Review
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Title: Wyoming Wild
Author: Sarah M. Eden
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Genre: Proper Romance
Year Published: 2022
Number of Pages: 249
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-63993-092-0
Price: $16.99
Reviewed by Elizabeth J. White for the Association of Mormon Letters
Wyoming Wild, the latest book by talented author, Sarah M. Eden, pieces together heartaches and heroism into a Western frontier romance that defies the hardships of living on the western plains during a time when life-or-death decisions were far more common. Suspense, humor, plot twists, and a good ear for natural dialogue all went into making this story an enjoyable page-turner. Through carefully crafted dialogue, realistic details, and well-paced character development, the reader is drawn into the story and is on the sidelines watching as the early lawmen of the western frontier days and the rugged settlers trying to prove their homesteads learn to work together to solve life-threatening situations. In Wild Wyoming, Eden continues to drop enough breadcrumbs to link previous books and characters together and pique the interest of new readers to go explore those volumes. Recurring characters are in supporting roles, but they also have enough of a stake in the ongoing Savage Wells saga that shows how they continue to develop independently. There are enough original and quirky characters to fill several more books with future stories. I also appreciated the included discussion questions. While I did not read Wyoming Wild as part of a book discussion group, I think it would make a good candidate for a selection.
Initially, when I saw this newest title I thought I would have passed on reading it simply because I do not normally hunt for Westerns to read. I simply tend to find them too dry and dusty. Then because I remembered all the other titles I have enjoyed from this author, I thought I would suspend my reservations and give it a try. I was very pleased with the book overall. There is just one little thing that struck me as out of sync with the rest of the book. The betrayal Liesl felt when she realized that the farmer who had just settled near town was really a US marshal seemed a little naïve and contrived. I would have thought she would have been grateful and relieved to have someone coming in to protect the area from all the dangerous and corrupt activities and understood the need to join the community quietly at first. I thought this issue could have been resolved with a conversation or two, but the main character seemed to fixate on it and worry over it for far too long. There were plenty of other conflicts and plot points to fill up a whole rodeo, but it did show Liesl developing trust and that honesty is essential in a relationship.
After the reader finishes Wyoming Wild, there are many other Eden novels across a variety of genres that have memorable relatable characters and engaging plots. The telegrams, wagon rides, and the gunfights of Savage Wells are exchanged for setting specific counterparts like carriages, letters carried by servants, special occasion balls, and chases in the streets of London, with plots that invite the reader to challenge and discuss the actions of the characters. Wyoming Wild is definitely worth picking up in order to become acquainted with Marshall Hawk and Liesl Hodge.