Book Review: The Texan's Wager (Wife Lottery #1)

The Texan's Wager

Jodi Thomas

4/5

I haven't read a western romance in a long time but maybe I should find more cause I kind of vibed with this one. Bailee is in jail with her two friends after confessing to the murder of a man who tried to rob them and kidnap her friend. They haven't found his body but the sheriff can't just let them off without any punishment, he'd fine them but they don't have any money. So he offers a trade, if they get married and have their husband pay the fine then they're free to go rather than hanging. It was kind of a bluff because the sheriff knew no jury would ever convict them, but it worked out for the better when Bailee meets Carter.

Carter is extremely quiet, his parents were killed in front of him when he was five and that kind of trauma doesn't just go away. It also helps to understand that his mom was deaf, even before her murder they didn't really talk much vocally. It made me so sad when we learned that though, the sheriff saying that he was signing and yelling in a language that no one else could hear. Carter was super sweet too, not aggressive just very awkward. He never pushed Bailee and really all he wanted was to build a relationship based on trust.

Bailee was a strong character, she led her whole group through the desert after they were abandoned by the caravan. I wish we had gotten more on her backstory though, that was one of the problems I had with this book. They kind of said stuff and never really gave us further support on it. I guess it went along with the lack of real talking that the couple did, I mean they talked about their feelings a bit and all it wasn't super insta-love they just didn't talk about their pasts. I know they didn't want to dwell on it but like, Bailee killed a guy can we talk about that?

I would still recommend the book though! Super sweet and super fun with adventure and gunfights and everything you would expect from Texas in the 1800s. If you're afraid to read it because of misogyny I would say don't be afraid, we have strong female characters and men who know the right time to step aside.