About the Book:

Even the peaceful town of Dry Springs is not without trouble.

When Eliza McCoslin’s brother sends for her, she exchanges war-torn Mississippi for Dry Springs, Texas. Settling into a new way of life proves difficult though, despite the arrival of the man she’s long admired.

Jesse Carrigan comes to Dry Springs seeking work and a place to start the ranch he’s dreamed of ever since his parents lost their farm. What he doesn’t expect to find is the woman he’d like to court—or his former colonel on the run from a deadly threat.

Given the circumstances keeping Jesse and Eliza apart and the danger looming on the horizon, he and Eliza find themselves facing the loss of future love—and life. When trouble comes to Dry Springs, who will be left standing?

| Goodreads |

My Review:

Trouble in Dry Springs by Kristina Hall
Rating: 3/5
Pages: 272
Published: May 24, 2023
Series: The Dry Springs Chronicles

Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher/author. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

This one’s an entertaining read, and marks the start of a promising new series. I enjoyed the story and faith-themes in this one. I admit I struggled with this one at times though, and I think part of that might stem from the fact that this shared some of the over-arching themes that we see in her previous book, To The Uttermost, which I loved. So, bearing it mind that my love of the previous likely biased my opinions on this one, I’m trying to be as unbiased as possible in the review. Although, in all honestly, the fact that I loved To The Uttermost says a lot about Kristina Hall’s ability as a writer, since it’s not often that I love a book so fully! She is a wonderfully talented author, so take my biased opinion here with a grain of salt…and perhaps read this one first, just in case? XD (But definitely read her A Better Country books too, they are both wonderful reads!)

I’ve enjoyed a few of Kristina Hall’s books by this point, from a couple of different genre. Her A Better Country books sparked my interest in Historical Westerns, as I had been reading mostly modern ranch stories, and didn’t/don’t really consider those westerns in quite the same way. I never really thought of myself as someone who would be enjoying westerns, and while I do enjoy a good historical story at times, I often find myself reading military or regency themed Historical Fiction type stories instead. So it’s wonderful to see some more American/western stories that take place after, or away from, the war(s) and add more variety to the genre. This one has a lot to offer, and I did enjoy it.

All said, I’m also really glad I read Trouble in Dry Springs, since it’s been on my to-read list for a while, and I actually found it to be a fun story. Burke and Mrs. Reilly were both humorous and stubborn, and I loved their additions to the story. The livery owner was also an interesting character. I liked the main characters, but that seems to be where we get more into the similarities that made it hard to avoid comparing this story with the other book. I tried, believe me I tried, but the similarities are just too strong. I’m hoping this one ends differently, that later in the series there’s hope, but at this point, I’m not sure what to expect there.

I do recommend this one though! It’s a well told story and I enjoyed seeing how they were going to handle the chaos that has become their life. When it rains, it pours, and that seems to be the truth of Dry Springs.

Other books in the series:
(Below is a list of the other books I’ve read & reviewed for this series)

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