The Sheriffs of Savage Wells

Sarah Eden has been on my radar for a while now. I've read rave reviews of her romances and been envious of my Utah friends, who could find her books on their library shelves. Out here in Texas, well, my Sarah Eden options are lacking.

But then Sherwood Smith reviewed Ms. Eden's latest novel--which I thought would be pretty much out of Sherwood's purview--and she *loved* it. Moreover, she'd gotten an ARC from NetGalley. Whaddya know?! So I clicked my way over to NetGalley and requested The Sheriffs of Savage Wells just as fast as my fingers would take me. AND THEY APPROVED MY REQUEST. You may not have noticed, but my blog is tiny. My readership is few. I have a grand total of five comments. Heck, I haven't even worked out how to put ads on here. :D So when I have to request a book instead of just being automatically approved for it, I tend to throw a mini-party right there in my reading chair when my request is granted. So here's a humongous THANK YOU to Shadow Mountain for letting me have the privilege of reading my first Sarah Eden novel!

From Goodreads:
"He's the most fearsome sheriff in the West. A force to be reckoned with. The stuff of legend.

So is she. . . . May the best sheriff win.

Paisley Bell knows the eccentric people of Savage Wells. From the absentminded shopkeeper who always thinks she's been robbed to the young man who has returned shell-shocked from the war, Paisley has compassion for them all. When the sheriff up and leaves town, Paisley steps up and assumes the responsibility, partly because she loves the work, but also because she needs the income to take care of her sick father. So when the town council decides that the position of sheriff should really go to a man, Paisley finds herself fighting to prove that she's the perfect candidate for the job, even though she wears a skirt.

Cade O'Brien is heartily sick of shooting people. In his many years as a lawman, Cade has seen his share of blood and violence. So when he answers an advertisement for a sheriff job in the sleepy town of Savage Wells, he believes he's found the peace and quiet he's always desired. But when he discovers that his biggest competition for the job is a woman, he begins to question his decisions.

Tension between the two begins to sizzle when both Cade and Paisley realize the attraction they have for each other, but when Paisley's former beau shows up in town, along with a band of bank robbers, the blossoming relationship between the two sheriffs is tested. They will have to work together to thwart the bank robbers and keep the town safe."


Savage Wells is a town full of quirky people. This is nothing new, but Ms. Eden treats all of those people with respect and makes them lovable without making them into cartoons. This is a fine line that many authors stomp all over in order to get a cheap laugh. But when done right, as Savage Wells has been, the laughs are internally motivated by the interactions of the characters that the reader has come to adore. I really do prefer it that way, and the jokes tend to be funnier.

Paisley Bell and Cade O'Brien are fantastic characters in their own right. I love that Paisley's need for independence is a natural outgrowth of her personality and not a pastiche of 21st feminist morals painted onto a 19th century character. I would have wished for a few more flaws in Cade--he was just a little *too* good at everything--but I loved the interactions between them, probably because they reminded me of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. In fact, The Sheriffs of Savage Wells could easily be called Pride and Prejudice in the American West. The plot was well developed and the mystery of the bank robbers was perfectly paced. I really enjoyed the entire story!

Gentle Reader Alert: I found nothing of concern.