Book Review: Knox

Knox: The Montana Marshalls #1 – An Inspirational Romantic Suspense Family Series 

By Susan May Warren

Contemporary Inspirational Romance

He’s not looking for trouble…

Montana rancher Knox Marshall’s danger years are behind him. A former bull-rider, he now runs the Marshall family ranch, raising champion bucking bulls for the National Professional Bullrider’s Expo (NBR-X). Wealth and success are his, but life is stable, expected, and…ordinary.  But he wants more from life…

But trouble is looking for her…

Kelsey Jones just wants a safe life, a family, a home. Onstage, the beautiful rising star of the Yankee Belles becomes the person she longs to be – vivacious and confident – burying the brokenness she carries from a violent assault. Becoming NBR-X’s next country act is key to outrunning her past and achieving the success and security she craves.

When trouble finds them both…

Knox and Kelsey’s paths collide when an explosion at an NBR-X event traps them in the rubble and leaves them reeling. Kelsey’s crippling nightmares return, but for Knox, an obsession to find the bomber is ignited.

What will it cost him to protect her? 

When Kelsey’s past threatens Knox’s family, he’ll have to choose between saving the Marshall legacy or becoming the protector he’s always longed to be.

The explosive first book in the Montana Marshalls series!

Action, drama, adventure, flawed individuals and emotional and spiritual challenges are hallmarks of Warren’s books. – Christian Library Journal

my thoughts

This is my first foray into Susan May Warren and – wow why did I Ever wait so long to discover what all the hype was about??

Also I love this cover – and the hero – swoony doesn’t even begin to describe how great  Knox is.

There are so many great things to mention about this story: how well Warren addresses PTSD and anxiety with such emotion and none of the medical talk, how well she addresses a messy, delicate and terrible backstory with such tact, how the element of faith was woven in so seamlessly without being at all preachy. How she  wove in the rest of the family and their backstories without taking away from the current romance. I’ll admit, inserting multiple brothers’ POVs was really strange. It was like she was telling two stories at once  – and yet it completely worked. It the reader a wider viewpoint of the entire situation the girl band was dealing with, while still maintaining a deep-in-character POV. That’s probably super confusing for non-writerly folks….oh well LOL

The family dynamics of this story were fantastic. You have all these happy big family moments – and then brotherly conflict because brothers fight of course – and then brotherly loyalty because brothers stand by each other no matter what. I loved it all.

And the romance. Heady, simmery, heartwarming, sizzling – it gave me all the feels.

If you love a good cowboy romance – this is exactly what you need. Absolutely what you need.

the rest of the Montana Marshalls series

Book 1: Knox
Book 2: Tate
Book 3: Ford
Book 4: Wyatt
Book 5: Ruby Jane