Rosa’s Land is the story of Lafayette Riordan, the youngest of three sons. He longs for adventure yet, due to his gentle upbringing, he is more suited to be a scholar and artist. “Faye” as his family calls him, dreams of adventure and wants to earn a coveted position as a part of Judge Isaac Parker’s very famous team of marshals. One day Faye tires of his simple life and sets out on a journey of discovery, secretly learning to ride and shoot so he can join the marshals.
Rosa Ramirez is a young lady who lives with her grandfather on his ranch. Their number one task to to keep the land safe from outlaws that are constantly raiding. After a tragedy occurs during a raid by the outlaws, Rosa takes it upon herself to seek out Judge Isaac Parker and demands a marshal to stay on the ranch and help them run off the outlaws. Rosa gets more than she bargained for as she rides back to the ranch with Faye.
The story continues with Faye moving from a “greenhorn” marshal to taking down one of the most famous outlaws, and grows up in many ways. When his family visits, they are surprised at the man that Faye has become. Can Faye and Rosa save the ranch from outlaws? Can Rosa learn to trust Faye?
I love Gilbert Morris. I grew up devouring the Winslow Series and Cheney Duvall, M.D. as well as other books from Gilbert Morris. While this book was good, I had a hard time reading this book. The other books I have read by Morris have “meat” to them and the story lines kept my attention from the first chapter through the last. This one, while good reading, was very shallow and unbelievable at times. The story starts with a large amount of unnecessary information on Faye’s father and brothers, and Faye isn’t mentioned right away. Rosa, the title character, isn’t even mentioned until about one-third of the way into the book. Faye and Rosa don’t even meet until almost half way through then their story speeds through to the ending.
While it wasn’t my favorite read by Gilbert Morris, I will continue to read his books. He is an amazing author and great storyteller. Book Two in this series, Sabrina’s Man is set to release December 2013. I am hoping that book will be a better read.
Thank you to NetGalley for my free copy of Rosa’s Land, which I received in exchange for an honest review.