Winter’s Camp by Jodi Thomas @jodithomas @HQNBooks

I’m beginning a new group read of the Ransom County series and we discovered it begins with this novella. It turned out to be a diamond in the proverbial rough.

James Randall Kirkland was a formidable Army captain and has spent the last seven years since the war’s end roaming Texas and beyond. Now he’s ready to set down roots and has decided on Ransom Canyon. It’s almost winter and he plans to spend it camping out on the land he’s earmarked. When he enters into the dangerous trading area to get the needed supplies, he sees a “mud woman” among the Comanche tribe and is stunned at her blue eyes, knowing she was captured at some point. She’s being horribly mistreated and decides in the moment to “purchase” her. James begins the painstaking process of reconnecting her with a world she no longer remembers.

I began this story without expectations as I’d forgotten the series had a prequel. The Texas territory is harsh and dangerous so the relationship that formed between James and Millie was lovely in its subtlety and tenderness. Both of them were emerging from tough environments and somehow ended up appearing destined to find one another. There’s a lot that happens before they forge a permanent union and the book seemed like a much longer story because of its richness. This was beautiful.

Book Info

• Release Date: August 1, 2015
  
• Series: Ransom County #.5
• Page Numbers: 50
• Publisher: HQN Books

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