Legends of Gold

Connealy follows up Whispers of Fortune with a thrilling if overcrowded second Golden State Treasure romance. The story opens in the late 19th century as Tilda Muirhead arrives in California in search of brothers Thayne and Lochlan Mackenzie, two teenage orphans who’ve escaped her care in New York on a quest for a fabled family treasure. Tilda plans to stay at Two Harts Ranch as she searches for the boys in the forbidding Sierra Nevadas with help from handsome Josh Hart, one of the ranch’s proprietors. Those plans are upended, however, when a man shows up at the ranch claiming to be the brother that Tilda, who grew up in an orphanage, never knew she had but has been praying for as long as she can remember. After relating a shocking family history, he’s determined to bring Tilda back home to meet her father, but Josh isn’t so sure his motives are pure. The slow unfolding of Tilda’s backstory is captivating and effectively anchors the propulsive narrative, even if series newcomers risk getting lost in the rapid jumps between subplots. This will be best enjoyed by fans of book one. (June)