Callie's Convict

Rating:
Summary: Callie and Wade are good for each other
Review: This book would not be recommended by me if a reader is looking for a brooding hero who has walls so high around him that it takes the whole book to break through for him to say, " Okay, I luv ya." Wade is a nice guy that any girl can look at and fall in love with. Most books seldom has the hero being simply a nice guy. He was accused of a crime he claims that he didn't commit and he wants to prove himself innocent. I love his scene where he takes Callie and Matthew hostage. Very well written

Callie is woman who is trying hard to make her life work by working her small farm, raising a baby that a whore gave birth to and simply surviving doing it all on her own. She is likable, confident and doesn't waste time doubting herself and her emotions. I liked this woman and think she could be found in the old west.

I liked the way the author worked Wade into acknowledging and then caring for his son and cooking breakfasts. It was a plausable plot. The book was well written with only a few lines the author should have taken time to rewrite and not be so obvious.

Rating:
Summary: Book 2 of a series.
Review: Wade Mason had been imprisoned for a murder he did not commit. Brady Young had shot his own father in the back, blamed it on Wade, and took over Wade's land in a search for gold. While in prison Lily, from a bordello, had visited. Lily later died, but not before Wade found out that they had created a son. After nearly a year and a half in the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville, Wade escaped. Before the law found him, Wade planned to take his son away from the woman caring for his child, clear his name, and get his land back.

Callie Quinn promised Lily to raise the baby as her own. Matthew was about three months old when Wade showed up, covered in filth and shackled. There was only one man alive who knew the truth of what happened that fateful night. Wade and Callie planned to find him, somehow. Callie cared for Wade so much, that she took it upon herself to help Wade since she could get to Brady without any suspicions popping up. She was determined to help clear Wade's name, even against his wishes!

***** This book drew me into story on the first page. I read the entire book within one day. It is THAT good! The author made the feelings of both main characters clear when it came to the baby. I could actually FEEL the pain of each when they thought about losing custody of the baby to the other. Heidi Betts's writing talent burns as brightly as the sun! Highly recommended! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Rating:
Summary: A Western That Sizzles!
Review: Wade Mason is nearly unrecognizable as he lies wasting away in the filthy stall called a cell in the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville, accused of murder. Lily White, a well-known prostitute from Purgatory knows Wade isn't guilty, and she's going to make him an offer he can't refuse. Now, Wade hasn't seen a woman in longer than he cares to remember, so when Lily begins kissing and touching, the beast inside him is ready to rule. Believing she has him where she wants him, Lily tells Wade she witnessed the murder and can free him - if he will marry her. When Wade refuses, all the 'sweetness' leaves with her. As far as Lily is concerned, he can rot right where he sits. Wade has other ideas, and determined to prove his innocence he breaks out of prison and heads for Purgatory.

Nathan Quinn is a dreamer who went to California and the gold mines to strike it rich, leaving his baby sister to take care of the farm. In addition to all of this, and unknown to Nathan, Callie couldn't refuse her dying friend Lily's plea to take her new baby, and she now has him to care for, too. With Matthew finally asleep and her chores all done, a weary, bedraggled Callie relaxes in a steamy bubble filled copper tub. Hearing a noise and believing she needs to quiet Matthew, she jumps up to reach for her robe beside her, but it isn't there ... neither is her shift that was beside it, nor the towel she left within her reach. As she wonders what in the world is going on, a deep voice speaks behind her, and with a squeak she drops back into the tub.

The filthy unkempt man standing three feet away in shackles sends shivers up her back. Callie fears for Matthew and begins to make plans to get her gun. Trying not to show her fear, she asks the stranger his name and a memory surfaces when he says Wade Mason. He was one of Nathan's friends, and her brother believes he's innocent. However, when Wade asks for his boy, Callie isn't sure she agrees with Nathan's verdict. No one is going to take Matthew away, father or not. And ... the battle of wills begins.

Heidi Betts continues her series of stories taking place in Purgatory, Texas. CALLIE'S CONVICT has similarities, yet differs from the first title in the series (WALKER'S WIDOW). While this story has humor, its main focus is on the relationship between Callie and Wade. In fact, most of the story is told right in the little farmhouse. Ms. Betts again presents a handsome, strong hero and an independent, feisty heroine. Callie is more than enough to keep up with the handsome Wade. She's beautiful and smart, and has a lot of ideas she's going to follow through on --- whether Wade likes it or not. You'll begin to wonder exactly who the hostage is. Former Texas Ranger, now the town sheriff, Clay Walker revisits to play a minor role to take care of the villains who surface.

CALLIE'S CONVICT contains a lot of sexual tension and often steams up as much as Callie's tub - which by the way has its own tantalizing story to tell. (Grinning here) Purgatory, Texas - a boiling, humid, Southern town - and the setting for another steamy story from Heidi Betts. I've enjoyed her first two in the series and look forward to reading the next one. CALLIE'S CONVICT is a romantic Western tale of one convict's story of redemption that also shares a message of just how incredible it is to find someone who trusts and believes in you. It's a read to leave you feeling great as you see good overcome evil, and it's one I recommend for some hours of fun.

Carol Carter, (As written for Romance Reviews Today)