“This latest release by Rachel Kovaciny reminds me of older stories I’ve read. There’s a vintage feel to her books…”

Review by Mary P.

Sleeping Beauty… re-imagined…

As the local midwife and sole medical professional in her Nebraska community, Miss Emma always wants to help. When she learns the Owens family’s bitter enemy has hired a gunman to force them from their home, she rushes to the Owens homestead to warn them. But the gunman has arrived sooner than expected. Despite Miss Emma’s efforts to protect her friends, her actions only worsen their plight. Now, Rosalind Owens battles a severe infection, and Miss Emma’s medical skills aren’t enough to save her.

Professional gunman Luke Palmer was hired to remove the Owenses from their land, but he now suspects the family has a legal right to stay. As fear and uncertainty grip the Owens family, Palmer offers his aid. Can they trust him, or is his offer a ploy to remove them from their land for good? Amidst these conflicts, Palmer faces his own internal struggle, torn between his wish to forget the past and the urgent need to save an innocent life.

This latest release by Rachel Kovaciny reminds me of older stories I’ve read. There’s a vintage feel to her books and I’m finding I miss stories with a flavor of the past, as they’re becoming increasingly harder to find.

One of the things that pulled me in was how Rosalind, the daughter of the man the villain set her sights on, was closed off emotionally and didn’t allow herself to form relationships after a dark time in her life. I think that’s a similarity between her and the Man on the Buckskin Horse. They both had dark times that impacted them greatly, and in the story readers see some of the aftermath.

I really wanted her to be set free and have a fulfilling and happy life. I also wanted to see what journey she’d need to go on to get there. However, I don’t think Rosalind’s internal state was explored here in depth, given the nature of the story and the tale it was reimagining. The viewpoint character guessed at it and made observations, but much of it remained a mystery. But it was interesting to think about what stood in her way and what freedom might look like for her.

If details about surgeries and infected wounds and such don’t bother you, and you’re interested in books that explore family dynamics, the psychological damage of war, and what it means to stand up for others, this might be the story that takes you on an exciting journey in a place where neighborliness and high stakes and working through the pain of the past come together to create a thrilling experience.

Content Ratings:

6. Strong action and gore (most action sequences describe blood loss and the injury to a clear picture, albeit brief or infrequent scenes).

2. Romance with mild content (holding hands and mild kissing)

0. None.

Other Trigger/Content Notices:

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