Sunrise Over Texas by M.J. Fredrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sunrise Over Texas is a warm and richly emotional story. It opens with hard times and sorrow, but it’s never depressing or melodramatic and it suits the setting and the characters very well. It’s a quiet and sad story of survival, but I was immediately drawn to the heroine’s hope and determination and enjoyed watching Kit and Trace’s romance unfold against such a backdrop.

I do wish the secondary women (Kit’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law) had experienced some character growth, especially the mother-in-law. I kept waiting for her to suck it up and wash a bowl or something, but she didn’t. It’s probably more realistic that women raised as they were would NOT change, but I was disappointed to still dislike them so much at the end.

I’m not one who reads with an eye toward historical fact, but her 1826 Texas felt very real and authentic to me. Enough details to frame a rich and interesting setting, which was important to the book, without overwhelming the story.

Most importantly, I loved Kit and Trace and when there was a heart-wrenching twist in the story, I didn’t want to put the book down. I thought about it all through dinner and finished reading it during prime time television, which I rarely do.

If you like westerns, I definitely recommend Sunrise Over Texas and I hope MJ Fredrick returns to the Texas frontier again in the future.
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You can buy Sunrise Over Texas directly from Carina Press (DRM-free!) or your favorite ebook retailer.