Stuck Together: (An Inspirational Historical Western Cowboy Romance set in Texas) (Trouble in Texas)

There are only a handful of historical authors whose books I automatically snatch up, and Connealy, queen of romantic comedy with cowboys, is one of them. She had me chuckling from the very first scene, a wild saloon brawl instigated by the heroine. Tina, a woman who's been abandoned for most of her life, is always thinking of causes to fight for, and she's determined to shut down the saloon by picketing. As much as she annoys Vince, a self-acclaimed lawyer and a not-wannabe town-appointed sheriff, he can't help but appreciate her spunkiness.

"Broken Wheel was a north Texas town set smack-dab in the middle of Indian Territory. Only idiots lived here, and idiots rarely needed a lawyer. Vince figured it was only fair to count himself and all of his friends among the idiots."

Vince hightailed it away from his childhood home after he healed from the war, escaping a mother with dementia and a tyrant father. But that doesn't last long and Invincible Vince finds himself caretaker for his mother and a sister he never knew existed. As much as he might enjoy a lasting relationship with Tina, Vince recognizes that it's only a matter of time before it becomes apparent which parent he'll take after, and he refuses to pass either of those genes down to a child or to saddle his wife with a tyrant or a man who can't remember her name. For me, how and when Vince finally resolves this issue seemed hasty and a bit rushed. But then, he was tracking down a...well, I won't spoil your reading pleasure. :)

We met Vince and Tina in the second book in the Trouble in Texas series, Fired Up, where the fireworks were already sparking between these two. You can read my review here. All of the Trouble in Texas books can be read as stand alones, but really, why not scoop them up and settle in for a few laughs? With subtle spiritual references, both mainstream and inspirational romance lovers will enjoy Stuck Together.

Disclaimer: Sending a big thank you to Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reviewing Stuck Together and for the free copy I received in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. This opinion is my own, and I received no compensation.

The third book in the Trouble in Texas series opens with a comedic scene involving a brawl outside the town saloon. It all begins with Tina picketing the place with wooden signs. It develops with certain men of the town using any excuse for a fight, and it ends with Tina in a horse trough that happens to be filled with muddy water. It’s fairly slapstick stuff, but it’s probably the most humorous section of the entire book as it takes a somber turn just a couple of pages later and continues in that vein.

One of the major plot lines in the book concerns Mrs. Yates’ mental health and how others respond to it. Mental health treatment was in its infancy during this time and much about it was unknown or misunderstood. The Yates family and friends react differently to her condition, but I was able to connect with Vince’s thoughts and feelings given some personal experiences with mental illness and dementia. I also connected with Tina’s anxiety. Despite her brashness in picketing the saloon, deep down she’s an insecure woman still wondering where she fits in life. Although it isn’t mentioned in the book, I believe this is also a mental health issue: a person may often put on a bold front to mask any fears, anxieties and insecurities they might have.

Stuck Together is about two people forced to spend time with each other because their friends are getting together. Vince and Tina make a volatile pairing and it’s hard to tell if they’d get together if not for their other relationships. One downside of the book is that their romance has to share space with one that unexpectedly appears between her brother and his sister. I felt this second romance was out of place and might have been better having its own book where it could have been properly explored. The epilogue, however, makes it clear that Trouble in Texas is a three book series and Stuck Together is the last book in that series.

One last note: my favorite character in this story was not one of the main characters, but a minor one named Livvy. I think you’ll understand why after you read it.

Thank you to Bethany House for my complimentary electronic copy of Stuck Together, which I downloaded from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I picked this book, I thought it would be more about Tina's desire to shut down the saloon. I think the back cover is a bit misleading in that, because although that is the start of the book, the majority of the book is not really about her crusade against drinking. I was also a bit confused in the beginning because there are a lot of characters, and since I had not read the first two books in the series I had a hard time sorting out who was who. That said, I did really enjoy the characters of Tina and Vince. I liked the brotherhood between the main male characters as well, and I felt that their background as Civil War soliders and prisioners of war was interesting. The author did a good job showing the depth of the men's bond and the reasoning behind it. Honestly, I was more interested in that than the romance aspect of the story. I do think that anyone interested in this book should probably read the other two books in the series first.

I received this book from the publishers, Bethany House, for the purpose of writing a review, but all opinions are my own.

The Wild West, a one sheriff-town, saloon brawls, gunfights, and angry Indians… Makes for a jam-packed story but Mary Connealy does one better and adds spunk with a feisty picketing-protester heroine, a hero with too many roles and a valuable lesson to learn, and enough sparks between the both of them to light a bonfire!

Tina Cahill, the last unmarried girl in Broken Wheel, spends her spare time pacing outside the saloon whilst hoisting placards sermonizing on the evils of alcohol. When Tina gets embroiled in a fight with its patrons out in the street, Sheriff Vince Yates knows she’s more trouble than what she’s worth. But that doesn’t stop him from developing some mighty strong feelings for her. However, with a tyrant for a father, and a mother addled in her mind, he refuses to foist those bad genes upon his future wife. And so ‘Vince the Invincible’ continues to fetter his emotions, which is not easy considering he continues to get stuck together with Tina! Vince’s life is turned upside down by his parent’s sudden arrival in Broken Wheel, a mad woman in jail, and an Indian uprising to quell… But nothing sets him more on edge than that pretty picketing woman with whom he can’t get out of his mind.

Mary Connealy has delivered an action-packed romance that merges history, humor, and an inspirational thread that encourages the reader to trust in God for their future. This has been an amazing series and the old band of friends from the war, the Regulators of whom Vince was a part of, has snatched a permanent piece of my reading heart! Highly recommended!

I was given "Stuck Together" for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. "Stuck Together" is the third book in the 'Trouble in Texas' series. I had not read the previous two books but I don't think you would need to read the previous ones to have an understanding of the story line in this book. Reading the first two books might have given me more insight into the characters but overall I knew who the characters were. I was a little overwhelmed by the number of characters in the story and it took me quite a while to figure out who was who (which might have been prevented if I had read the earlier books).

The story is about Tina Cahill who lives in Texas during the 1860's and some of the challenges she faces in her town, Broken Wheel. You can often find her picketing outside the local saloon as she does not approve of the establishment. Tina is a selfless woman though and is often helping those in her community.

The other main character is Vince Yates, who has been assigned as the town's sheriff - not by choice. He has been single for so long, and most of the local ladies are married off, so he figures marriage isn't for him. He also believes that with the knowledge of some things from his past, he is better off not married anyway. No matter how hard he tries, he just can't get Tina off of his mind, but he doesn't want her to be exposed to the things of his past.

A few events happen throughout the book that demonstrates how a community pulls together to help one another. Through all of it, Vince and Tina are forced to work together and come up with solutions that will benefit them both. Will working together show them that they love each other or will both be happy being single?

It took me a while to get into this book but I enjoyed some of the unique aspects of the storyline. I enjoyed how everyone worked together - which rarely happens in our world today.

Love Mary Connealy's books. Keep writing!

great book

I enjoyed this quick western romance because the women were pretty feisty and it was cute how the Jonas and Vince both liked each other’s sister. Vince’s mother, Mrs. Yates, was a sweet old lady who kept trying to go out when no one was paying attention to her and was quite successful. I thought it was really nice how the townspeople all joined together to take turns keeping watch over Mrs. Yates. This book had more romance than the first two which I liked better, but still had a little action and excitement at the end.

Great.

Love all her books!