Book-Review-Mary’s-Musket

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Mary’s Musket

(Clover Creek Caravan #2)

by

Kirsten Osbourne

If you are a series reader, that is book one to the end of series, you may be frustrated with Mary’s Musket, as I was.

Mary’s Musket commences not after, but during the last few chapters of Hannah’s Hanky, and spends roughly twenty percent of the book regurgitating those last Hannah’s Hanky chapters from Mary’s point of view.

As per the title Mary’s Musket focuses on Mary and her hunting skills, a fact thoroughly established in book #1 Hannah’s Hanky,  and also on her marriage to ‘…the most perfect husband ever…’.

And again the repetition continues; with the perfect husband/wife sentiment are repeated seemingly, ad nauseum.  Another passage that is comical, boring, silly or stupid is Mary’s thoughts about sex.  She focuses so much on bulls and the fact that cows and heifers do not appear to enjoy mating that she almost ruins her wedding night.

Again author Osbourne has ended her tale abruptly and for no apparent reason.

After reading Mary’s Musket it is highly unlikely that I will ever reach the end of the Oregon Trail.   However, I will never say ‘never‘ as each book only contains 10 chapters.

 

Ordinary editing and repetitive writing and dialogue were contributing factors to the book not flowing well and not receiving a higher rating from this reviewer.

I rated

Mary’s Musket 

 as a

two-star read, at best.

*****

At the time of writing my review

other Goodreads readers had awarded

Mary’s Musket

an average of 4.28 stars

  from 334 ratings

 and 16 reviews

*****

Mary’s Musket

can be purchased online at

Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon

Book-Review-Hannah’s-Hanky

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Hannah’s Hanky

(Clover Creek Caravan #1)

by

Kirsten Osbourne

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Set in the mid-1800s while wagon trains were still heading west, Hannah’s Hanky tells the story of an arranged marriage to the wagon train’s preacher (Jed) and Hannah, the step-daughter of the not very nice Mr Gaitlin.

Hannah has only remained at her family home to help her mother endure her marriage to Hannah’s stepfather. One day Mr Gaitlin (stepfather) arrives home and announces that he has arranged a marriage for Hannah tomorrow and if she doesn’t want to be married she is welcome to leave the house at her earliest convenience. After this ultimatum, Hannah agrees to meet the man, marrying him if she wants to. Jed and Hannah meet, agree to marry and so begins their life together on the Oregon Trail.

Hannah strikes up a friendship with twenty-three-year-old single Mary. Mary can outshoot any man she knows and is only on the rail because her mother needs help with Mary’s siblings the eldest of which is nearly ten years younger than may.

Hannah’s Hanky ends abruptly in my opinion just three weeks into a six-month journey.

The story is readable and enjoyable, however, there is far too much simplistic conversation for my liking. Passages similar to: ‘…It will be another long hard day tomorrow…’ ‘Yes, they will all be long hard days on the Trail…’ I quickly tired of reading the words ‘long hard days’. This phrase could/should have been tightened up. Once or twice in a chapter would have been enough and not four or five times in consecutive lines.

In one chapter there was a report of a five-year-old who had shot himself in the foot. Several pages later the same report came through. I was thinking he had been shot in the other foot until I read a Goodreads review pointing out the error in writing or editing. I couldn’t be bothered going back, to find the first reported shooting.

I rated Hannah’s Hanky as a three-star read, at best.

Hannah’s Hanky

 as a

three-star read

At the time of writing my review

other Goodreads readers had awarded

Hannah’s Hanky

an average of 4.21 stars

  from 728 ratings

 and 42 reviews

*****

Hannah’s Hanky

can be purchased online at

Booktopia, Fishpond and Amazon