Saddling Brenda

Title: Saddling Brenda

Author: Trixie Stilletto

Publisher: Ellora’s Cave

Publisher URL: http://www.jasminejade.com/

ISBN/BIN: 9781419936395

Genre: {M/F} Western, Contemporary

Rating: 4 Nymphs

Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Rose Nymph 

Brenda Morelli is trying to get away from her past and move on with her life, but things do not get off to a good start when she finds herself stuck in the mud in the middle of nowhere. She’s about to admit defeat when a handsome cowboy intervenes to try and get her back on track. 

Denny Poyter is intrigued when he spies a damsel in distress on the side of the road. It’s been a while, but this mysterious southern belle with curves in all the right places has Denny thinking it’s time to get back in the saddle. It doesn’t take long for Denny to make his intentions clear, but he can see she’s struggling to find her feet. Can he convince Brenda that he’s worth sticking around for? 

As soon as I began reading Saddling Brenda, I knew I was going to like this book. Set on a ranch with the Montana scenery beautifully portrayed as the backdrop, I was able to lose myself in Brenda and Denny’s story of discovery.  I felt Brenda was the strongest character and was very realistically portrayed. I felt a kinship with her as her eyes were opened to what she’d been missing out on and the enormity of how wrong she had gotten things in the past began to sink in. Denny was an interesting character and the perfect personality to help Brenda find her way. With Denny around, tension and temperatures were surely set to rise and I would have loved to have delved deeper into his character. I really liked that Brenda kept her sense of identity and it wasn’t just left to Denny’s character to lead the way. There’s heartache, but also happiness, as Brenda is able to be true to herself for the first time. The author did really well in finding the right balance between the conflicting emotions to keep me hooked.