Although it’s Monday, it’s my “weekend” and I’ve had a delightful day around the house – completing projects, eating a delicious salad for lunch, taking a nap, and now I’m using a heated back massager and drinking kombucha as I write a (very late) book review. I hope y’all are having a good start to your week!

The Stats
Find the book on: Amazon and Goodreads
Pages: 294
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Release Date: July 6, 2021
Title: A Man with A Past
Author: Mary Connealy 
Fiction

Back-cover Blurb

Falcon Hunt awakens without a past, or at least not one he can recall. He’s got brothers he can’t remember, and he’s interested in the prettiest woman in the area, Cheyenne. Only trouble is, a few flashes of memory make Falcon wonder if he’s already married. He can’t imagine abandoning a wife. But his pa did just that–twice. When Falcon claims his inheritance in the West, Cheyenne is cut out of the ranch she was raised on, leaving her bitter and angry. And then Falcon kisses her, adding confusion and attraction to the mix.

Soon it’s clear someone is gunning for the Hunt brothers. When one of his brothers is shot, Falcon and Cheyenne set out to find who attacked him. They encounter rustled cattle, traitorous cowhands, a missing woman, and outlaws that take all their savvy to overcome. As love grows between these two independent people, Falcon must piece together his past if they’re to have any chance at a future.

Why I Choose this Book

My dislike of this book is completely on me. I’m not sure why I requested it for review now that I reread the back-cover blurb because I know it’s not my cup of tea. The hook of the story – the main character wakes up not knowing who he is – is an idea that still draws me in, and I think it was a fun plot for the author to explore. I assume that’s why I wanted to read it.

I read the first half of the book several months ago, then didn’t pick it up again for a while because the plot and characters were bothering me. But when I began reading again, I was amazed by how good the writing was – after I acknowledged the fact that the storyline wasn’t my favorite I could focus on how well the author wrote the characters. As I read I could nearly hear, see, and feel the dirt and grime that accompanied sleeping on the trail and in the woods as they worked to find justice for their ranch. I pictured the story vividly and could hear the commotion each time disaster struck. 

A few times it was hard for me to keep the characters straight since it is the second book in the series, but overall I felt like it was fine as a standalone. (I don’t know if it gives spoilers to the first book since I haven’t read it.) There was enough open-endedness regarding the side characters that I assume there is a third book in the works.  

What I Thought about the Book

As mentioned, it wasn’t my favorite, but that is more a reflection of my reading tastes than the book itself. My biggest issues were lack of believability and that I didn’t like the characters. 

Rating 

I’m giving A Man with a Past 2 out of 5 stars. Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for sending me a copy to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.