Gingham Mountain

Lassoed in Texas #3

by Mary Connealy

All aboard for a delightful, suspense-filled romance, where a Texan is torn between his attraction to a meddlesome schoolmarm and the charms of a designing dressmaker. When Hannah Cartwright meets Grant, she's determined to keep him from committing her orphans to hard labor on his ranch. How far will she go to ensure their welfare? Grant is determined to provide a home for the two kids brought in by the orphan train. Can he keep his ragtag family together while steering clear of love and marriage?

Genres: Christian Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction, Christian, Westerns, Historical, Christian Romance

288 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2009

About the author

Mary Connealy writes romantic comedy with cowboys always with a strong suspense thread. She is a two time Carol Award winner, and a Rita, Christy and Inspirational Reader's Choice finalist.
She is the bestselling author of 65 books and novellas.
Her most recent three book series are: Braced for Love, A Man with a Past and Love on the Range for Bethany House Publishing. She’s also written four other series for Barbour Publishing and many novellas and several stand-alone books for multiple publishers.
Mary will be a published author for ten years in 2017 with nearly a million books in print. She has a degree in broadcast communications with an emphasis in journalism and has worked at her local newspaper.

Find Mary online at:
Seekerville
Petticoats & Pistols
My Website

Reviews

[Carol (StarAngel's Reviews) Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly enjoyable story about Hannah. But I have to be honest and say that my favorite part of the book was at the end where Grace makes an appearance!

[Janna Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have not discovered the Lassoed in Texas series by Mary Connealy yet then you have been missing out. First off lets examine the titles in the series... Petticoat Ranch (Can a widow and 4 girls run a ranch? With some mystery...), Calico Canyon (Grace gets much more than she bargained for when she is forced to marry Daniel Reeves and becomes an instant mom to the 5 Horsemen of the Apocalypse) and now Gingham Mountain (Hannah doesn't take kindly to anyone mistreating orphans and Grant doesn't take kindly to anyone saying he does). Aren't the titles just wonderful?!?
Now add in adventure, romance, a little mystery and loads of humor and you have Mary's books. Great characters that continue throughout the series and a wonderful setting in 1870 Texas makes Gingham Mountain a real treat!
We met Hannah briefly in Calico Canyon when her "sister" Grace ends up marrying Daniel Reeves. Hannah is on her way to meet up with Grace when plans change and she is forced to stay in Sour Springs and she becomes the local schoolteacher. Of course she has never attended school, and she owns one worn out dress and she doesn't like the way Grant takes to "adopting" orphans to become slave labor on his ranch...
I just hope we have not seen the end of the Lassoed in Texas series because few authors make me laugh out loud while I'm reading, but Mary sure does!

[Kris Irvin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yeah, this book is dumb. The idea is bad, the writing is terrible (including several glaring grammatical errors throughout the book) and the characterization is awful. I got 3 Connealy books from the library and I am returning the other 2 without looking at them - I'm just not a fan of her writing.

