About the Book:

Three runaway brides
Determined to escape their fates
Flee West to find freedom that can only be had
in a cowboy’s arms…

Alexandra Brighton has spent the last five years in Boston, with all evidence of the wild frontier girl she used to be erased. Before she settles down, she’s determined to visit her childhood home. When she finds herself far from her destination, she has no choice but to have the rugged Malcolm Kincaid escort her to Montana.

Now that Malcolm finally has the name and location of the man who killed his brother, he has no interest in protecting a pampered Eastern lady. But something about her tells him he just can’t leave her behind. And by the time they reach Montana, Malcolm must decide if seeing justice done for past wrongs is worth losing a future with a woman he never expected to need.

Click on title below for direct Amazon buy link:                                                   The Gunslinger’s Vow (Runaway Brides)

My Review:                     

Alexandra Brighton was raised in Montana, where she learned to hunt, shoot, and live off the land.  Then at age fifteen, she was attacked, and her retaliation caused repercussions that forced her father to send her away to Boston to live with her aunt.  For the last five years, she has learned to be a proper lady, and now she has received a proposal that should have her overjoyed…..only, it doesn’t.  Though she requested many times that her father let her return home, he has never agreed.  Now Alex knows that she can never settle into a marriage until she returns to Montana  to determine which place is truly her home.  She sneaks away and boards a train west, anxious to see her father again, and to sort out her feelings.

Bounty hunter Malcolm Kincaid has had only one goal in life for the past eight years – find the man who killed his younger brother, or die trying.  Every time he gets close to Walter Dunstan, it seems that he is warned and manages to elude Kincaid.  Now Kincaid finally has a solid lead, and plans to start his quest the next day, when he is approached by a beautiful, well dressed lady, who requests that he escort her the rest of the way to Montana.  Kincaid is a loner, and has no desire to play nursemaid to Alexandra.  Though he initially firmly refuses her, he encounters her later, finding her abandoned by the party she had subsequently agreed to travel with.  He reluctantly agrees to take her as far as the next town, only to find the formerly bustling city has now dwindled down to a tenth of its former size.

It seems that fate is determined to foist Alex on Kincaid.  Despite his gruff manner, he can’t abandon her, so he agrees to escort her to her father’s home.  Initially, Kincaid is annoyed by Alex’s chatting and her questions.  He’s the epitome of the grumpy, surly, anti-social gunslinger.  (Think of the old Clint Eastwood westerns.)  But he’s also handsome, protective, a good hunter,  and a man so wracked with guilt that he’s given up all hope of a life and happiness of his own.  Though he finds Alex desirable, he’s honorable enough to keep his distance, as he’s a man with no future.  Each day, Alex slips more into her “Montana” skin and shows that she’s no helpless lady from back east.  She does her share of the work, and proves to Kincaid that she knows how to hunt, shoot better than he does, and takes care of him when he is injured.

When Kincaid’s injury forces them to seek shelter in a secluded cabin, they give in to the simmering attraction that both have been feeling.  Kincaid is quick to affirm that he has no future to promise, and Alex is content to accept their passion as something they’ll share only for now.  Up until then, the unspoken lust between them was like a bubbling cauldron that kept building and building, only to have Kincaid turn away.  The sexual tension was truly palpable, and showcased Kincaid’s unbelievable willpower and determination to not take advantage of Alex, though she gave every indication of being willing.

I don’t read many westerns, but Amy Sandas is an author whose historical regencies I’ve enjoyed, and I found myself loving THE GUNSLINGER’S VOW.  Both Kincaid and Alex are strong, determined, and focused on their goals.  I liked and admired them, and couldn’t wait for them to finally succumb to their overwhelming desire for each other.  I loved how well this book flowed, and how it turned out they had another connection in their pasts to link them.  The conclusion to this well written and passionate story was exciting and very satisfying.  I’m looking forward to the upcoming stories in the RUNAWAY BRIDES series.