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Ethan Halsey has felt the weight of responsibility for his four younger siblings ever since his parents were killed. Taking on the role of head of the family, he is determined to provide for his brothers and has big plans for all their futures; plans that will run anything but smoothly if Aileen Miller has anything to do about it. Aileen has suffered greatly with the loss of two husbands but she has her children, Colin and Shayla, to keep her spirits up. She dreams of the day she can take Colin back home to Ireland to claim the land rightfully his by birth; land stolen from her late husband that she intends to get back. The Miller family scrimp and save, keeping to themselves but this has only fuelled the horrid rumours that are being spread around town about the role Aileen played in the death of Mr Miller.
Ethan and his brothers have heard the rumours but Ethan won’t let anything get in the way of providing for his family. Aileen is cautious when Ethan comes enquiring about purchasing her land as she needs to think of her children’s futures. She also can’t stand the thought of being made a fool of by a man again. No, she will not sell to Ethan Halsey. However, she is willing to rent the land to him, so long as he sticks to her rules. Begrudgingly, Ethan agrees, much to his brothers’ chagrin. Ethan has never felt the pull of a wife and children before, so what is it about this woman that has him trying to do everything in his power to appease her and her family? Ethan is soon about to realize that there is more to this beautiful woman than meets the eye though. Soon there will be more at stake than just business as both he and Aileen have to deal with the increasing threatening behaviour towards her and the children while at the same time protecting their hearts from the growing feelings between each other.
I read Miner in Petticoats in the course of a weekend as I couldn’t put it down once I had started, I enjoyed it that much. The Miller and Halsey families are full of strong, interesting characters and the interaction between them really drew me into their world. The setting was vivid and it is evident that a lot of thought and effort went into getting the characters’ surroundings just right, rewarding the reader with a wonderful journey back in time. Aileen’s dialog and vocabulary didn’t overshadow my enjoyment as her accent only added to the atmosphere. I found myself understanding the lingo and getting into the spirit of the time straight away. I adored the chemistry between Aileen and Ethan and I would describe their relationship as finger tingling, it affected me that much. Their growing intimacy was powerfully and realistically portrayed. I also feel the need to mention how well Aileen’s son Colin was characterized as he has seen a lot of tragedy in his short life and I could almost feel the weight of his responsibility toward his mother and sister. Colin is instrumental in an exciting, unpredictable plot that had me well and truly hooked. I understand this is part of a series of books relating to the Halsey clan and I really look forward to reading more.
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