Part II - Peggy L Henderson

These are the other two books of hers I've read - though there WILL be more.  I really do enjoy her writing


Ain't No Angel by Peggy L. Henderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've read a couple other Peggy Henderson books in the Yellowstone series and really enjoyed them so was more than willing to try another series she's written even though I still have to finish the Yellowstone one. And it was actually the second book in this series, Diamond in the Dust, that appealed to me. But the hero in that book is the villain in this book so I wanted to see how villainous he was.


This is another time travel western and like the other series, I think the author does a wonderful job. Laney Goodman has led a sad and lonely life in the present time. Raised in foster care, she's never had friends or family and she about to embark on a life of reluctant prostitution when her first "customer" offers her a position working with horses, a passion of hers, in Montana. With nothing left to loose, she agrees. The next morning she wakes up in strange clothes in a real honest to goodness stage coach. It takes her a while to figure out and then with the help of her mysterious benefactor, she's been sent back to the past.

Tyler Monroe runs a successful horse ranch but he is starting to have problems. One of them is a lost bet to we'd a mail order bride. Because his mother abandoned he and his father, he wants nothing to do with women and the last thing he wants is to marry one of them. But when he meets his mail order bride, Laney of course, he changes his mind and they marry.

They are both attracted to each other but both have issues.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I had no problem suspending belief and buying into the time travel aspect. I liked both Tyler and Laney a lot. Laney is drawn to Tyler and his old fashioned manners. She's never been treated so respectfully by a man and I REALLY liked Tyler. He is confused and dismayed by his growing feelings for Laney but at all times treats her with dignity even though he begins to suspect she may be a 'soiled dove'

I recommend this book happily to fans of western and time travel readers.



Diamond in the Dust by Peggy L. Henderson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 Stars

My last review was for the second book in this series, though it was this book that really appealed to me. And while I think this book could be read as a stand-alone, I am glad I read Ain’t no Angel first as the hero in Diamond in the Dust, Gabe McFarlain, played a significant role in Angel as the bad guy. There is something delicious when an author can successfully change a villain into a hero and the author does a wonderful job with Gabe. At the end of the first book he is sent to the present time from 1872 – to say why would be a huge spoiler for the first book so I won’t say why, but he doesn’t go happily. In fact it’s very much against his will when he realized the mysterious Mr. Johnson has sent him to the future. One of the keys to writing a good time travel is make it seem believable - even if the reader knows it can't happen and in this case I had no problem buying into how it's done

He wakes up on the side of the road, badly beaten up (from the end of the first book ‘cause he’s the bad guy and deserved it). Morgan Bartlett, our heroine, sees him lying there and picks him up and brings him home. It doesn’t take Gabe long to realize he’s in the present time but when he shares this with Morgan, she doesn’t quite know what to think.
Gabe has a lot of issues. He would have to, being the bad guy from the second book of the series. He grew up in the old west the bastard son of a whore who didn’t give Gabe much in the way of love. He was treated badly by the town’s people and he was abandoned by the man who fathered him in favour of another son. To say he had a chip on his shoulder was putting it mildly. But Morgan sees something in him. Morgan is a trust fund baby who is determined to make a life for herself despite a controlling mother. She is also a single mother who chose not to stay with the father when he punched her.

Gabe develops strong feelings for Morgan yet he refuses to act on them. He comes from the past where men treat women with respect and he doesn’t think he is good enough for her. As he falls for her more and more, he feels worse and worse for what he did to Tyler Monroe the hero of the previous book. On top of that he hates feeling beholden to Morgan. Because he comes from the past, he doesn’t really know how things in the present work and he finds it difficult that he is not able to pay his own way. He also is old fashioned enough that he is almost horrified by today’s style of clothing. All these factors make for a very appealing hero. He really made the book for me.
I liked Morgan too though she wasn’t quite the standout for me. I found her a little too bit lenient with her mother’s interfering ways. And because she was quite wealthy, she didn’t really have to struggle too much financially, though when her mother cut off her trust fund, she needed to find something. But she’d never really had to work and didn’t have a career. But that's just a minor point.

I am so delighted I found Peggy L. Henderson. This is the fourth book of hers I've read and I just think she writes very good books. I plan to read everything she has. I'm delighted when I find an author I can really get on board with.