[Sandy Mckenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is about a guy named Grant who adopts kids off the orphan train. He picks up two new children at the train station and meets the lead female character Hannah. In the first quarter of the book, I hated Hannah. I wanted to slap her. Then as the book goes on, Hannah and Grant develop feelings for each other. Will the new school teacher Hannah and Grant get together? Read it and see.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book, I've read it at least 4 times in the past few years.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gingham Mountain - Mary Connealy
(*SPOILER ALERT!!!*)
I didn't care for this novel as much as the one before it. It wasn't as romantic as I would've liked, which I've begun to discover in Mary's earlier books. Enough action, but not so much romance.
And that was another thing: where did all the excitement go? There wasn't much action in the book. I felt my heart race at Joshua's 'accident' and at the scene where Prudence faked their affair. But there's usually more action than that. Grant was never really in physical danger, and Hannah wasn't either.
This book was actually pretty (I can't believe I'm saying this)... calm. A calm Mary Connealy book. That's like finding an upside-down tornado in California. I'm used to it starting out with a fist-flying brawl and ending with a muffled laugh and breathless kiss. They fought all right, but it wasn't very heated. It did make me laugh, but not much. They did kiss, but it wasn't breathless (at least not for me).
It was still good, but Mary's definitely done better.
Grant's great. I love how devoted he was to his children. How he dedicated his life and happiness to their care. Talk about love! He was so sweet, and kind, and gentle, and protective of his children. His tender love for Joshua was so painfully sweet I nearly started bawling along with him. That was cute how being in love with Hannah drove him crazy.
Hannah really irritated me at first. I wish she could just see that not everyone was like Perish (yes, I'm spelling it like that on purpose). She was really annoying me as much as she was Grant, though he did pay her back when he was reminding her of all the things she did wrong. Now that was funny.
Prudence - Idiot. She was so annoying. She and Horace are so weird. It almost seems like she wanted Horace to hurt her. And how she hated children. And her act was so obvious. And how she clawed at Grant. And literally tried to kiss him in public - SCARY! And he disgusted her and didn't even know her name three-fourths of the way into the novel. Ha! And to think, she was trying to make him fall in love with her!
Charlie was so smart, the sneaky little rascal! I can't believe he went right under their noses and no one noticed a thing! His conversation with Grant was really good. I didn't know the little guy knew so much.
Libby is so adorable! I love how she acts and talks. And how she and Charlie stick together. And how she first discovered Grant was ticklish. Too cute.
Joshua was really sweet. He was strong, and capable, and trusting. And very mature too. And Sadie, with her sass and generosity. It was pretty clear they liked each other. I had that impression nearly as soon as they were introduced. They'll be great together.
Marilyn was sweet, and sassy, and stubborn, and dependable. She and Wilbur seemed cute together.
Benny was so cute. I love his energy, and exuberance, and desire to make everyone feel welcome. Adorable.
Grace was kind of weird in this book. It was like she was suddenly allergic to her new home. She just longed to be away from it. Did it have to do with her being pregnant? Or was the fact that knowing her sister was somewhat nearby and she hadn't seen her what made her go crazy? And Daniel wasn't as sweet. And the boys - they're growing up so fast! Yet at the same time they were exactly the same.
The Brewsters were really annoying, and mean, and obnoxious.
This book really was good. It just seemed... stifled.

[Tamara Tilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

GINGHAM MOUNTAIN is the third book in the Lassoed in Texas series by Mary Connealy. In GINGHAM MOUNTAIN we follow Hannah Cartwright, an orphan herself, who mothers Libby, an orphan she has cared for and protected. Stowing away on an orphan train, she is shocked when she and Libby get to the end of the line in Sour Springs, Texas and finds out a bachelor rancher has adopted Libby. When she finds out Grant is known for adopting orphans, she is sure he is abusing this children and only using them for laborers on his ranch. She decides to stay on in Sour Springs, masquerading as the new school teacher in order to keep an eye on Libby and prove Grant is up to no good.

Grant, a man with no last name, knows firsthand about the life of a discarded child. Growing up most of his life as an orphan, he vows to help give a home to any child that he can. He is unnerved by the constant interference by Hannah Cartwright, the new school teacher. Knowing she thinks of him as a taskmaster to his adopted children, he tries to put her interference out of his mind. But somehow, he can’t quite ignore the lovely woman who is determined to prove him to be a fiend.

GINGHAM MOUNTAIN is a fun read, much like CALICO CANYON and PETTICOAT RANCH, though I did think the portrayal of Grace, Hannah’s older sister did her no justice. If you hadn’t read CALICO RANCH previously, you would’ve thought by her actions in GINGHAM MOUNTAIN that Grace was a crazy woman who cared nothing for her husband and family. The side story of the seamstress after Grant for his land was an interesting twist but somehow unnecessary. Overall an easy read with colorful characters.

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grant was such a unique type of man. Instead of getting married and raising a family of his own, he spends his time finding orphans to adopt and raise, some of them being only a few years younger than himself. He adopted his first child at the age of 17. Really...who does that?! I loved watching the interactions and the relationship that he had with his kids.

Hannah, being an orphan herself, is passing through this small Texas town on the way to find her sister, Grace. She ends up becoming the teacher there and is very stubborn and determined to succeed. I love the way she is able to turn the hearts and minds of some of the townspeople by her gentle ways and new ideas.

As for the romance part of it, things were very gradual, yet when they finally happened, it was a little too sudden.

I really liked the little snippets we got of Grace's life. In Calico Canyon, we meet Grace and see her romance, but it was fun to see her "happily ever after" and how she's faring.

All in all, I did enjoy this last installment of the Lassoed in Texas series, but wish that there was a little more romance to support the ending.

Content: a little mild violence; some kissing. Clean.

