Artemiz's Reviews > Tender Is the Storm

I have to admit, I did chose this book to read because of its original cover, cause years ago on Smart Bitches, Trashy Books they talked about this ridiculous cover and what they seem to be doing on the cover :). But this is a book that should not be judged by it's cover! The story is actually quite entertaining and thrilling.

It's a time when America was still mostly East Coast and West was for prospectors, ranchers and gunslingers. Close to a little Newcombe town lives Lucas Holt, keeping a horse farm and he needs a wife, so he would seem less threatening, less like his twin brother Slade, who is know as a fastest and deadliest gun, so he could finish the complicated scheme he started years ago.

In New York Sharisse is about to get married with a family friends son. She does not love him, but she doesn't really care, since she swear never to love anybody again after a disastrous affair in Europe with a married French man. But when she learns that her sister Stephanie loves the man she's about to marry, she is ready to call of the wedding. Their father will not hear of it, since the wedding is just a week away. What to do?

Well ... Stephanie has been a busy girl, since the engagement was announced. She has answered to a mail-order-bride advertisement and an rancher from Newcomb, Arizona, has sent her the train tickets to go to him and to be his wife. So if their father will not let Sharisse out of this marriage, she will go away, as far as possible and will come back after her sister is wed to her love. She does not have to marry this Lucas Holt, she will just go stay there and make her best to make herself not suited for this man and he will send her back himself. Or she could just use the tickets to leave.

But Stephanie has to make sure, that Sharisse will stay away. So Sharisse discovers she has almost no money, just her tickets and what little money she has she as to spend on a food, so she has no other choice than to go to Newcombe and to meet this Lucas Holt. But once she sees him ...

Lucas was expecting a small blond girl, but he was hoping for the tall read haired girl from the picture he was sent by his wife to be. So when the red haired steps out from the carriage, he's happy and same time he is not happy, since this pull he feels to this girl could mess with his plans.

Sharisse tells to Luke, that she is a widow, and she need time to get to know him before they could be married, and that's fine with Lucas, since he has no need to marry her at all, he just needs a fiance to show. But since Sharisse is a "widow", there is no reason why they could not enjoy each others company ... or so Lucas thinks. But this widow is jumpy as hell and would not let Luke near her. Things change, when Lucas' brother Slade comes around and scares Sharisse into Lucas' arms.

They both have told a lot of lies to each other and neither of them wants to get a spouse, but when Lucas neighbor and target brings a priest over, they have no other choice but to get married. No honeymoon follow this ceremony, but bitter words and quick split - Sharisse returns to New York after her sister sends her a letter with explanations and Lucas storms of to Europe.

A year later, when Lucas thinks their marriage is annulled and Sharisse hopes never to see him again, Slade comes to New York.

This is as little and as much I will tell about this story, without giving too much away, but I will say, that this story is surprisingly realistic and hilariously absurd. I did read some spoilers from SBTB review, so maybe that made me see this story differently, but I think that knowing the main twist actually made the story better for me.

So, this book had once long ago an ridiculous cover, that gives you all kind of crazy ideas what people could be doing in Wild West, but the story inside this cover is actually really good.