A much-lauded romance author with a slew of loyal fans, I've wanted to try a Jo Goodman for ages. My first impression of Stages of the Heart was admiration of Goodman's excellent prose. However, the characterization fell utterly flat and the narrative never drew me in.

Stages of the Heart is a must read for historical romance fans. Ms. Goodman has included all of the right elements for readers to throughly enjoy this novel. Call (McCall) is a gun for hire so he has always lived his life on his terms and likes to think he’s prepared for anything. Laurel is a bit of a different character, she seems very stand-offish to other people in the beginning. The first meeting between the two was very controlled and stiff. They seem to ruffle each other’s feathers and then have to navigate troubled waters to make it through to enjoy each other.

The secondary characters add more depth and variety of people, it makes to ensure the laughter (the poor pastor). The setting in Stages of the Heart prove research has been done and the clothing, and story line are all probable. The Pinkerton make another appearance and the plot thickens as Call tries to find ways to prove how they fit as a couple and is encouraging ways to try and explain it to those watching. Call and Lauren grow both as people and as individuals working together.

I encourage historical romance fans to give it a try, the beginning takes a bit to get going but does not disappoint. is hard to not go into too many details and risk ruining the book for readers. A good historical romance with great characters and a plot that keeps readers engaged.

I grew up reading westerns with my dad so reading a western romance feels like coming home in a way. Over the years I've come to love the romances put out by Jo Goodman. They always have interesting settings that just embody what I picture the Old West to be like and they're always filled with intriguing characters. The thing I love the most about Jo Goodman's books is that even if I don't love them, I enjoy them. I haven't read one of her books that I haven't liked but I do love a few more than the others.

While I didn't love love Stages of the Heart, I enjoyed the heck out of it. It's set a few year after the end of the Civil War in a station town on a stagecoach line that's hoping to be a station or close to a station on the inevitable railroad line. I loved the glimpse we got of how a stagecoach line was run with the switching of the teams and drivers! I was intrigued with the day-to-day operations of Morrison Station as I was the stagecoach line. And it was refreshing to see the impact the Civil War had on the West. It was a major event in the US but we often don't see the effects it had on the frontier towns compared to the East Coast where the majority of the battles were fought. It added a unique spin to the story.

This book has a mystery/suspense plot that kept me guessing to the end. At first, it seemed like it was a run-of-the-mill robbery and an easy case to solve but it turned out to be more way more complex. I spent most of the book trying to figure out the whodunit as the story progressed and I was only successful at guessing a small part of the overall scheme before it was revealed.

As for the characters, I loved Laurel and how down-to-Earth, no-nonsense she is. She's had to be tough and smart to keep Morrison Station running and successful. I loved that about her! Her interactions with her employees who she considers family were intriguing and heartwarming. Call, for a newcomer, fit in splendidly with everyone. I quite enjoyed Call's easygoing manner and how he conducted the investigation into who stole the mine's payroll. He's seen a lot between the war and his time working for different stagecoach lines. It was fun watching him and Rooster interact and how he slowly became more confident in the work he was doing outside of the investigation and handling the horses.

The thing I wasn't sold on was the romance between Call and Laurel. Overall, the romance was okay. It worked for me by the end but I was pretty skeptical of their feelings for each other most of the book. There's just something about how their romance evolved that didn't sell me on it and I haven't been able to pinpoint why that is. But that's a small thing compared to how much I loved everything else about the story.

When I'm asked for western romance recs, I always recommend Jo Goodman. If you're looking for a quick western romance with a unique setting that has an awesome historical fiction vibe and an excellent mystery, then Stages of the Heart is the book for you. You won't regret picking it up!

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

One of the things I most enjoy about Jo Goodman's books is how she creates interesting, well-rounded characters then allows them to drive their story. That's the case once again in her newest novel, Stages of the Heart, a slow-burn romance with a solid mystery at its core, set in the post-Civil War, Colorado frontier.

I really enjoyed this book. It moves at a gradual pace, allowing the reader to slowly come to know the characters as they also learn about one another, but never feels like it's dragging. I loved the sweet, heart-tugging feelings that develop between stubborn and independent Laurel Beth and former soldier, Call. Laurel Beth's innocence and conflicting feelings alongside her desire and determination are perfectly portrayed. And Call is such a good guy. I was in his corner all the way.

The mystery they need to unravel brings them together even as it brings danger to their door. Goodman does a good job of weaving all the threads together to keep the reader guessing until the reveal. She also surrounds Call and Laurel Beth with an array of secondary characters who bring humor, conflict, and an enjoyable richness to the story. By the end of the book, I felt as if I knew them all, wanting to be friends with some, and happy that others got the punishment they richly deserved.

Take a satisfying trip to the Old West with Jo Goodman's Stages of the Heart.

