Format: E-book
Read with: Amazon Kindle for iPad
Length: Novel
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: The Runaway Brides, Book 1
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Hero: Robert Declan Brodie
Heroine: Edwina Whitney Ladoux
Sensuality: 3
Date of Publication: July 5, 2011
Started On: July 8, 2011
Finished On: July 9, 2011

Heartbreak Creek is book one in the series Runaway Brides by author Kaki Warner. Recommended by my friend Jill on Goodreads, I needed no further urging as I am a huge fan of American Western romances. From the very start, the concept of 4 women who find love in the most unexpected places grabbed me and held me enthralled as each of the characters wormed their way into my heart, telling a story that would linger with me for the time to come.

Heartbreak Creek brings the story of 26 year old Edwina Whitney Ladoux from Southeastern Louisiana who makes her way towards Heartbreak Creek of Colorado as a mail-order bride for Robert Declan Brodie, a man she has never laid eyes on. Knowing that there was nothing worth staying around in war ravaged Louisiana for her and her half-sister Pru, Edwina makes the journey that brings her that much closer to the reality of marriage the second time round.

33 year old Declan is a widow who has his hands full looking after 4 children and managing his ranch which is a full-time job in itself. Knowing that his children require a mother’s touch, Declan is expecting a sturdy farm woman who can take charge of his family and instead finds himself married to the reigning belle of Sycamore Parish once upon a time.

Though Edwina dreads the thought of marriage to anyone and feels like fleeing from what she has gotten herself into, with Pru to help things along, Edwina finds herself drawn into the lives of her strong and silent husband and his children who tug at her heartstrings right from the very start. For a woman who has had a disappointing experience with intimacy, Edwina finds herself fascinated with how her body yearns for things it cannot voice, a desire that seems to be reciprocated by the man with whom she is bound to share her life till death does them apart.

For Declan, Edwina is the direct opposite of the mother of his children, who betrayed him and their children in the worst way possible, his heart and emotions encased in a block of ice afterwards which had begun to thaw in Edwina’s energetic presence. But peace and happiness in their lives seems to be elusive as an old enemy hunts them down with vengeance and death on his mind for all he has lost, a man that Declan knows wouldn’t give up until only one of them is left  standing. And when Declan’s dead wife turns up unexpectedly, both Declan and Edwina must fight harder than ever to truly win the battle of their hearts once and for all which lends this story that emotional wrangling quality that I just love.

Kaki Warner tells a great story somewhat similar in style to that of Ellen O’Connell whose American-Western romances are to die for. Heartbreak Creek introduces us to the very intriguing four ladies whose stories sound equally enticing with Edwina’s story laying the foundation of this delectable series. Declan is the strong and silent warrior type of hero beneath whose tough and stoic mask lies an endearing sense of humor which made me fall head over heels in love with him from the very beginning.

Edwina is the type of protective heroine who stands firm in what she believes in, who fights for those whom she loves and that makes for an appealing heroine all around. The sexual tension and awareness that slowly creeps into Declan and Edwina’s life is sizzling hot and well-done and though there aren’t much detailed love scenes included, it still manages to satisfy the cravings of the reader.

With heart pounding acts of violence thats the reality of life in the western frontier and tender scenes of love, Kaki Warner seems to have struck gold with this enticing series, book 2 of which I will definitely be stalking in the time to come.

Recommended highly for fans of the genre. This is one series you ought not miss.

Favorite Quotes

She drew in an exasperated breath, and suddenly her senses exploded with the essence of Declan, his heat, the smell of soap, horses … him. Her body instantly reacted – her heartbeat quickening, her skin tingling, her thoughts scattering like some addlepated adolescent sneaking her first kiss under the pawpaw tree.

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