Billing Letter Perfect as a funny, sweet, western romance does not prepare you for even the first page, wherein you meet Ruth Caldwell as she sits at the dinner table at her finishing school trying to figure out the polite way to deal with a fish bone stuck in her mouth. By page two, Ruth has tipped the candlesticks into the flowers, caught the ribbons on fire, and dumped the teapot on the conflagration, turning the whole dinner into a sodden, sooty wreck. On her way to be dismissed from the school, Ruth manages to wipe soot all over her dress. I had to stop my reading right there. I was reading about myself and giggling so hard the tears wouldnt let me see the page. At last, a romantic heroine I can identify with. I wasnt the only one in shock. Every person in this book upon meeting the beautiful, strong-willed, but extremely accident-prone Ruth is left gasping from the stage coach driver who has never before had a hoop-skirted woman insist on sitting up beside him instead of inside the coach, to Joshua McCain, who never even knew she was coming to claim half his ranch and then called upon to cope with her massive case of hiccups.
But Letter Perfect isnt all fun and games. With wry characters, wonderful humor, and some heart-stinging pathos, Hake weaves a tale which takes a deep look at a womans place in that world (as well as our contemporary one), good versus bad, and coping with the failure of loved onesall spiced with a goodly helping of danger and adventure. Based firmly on Christian morals, Bible teachings are skillfully woven into the plot.
Zane Grey, Sr., springs to mind as you read this engaging tale. But, it is definitely no copy. Cathy Marie Hakes fertile imagination presents an original story, that is fun to read and provocative. My husband loved it every bit as much as I did, probably because by laughing at this story he was actually laughing at me. Letter Perfect will be enjoyed by every capable reader with a sense of humor. And, it will lure the not-so-confident readers to improve their skills in order to cope with its wonderful, swinging storyline. Donna Eggett, Christian Book Previews.com