Courting
Sarah Courting
Sarah Disappointed by her past marriage, Sarah is fiercely independent and adamant about staying that way. She plans to devote herself only to writing about the advocacy of women's equality for the local newspaper. But while Sarah's strong opinions are known to the town, she also guards a secret. Under an assumed name, she writes a column that teaches men how to court ladies. One mysterious man guesses her secret and challenges her ideas so eloquently that Sarah can't help herself from becoming intrigued.
Reviews:
As western romances go, Deborah Lawrence's newest should be at the top of everyone's list. Funny, with a biting humor that tickles the funny bone, Courting Sarah is one of the most delightful books for the Fall season.
Sarah Hampton has taken the small town of Gridley by storm with her talk of free love and women's rights. Her articles in the local paper cause both eyebrows and voices to rise. It is all her employer can do to keep her from alienating the entire male population of the town. As for Sarah's opinion? She hates depending on her childhood friend Phoebe for both livelihood and home, but a widow in a small town does not have many options. Besides, her writing has become the center of her world.
Not quite ALL of the men, however, are discouraged by Mrs. Hampton's tirades. In fact, Gil Perry finds her to be the most intriguing and thought-provoking creature he has ever met. Her extraordinary beauty certainly does not bother him, and neither does her mightier-than-thou attitude when she walks past him on the street. When Gil figures out that the daring Mrs. Hampton is also writing a column in the paper under an assumed name on proper social etiquette, he decides to have a bit of fun with her and begins penning the most romantic letters to ever melt a page. It appears that the bartender at the saloon has a few tricks up his own sleeve.
Somehow,
as quickly and aggressively as possible, Courting
Sarah piles on the fun! Of
course, it isn't very fun when Gil gets hurt and Sarah ends up nursing him back
to health because it is all her fault. It
is certainly not laughable when the women at the local bawdyhouse are nearly
burned out. There's nothing funny
about men standing in the way of women voting. Or is there?
A talent for filling in the lines between the tragedies may be the answer. Ms. Lawrence displays tremendous love for her characters, building them
into people so real that they occupy space and time. Feeling an attraction to the hero, knowing and understanding
the heroine -- that is what makes a romantic comedy romantic. Western? Yes, Courting Sarah is
definitely a western…and a romance…and one of the best books of its kind
anywhere.
“A treasure to read! A delight to enjoy! Kudos to
Ms. Lawrence for a grand achievement!”
“Courting Sarah is strong, warm, and
passionate! An overwhelmingly
emotional and incredibly fun romance.”
“Beautiful characters and a wonderful plot! A western romance with all the right angles!”
-Karen Ellington
COURTING SARAH - Deborah Lawrence - Friends Romance - 10/99 - Jove -
Sarah and Phoebe grew up together and
their friendship was sealed when
they exchanged their favorite dolls.
When Sarah is widowed, she decides to
move to Oregon to be near Phoebe,
who's now married to Charles, the local newspaperman. Sarah is a
supporter of the Suffragette movement, so when Charles asks her to write
articles for the local paper, she takes the opportunity to make her very
controversial views known. She’s also Miss Lucy, an agony aunt, for the
paper, and when she starts receiving letter from a Mr. Brown, she's
intrigued. Although she becomes attracted to
Gill Perry, the local bartender, she still longs to meet the mysterious
and elusive Mr. Brown.
Ms. Lawrence sets a cracking pace
from the beginning and keeps it up to
the last page. It's a well-told story with likable and interesting
characters. A very enjoyable read!
Yasmin Kosar, Reviewer
Old Book Barn Gazette, October issue
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