1. Cloaked in Beauty. (Texas Ever After #3) Karen Witemeyer. 2024. 352 pages. [Source: Library] [5 stars, historical fiction, christian fiction, romance]
First sentence: Nightmares were supposed to stop once little girls woke up, but when five-year-old Scarlett Radcliffe opened her eyes, things only got worse.
Cloaked in Beauty is a retelling smash-up of Sleeping Beauty and Little Red Riding Hood. It is set in Texas in the 1890s (IF my math is correct, circa 1896.) Letty Hood (AKA Scarlett Radcliffe) has lived in hiding with her grandmother since she was five. Her [wicked] uncle is out to kill her so that he inherits her father's estate [his brother's estate]. They have been on the move throughout her life, but they have been settled for several years in Cass County living a very secluded, rural life. Her grandmother goes into the nearest town only rarely and never mentions that she's the caretaker for her granddaughter--or anyone for that matter. But her [wicked] uncle has not forgotten her, and as her twenty-first birthday nears, Letty's life is increasingly more in danger.
Her mother has hired a Pinkerton agent, Philip Carmichael, to try to find her daughter before her birthday. She wants to warn her that her latest letter--which included a photo--has been discovered and that she is no longer safe staying put.
Can Letty, Philip, and Rusty (her oh-so-trusty wolf) make their way to safely and outwit the wicked uncle?
If you ask me five minutes after I finish reading any Karen Witemeyer book if that book is my favorite, I'm prone to say yes. However, this time I truly think it will have sticking power. I really loved this third entry into the series SO much. I appreciated the first two--all are stand alone novels, by the way--but the third was near perfection.
Quotes:
"I'm not a helpless damsel looking for a man to slay my dragons," she said, her gaze locked on the man before her. "I'm a woman heading into battle who needs an experienced warrior at my side. one I can trust to guard my back. One who will discuss his plans with me and treat me like an equal. Is that arrangement acceptable to you?""Sweet girl, there's nothing new under the sun. Strong, handsome young men have making young ladies' knees wobble since Eve first got a look at Adam."Letty awoke to a kiss the next morning, only it wasn't the kiss she'd been dreaming of most of the night. Eyes squinting, she reached for the furry head she knew would be on the other end of the tongue that licked her face.
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