Book Review: Hitched to the Gunslinger by Michelle McLean

Gray “Quick Shot” Woodson is the fastest gun west of the Mississippi. Unfortunately, he’s ready to hang up his hat. Sure, being notorious has its perks. But the nomadic lifestyle―and people always tryin’ to kill you―gets old real fast.

Now he just wants to find a place to retire so he can spend his days the way the good Lord intended. Staring at the sunset. And napping.

When his stubborn horse drags him into a hole-in-the-wall town called Desolation, something about the place calls to Gray, and he figures he might actually have a shot at a sleepy retirement.

His optimism lasts about a minute and a half.

Soon he finds himself embroiled in a town vendetta and married to a woman named Mercy. Who, judging by her aggravating personality, doesn’t know the meaning of her own name. In fact, she’s downright impossible.

But dang it if his wife isn’t irresistible. If only she’d stop trying to steal his guns to go after the bad guys herself.

There goes his peace and quiet...

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My Review:

This book has left me practically speechless. In fact, I don’t even quite know how to describe it. Sure, it’s made up of elements from western, historical, romance, comedy, and suspense, but the way all of those parts are blended together created something quite unique in my experience. Let me start by saying that I spent most of this book howling with laughter. This is exactly the humor I find the funniest; it’s the absurd in the everyday. And then as we got to know Gray and Mercy and all of the quirky residents of Desolation, my heart filled with the sweetness of their story. By the time I got to the end of the book and saw what these misfits had achieved, what they’d discovered in one another, my gooey marshmallow heart had come spilling out my eyes. I loved it! And now I desperately hope we have the opportunity to come back to Desolation in the future because I think there are more than a couple stories for this town to tell still.

I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book through Books Forward.