Top Read of 2004

Since this was my top read of last year, I thought I'd add a review.

Marry Me by Susan Kay Law
(2002, Western) 6/27/04
Grade: 5

To free her sister from another loveless marriage, Emily Bright heads to Montana where she buys a land claim and intends to make a new life. Except that her new land isn’t empty. The original owner, Jake Sullivan, left after his wife died, but now he’s back and isn’t leaving. But can eternal optimist Emily co-exist with skeptical, taciturn Jake?

A wonderful book. It started out with a lot of laughter, and by the end it grabbed my heart. Both characters are wonderful. Emily is bubbly and eternally optimistic, but she’s not dumb (and not even that naive). Jake is sometimes grumpy and cynical, but he’s not an alpha jerk - he admires Emily’s strength from the beginning. The West is a little bit prettified here, and the ending gets a bit overly sweet, but the gradual development of the relationship between Jake and Emily was well worth it. I stayed up until 3 am reading this one, and then closed the book with a happy sigh.

I consider Susan Kay Law a hidden treasure - some of her books are better than others, but she deserves a bigger audience. I only hope she doesn't end up being pushed into romantic suspense or women's fiction, when she does American Westerns so well!