Tallie's Hero by Sara Luck

Lady Tallas Sommerset is a new bride anticipating her wedding night when her groom offers her a stunning choice-stay celibate or take a lover as his interests lie elsewhere.  Still holding out hope for love, Tallie pours her emotions into a novel and becomes one of society's most talked about authors and with a scandal about to blow up about her husband, they divorce and she heads to Wyoming with a friend to escape the glare and criticism.  Tallie is delighted that a man, Jeb Tuhill, who captured her attention on a money collection venture to England, is also making the trip to Wyoming, his home.  The rugged cattleman is just the sort of man she could fall in love with but he thinks of her as a lady and treats her as such since Tallie can not seem to find the words to tell him about her divorce.  She is afraid he will look down on her as a result.  Tallie finds herself drawn to the beauty of Wyoming and happily settling into the new lifestyle.  She even helps as a cook for a cattle drive!  But with Tallie refusing to tell Jeb the truth about her marriage, they just steal a few heated kisses and Jeb always turns her away because he will not cheat with a married woman.  Can Tallie find the strength to tell him the truth, not just about her heart but also her scandalous novel?

This story was a wonderful weave of romance, proper life and rugged life with a dash of history (Charles Darwin, Buffalo Bill and Mrs. Churchill (mother of Winston) make appearances).  As I normally read books set more in the 'proper lifestyle' genre I was really happy to have those bits in here but I also really liked the experience of the ruggedness.  Tallie was a strong, vibrant woman who takes the fall for her husband and finds hope and happiness in Wyoming.  I do wish she would have told Jeb the truth about her marriage sooner so the romance could have moved a bit faster as I felt it took quite some time for the romance to heat up.  Jeb is the cowboy, or cattleman as he prefers, of dreams.  Rugged, sexy, strong, not afraid of hard work yet bossy and protective.  Seeing the woman he had hoped to ask to marry him with his brother, sends him off to Wyoming to set some distance and it also makes him resist Tallie as he wants no part in having an affair with a married woman.  I admired his restraint in that area as many men would just overlook it.  I loved all the wonderful attention to details, from the riding of the railroad and the special separate cars, to the description of the English manors and the beautiful scenery, I easily felt like I was transported to a time that seems so long ago.  My only real hiccup with the story is Tallie's refusal to tell Jeb the truth about her marriage, it just did not seem like that big of a concern and then as a result, the ending felt a bit rushed.  The epilogue was nice and sweet though and left a big smile on my face.  Also, as the story travels from England to New York to Chicago to Texas and to Wyoming there are a lot of characters and at times it felt a bit overwhelming.  The main characters are central but there were a lot of secondary ones.  Overall, a adventure packed story that blends the English lifestyle beautifully with the cowboy lifestyle filled with vivid descriptions sure to make you wish for your very own cattleman!  4 stars

Review copy provided by the author, thanks so much!