Audible Book Review: One Heart to Win by Johanna Lindsey

I mostly enjoyed this western romance.
One Heart to Win
By: Johanna Lindsey
Narrated by: Meredith Mitchell

Series: Callahan-Warren, Book 1
Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
Release date: 06-11-13
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Western
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.

Publisher's Summary
Johanna Lindsey, the number-one New York Times best-selling author, presents a passionate novel of hidden identities, family secrets, and love that transcends a 50-year feud set in the 1880s in the majestic ranchland of the Montana territory.
Some young ladies marry for money and social standing, a few lucky ones marry for love - but Tiffany Warren is marrying to end a feud. Honoring her mother’s promise, Tiffany reluctantly travels west to meet her estranged father and his enemy’s eldest son, rancher Hunter Callahan. Once the Warrens and the Callahans are united by marriage, both clans will stop squabbling over a disputed strip of land.
In the chaos of a train robbery Tiffany seizes a golden opportunity. By assuming the identity of her father’s new housekeeper she can live with the father she never knew and assess his true character, as well as that of the neighboring cowboy to whom she is betrothed. But, too late, Tiffany discovers that the rivalry between the Warrens and the Callahans has escalated when the Callahans steal the Warrens’ housekeeper as soon as she steps off the train!
Now, Tiffany, who is pretending to be Jennifer Fleming, finds herself living in the enemy camp, under the same roof as her fiancé. All too soon she learns her intended is a handsome, sweet-talking charmer whom she has to fight off because he can’t keep his eyes - or his hands - off Jennifer. After Tiffany’s charade is exposed she refuses to marry Hunter to end the feud. As Hunter goes about claiming his rightful bride-to-be, he knows that although he loves two women - proper, elegant Tiffany as well as spunky, passionate Jennifer - he has only one heart to win.
©2013 Johanna Lindsey (P)2013 AudioGO

Review:
Tiffany Warren was born in Montana but raised by her mother in New York. Her brothers came to visit her, but her father never did. Now that Tiffany is 18, her mother is sending her to Montana to live with her father and meet the man they arranged for her to marry years before. Her mother made the marriage arrangements right before leaving Montana as a promise to stop the feud between the Warren family and their neighbors, the Callahans. Tiffany doesn’t really want to see the father she believes abandoned her, and she isn’t too keen on marrying a cowboy. Her mother promises Tiffany that she can come home if she meets the man and decides after two months not to marry him.

As Tiffany and her maid travel west, she meets a young woman who is going to the Warrens’ household as their new housekeeper. When the train is stopped due to a robbery, the housekeeper, Jennifer, chooses to return home, and Tiffany decides to take her place so she might meet her father without him knowing. In a twist, when Tiffany and her maid arrive at the town of their destination, she is approached by two men who ask her to come to the Callahan ranch instead of the Warren ranch.

Tiffany gets to meet her handsome and charming would be husband, Hunter Callahan. As the supposed housekeeper, the senior Callahan tells Tiffany she has to cook until she can find a new cook. That is on top of trying to get more help to clean the house that has been neglected while the mistress of the house has been bedridden. Tiffany doesn’t know how to cook or clean but she has enough courage to try.

Tiffany begins a tentative friendship with Hunter while seeking to avoid his bodyguard who appears to be a dangerous gunslinger. When there is an attack on the Callahan ranch and in town against Hunter, the Callahans are quick to suspect the Warrens. Tiffany struggles to understand why the families continue to feud. Tiffany’s charade is bound to be exposed with her brothers in town hearing the rumor of a new housekeeper at the Callahan ranch. How will her family and the Callahan family react when they find out who she really is? And what about the secret that her mother has kept all these years?

I wasn’t sure at first if I would like Tiffany’s character but I learned to appreciate her perseverance and willingness to work to met her goals. Hunter is an attractive, charming, good-humored man who is hard not to like. I didn’t like that he didn’t keep his hands off the 'housekeeper' even as he anticipated the arrival of his arranged bride. Although he is also willing to do the right thing, I didn’t quite care for that sexual looseness in the story. The mother’s secrets added to the interest of the story. All in all, I enjoyed the twists, the romance, and the resolution. Readers who enjoy some sex in their historical fiction might enjoy this one.

Audio Notes: I wasn’t captured by the narration by Meredith Mitchell but it was acceptable. I was glad to listen because it moves my reading along more quickly.

Source: 9/1/2021 Audible Plus Catalog. This qualifies for 2023TBR, 2023Audiobook, 2023Alphabet, and 2023Number goals.