*ARC received for fair and honest review

Stages of the Heart is set in the colonial, frontier American West that many of Jo Goodman's books have been set in. The manager of a rest station along a stagecoach route through Colorado, Laurel Morrison has been working determinedly to keep the station and to influence the government's decision to lay the railroad tracks past her station so that she and her town can stay alive and in business as the stage is overtaken by trains. McCall Landry, a somewhat drifter on his way west, is on the stage when it's discovered that it's been robbed. Offered a position to recover the payroll money for the local mine by the local mine owner, he begins investigating. Call and Laurel develop feelings for each other as they hunt down the real thieves.

Jo Goodman mixes historical romance with atmospheric detail and measured pacing that bring the story, characters, and setting to life. Laurel and Call are immediately attracted to each other, but it's not insta-love - the attraction and the relationship build over time, as they follow the trail of the thieves. Goodman's heroines tend to be strong independent characters, and Laurel is no different with her independence and determination to maintain her independence business.

So far, I've enjoyed all of Goodman's western romances, and this is no exception. Recommended for fans of historical and/or western romances, and those who like a bit more atmosphere, setting, and secondary characters in the story.

Laurel Morrison is a strong, independent woman running Morrison Station, a stagecoach stop in route to the bigger Colorado town of Falls Hollow. Laurel’s been running things on her own since her father and brothers were murdered in a holdup eight years earlier, and she’s had to make plans since the coming railroad can make or break her station depending on which route the line decides to take. Laurel has plans to sway the higher ups to take her route, but a payroll robbery at her station puts her station on shaky ground. Enter McCall Landry. He steps up to help the shorthanded stagecoach and becomes embroiled in the solving of this mystery. No skin off his nose there, because it puts him right in the middle of Morrison Station, a place he fully intended on getting acquainted with after laying eyes on the beautiful and strong Laurel Morrison.

Stages of the Heart wasn’t really touted as a mystery, but is it is very much one getting to the bottom of the payroll theft and the dangers that come after. McCall proved himself to be an astute judge of character, and I was happy he was on the case especially since Laurel’s family station and reputation were at stake. The partnership they forged trying to get to the bottom of this fueled the initial admiration and attraction felt between them, and even though there were some bumps in the road, these two were such a perfect couple! Their fun verbal sparring led to sparks, which led to more, and the inevitable was sizzling!

Jo Goodman’s writing was captivating; I just wanted to shut the doors, block out the world and immerse myself in the Old West where Laurel and McCall were making their way through the changing times. She made these two come to life, their struggles, desires and joys coming through loud and clear, and easy to relate to. I don’t know what Ms. Goodman’s plans are, but I hope there are more stories to come!

The romance is of the “slow burn” variety. On her side, Laurel has had men pay attention to her in the past but she soon figured out it was for what she owned rather than who she was. Her reluctance to completely believe Call when he says he wants to stay in town and court her is believable. Her protestations that she doesn’t care to be married or that she is indifferent to people knowing that they are having a physical relationship seems a little off as this is 1872 in a small town and part of whether or not she gets the railroad contract depends on her character and integrity. As much as we modern women may bemoan the strict moral standards women were historically held to, they still were.

Call on the other hand, is fairly upfront from the start in telling Laurel that he’s interested in her and that even if she isn’t thinking of courting, he just might be. Oh, and the idea of marriage isn’t sending him running either. He believes in the right of a woman to have orgasms and assiduously works to be sure Laurel gets them. He also loves a strong woman even if sometimes Laurel’s determination to take a hand in the investigation worries and irritates him.

I had to laugh at the fact that it’s Call who ends up in a snit at one point of their sometimes contentious relationship but at least he’s open in telling Laurel why he’s mad and this in turn gets her to be more open and communicative. The secondary characters are great and are given rounded personalities that make them real rather than cardboard. And as with so many of your books, the marriage proposal is lovingly set up and executed.

The pace of the story moves a little slowly and I might have wished for less end-of-the-book exposition to wrap up the mystery. Fans who are more interested in a strong heroine + strong and caring hero romance will probably enjoy this more. B-

Goodman has earned her many fans by consistently delivering well-written, lightly amusing, character-driven romances, and this latest, a post-American Civil War western, does not disappoint.

Since the murder of her father and brothers seven years ago, white 27-year-old Laurel Beth Morrison has been doing the work of several men, running the Colorado's Falls Hollow stage coach station with the help of a few employees. There's never been the least sign of trouble, until, that is, a payroll box due to be delivered to the mine in the next town never arrives, and the culprit turns out to be one of the station's hands. White, thirty year old Yankee cavalry soldier McCall Landry, a passenger on said stagecoach, is hoping to find a job working security at the mine, but is instead hired by the mine owner to find the missing money. A task he's not at all loathe to take on, given his immediate attraction to Laurel ("He didn't think too hard about the attraction he felt. It was just there. There was no reason that he could think of to deny it. [Kindle Loc 1186]). Call goes "undercover," working at Laurel's station while he investigates the missing money.

