GRR Reviews Jake (Destiny in Deadwood) by Cynthia Woolf

Jake is a pretty good adventure, but not too much romance there. It's basically a fugitive hero doing the right thing. There may be some minor inconsistencies and a lot of swearing, if you are sensitive to that sort of things.

Jake Anderson killed the man who killed his fiancee, but the other bad guy got away, and that man decided to cover up his crime by abusing his authority, forcing Jake and his brother Zach to go on the run. How the brothers, joined by brother Liam and his two children, set off for Deadwood, hoping to stay incognito and forgotten. Upon arrival, Jake encountered Becky Finnegan and her drunken father Billy. Billy blamed her daughter for his dead wife and beat Becky daily. The gold claim barely produces enough gold for him to buy liquor in the local saloon, not that he ever work when he can beat Becky into working the claim for him instead. Jake immediately attempted to protect Becky, but Billy spotted an opportunity... He can sell the locations of the Anderson's to bounty hunters... when that failed, he sold Becky off to a miner instead, but Jake and Becky escaped to get married first. But is it just to save her... or is there real love involved?

While the twists are good, the characters don't seem to love much. It's basically adventure, adventure, and adventure, as heroes just react to bad guys. The only proactive thing they did was run off to get married. Then the inadequacy trope strikes. Not one of the author's best efforts.

Category: Historical Western

Primary Plot: Brothers were chased by evil man to who framed them for murder, ended up at gold claim to save a daughter abused by father

Overall Rating: 3/5

NOTE: Tropes are now in the "Labels" below.