The four McBride sisters and their parents are a close family, though the girls are all grown and living on their own. If one of them needs something, her sisters are sure to pitch in.
Texas Wildflowers, a collection of four contemporary romance novellas, is a part of the Romancing America series. In this case, all four are written by one Texan author, Anita Higman. Something unique about this group of stories is that all are written in first person POV, and only from the viewpoint of the female main character, instead of the more usual third person with alternating main characters that most romances seem to have. It worked fine–just letting you know in case it matters to you.
The first novella, “Everything’s Coming up Rosy,” starts with Rose McBride waiting at the church for her groom to show up. Instead, he texts the best man to explain he just can’t go through with it. Rose is heartbroken but soon realizes she isn’t as devastated as she would have expected to be. Is that partly because her friend Lars is determined to break her out of her doldrums? And then there’s Siggy, a little neighbor boy who’s living with his elderly relative, who simply hasn’t the energy to keep up with a child. Siggy wants a forever home. Can he and Lars pull this off with Rose?
Lily is a relationship counselor who’s never been in love. “Forget Me Not Lily” is the fun tale of a guy requesting counseling (at the insistence of his boss) to get over being jilted by his fiancee months ago. For once Lily wishes dating a client wasn’t against her code of ethics! Things get complicated when she finds Ruben’s boss is a woman with barely hidden motives. Can Lily navigate these tricky waters?
Next we meet Violet in her tale, “For the Love of Violet.” She owns a successful business called Romantic Images. She figures she’s so good at it because she isn’t a romantic herself, just knows what most women will like. Good thing she can focus on the business end of things! But when Morgan shows up in a decrepit jalopy he appears to love and asks her advice on using all her products to woo a woman, she doesn’t expect to fall for him. It’s just not in her game plan.
“Dreaming of Jasmine” is the final story, in which Jasmine is invited to accompany the single guy-next-door to a wedding and encounters all his relatives eager for him to marry. But Jasmine isn’t too sure about Evan Finch. After all, he’s a motivational speaker, very popular with women’s groups. Can she trust him to not manipulate her? Can she trust him to handle himself appropriately when women practically swoon at his feet? Jasmine has determined to tell the truth at all cost and doesn’t trust too easily–a combination that might cause Evan to run for the hills.
This quartet of stories about straight-talking outdoorsy Texas sisters is a fun addition to the Romancing America series. If you’re interested in reading more about these novellas, including excerpts and an interview with the author–and a chance to win a copy!–start checking in over there starting Monday.
CBA best-selling and award-winning author, Anita Higman, has twenty-nine books published (several co-authored) for adults and children, and she has seven books coming out in the next two years. She won a 2011 RWA Readers Choice Award (first place) and has been honored in the past as a Barnes & Noble “Author of the Month” for Houston.
Anita Higman has written for radio, ezine, and advertising. She also cohosts a monthly blogtalkradio show at www.InFaithNetwork.com which is a part of Reader’s Entertainment Radio and reaches an audience of 80,000. She has a BA degree combining speech communication, psychology, and art from Southern Nazarene University, and she is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers as well as The Writer’s View.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley for the purposes of review. Opinions are mine alone.