Katie's Clean Book Collection

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some books are just plain fun to read. Gingham Mountain is one of them. It is the story of Hannah, a young woman who survived childhood as an orphan and Grant, an orphan who was adopted shortly before his adoptive parents died, who now adopts orphans. Hannah, a newcomer to town is sure that Grant, like the man who took her in, is abusing the kids and using them as slave labor. However, she learns the truth about him, and despite her best effort, finds herself attracted to him. Though he has vowed to God never to marry so as to be able to care for orphans, he finds himself falling for her. Throw in a subplot about a couple of con artists who are trying to get Grant to marry one of them (a woman) so that when the other (her husband) kills Grant, she will inherit his land (on which they have found oil) and the story moves away from the standard romance model. While there are a few serious passages, mostly the book is upbeat and funny. It was just what I needed after working too much overtime to prepare for a trial that got postponed YET AGAIN!!

[Susannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly want to know how drivel like this makes it past an editor.

At the beginning you meet Grant, who is likeable enough, and the premise of a bachelor raising orphans in early 20th century Texas is just odd enough to work. However, that is the best I can say about this book. Even if you can manage to ignore the anachronistic language (I honestly can't), there is nothing else about this story that is plausible or even interesting. Hannah is an idiot and completely ridiculous, and it's really, really hard to ignore her lack of judgment or powers of observation (there aren't any). Even the way Grant and the children interact is completely out of the realm of reality given the time period. There are too many language foibles and awkwardly out-of-place sentences. I made it about 50 pages in and had enough.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I desperately need to update my reviews on these. I tell you what, this series is not perfect, not extremely “sophisticated”, and maybe a bit anachronistic at times, and maybe a tad plot-hole-y, and maybe not perfectly consistent and a tad overblown at times, BUT! They are fun, silly, sweet, quirky, and downright enjoyable, quick reads that will make you smile, laugh, sigh, and laugh again. I’ve read these books many times, but after several years, I think I enjoyed them even more. Just what I needed. I’ve actually been craving this exact kind of story.

[Shannah Mauney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gingham Mountain is the third and final book in the Lassoed in Texas series. While it's not as good as the first two, Petticoat Ranch & Calico Canyon, it's still a fun read. This book deals a lot with bullying and how to deal with a bully as well. The message of the story is about the love and compassion of the Lord. Overall, this was a satisfying conclusion to the Lassoed in Texas series and I look forward to enjoying more books by Mary Connealy. Read my full review: http://faithlovebooks.blogspot.com/20...

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gingham Mountain is the 3rd book in a series, but I read it without reading the other two first. There were parts that hinted to the previous stories, and a sub-plot about a former character, but it wasn't completely awful having no prior knowledge about them (in fact, reading the synopsis and reviews for the other 2 helped a lot).

There were so many parts in this book that made me laugh. Mary Connealy's writing style is SO humorous! I enjoyed this one.

[Aerykah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as good as the first 2 books in the series (Petticoat Ranch & Calico Canyon), but still very good!

[SheLove2Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous! Loved it! Another great addition to the Mary Connealy library.

[kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

The hero Grant is 27 way too young to be a father figure to teens and 20 year olds. The story needed a mature house keeper and a more mature hero. Incredibly he is clueless about sex. He was raised in an orphanage and adopted at 14 from the orphan train. Young boys think about sex. Talk about sex and slyly compare equipment. Not to mention his adopted parents owned a cattle ranch. What did he think the cows,horses and chickens were doing when they jumped on each other? Playing hopscotch. Apparently his married sons didn't get a father sons talk before the wedding. It's too bad because dad could have used the information.

The Heroine Hannah is a total ditz. Hard to believe she survived on the streets no less survived while taking care of other children. She lacks judgment. Jumps to wrong conclusions constantly. She lands a teaching job because she answered the one and only question right. Yes. She can read and write. No experience. No test. No references. And we think our public schools are bad.

Grace her sister from another (definitely better) book has apparently had a nervous breakdown. Understandable. Her husband is a moron. Her children uncontrollable , destructive and violent. Very violent. Too bad. I liked Grace.

[Chaelah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book but could have been better

The ending of the book was wonderful and adorable, but for me, the best part of the novel was revisiting Grace, Daniel, and the Reeves boys. The second best part of the book was watching Grant’s children stand by him and stand by each other, especially the older ones. The romance was mediocre for me. Hannah was quite frankly, a harpy in the beginning. She had so much pride and mistaken indignation that she wouldn’t stop her bulldozing for one second to see the truth staring her in the face. The abuse that she suffered was horrible and would definitely affect her behavior, but this explanation was like putting a bandaid on a broken leg. Her behavior still made little sense despite her prior abuse. She would have been better served asking around town about Grant, interviewing each child alone, spending time with Grant, even NOT letting him into her suspicions about him. Instead she ran around like a silly chicken with her head cut off which made is hard for me to grow to like her, but eventually I did. And I liked Grant. And I liked the story line. But that was all. Three and a half stars

[Sarita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though this book included the same humor and type of interactions as the first two of the series, I did found this book lacking a bit compared to them.

