Four orphan boys are surviving on the streets of New York City when they find a baby in the trash. Vowing to raise the baby and become a family, the boys travel west. Now Mary Rose Claybourne has grown up, finished school, and come back to her family. But when she meets the new man in town, Harrison MacDonald, and decides to invite him home for supper, she may get more than she bargained for. Mary Rose believes Harrison will never survive in the west. But Harrison is in Montana on a mission, searching for an heiress who was kidnapped as a baby 19 years ago.
Why did I wait so long to read this book? I absolutely adored Mary Rose, Harrison, and each of the four Claybourne brothers. Julie Garwood writes wonderful characters that jump off of the page. I loved how the family loved and supported each other while keeping strangers at arms length. The humor in this book is top notch. And, the letters to Mama Rose were a great way to see how the family survived the early years when the teenage boys were raising a baby. My rating: 5 Stars.
I so enjoyed this family. The brothers had me cracking up laughing because they reminded me of my older brothers. The romance flowed well and was believable. I read this in one sitting. Enjoy!
Great story about the ingenuity, strength and loyalty of children, and romance in the old west. A New York TIMES bestseller!
Funny, touching, exciting...the only thing this book isn't is boring. I loved Mary Rose's world. I couldn't wait to read the next page to see what was going to happen. Julie Garwood is one of my new favorite authors!
The beginning of the Clayborne family novels. Very touching, humorous and fun to read.
Harrison Stanford MacDonald arrives in Montana to investigate whether a young woman, known as Mary Rose Clayborne, is his employer's long lost daughter, Lady Victoria.
Four urchins (one an escaped slave) found the infant Mary Rose in a New York City trash heap, and decided to create their own family. Realizing the risks of living in states, the unusual family moves to the Montana Territory where Mary Rose's "brothers" build a home filled with love for her and for Mama Rose, a southern slave who plans to join her "children" when she can.
Mary Rose knows nothing of Harrison's ulterior motives when she offers him a place to stay. Her over- protective brothers would love to place a wall between their sister and the stranger, but the powerful attraction between Mary Rose and Harrison makes that impossible.
There will be moments when you will laugh, others when you'll cry, and still more when the sheer warmth and love captured in this story will enfold you in its powerful embrace.
