"Enjoyable adventure/romance for young adults"

Because her family desperately needs money, Samantha 'Sam' Reynolds, 16, signs on as a cowboy on a cattle drive to earn $100, a fortune in 1866. Forced to keep her gender a secret, Sam tries to avoid making friends with the other wranglers but Jake Vaughn, the trail boss, assigns Matt Hart to teach her the skills needed to survive. Matt at 20 is already a Civil War veteran, deeply scarred by his war experiences, and is unhappy he has to mentor a greenhorn. When he discovers Sam's secret, Matt realizes he is falling in love with her and has to decide whether to keep her near him on the drive or tell Jake who will immediately send her home. Matt is proud of Sam's growing skill as a drover and when injured himself, it is Sam who proves that she is a valuable member of the cattle drive.

Heath has written an enjoyable adventure/ romance for young adults which is part of the new Avon True Romance series. Sam is a strong-willed, focused young woman who has to balance her feelings for Matt with her determination to save her family from poverty while Matt has to let himself again trust and care for another person Both characters provide today's teens with an understanding of the challenges faced by teens in post-Civil War Texas. Adult readers will also enjoy this sweet, fast-paced romance.

Reviewed by Doris Losey
Posted May 27, 2002

Summary

When she manages to get herself hired for the cattle drive, Samantha believes all her prayers have been answered. The money she'll earn will help her family with their struggling farm. But keeping the cowhands convinced she's a boy becomes harder than she'd expected where one particular cowboy is concerned.

Matthew Hart wants to forget the tragedies he witnessed during the War and reclaim his cowboy life. The last thing he wants is the responsibility of a tagalong youngster on this cattle drive. His hardened heart is best left unexplored until a fateful moment turns his world upside down. When he discovers what and who "Sam" really is, he's furious. But soon a stronger emotion takes hold, and bound by Samantha's secret, Matt is torn between revealing her identity and his own sudden, frightening love for her.