The mystery seems to run into a dead end when Call and Laurel discover the body of Laurel's former employee, but Call is after the money, not just the bad guy, and so he stays on, slowly romancing a somewhat bewildered and definitely guarded Laurel, unused to being the apple of any man's eye. "I'm not pretty like you. I don't attract bees to my blossom the way you do," Laurel tells Call with unadorned honesty (3147). Misunderstandings occur ("She tended to go at a thing straight on. Call practiced circling his prey"), are talked out, secrets are exchanged, and a temporary affair is agreed to—even if one of the participants has begun to fix his eyes on a more permanent arrangement.

A subplot about which route the new railroad will take adds a layer of interest to the central mystery. But the real draw here is the understated and charm of the two central characters, and the gradual development of the romance between them.

American western romances that are well-written are hard to come by these days. Stages of the Heart really delivers a quality read, complete with a strong fierce woman and a good romance with a solid storyline foundation. Though a slow burn, once I hit the 100 page mark, I was fully invested and enjoyed the story a lot.

I love Jo Goodman's Westerns - they are always emotional and gritty and Stages of the Heart was no exception.

Laurel Beth Morrison runs a stagecoach station in a frontier town and has done so for the past seven years after her father and brothers were murdered. As a result, Laurel is a strong and independent woman who is focused on her business and thinking of the future since railways will be replacing the stage and she wants her station to be part of that. This future is put into danger when the strongbox on the stage is stolen from her station and it turns out one of her employees was the culprit. One of the passengers, McCall Landry, is charged to investigate the theft, which he is more than happy to do since it gives him the excuse to hang around in Laurel's neck of the woods. This blatant interest is something that Laurel just can't wrap her brain around, but she can't quite admit that she's not intrigued. And, well, we can all see which way the wind is blowing after that...

I will admit that I found Stages of the Heart to be a bit slow going at first. A lot of time was spent setting the stage for the mystery element of the story, but once we focused on the characters and their relationship, I couldn't put it down. Laurel in particular struggled in understanding a relationship and I just loved that she was the resistant one in the romance rather than Call. The emotional journey is what I love so much about Goodman's writing and always puts me in mind of Mary Balogh despite this being a very different historical backdrop.

Stages of the Heart was another winner from Goodman!

I enjoyed Laurel and Call's story. It's always a good feeling to read about a couple that is witty and has good, relatable conversations and interactions. However, this just moved so slowly for me. I really wanted to dive right into the mystery of the missing payroll and the danger of the chase and let that ramp up the tension between Laurel and Call. The slow burn just ended up feeling slow for me.

Operating a stage coach station is hard work but Laurel Morrison has been doing it for years since the dearth of her family. When a payroll goes missing Laurel must team up with a passenger on the stage to solve the crime.

Stages of the Heart by Jo Goodman is a western standalone novel that takes place in the Colorado frontier. This is a western historical romance that I really enjoyed, especially with the couple being so likable, as well as Goodman always writes wonderful stories.

We meet our heroine, Laurel Morrison, who runs a stagecoach line (Morrison Station) that connects through Falls Hollow. Laurel inherited this from her father, and both of her brothers were killed, leaving her alone to run the station. She has a very good group of people who help her, and she is determined to make sure she wins the contract for the future railroad tracks coming their way.

Call Landry, our hero, makes an overnight stop at the station, when a robbery is discovered, he agrees to help the driver to the next stop.. Call accepts a job from the head of the stagecoach to go back to Falls Hollow and investigate who stole the money. Call is happy to go back, as he couldn’t help but be very attracted to Laurel. In a short time, they will begin to work together to try and discover who was behind the robbery; along the way, they will both succumb to the fantastic chemistry between them. I loved Call and Laurel together, and got a kick out of the bantering between them. Will Call stay in Falls Hollow and Laurel? Will Laurel allow herself to trust her feelings for Call, and his feelings for her?

What follows is a sweet romance between Call, who had quickly fallen hard for Laurel, with him having to convince her that he was serious about his feelings for her and that he wanted to stay. Will Lauren believe him? They were so great together, as the romance was fun, humorous and their chemistry was sensual. The mystery of finding the robber, escalates after finding the body of the suspected robber. There were a number of suspects, which created the danger and tension. To say too much more would be spoilers, but I loved this wonderful couple, as well as some great secondary characters.

Jo Goodman did an excellent job in creating a wonderful couple in Call and Laurel, and a story which had a lot of humorous banter, tragedy and an enjoyable romance. If you enjoy romance, a western and historical background, with a fun sexy couple, then you should read Stages of the Heart.

I'm a big fan of western romance and hadn't read one in a long time. Jo Goodman is also a favorite of mine so I was really looking forward to this book. It didn't disappoint! There was a lot of witty banter, a tender romance and a mystery to unravel. I've been having trouble getting into any new books the last few weeks, but this one was a refreshing change that brought me several hours of reading enjoyment. Thank you, Jo Goodman!

I've read and enjoyed a few of Jo Goodman's books so I was excited when I got approved for this one. Unfortunately I didn't like it as much as the others I had read. I liked Laurel and Call as a couple but I found the book to be a little slow for my tastes. I still enjoyed the book, but it wasn't my favourite. I'd definitely still pick up another of Jo Goodman's books in the future though.