GRR Reviews Rugged and Relentless (Husbands for Hire) by Kelly Eileen Hake

Rugged and Relentless is a twist on the standard mail-order bride trope... except this time, it's husbands for hire (i.e. women pick over the men!)

Four women, related by blood or marriage, decided to head West to Hope Falls, Colorado to try to revive the town in order to revive their fortune. One of them was already betrothed, then was told that her fiancee was killed in a mine collapse in the town, then was told he survived but was mostly crippled. They decided to put up a husbands-wanted ad for the three free women, who'd also be setting up a cafe, a mercantile, as well as a library by transferring all their belongings from the city. There is no going back. They put their fortune into starting a sawmill to harvest the trees in the area with railroad already passing through. Evelyn Thompson was the cook and never imagined there could be more than a dozen men waiting for them in the small dead town, including Jacob Granger, who was a logger, but he's hunting for the man who killed his brother, and clues lead him to Hope Falls, where he fell for Evelyn as well. Even as he courts Evelyn, he's checking out the residents to see who can be the scammer and killer...

Suspense and mystery part works, as Jacob tries to spot who can be the suspect he sought, and the end result was a bit of a surprise.

Category: Historical Western

Primary Plot: Four Women Trying to Revive a Town with Husband for Hire Ad, Attracting Bachelors, as well as a Bounty Hunter, and a Criminal...

Tropes: mail-order bride (husband), protector, forced proximity, woman in peril, disguise

Overall Rating:  4/5