The Burnett Brides: The Outlaw Takes a Wife

Rating:
Summary: A SWEET STORY OF REDEMPTION AND LOVE
Review: Beth Anderson is forced to leave behind her childhood home at the end of the Civil War and all its accompanying tradegies. Shamed and alone, she accepts an offer from Texas to become a mail order bride, knowing nothing of Eugenia Burnett and her matchmaking ways. Since Eugenia had success in pairing up her oldest son and his new wife, Rose, the crafty woman decides she'll try to find a good woman for her wayward son Tucker. Eugenia has never given up on her middle son, Tanner who ran off to join the war, even though the Army belives him dead. But no one has seen or heard from Tanner in a decade. But Eugenia is right, Tanner is alive and running with outlaws. He's a dangerous man who figures he's got nothing left to lose. But when a stage robbery attempt goes bad, Tanner does his best to save the stage driver from being shot. Instead, Beth takes the bullet. No matter how hardened Tanner believes his heart is, he can't leave Beth alone to die. So he takes her to San Antonio and cares for her himself. But he does not count on being so drawn to the woman of quiet courage or how deeply her sad past will affect him. Beth is drawn to the man she sees underneath the fast guns and grim eyes. Though they try to resist each other, love is inevitable. It becomes equally complicated when Tanner runs into his youngest brother, Tucker, and discovers Beth is intended for him. The sparks fly and the dialogue is both humorous and poignant in this story of redemption and homecoming. Well worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Outlaw with a Conscious
Review: Set in Texas in the 1870's, Tanner Burnett is disguised as a banker on a stage bound for Fort Worth. When the outlaws he works with rob the stage, Elizabeth Anderson is accidentally shot. Tanner rushes her back to San Antonio to find a doctor. Dealing with ghosts from his past, Tanner cannot cope with another death on his conscious. He pretends to be Beth's husband as he cares for her in a San Antonio hotel room. Beth is traveling out west as a mail order bride. She is also escaping ghosts from her past. When Tanner escorts Beth to her Fort Worth, he encounters the family he has not seen in over ten years. Beth finds she is engaged to Tanner's younger brother, Tucker Burnett. Tanner and Beth do not know that Beth never wrote to Tucker, she actually was writing to his meddling mama, Eugenia Burnett.
It is a touching family reunion and all parties must adjust to the changes of the past eleven years. Tanner and Beth both have secrets from their Civil War tragedies. Everyone has to learn how to trust again. This installment in the "Burnett Brides" trilogy is leaps and bounds better than the first, The Rancher Takes a Wife. It contains the emotional development that the first is sadly lacking, but the atmosphere is much darker because it deals with heavier issues. 4.25/5

Rating:
Summary: Outlaw with a Conscious
Review: Set in Texas in the 1870's, Tanner Burnett is disguised as a banker on a stage bound for Fort Worth. When the outlaws he works with rob the stage, Elizabeth Anderson is accidentally shot. Tanner rushes her back to San Antonio to find a doctor. Dealing with ghosts from his past, Tanner cannot cope with another death on his conscious. He pretends to be Beth's husband as he cares for her in a San Antonio hotel room. Beth is traveling out west as a mail order bride. She is also escaping ghosts from her past. When Tanner escorts Beth to her Fort Worth, he encounters the family he has not seen in over ten years. Beth finds she is engaged to Tanner's younger brother, Tucker Burnett. Tanner and Beth do not know that Beth never wrote to Tucker, she actually was writing to his meddling mama, Eugenia Burnett.
It is a touching family reunion and all parties must adjust to the changes of the past eleven years. Tanner and Beth both have secrets from their Civil War tragedies. Everyone has to learn how to trust again. This installment in the "Burnett Brides" trilogy is leaps and bounds better than the first, The Rancher Takes a Wife. It contains the emotional development that the first is sadly lacking, but the atmosphere is much darker because it deals with heavier issues. 4.25/5

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful, Heart-Warming Story
Review: Sylvia McDaniel is now one of my favorite authors. Her books, especially "Outlaw," are fresh and natural. Her people are fun and likeable. This story of a man returning to his family home after a terrible experience with war is poignent and heart-warming.

Rating:
Summary: Another winning Western historical from McDaniel!
Review: Tanner Burnett hadn't been home in a long time, and he wasn't planning on a trip now. But when an innocent young woman is shot during a holdup he was involved in, Tanner feels responsible for getting her to her destination as soon as she is able to travel again. The young outlaw didn't plan on having his heart captured by his beautiful victim. But he knew a life such as the one he lead had no room for love, after all he had been on the run for years. But Tanner is an honorable man, even if he is an outlaw, so he fufills his promise to see her safely to Fort Worth, and right into the bosom of his long-lost family. Seems the lady was to be married to his brother Travis, the sheriff!

Elizabeth Anderson is on the run herself from an unsavory past. Putting herself up as a mail-order bride, she has been corresponding with Mr. Burnett of Fort Worth, Texas and has agreed to become his bride. But when she is waylaid by the hold-up and forced to spend her recuperation time in the company of the handsome and sexy Tanner, she finds she regrets her decision to marry the unknown Mr. Burnett. While she has fallen in love with Tanner, Elizabeth is determined to make a new life for herself, and sacrifices her chance at love for honor. She insists on Tanner taking her on to Fort Worth, where she will keep her promise to become Mrs. Burnett. Imagine her surprise when she discovers Tanner is also a Burnett!

Sylvia McDaniel brings us another intriguing story of love in the Old West with her second installment of The Burnett Brides series. The Outlaw Takes A Wife is a tale filled with sensual romance, heartwrenching drama, and a wonderful happy-ever-after ending. Everything a great romance needs! McDaniel has also done her historical research of the period, and includes the fascinating tale of the legendary outlaw Sam Bass within this story. Look for the final installment of the Burnett brothers' story in The Marshall Takes A Wife, due out in July, 2001.

Sharon Galligar Chance, Times Record News

Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable story!
Review: What a wonderful reading experience! This was a great second story in Ms McDaniel's Ballad trilogy. It was very absorbing and moving as Mama Burnett accomplishes much more than finding a wife for her son, she also has her long lost son returned to her after his abscene of a decade. And quite expertly the third and final story is introduced.....I am definitely anxious for it's release in the summer of 2001.