phyllish
Written on Jul 3, 2018
My rating is 4.5 Stars
Delilah’s charm didn’t leave only the deputies falling over themselves to be around her, but attracted even Oliver, the raccoon. After a less than favorable first meeting, she and the little critter declared a truce and even became fast friends. Author Shanna Hatfield did such a great job of including him into the story, not only using an adorable raccoon graphic at the head of each chapter (if you look closely, the raccoon there is made up of flowers – brilliant!), but including Ollie in the text of each chapter as well, allowing him to play a prominent part in this delightful book.
As with many of the author’s heroine’s, Delilah is strong, independent, resourceful, and intelligent. As the daughter of a scientist, she had an inquisitive mind. I enjoyed the way she didn’t let anything deter her from seeking out the birds she was so fond of, including putting on trousers and climbing trees.
Dugan was an interesting man. For some reason, he felt it necessary to hide his intelligence, though not from Delilah. He was head over heels about her but didn’t have the confidence to pursue her, especially when his best friend, Seth, squired her around town. The scene at the dance and the ensuing events were great! The very strong attraction between Delilah and Dugan resulted in some swoony kisses, yet they remained clean and appropriate. It was evident that the pull is not merely physical.
I love the way author Shanna Hatfield managed to impart so much information about meteorology, birds, and other things relevant to the time period into Lightning and Lawmen and yet doesn’t make it sound like she is simply spouting off facts. Each piece of knowledge is wrapped into the story in such a way that it is very natural and just fits.
Included with the romance were a murder and a mystery. Someone was breaking into the weather station and also into Delilah’s house, but why? The way that was resolved was interesting and the rescue was so much fun.
The Baker City Brides (and their husbands) from previous books of the series all play prominent roles in this one, which allowed me to catch up on how they are all doing. The details included from the past were just enough to not make the reader feel lost if they had not read the others and not so many to make those who have read them feel like their story was being rehashed in this one.
This review was originally posted on Among the Reads
Get a preview of Lightning and Lawmen at amongTheReads.net
I would like to thank Shanna Hatfield for giving me this copy of the book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.