Throwback Thursday: One Pink Rose by Julie Garwood

Series:	Clayborne Brides #1
Original Pub. Date:	1997
Re-Release Date:	May 9, 2016
Publisher:	Pocket Star
Length:	120  pages
Source:	NetGalley

I have read quite a few of Julie Garwood's medieval and Scottish historical romances, and loved all of them. I don't read a lot of American historical romance, so I decided to try out this series set in 19th Century Montana.

Travis Clayborne is a headstrong old west cowboy who is not afraid to take the law into his own hands. He is also quite the mama's boy, willing to carry out her bidding and right wrongs done to her. As a favor to his beloved mama, Travis has agreed to escort a Boston flibbertigibbet to her destination in Golden Crest, Montana... and if he can find a no good scoundrel along the way, all the better for his plans. 

Emily Finnegan is the flibbertigibbet, a mail order bridge traveling from Boston to Montana to meet her future husband. Emily is a bit of a headcase after being abandoned at the altar, and now she has decided that being honest and forthright is a bad thing. Her ideas about changing herself were a bit crazy, and Travis was quick to call her on them, even when they were entertaining him to no end.

The romance was pretty low key, and this book seemed a little more about the comedy. The secondary characters were uneducated simpletons with over-the-top nutty personalities. Even though the hero and heroine were well-read and more educated than most, the conversations that happened on-page were unsophisticated and goofy. The writing style in this book was not what I am used to from Julie Garwood. It seemed overly simple and somewhat slapstick. It was funny at times, but I don't think I could have tolerated it for a longer book. I much prefer some of her beautiful prose and complex stories like Ransom, Honor's Splendour, and The Prize. I have noticed this hokey writing style in other westerns that I have read, so I think this genre is not for me. 

I received an advanced copy of the re-release version of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 3 stars / 1 flame.