Quickie review: A Stolen Heart by Amanda Cabot

A Stolen Heart by Amanda Cabot

The synopsis:

From afar, Cimarron Creek seems like an idyllic town tucked in the Texas Hill Country. But when former schoolteacher Lydia Crawford steps onto its dusty streets in 1880, she finds a town with a deep-seated resentment of Northerners--like her. Lydia won't let that get her down, though. All will be well when she's reunited with her fiancé. But when she discovers he has disappeared--and that he left behind a pregnant wife--Lydia is at a loss about what to do next. The handsome sheriff urges her to trust him, but can she trust anyone in this town where secrets are as prevalent as bluebonnets in spring?
Bestselling author Amanda Cabot invites readers back into Texas's storied past to experience love and adventure against a backdrop of tension and mystery in this first book in a brand-new series.

My review:
5 stars
5/27/17

I really enjoyed this story, set in 1860s Texas!  It reads smoothly and is interesting from start to finish.  I loved Lydia's sweets shop and her relationship to Aunt Bertha.  Travis is a nice, manly sheriff, and their romance is sweet and realistic.  It was a nice surprise for me to find a strong mystery thread in the story, with a mysterious person attacking people, stealing items, and engaging in other criminal mischief.  

I loved that the romance wasn't all touchy-feely sensual, but was about two mature adults coming to care for each other in a way that wasn't merely physical lust.  I also was glad to find no profanity or crude speech as well.  

The one thing that bugged me was that someone forgot that measles patients were always subject to quarantine.  :)

Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.