The first two included a suspense thread which was suspenseful and complimentary to the rest of the story. In this book the suspense was over before it began and the storyline with Prudence were a bit annoying - I do not like it when men can’t be a man and stand up to women throwing themselves at them and make it clear they are not interested.

Hannah and Grant had a love hate relationship which made for a very enjoyable read. The diverse group of orphans Grant cared for made his story interesting and at times funny. I did feel Hannah was a bit too judgmental of Grant without real proof. Some attitudes towards Grant were also a bit inconsistent.

The storyline with Grace were also a bit flimsy for me - I had hoped for a bigger part in Hannah’s story.

Even though I found this book a bit weak, I did it mostly and glad I read this series.

[Rosina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grant was a teen orphan child who was adopted by a couple. They passed two years after his adoption. Grant kept his parents home and raised orphan children from the last stop of hope. He promises God he will never marry and his home will be full of orphan children. Homeless Hannah and her mute, one short legged, sister Libby, and troubled Charlie are on the run from her evil father, the Parish. They are looking for their sister, Grace, to save them from being homeless. They are on a train for orphan children and hiding. Libby and Charlie are mistaken as orphan children. Hannah is given the job as a school teacher in Sour Springs, TX. Grant is Libby and Charlie's new father. Hannah is sure Grant is a replica of the Parish and is out to save her siblings.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this conclusion to the 'Lassoed in Texas' series. I had enjoyed getting to know Hannah and little Libby from their small part in Grace's story, and was glad to see that Hannah was going to have her own time in the spotlight.
Grant was the perfect match for her. I loved how Grant was able to acknowledge in time that God had brought Hannah into his life for a purpose, and that each of their experiences growing up would help the other, and help their family.
Mary Connealy writes with humour (sometimes bordering on mayhem, if I'm honest lol), but with heart and grace as well. I always come away from reading one of her stories with a heart thankful to God for His mercy and for the sometimes messy journey of life.

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️ this book touched my heart in so many ways. I loved seeing God’s heart through a man who devoted his life to adopting orphans.

Seeing how he responds to these kids, when they make mistakes, or were afraid was incredible and really taught me alot about what love should look like. It’s so cool to get in the mind of a character with a heart of gold like that.

The romance was so sweet as always with Mary’s books. I loved that the characters from the former book in the series (book #2) were woven in because they were my absolute fav!

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

All three of the books in this series were good, silly, lighthearted comedic fun, with a faith-filled message. Historical Rom-Coms, my new great escape! I had a big gap of time between reading books one and two in the series, but it was wonderful to binge read Calico Canyon and this one back to back, as they were definitely more related to each other with some crossover story lines. I will definitely read more by this author!

[. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good read overall, though there were a lot of annoying periods to indicate when the character was drawing a sentence out... I feel like that could've been avoided somehow to make the book flow more smoothly. I also feel like the ending was a little quick, and I could care less about Grace (who was hardly in the book), but I suppose I shouldn't have read this out of order as she has her own book. I'll probably review this more in-depth later.

[Cinnabug · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have such a heart for children in need, so this book hit all those soft places in me. I loved the way these orphans came together and made their own family, committed to each other, and especially that Grant took in all the "leftovers" and loved them like his own regardless of age, faults, or color.

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating - 2.5
Honestly, this was my least favorite book by this author. I felt like there could have been more development in the storyline. I did like the message of it though and how the story focused a lot on orphans. It's a different perspective than what I usually find in books and I liked that.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gingham Mountain (Lassoed in Texas #3) by Mary Connealy – Hannah is fighting to make sure that her little sister Libby is safe and happy with the man who adopted her at the last stop of the orphan train. Grant and Hannah may butt heads, but they have more in common than either of them realize. Happy Reading!

[Brook Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended this series

I voluntarily chose to leave a review.
Mary Connealy has done a wonderful job on this book and this full Series.
I know you will enjoy it as much as I have...

[Elaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wonderful series of books! I'm going to miss all these characters, the adventure, hardships they've faced, mystery and love found. Love the three stories of orphans helping other orphans and finding family!

[Celia Jolley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funniest Fiction in the West

This author is my pick for clean western fiction when I need a good belly laugh. It’s all about the orphans and as fast moving as a wild ride down a greased rainbow.

[Flewts · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the first book in this series, and thought the male hero was an idiot, but OK, good story. Here we are again, and the people in this book really are pretty much idiots. I'm sorry, the story is no good if you don't have any respect for the characters.