Lone Star Book Blog Tour: Destiny’s Way by Ben H. English (Review)

Kate Blanchard woke up one morning in a dream home she could no longer afford, with a young son who needed a man’s influence, and not a friend among those who had claimed to be prior to her husband’s mysterious disappearance.

About all she had left was a ramshackle ranch along Terlingua Creek, sitting forlornly in the desolate reaches of the lower Big Bend. It was the only place left she could go. There she finds a home and a presence of something strange yet comforting that she can’t put her finger on or fully understand.

With that ethereal presence comes Solomon Zacatecas, a loner with his own past and a knowledge of her land near uncanny in nature. He helps her when no one else can and is honest when no one else will be, but she suspicions that he is not always completely so.

Yet her quiet, unassuming neighbor proves to be more than capable in whatever situation arises. That includes when standing alone against those who would take everything else that Kate had, including her life as well as her son’s.

“To be remembered, someone has to be present enough to leave a lingering impression on someone else.”

Destiny’s Way by Ben H. English is as big a Western story as its setting: Big Bend in West Texas. This modern story is about Solomon Zacatecas, who will do anything to protect his inherited land that is valuable to those who want it as a prime location for smuggling contraband to and from Mexico. Solomon has spent his entire life fending off attacks from people who despise, ridicule, and hurt him for his mixed lineage, but he lives his life with truth and integrity—and with his gun. Kate Blanchard and her young son, Jamie, now live on adjacent land to Solomon’s, following the mysterious disappearance of her husband, Tom. A flat tire along a lonely road changes the worlds of Solomon, Kate, and Jamie forever.

The author injects many historical aspects about this part of Texas, and he provides Solomon and his ancestry with a rich history full of danger, love, and honor. These forays into the history of the Big Bend area are not intrusive or boring but interesting, bringing the rugged, dangerous, and beautiful land of West Texas to life. Kate and Solomon form an interesting relationship, originally filled with distrust based on the actions and rumors from mutual acquaintances but slowly and delicately changing into trust and respect. Solomon in turn takes young Jamie under his wing and shows him how to become an honorable man. But trouble has a way of festering and brewing before exploding into evil, and the only way to fight what is coming is for Solomon, Kate, and Jamie to band together, along with the local sheriff, to create a sturdy united front.

Ben H. English’s writing flows richly across the pages, painting the unique West Texas landscape with broad strokes and creating characters, both good and evil, that you will swear are real. The romance in Destiny’s Way is gentle and quite beautiful, mimicking the slowly evolving beauty of this land over time. And the relationship between Solomon and Jamie is a wonderful reminder that good men do exist and are willing to help the next generation grow to become noble and just.

Destiny’s Way is like no other Western historical fiction I have read. It is certainly about showdowns and gunfights; evil versus good, but it is more about nurturing positive relationships, seeing the good in people and reacting to that goodness in kind. It is about honoring the past, present, and future with equal determination. It is about sacrifice and love. But most of all, Destiny’s Way is one fine novel that will stick with you for its unique main characters and its rich, panoramic setting.