Continuing on my journey to try and read more romances, and this time I thought I'd try a western. It was awful. It's awfulness was entirely down to the heroine. Jaxi apparently decided, at the ripe old age of 10, that she wanted to marry the local rancher's eldest son, who happens to be a decade older than her. Fine, kids get crushes, whatever. But then the little psycho - who apparently has no other interest in life - spends the next 11 years turning herself into the perfect rancher's wife. Goes to college, doesn't finish - only takes the papers she thinks necessary to turn into the PRW. Helps out in the community lots. Want to guess why? It makes me appreciate that historical romance by Tess Dare that I read a few days ago even more - both the protagonists there had storylines and character arcs of their own, irrespective of their growing relationship. That doesn't happen here.

But even if I could stop rolling my eyes at this absolute monomania from the obsessed heroine, it gets disgusting pretty fast. See, local rancher's eldest son has five younger brothers. What does Jaxi do? Well, apparently these poor bastards are practice runs for the main prize. Sure, for most of them it's only a quick kiss between adolescents as these neighbouring children grow up together, but two of the brothers get actually emotionally involved - one of them's even in a relationship with her for years! - and get hurt because of it. One of these brothers may be a dick, but still. They do not deserve this. (And apparently we, the readers, are supposed to feel sorry that Jaxi is affected by their pain. You can imagine how much sorrow I do not feel.) But it gets worse, if you can believe it. Jaxi finally bags the eldest, and their first sexual encounter is in front of some of his brothers, after she sets up what is basically public indecency with them to upset big brother. Because heaven forbid the family not be involved in everything going on here...

There is an incestuous undertone to this book - heavily underlined by another brother having a threesome with his girlfriend and his cousin - that is just cringingly gross.

Finally, "Jaxi" is a front-runner for the stupidest name in all creation. That is all.