The Gunslinger’s Guide to Avoiding Matrimony by Michelle McLean
Published: July 26, 2022
Entangled: Amara
Pages: 311
Genre: Western Romance
KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.
Michelle McLean is a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl who is addicted to chocolate and Goldfish crackers and spent most of her formative years with her nose in a book. She has degrees in history and English and is thrilled that she sort of gets to use them. When Michelle’s not working, reading, or chasing her kids around, she can usually be found baking, diamond painting, or trying to find free wall space upon which to hang her diamond paintings. She resides in PA with her husband and two teens, the world’s most spoiled dog, and a cat who rules the house.
Without realizing it, Adam stumbles into a big town wedding and accidentally marries Nora Schumacher, a sassy-mouthed mountain of a woman with legs as long as his wanted poster. So what’s a gunslinger to do but get himself unhitched and find a job. Any job. Except Adam keeps getting fired, one odd circumstance after another. And he’s running out of options.
Desolation was supposed to be his safe haven. Except, he’s not only running from his past but from the irresistible woman he married. And worse, he’s finding that he rather likes the enticing, if damnably independent, wife of his. But some men just aren’t the marrying kind. Only, if he leaves, his own life won’t be worth living. If he stays, he puts the lives of his newfound family and the woman he loves on the line. So much for Desolation being the answer to all his problems.
“Totally worth it.”
Adam is looking for a fresh start, and somewhere, no one knows who he is or what he’s done. When he wanders upon a town in the middle of nowhere, he thinks he has found a fresh start. Nora has had to be independent her whole life. Her mother died when she was young, and her father didn’t cope well. So she has been an adult for most of her life. One of the rules of Desolation is all men have 30 days to either find employment or get married. Adam has no desire to get married, so when he accidentally ends up married- he has to figure out a way to end the marriage and stay in the town.
This novel reminded me of how much I enjoyed western romances. I haven’t read a weather romance in years, but this was a fun story.
I found the rules of Desolation exciting and fun. And I enjoyed the characters so much. Adam was charismatic, trying to do the right thing after living a reckless life as a gunslinger.
Nora was an excellent lead, intelligent, strong, capable, and fiercely independent; I loved her. I loved the personalities that filled the town and the love and community.
The plot was fast-paced and filled with humor. I loved the romance between Adam and Nora, despite their attempts to ignore their feelings.
I found the arc so beautiful, and I loved the story’s completion. The development was solid, and the writing was fantastic. This was my first novel from Michelle McLean, but it definitely won’t be my last.