A-
Genre: Historical: American, Western, Romance
Theme: Fake Relationship, Road Trip
Archetype: Single Parent/Guardian
Child endangerment, violence, misogyny, racism
A respectable widow of means seeks resourceful frontiersman for the purpose of matrimony. The lady seeks passage west to land owned in Mokelumne Hill, California. The advertiser presumes her manner and appearance will recommend her and expects applications from responsible parties only. Interviews are scheduled for the 6th of next month, beginning at nine o’clock in the morning, in the front parlor of the Grand Hotel. Please be prompt.
What a premise! Yes, please!
Welcome to Independence, Missouri in 1849. I didn’t know I’d love it, but I do.
A perfectly paced plot had me skipping words, trying to inhale this book in a single sitting. Dialogue that gives me that fist-pumping, warm-belly squee kept my eyes peeled long after my Official Bed Time had passed. We have an alpha hero, who is really more of a beta, and a woman being brave when really she is scared witless. Two people I can (mostly) admire and a plot that I did NOT see coming…YES PLEASE! While it drags a teeny tiny bit at the end, I still loved it.
Georgiana Bee Blunt, a widow from out east, is looking for a husband. Georgiana is travelling with three of her children: a toddler, Wilby, and twin boys, Phineas and Philip, who have a gift for chaos. She sets up camp at the Grand Hotel in Independence and spends her days meeting (unsuitable) suitors and panicking.
The reason for her panic is her first (dead) husband, Leonard. He was a feckless philanderer and gambler. Leonard left Georgiana in a tricky financial situation, exacerbated by Leonard’s awful “colleagues” and the use of her eldest son, Leo, as leverage for her compliance. Although we only hear the gory details of Leonard’s treachery towards the end of the book, it is clear from page 1 that things are Not Good. Until Leonard did a runner/died, Georgiana lived off a trust fund and enjoyed a sheltered life. Georgiana had never had to raise her children without a flotilla of servants. The trip to Independence, Missouri was a steep learning curve for her. She now faces a trip to California with her children, dwindling finances and a pair of henchmen on her trail. Because it is not enough that her husband took/lost money, but there are two men whose task it is to follow Georgiana to California to make sure she gets there.
Not wishing to take this journey alone, Georgiana decides to take the pragmatic approach of advertising for a husband. The applicants are a miserable lot and Georgiana is starting to get desperate. Enter Matt Slater, who leads a party – a giant train of wagons – to Oregon and California. He is only one of many leaders who gather their parties in Independence. Matt becomes, through a series of twists, Georgiana’s pretend fiance. Matt is quiet, super sexy (obvs) and really gentle.
I think you know where this goes.
Well, you do, but in so many ways YOU HAVE NO IDEA BECAUSE NEITHER DID I. I think at one point, I even cried. The plot is TwIsTy.
The party headed west contains future protagonists in the series, and there are some vivid characters. Seline, a prostitute who works in Dolly’s Saloon in Independence, and a few of her coworkers decide to travel out west. Unfortunately, they are treated terribly by most of the other party members. While Matt maintains a purposeful neutrality, and, in fact, veers towards respect and care, Georgiana is prissy and scathing towards Seline and her friends. Georgiana blessedly does grow as a person during the trip west.
In fact, all the characters grow and change, which is one reason it’s worth sticking with this series. A word of warning though: you can avoid the first book (Bound for Eden) – it is a misery of one-note drama (jealousy… SNORE!) and Seline is treated abysmally by the story. After Bound for Sin, I recommend diving into the wonder that is Bound for Temptation, in which Seline has her moment in the spotlight. Book four, Bound for Glory, is due out later this year, and I can’t wait!
Bound for Sin was my introduction to the genre of historical western romance and has become one of my favorite series. I’m not kidding when I say I’m impatient to read book four, wherein the hero is a Native American man who sometimes goes by the alias “Deathrider.” I loved Bound for Sin. I love that the characters grow and change and become better people. I love how all the protagonists and the plot surprised and delighted me. And because I love this series, I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about it. If you’re in need of an escape to a world of wagons, cattle, dust, and sassy talk, then saddle up and join me on the trail!
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That sounds like all my shit.
Oh, hey. My library has both this and Bound for Temptation. Let me just slap some holds on that right there.
OMG My heart is already palpitating at the sheer romance of this story! Thank you for writing this most excellent review that gave me all the feels!
Thank you for a great review Lara! I love a good western. I am definitely going to find this book and read it.
I loved this and all the sequels. I squeed. They were just what I needed at the time I read them!!
I read these books after Lara recommended them on Whatcha Reading. Bound for Sin was wonderful! I agree with her review 100%. Bound for Eden was ok – I just didn’t by the premise. And the characters weren’t as likable. The next 2 books are on my TBR list. Just waiting for the right moment.
I liked Bound for Temptation, the volume that comes before this one in the series, very much, though I’d put it at about a B. I loved Seline and her very Two Mules for Sister Sarah way of getting her man.
Why did I read this review dammit! I’m not supposed to buy anymore books this month…but hey the month is almost over.
Oh man, I haaaaated Bound for Eden with a fiery burning passion – I DNF’d it about 80% of the way through. But this looks more promising so … I’m tempted. I love historicals, gosh darn it.