I know you are not supposed to judge a book by its cover but the male model on the front of this cover had me go weak at the knees. My husband felt that he was better looking than the cover hero – and maybe he was – 50 years ago!!!

Set in the mid-1800s, Alexandra Barratt and her two siblings Victoria and Adam are in dire straits as the neighbouring Grady brothers move in to take over their property after the death of their parents. No money, no food and physical threats have the three siblings at the end of their endurance. A fluke event gets them gold and bonds and has them fleeing west to Oregon to join their older brother. Scared of being followed Alex disguises herself as a young lad and they tell everyone that Alex has gone east and so their adventure begins. The Grady brothers come looking – and horrible things happen to animals and people as the wicked brothers look for their property. Alex and her sister both fall for Luke – but he has a woman he is promised to back west, and besides Alex is just a wet behind the ears bothersome kid. There are a few sub plots going on and many misunderstandings as the danger to the wagon train increases. The story is well stocked with quirky characters, loose ladies and mysterious Indians to name a few. I really, really enjoyed the story, and the final climax was edge of the seat stuff. There is tension and passion, humour and horror all set on the Oregon Trail.

This was Tess LeSue’s debut western and I really hope that it is not long before she releases a second one.