cover image From Wine to Water

From Wine to Water

Carolyn Brown, Avalon, $23.95 (192p) ISBN 978-0-8034-7706-3

In the first of the Angels & Outlaws historical romance series, Tyrell Fannin and his two cousins leave 1836 Mississippi on the trail of a bandit who killed Tyrell's uncle. They get to San Antonio to find that the bandit has been killed in a bank robbery, and after letting off steam in a saloon fight, they land in jail. Fortunately, they get a chance to shorten their sentences when three "nuns" need an escort home to Louisiana. A week into the journey, the Lavalle sisters take off their fake habits, don pants, ride astride, and claim they can outshoot any of the men. The sixsome encounter numerous western clichés (Comanche who have captured a little white girl, a murdered woman bent over a crying baby, a tornado, etc.) as Delia Lavalle captures Tyrell's heart in this sweet but predictable tale. (Mar.)