Review: Bound for Sin by Tess LeSue

Bound for Sin
(Frontiers of the Heart #2)
by Tess LeSue
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: Sept. 4, 2018
Genre: Historical Romance
Rating:

WANTED: A resourceful frontiersman, for the purpose of matrimony…

When Georgiana Bee Blunt advertises for a husband, she’s not looking for a handsome man, or a smart man, or a charming man. What she wants is a brute. A no-nonsense, capable backwoodsman who won’t trouble her with talk of love; she just wants someone to get her and her fatherless children safely to California. Matt Slater seems to fit the bill perfectly. The man looks like he could wrestle a bear and not even break a sweat. The only problem is he doesn’t want a wife. Well, not the only problem…

Truth be told, Georgiana has more problems than she knows what to do with. Left holding a gold claim by her not-so-dearly departed husband, Georgina finds her eldest son held ransom by the sinister Hec Boehm and his henchmen, and herself facing a journey of more than two thousand miles to rescue him. With four children in tow. And no nanny.

All Matt Slater wants is to be left alone. He’s spent most his life on his lonesome in the wilderness, and he’s comfortable that way. But then a widow with big blue eyes and the tenacity of a buffalo turns his entire life upside down, and before he knows it, he’s playing caretaker to a pack of kids…and trying not to succumb to their mother’s charms.

 

 

Georgina needs a husband who can not only help her and her children make it across the country, but also help her get her son back who’s being held for ransom in California. However, of all the men she’s interviewed, not one of them is right for the job. They are all too prim and proper for the journey that lays ahead. That is, except for Will. Will is a rugged frontiersman who spends his time taking people back and forth across the country. While he may be perfect for Georgina, he has no desire to settle down and marry. He’s quite happy with his quiet, solitary life, and he has no plans to change that.

In the last installment we followed Luke who was also in charge of leading groups of people across the country. This time we follow his brother who has sort of taken over the business. I honestly don’t remember Will and couldn’t say whether or not we met him in the previous book. So with that being said, you don’t need to have read the previous book in order to follow the story. The only common character in this story is Rides with Death. He has been traveling with Matt previously before the story begins and he continues to travel with Matt for the majority of the story. I’m not going to lie, I was kind of hoping the second book would be his story, but alas I’m still waiting for his story to pop up.

One thing that I loved about this book was Matt. He’s just this quiet, shy, protective character. I’m so used to having alpha males, that Matt’s character was a nice change of pace. While he may be unsure around Georgina, he’s just so great with her kids. He knows all the right things to do and say in order to calm them down and steer them towards behaving. He instantly fell into a fatherly role for the kids whether he meant to or not.

And those kids, boy were they a handful. They were all over the place. Although, there is a part in the beginning where Georgina couldn’t tell the twins apart and it was noted that she has a hard time figuring out who is who. Which made me think maybe the kids weren’t hers… but they were. You would think that a mother would be able to tell her kids apart. She also acted as if it were her first time being a mother. She was always wrung out, not sure what to do, and just sort of bumbling all over the place. Not to mention that the children didn’t respect her or listen to her… that is, until Matt came along.

I really liked that this story was sort of a fake relationship turned real. Matt ends up pretending to be her fiance in order to keep her and the kids safe during their journey when her son’s kidnappers decide to join the convoy to keep an eye on her. I’ve never read “Oregon Trail” style stories before this series, and I have to say that I’m a big fan. The stories take place over at least half a year (since that’s the time it takes them to make their journey) which allows the readers and characters to get used to each other. There’s no insta-love and the characters seem honest and real to their time. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. I am bummed to see that Rides with Death still doesn’t have a book yet. I REALLY hope the author decides to give him his own book because that guy definitely has a story there and getting the little snippets in these books just isn’t enough.

 

 

Favorite quote…

Life’s a mean old drunk. And you can either get down in the gutter with it and keep pouring hooch down its throat, or you can pull yourself up and move along.”

 

 

Previous review from
Bound for Eden

 

 

4 Thoughts on “Review: Bound for Sin by Tess LeSue

  1. I have twin brothers and I can tell you, even now that they’re adults, it’s hard to tell them apart at times. They grow different length beards now, that’s the only difference between them. lol

  2. Yes! I loved this book so much! The only thing that didn’t really work for me was the way the end played out, but I loved the rest of the book so much I can forgive that.

    If you read the author’s notes or acknowledgement at the end of the book, Rides with Death IS getting his own book. I’m hoping it’s with the author that is writing the books about him. That has the potential to be an amazing story!

    Great review.

    • I completely missed it. I just assumed that you will see him continue to pop up in the next book as a side character again. I really hope his book comes soon. His story would be so interesting.

  3. bookwormbrandee on 6 September, 2018 at 8:48 am said:

    I really like the sound of this story and I don’t read near enough American HR. It is interesting Georgina didn’t have a handle on her kids and Matt sounds even more interesting. Glad you enjoyed this, Kristin.

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