Roan Penny was born under a waning moon, which is supposed to be bad luck, and seeing how his life had gone, it seemed true enough. Roan thought his worries were over when Mose Mozeke offered him a place to live until some miscreants threaten Mose for his land. Then one night, Mose is killed. Roan is captured and left to die on a deserted road, but he is rescued by Marley Rose McClain, who was literally passing by. However, the McClains have problems of their own: rustlers have been stealing their cattle. It takes a while for Roan to get back on his feet, he is determined to avenge his friend as soon as he is able to. He has become attached to Marley and Marley, whose marriage prospects are very slim indeed, has become attached as well.

Roan and Marley are both very interesting characters. Marley writes children's books and wishes for them to be published, and Roan agrees. It was nice to see a hero taking a heroine seriously. Marley wrote her stories for one of the numerous abandoned children her parents have taken in, Matt, who is genuinely sweet, even for a reader who is not too fond of children in romances. At first, I felt TO CATCH A TEXAS STAR worked as a standalone, but it seems that Marley was featured as a child in a previous installment of the Texas Heroes series. I wonder if some parts of her backstory had been told in that book, because it was a lot to take in. Some of Marley's past was so over the top that the tone was one to which I'm not accustomed, and I had I known beforehand, I would not have chosen to read this book.

TO CATCH A TEXAS STAR is a book set in the Wild West, and very little was missing. There was so much happening, so many plot twists added one on top of the other that it became overwhelming and overshadowed what could have been a delightful romance. What was in fact a beautiful romance, but the villain acted like he belonged in an old silent movie -- only the train tracks were missing! -- and some turns of events were just a tad too convenient. There was no need, in my opinion, for so much complicated drama. A more streamlined story would have served our romantic couple better. There was no lack of chemistry between Roan and Marley. They were perfectly charming, and even though Roan had some trust issues, they were understandable and handled deftly.

Linda Broday creates vivid images of 1899 Texas. I loved reading about the first sewing machines, the phonograph, and modern contraptions, and everything that had to do with horses was riveting. Maybe TO CATCH A TEXAS STAR is a somewhat realistic view of how it was back then, but I would have preferred a quieter romance rather than cowboy shoot 'em ups.

Book Summary

When Marley Rose McClain finds a man lying near death by the side of the road, she has no choice but to take him home and nurse him back to health. The son of a notorious outlaw, Roan Penny yearns to make his life count. He longs to be with the captivating beauty who saved him—but he knows he'd bring her nothing but trouble.

When a strange man begins to stalk Marley, a life-long secret is revealed that threatens to destroy everything she knows--and everything she could hope to be for Roan. Yet when Marley needs him the most, Roan rides like a bat out of hell to save his Texas Star...swearing he'll prove once and for all that their love is worth fighting for.