Lone Star Book Blog Tour: Rio Hondo by Preston Lewis (review & giveaway)

RIO HONDO
Three Rivers Trilogy, Book 3
by
PRESTON LEWIS

Western / Historical Fiction / Action & Adventure

Publisher: Five Star

Pages: 373 pages

Publication Date: May 18, 2022

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With the embers of the Lincoln County War still burning, rancher Wes Bracken must rebuild his life amid the white-hot animosities lingering from the deadly feud. His vengeful brother-in-law vows to kill him, the county’s economic kingpin seeks revenge, and the despicable outlaw Jesse Evans, who violated Bracken’s wife, intends to murder Bracken and his young family. Two promises complicate Bracken’s survival chances: a pledge not to kill his wife’s brother and a commitment to help William H. Bonney earn a governor’s pardon for his crimes.

To survive and fulfill his dream of a peaceful life in 1880s New Mexico Territory, Bracken must fight a corrupt legal system, a duplicitous governor, a ubiquitous political ring, and the evil Jesse Evans. If Bracken keeps his promises to his wife and Billy the Kid, he risks an early grave in the same soil that holds so many of the Lincoln County War’s dead. If he ignores those pledges, he will dishonor the good name he hopes to build his future upon.

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“Few of us receive what we’re owed in life, Kid, but we generally get what we deserve.”

Rio Hondo by Preston Lewis is the conclusion of the Three Rivers Trilogy, and it has been quite the entertaining journey. Wes Bracken and his wife, Sarafina, and ranch partner, Jace Cousins, all have a thorn in their sides named Jesse Evans. This evil man’s reign of terror needs to end before he hurts, violates, or kills anyone else. In Rio Hondo, nearly everyone is fed up with living on a brutal edge in or near Lincoln County in the New Mexico Territory in the late 1800s, with so much killing, rustling, and corruption running rampant and unchecked. Wes has always wanted to build a harmonious life on his ranch with his wife and growing family, but fate and several bad people say otherwise. For now, anyway.

Rio Hondo brings about many changes in this trilogy, including a new child in the Bracken household, the fate of a chipped tooth, word that Lincoln County will finally be cleaned up and a safe place to live, and William Bonney (aka Billy the Kid) ready to cooperate with the law so that he can stop running and settle down…maybe. As is often the case, not everything goes as planned, and not every change turns out to be good. One thing is certain: love, life, and justice always seem to find a way. Saddle up and ride with Wes and Jace as they work hard to keep Wes’s family and homestead safe; try to convince Sarafina’s brother to stop his bad ways; and vow to see the end of Jesse Evans once and for all. Can they actually achieve all this and live to tell the tale? Only one way to find out.

Preston Lewis is a crackerjack storyteller, with a wide repertoire of remarkable narratives, including humorous historical fiction, personal anecdotes, and western fiction. Rio Hondo and the entire Three Rivers Trilogy have not escaped Preston’s superior writing expertise. What a fabulous series! The characterization and well-thought-out plot are, of course, superb, but if you are looking for a quick read with non-stop action, this trilogy may not be the ticket. But don’t walk away just yet. The overall story has plenty of action, and the characters are worth getting to know, with each book building upon the other, and with Rio Hondo culminating in a satisfying and realistic ending. All three books play out as one long story, so reading them in order is highly recommended.

Major points to ponder in Rio Hondo include protecting family, sustaining loyalty to good friends, and maintaining honor and integrity, with Wes and Jace stopping at almost nothing to remain upright, honest men amidst the lawlessness in Lincoln County. But sometimes good people must go outside the law and do wrong just to make things right. The Wild West was certainly violent and corrupt, but it was also filled with genuine folk intent on building new lives, new towns, and new chances for the entire country. Preston Lewis captures all of this and more in many of his well-developed characters, including his protagonist, Wes Bracken, in Rio Ruidoso, Rio Bonito, and Rio Hondo.

Spend some time along the banks of these three rivers and then dive into Preston’s other books because every single one is spectacular!

Enter the giveaway below on or before August 12, 2022, for a chance to win an autographed copy of Rio Hondo!


I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.


Preston Lewis is the Spur-Award-winning author of over forty westerns, historical novels, juvenile books, and memoirs. He has received national awards for his novels, articles, short stories, and humor. In 2021 he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters for his literary accomplishments. Lewis is past president of Western Writers of America and the West Texas Historical Association.
His historical novel Blood of Texas earned a Spur Award as did his True West article on the Battle of Yellow House Canyon. He developed the Memoirs of H.H. Lomax series, which includes two Spur finalists and three Will Rogers Medallion Awards (WRMA) for western humor. Lewis has received two Will Rogers Gold Medallion Awards for his short stories. The Fleecing of Fort Griffin and two of his YA novels have won Elmer Kelton Awards for best creative work on West Texas from the West Texas Historical Association.
Lewis began his writing career working for Texas daily newspapers in Abilene, Waco, Orange, and Lubbock before going into university administration. During his thirty-five-year career in higher education, he directed communications and marketing offices at Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, and Angelo State University.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Baylor University and master’s degrees from Ohio State in journalism and from Angelo State in history. He lives in San Angelo, Texas, with his wife, Harriet.

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TWO WINNERS

Each receives an autographed copy of Rio Hondo!

(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 8/12/22.)

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8/2/22

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8/2/22

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8/3/22

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8/3/22

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8/4/22

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8/5/22

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8/6/22

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8/7/22

Excerpt

StoreyBook Reviews

8/8/22

Review

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8/9/22

Author Interview

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8/10/22

Review

Rox Burkey Blog

8/11/22

Review

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