Wild Horses

Daniels launches the Montana Hamiltons series, spun off from her recently concluded Beartooth, Montana series, with this convoluted western drama. Nearly a dozen POV characters all bring their own backstories, which confuse and distract from the central plot. Olivia Hamilton is engaged to Cooper Barnett, but their relationship is volatile. When an argument sends her out driving through a snowstorm, she gets in an accident, and a stranger rescues and then drugs her. By the time of her engagement party, she knows she is pregnant, but not by whom. Daniels toys with the possibility that Olivia has been raped and pairs this with an ongoing blackmail scheme. Plot points are raised and discarded without consequence, leaving a tangle of details that truncates any portrayal of romance between the protagonists. The resolution is an unsatisfying combo of vengeful ex-girlfriend, hateful stepmother, and a stereotypical portrayal of a closeted homosexual murderer. While fans may be eager to begin this new series, it lacks focus and believability. [em](Mar.) [/em]