What to do about Kassie
by Mariella Starr
My review:
Living in a small town in the Ozarks in the late 1800’s, Kassie grew up knowing Wade. He was older than her but they were friends and she wished they would be more than that. When a terrible illness sweeps through their area, she is left an orphan. The wrong man charms her, and she gets married then widowed very quickly afterward. Estranged from her grandfather, who happens to be the lawman in their little town, Kassie has to struggle to survive on her own and stay out of trouble too big to escape.
Wade wanted to marry Kassie but her parents ask education him to wait an additional year because she was young. The fever that killed so many people in their town affected Wade’s family as well as hers, and by the time it had passed through Kassie had already married a shiftless young man. When widowed Kassie running wild swipes his horse to use in a race, Wade appeals to her grandfather, who offers him a chance to marry her under conditions intended to get her under control.
Kassie and Wade are both multifaceted characters. This story moves quickly and covers a lot of ground. There is some domestic discipline in the story, but it is not overdone. There are elements of mystery and danger woven into the story, along with humor as the 2 main characters figure out how to be married people. The lead and secondary characters and situations are interesting and definitely held my attention. Overall, the book was very entertaining, and I would read more by this author.