A MAN TO CALL MY OWN

Amanda and Marian Laton are identical twins who couldn't be more different. Amanda, the apple of her father's eye, is a spoiled, jealous young woman; sweet-hearted Marian, in an effort to be as unlike her sister as possible, strives to make herself plain and undesirable. Set in the 1870s, this historical romance by the prolific Lindsey begins when Amanda and Marian's father dies in their hometown of Haverhill, Mass., and the twins are shipped off to Texas. Under the provisions of their father's will, they cannot claim their inheritances until they are married, and in the meantime they must live with their aunt, Kathleen Dunn, a widowed rancher nicknamed Red. Life on the ranch is much too rustic for Amanda, but Marian enjoys the country living—and her brushes with Chad Kinkaid, heir to a ranching fortune, who is lending Red a helping hand. Hiding behind thick-lensed spectacles she doesn't need, Marian tries to deflect Chad, afraid that if she shows an interest in him her mean-spirited twin will lure him away. Slapstick catfights and anachronistic language ("it wasn't just the jealousy issues") give the novel a farcical slant; on the plus side, there is plenty of western kitsch: a train robbery, an attempted kidnapping and an old-fashioned barbecue. Concluding with an improbable surprise ending that is most unsatisfying and rather bitter for a historical romance, this is a clunky if occasionally entertaining effort that nonetheless will sell as Lindsey is wont to do—that is, a lot. (July)