[Claybornes' Brides 03] • One White Rose

The Claybornes are back -- and love is in bloom! First introduced in Julie Garwood's magnificent New York Times bestseller For the Roses, which inspired the Hallmark Hall of Fame television film "Rose Hill," the Clayborne brothers of Blue Belle, Montana, have been embraced by millions worldwide. Now Julie Garwood spins the individual stories of these three spirited brothers -- once a mismatched gang of street urchins -- in a trio of special novels that continues with One White Rose.

Douglas Clayborne will never turn his back on anyone in need, and everyone in Blue Belle knows it. Time and again, his intolerance of cruelty of any kind has made him a champion of the defenseless...but his quiet strength faces its ultimate battle when he meets Isabel Grant. He arrives at her ranch to pick up the magnificent Arabian stallion he's purchased, but he cannot leave the vulnerable woman behind when he discovers the danger that threatens her. Convincing the stubborn, strong-willed beauty that she needs him is another matter. Douglas can stop the men from stealing her ranch and her horses, but he cannot stop Isabel Grant from stealing his heart.

Amazon.com ReviewOne miserable rainy night, Douglas Clayborne goes to buy a horse and finds himself staring down the barrel of a rifle. Behind it shivers one very scared--and very pregnant--woman, Isabel Grant. He disarms her, and delivers the baby (not quite in one skillful motion, but almost); however, the trio's troubles are just beginning. Got three hours to burn? One White Rose, the second book of Julie Garwood's trilogy, The Clayborne Brides, is like an old-time Western in the best tradition--a stoic, super-competent hero, a spunky heroine, a kindly old doctor, and the lot. Looming above them all is the villainous rancher Boyle, who not only wants Isabel's land, but her body as well. He and his henchmen have the entire town of Sweet Creek, Montana, peeing all over themselves with fear. Will Douglas and Isabel fall in love? Will Douglas and his gunslinging brothers save the day? What do you think?

From Library JournalAlthough each of these books focuses on a different love story and could theoretically be read independently, they are linked by the characters and a thread of mystery that runs throughout the series. Readers may find it more satisfying to read the books in sequence?and to read the original story, For the Roses (Pocket, 1995), before tackling the "Clayborne Brides" trilogy. Second in the trilogy, following One Pink Rose (Pocket, 1997), One White Rose concerns Douglas Clayborne, who comes to a rundown ranch to claim a horse he is buying and ends up playing midwife and then protector to the beleaguered widow of the man he has come to see. Well-maintatined sexual tension and some great one-liners mark this title. In One Red Rose, Adam, former runaway slave, family scholar, and oldest of the Clayborne brothers, meets his matrimonial match (with a bit of help from Mama Rose) in the beautiful?and stubborn?Genevieve Perry. A plot that is frightening and funny in turn deftly advances a series that concludes this December with the publication in hardcover of Come the Spring (see Prepub Alert, LJ p. 58). Garwood lives in the Kansas City, Kansas, area.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.