Short version of review: This was a slog fest of not one, but two stories by my favorite author. Sorely disappointment does not begin to describe how I felt last night when I finished. Now I am not one for westerns (I only have two on my keeper shelf), but I figured in Roberts' hands I would have a pleasant reading....I was mistaken by a mile. Stay away, especially if you love western/cowboy romances.
However, I do love the cover. I am a sucker for winter scenes with cardinals. And yeah, that is the best part of the book.
Long Review: I am breaking down the book by story.
Song of the West (originally published in 1982) - Bottom line: there is nothing good to this story. I wanted, and did, like the heroine in the beginning. She was loving and loyal to her twin and was a decent person overall. By the end, I wanted to slap her and tell her to go back to Philadelphia; TSTL embodied. The hero turned me off from the get go and his rescuing the heroine did not bend me. I love a good alpha male, but the hero was an extreme version. The descriptions of Wyoming was repetitive; I have driven through Wyoming a few times and did not find it as beautiful as the heroine who went on and on about the scenery. I think she "fell in love" with the hero because she wanted to live there. I put the quotations marks for a reason - the romance was so unbelievable and the HEA was so abrupt that it made me sick. Zero stars.
Boundary Lines (originally published in 1985) - This was a decent romance and unlike the other story, believable. Jillian was described as a typical 1980s heroine (red flaming hair, beautiful eyes, slim and curvy in the right places, etc) but Aaron was what I like - Tall, Dark, and Handsome (capital A alpha male, but reined in to be realistic). I love the trope used; the families had a professional feud and respect and the feud was a pastime more than anything. What brought the two together was cattle rustling; one of the criminals was foreshadowed early on, so the mystery was great for bringing the two MCs together but was too easily wrapped up in time for the HEA. My one gripe was the sheer amount of info dumping in the first chapter - seriously, ten pages of backstory while heroine looks out on her land. I think I knew her blood type by the time any action took place. Sex scenes were loving, but not very erotic; lots of descriptions of the weather and scenery of Montana. 2.5 stars.
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