Bound for Temptation

LeSue’s entertaining third Frontiers of the Heart historical (after Bound for Sin) pairs up a former madam with a sexy cowboy in the mid-19th-century American West. Emma sells her brothel in Mokelumne Hill, Calif., planning to start anew somewhere else. She needs to get out of town before Hec Boehm, who wants her to be his mistress, finds her. Emma’s creative talents are revealed when she disguises herself as a nun in order to escape undetected. She ends up in the town of Mariposa, where she meets Tom Slater, a ruggedly handsome cowboy who escorts Emma, former prostitute Calla (also wearing a habit), cook Anna, and young child Winnie to Mexico. Their journey is filled with danger and a healthy dose of humor as Emma tries to be properly nunlike despite her increasing attraction to Tom. The humor escalates when they share a room during their travels and Tom dons a dress to avoid being recognized. The playful banter and the comical happenings balance the sensuality between Tom and Emma in this witty, memorable story. Agent: Clare Forster, Curtis Brown. (Jan.)