable. I would have given it 5 stars if Sage wasn't so annoying. Thanks for the recommendation Katie and Marcie!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Another cheesy romance. Why do I keep reading them? I get so annoyed by how the story could be really good and not embarrass me to admit I'm reading or recommend to a friend. At least it was "clean" without the heaving bosoms and all that ... but why must the guy always walk around without a shirt and be so proud of making the women-folk uncomfortable by it.
Oh well. I know that I'll keep reading them for some reason I can't explain. :)
I'm giving it five stars because it made me laugh AND made me cry. It's the first of Marcia's books that have done both of those. I'm usually laughing, and then sighing, and then my blood gets pumping, and then I'm sighing again! I just love that her books are just feel-good books that are easy to read and make me smile. I promise one day after I've read every Marcia book, I'll move on to something else... Hmmm...I hope she never stops writing. :)
Oh Goodness! This book was pure fluffy, romantic bliss. A steamy cowboy, a girl who has buried her dreams and 4 rowdy widows who love them both! Can you really go wrong? The character of Sage sucked me in immediately, and I was on the verge of tears this whole book. I have a new author to add to my favorite CLEAN romance list.
Curse you Deb for reviewing an author with ONE book in the library system. What am I gonna do now?
I'm loving this author! Both books I've read have been such fun but I have to pace myself and not read everything of hers all at once.
I will admit I did laugh a little at the fact that Sage had reconciled herself to being a spinster at the ripe old age of 23. My how times have changed.
The widows are hilarious!
Near the end I was in tears. I can't say more than that without giving it away. I really enjoyed this book and can easily see myself rereading it.
I liked this book. I probably would have given it 3 1/2 stars. A quick read that was funny and entertaining.
Sage is a young girl who has given up on her dreams to marry. Reb (Rebel) is the nephew of one of the widows who live at Sage's boarding house. The widows conspire on multiple occassions to get the two of them together in funny ways.
This is one of my very favorites by Marcia Lynn McClure. It adds some older mischevious widdows into the romance which keeps the laughter going. All of Marcia's books have been good, but they tend to get minotinous if you read one after another so it is good to mix them up with books by other authors.
I love this book! This is one of my favorites of Marcia's. Sage is such a great character. You can't help but feel bad for her. She's had a sad life. But the old ladies at the boardinghouse help her through the hard times. They are one of the best parts of the book. They are hiliarious! This book is made me laugh out loud throughout the whole thing. Just a great book!
Without a doubt, my favorite part of this book are those sweet ol' biddies and their crazy, hilarious antics! Think the women of Cranford with a Marcia flavor. The male lead is a bit domineering (as usual) but who would say no to those "commanding" kisses? Oh Marcia, please keep the books coming!