"Dawn Comes Early" by Margaret Brownley

About this book:

  “Looking for a woman of good character and pleasant disposition willing to learn the ranching business in Arizona territory. Must be SINGLE and prepared to remain so now and forever more. Will be given ownership of ranch. -Eleanor Walker

  Disgraced dime novelist Kate Tenney fled the city that banned her latest book for a fresh start at a cattle ranch in the Arizona Territory. She hopes ranching turns out to be as romantic as she portrayed it in her novels.

  But what awaits her is a much harder life. There is no room for mistakes on a working cattle ranch in 1895, and Kate is ill-prepared for her new life. She quickly learns that dawn comes early . . . every day. But she is tenacious.

  Having been abandoned by a string of men, Kate has no intention of ever marrying. But she didn't expect to meet Luke Adams either. Luke awakens feelings inside Kate she doesn't recognize, and his steady presence is a constant distraction. She has only written about love in the past, never known it herself. But her feelings for Luke stand in the way of all she has to gain if she is chosen as the heir.

  Perhaps God brought Kate to the barrenness of the desert to give new life to her jaded heart.”


Series: Book #1 in “The Brides of Last Chance Ranch”.  Review of the third book Here!


Spiritual Content- Prayers; Scriptures are mentioned, quoted, read, & paraphrased; Church going; Many talks about God & trusting Him; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Kate thinks God deserted her (her mother told her that God favored the rich, therefore not raised about a loving God and doesn’t know much about the Bible); Kate is later shocked to learn that God answers prayers; Eleanor is mad at God, but tries to pray; Many mentions of God; Mentions of prayers; Mentions of church, church going, preachers, & sermons; Mentions of Bibles; Mentions of those in the Bible; Mentions of faiths & Christians; Mentions of praising God & miracles; Mentions of forgiving; A couple mentions of monks;

            *Note: A mention of a place that could be called a hellhole.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘idiot’, a ‘shut up’, a ‘what in tarnation’, a ‘what the…?’, two ‘blasted’s, two ‘stupid’s, five forms of ‘dumb’, seven ‘drat’s; Mentions of curses (said, not written); Fighting & Blood (up to semi-detailed); A kidnapping; Many mentions of crimes, outlaws, jail, & gunfire;  Mentions of a dead person & a coffin (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a drowning (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of hangings; Mentions of fighting, injuries, & blood (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of fires (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of branding animals & the smelling (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of animal waste (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of alcohol, drunks, & saloons; Mentions of cigars & smoking; Mentions of bets; Mentions of divorces & exes; A few mentions of Indians attacks & killing others; A couple mentions of tobacco; A mention of a wife shooting her husband.

Sexual Content- a forehead kiss, five boarder-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kisses; Remembering kisses (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to be kissed & mentions of longing needs; Touches, Embraces, & Dancing (up to semi-detailed); Noticing & Nearness (up to semi-detailed); a ‘hussy’, and two ‘tramp’s; Mentions of Kate’s book that was deemed “immoral” by her publisher because of the two-page long kiss; Mentions of kissing, kisses, & wanting to be kissed; Mentions of a toe curling (fictional) kiss; Mentions of staring at lips & mouths; Mentions of passion, a passion filled marriage, & wanting one (Bessie reads Kate’s book); Mentions of Kate’s mother who has a fondness for alcohol & men and entertain men for a living; Mentions of temptations of being unfaithful to a spouse & thinking one is; Mentions of Kate’s father who left Kate and her mother; Mentions of blushes; Mentions of brazen flirts; A few mentions of brothels & painted ladies; A couple mentions of lovers; A couple mentions of a woman being compromised; A mention of finding a woman alone with a man (hinted possible kissing); A mention of a loose woman; A mention of a barely-above-not-detailed kiss; A mention of a forehead kiss;  Love, falling in love & the emotions;

             *Note: Mentions of landing on a cactus & a bare bottom (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a plunging neckline of a dress; Mentions of a woman’s unmentionables; Mentions of a cow in labor (up to semi-detailed); A couple mentions of a woman who died in childbirth; A mention of a misunderstanding of a woman being called a sexagenarian.

-Kate Tenney, age 29

-Luke Adams, age 30
                                P.O.V. switches between them, Eleanor, & Bessie

                                              Set in 1895-1896
                                                        343 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

This is a very different kind of plot. I did laugh many times and there was quite a bit of Spiritual Content. The first-half of this story was more focused on the ranch, while the second-half was more lovey-dovey-kissy. Because of all the love emotions and different content, the ratings are lower, but I did [mostly] enjoy this one.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!

*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.