They Aint Proper by M.B. Guel is a slow-burn romance set in the old west between a rancher and their mail-order bride.
Lou Ramirez just wants to be left alone on their secluded ranch outside Ghosthollow. The shady characters who live in the town are fine with leaving them alone, so they’re surprised to see a wagon show up to their ranch with a beautiful woman aboard. The woman is a mail-order bride, and she’s been delivered to Lou’s house, by mistake.
Clementine Castellnos never thought she’d come back to Ghosthollow after her father the sheriff was murdered and she was carried away by bad guys. Given this unexpected opportunity, she’s determined to find out who is responsible for her father’s death, and while she’s at it to woo the handsome rancher who quickly steals her heart.
Writing
Set somewhere in the Old West around the year 1887, a reader would expect to find horses and gunplay, lots of whiskey and fancy-dressed bar girls. Lou is very familiar with those bar girls, because they’re no shrinking violet. There’s a bounty on their head, being a novel of the Old West, and a damsel to save. Using all the tropes gives the book a comfortable feel, and makes it easy to quickly dive into the story.
The author dedicates the book to the trans people in history, giving the story a different slant than normal. The super slow burn romance between Lou and Clem is all the more fascinating because of Lou’s gender, especially as not much is really made of it. They’re just Lou, so the romance is sweet and their reservations are completely based on the culture of the time, like it not being cool to hang out with an unmarried woman.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
The setting is a lot of fun, and for someone who grew up watching the old western tv shows, everything was familiar. The bad guys are bad, and the damsel in distress is, well, she’s way more capable than the women on the tv shows ever were.
Lou is a great character. They’re not shy of knocking off a bottle of whiskey or taking a woman upstairs at the bar. At the same time they’re massively polite to Clementine, despite her wishing they’d be a little less polite and just kiss her already. I liked the way the two interacted with each other, with attraction and growing affection, and irritation at the slow pace of the romance.
There is a mysterious backstory for each of them that eventually bites both of them in the butt. Neither is malicious about secrets, just worried about how it will affect a relationship both want but are afraid to push harder for whatever reason. When the secrets do come home to roost, the story heats up into some nice action sequences.
I was curious how the author would handle body issues and intimacy. Lou’s gender is a matter of fact amongst her friends and doesn’t put off Clementine for a moment. When the two do finally become intimate there was no angst, which I found very sweet.
Heads Up
Some of the violence is very harsh.
The Conclusion
Lou is a rancher living secluded in the Old West because they need to not be found by certain people. One day they receive a delivery that is not the house plans they ordered but a housewife. Clementine Castellanos doesn’t want to be sold but has debts to some bad men. She’s very happy to find that the rancher she’s delivered to is cute, sweet, and super polite. Now if she can only parley the mutual attraction into something more. The two go through some adventures and learn to trust one another as they stand against a dangerous world.
There is everything a reader would want from a book set in the Old West, with the bonus of a gender diverse person who turns the head of a beautiful woman who is not the defenseless damsel of a typical fiction set in this milieu. Suspense and violent danger is set against a romance that takes a long while to play out in this tale of a recluse rancher and their mail order bride.
Excerpt from They Aint Proper by M.B. Guel
“I’ll go to the barn, now.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Clementine said, clearly offended. “You’re sleeping in here.”
They glanced at the floor. It sure seemed better than trekking out to the barn and sleeping in the hay. They didn’t know if their runny nose could take it.
“Fine. I’ll take the floor.”
“No, you’re sick. You’re sleeping in the bed,” she said as she set a candle on the nightstand next to the bed. The soft glow of the candle cast an orange glow about the room, Clementine’s skin practically shining in it. With a small laugh that turned into a pathetic cough, Lou shook their head.
“Miss Clementine, I will not be sleepin’ in the bed when there’s a lady that needs it. I’ll sleep in the chair.”
Clementine folded her arms, the action pushing her breasts up so that Lou could see cleavage at the dip of her nightgown. “Lou. You will be sleeping in this bed. It’ll be fine. I’ll be in it too if you must know.”
“That jus’ ain’t proper.”
“I don’t give a damn about what’s proper,” she said sternly. “I can certainly keep my hands to myself. So are you afraid you won’t be able to?”
She raised a challenging eyebrow and Lou set their jaw, cheeks growing hot. “I don’ know what yer suggestin’, but I will have no problem keepin’ my hands to myself, thank you very much.”
“Great, then I don’t see a problem.” Clementine smiled. She pulled back the covers of the bed and looked at Lou. “Do you want the wall or the edge?”
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Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 978-1-64247-482-4
Publisher: Bella Books
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