Housewife Blues and Chihuahua Stories

Book Info
Paperback, first, 246 pages
Expected publication: July 1st 2014 by World Castle Publishing (first published June 20, 2014)
ISBN-13 978-1629891187
edition language English
other editions None found
Source:Digital copy from author in exchange for honest review

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BOOK SYNOPSIS

Hard times have come to Shenandoah County. The mill is on the verge of collapse, unemployment is soaring, and people are leaving, unable to find work, sell their homes, or pay their mortgages. A mysterious developer arrives on the scene, eager to bring a major project with high-paying jobs to this quiet, rural Virginia community. It seems like a dream come true, but dreams can quickly turn into nightmares.

My Thoughts

When one reads the description for the story set up it seems very straight forward and pretty simple reading, however once one gets engrossed in the book it proves to have an intensity that belies the simplistic plot.

Not having read anything written by author Ronald Paxton was not exposed to any of the people or places he had featured in previous works. Now having finished Haven have learned that the characters in the Howard family were actually introduced in the 2012 book Winter Songs.

John ”Cowboy” Howard is the patriarch and owner with his wife Sarah Jane of the Wild Pony Ranch, their daughter Emma Reynolds is the manager and ranch vet, her husband Chase and son John Howard live with Emma on the ranch as well in their own home not far from the main house.

The troubles in Shenandoah County Virginia have not spilled over to include those who live and work on Wild Pony, with careful management and a strong marketing campaign they have managed to become financially stable and in fact are the biggest contributors to the local business economy.

When promises are made by the developer wishing to create a high dollar resort in the county the only one who seems willing to ask the town council to dig deeper into his past business dealings is John Howard, this causes immediate reprisals that result in multiple scenes that will stretch the readers emotions to the limit as disbelief wars with outrage at the cruelties that are inflicted because one man dares to act responsibly.

The tension ratchets higher as the rest of the tale unfolds, when it is all said and done this was a mix of uncovering the real purpose of the development project and learning more about the townspeople as well as the inhabitants of Wild Pony Ranch.

My favorite scenes were the times spent with John Howard watching the sunrise off Lookback Mountain, it was peaceful, serenely beautiful and with the addition of the wild stallion’s appearances awe inspiring as well!

There are some hard truths about human nature faced in this book, there are also some wonderful tender moments that offset the sometimes brutal ones that occur.

[Digital copy from author in exchange for honest review]