GRR Reviews Texas Secrets: The Gallaghers by Jean Brashear

Texas Secrets was a novel about "sins of our parents / grandparents" and how it affects the current generation, and at its heart, it's about the weird will that brought two very different people together. But the family secrets were so deep and plentiful, the novel is aptly named, and the storytelling very compelling that while I recognized the trope, I enjoyed reading it very much.

To recap... Rising star chef Maddie Collins suddenly learned that her father's life was a lie, when she received a letter from a lawyer that she is now proud owner of a family home in Texas that she had never known... bequeathed by the husband of the only woman her father had ever loved, but had to give up. The catch is she had to stay there at least 30 days. After that it's hers, stay, sell, whatever. But the land the home was on... belongs to the two estranged sons of the same man, Sam Gallagher. Boone Gallagher was a former navy SEAL, but after injuries, he's just a cowboy driven away from home by his bitter father who turned on his sons after death of their mom Jenny. Boone had long lost touch with his brother Mitch. Now Boone is back, and was angry to find that his home now belongs to a city girl who obviously did not want the place, and he had to convince her to stay 30 days when they can't stand each other, for the alternative is for both of them to lose. As Maddie learned about the town of Morningstar and the less hectic but no less work ranch life, she found that this house was where her grandmother grew up, and her father's role in the struggle, and how Sam was now trying to repay the debts that can't be explained. As Boone and Maddie were forced to live with each other, they found that each was attracted to one another, and each was ready to do the other right even if it kills themselves... Is that love?

To explain the background there'd be spoilers ahead. Let's just say I had to make a map to keep all the relations clear, as these were revealed bit by bit. I very much enjoyed the book, but felt a lot of this background seems to be a bit wasted and angst-y.  It's also a bit TOO complicated.

SPOILER AHEAD

Okay, the background goes like this: Maddie's father left town to take the blame of his mother (Maddie's grandma) killing her husband, but apparently before he left, he got Jenny, his girl, pregnant, but he didn't know. He left, and got a new name and a new life, new wife, and got Maddie. Back in town, Jenny gave birth to a girl, sent her into secret adoption, then came back and married Sam because her guy is gone or dead. And Sam was ashamed that he knew the guy's alive but hiding, and Jenny / Sam had the two kids, Boone and Mitch. When Jenny died, Sam turned super bitter and the two boys into bitter young adults. Now Sam's at his deathbed and to atone for his sins, his plan was to get Maddie to come back and match up with Boone, and hopefully they can find the other parts of their missing family. Is that any clearer now?


Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Super-complex family / Sins of Parents and Grandparents / Redemption and Atonement In the Present

Tropes: weird will, forced proximity, different worlds, performer, SEAL, sudden family

Overall Rating: 4/5

GRR Reviews Texas Roots: The Gallaghers of Sweetgra by Jean Brashear

Texas Roots is a contemporary "small town" romance that managed to polish tropes about "family secrets" to a brilliant shine, and delivered a bit of suspense as well.

Scarlett Ross trusted the wrong man to love and to fund her restaurant... He turned out to have ties to the mob. When an ambitious prosecutor wanted her to testify against her boyfriend, her name and life were ruined. When two toughs almost cut her throat, she grabbed everything she could and ran... to one place she only heard of two weeks ago... A little town called Sweetgrass Springs in Texas, where her mother came from, but never mentioned. Scarlett was all alone in the world after her mother's death, and only in browsing through her mother's diary did she find that she does have a grandma in Texas. On the way, she was stranded by a flat tire and was rescued by sexy cowboy Ian McLaren, who also lived in town. As Scarlett found her grandma Ruby, her hesitation grew... How will she fit in in the quiet lifestyle and the close-knit community? How could she tell her grandma, whom she had never seen, that momma is gone? How could he tell Ian that she's interested but not ready? How could she explain that dangerous men are after her and she could never put anyone in town in danger? And as she grew more attached to the town, that she must leave before she hurt any more people?

The "going home" stories are evergreen in in romance, but going back to a "home" you never knew you had? That's definitely a new spin on things. The FMC was also heavily encouraged to stay, partly to help grandma, partly so she can be with the MMC. The threat was neutralized later, while not primary of her doing, was handle much more adeptly than a different romance with a very similar premise which I will not mention by name. The suspense itself was still a bit weak, IMHO, but it did not distract from the rest of the book.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: Woman forced to flee to a hometown she never knew she had and found love and courage

Tropes: small town, woman in peril, protector, return, sudden family,

Overall Rating: 5/5 (rounded up from 4.5/5)