Review - - Dead Man's Hand

Dead Man's Hand

by David Nix

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Release Date: February 22, 2022

Reviewed by Hellie

 

Jake Paynter is a doomed man. Haunted by an abusive childhood and his participation in atrocities of the Civil War, he seeks the isolation of the Plains Cavalry as a white officer for an all-Black buffalo soldier troop. Now, he is in irons and certain to be hanged for killing his captain after refusing an inhumane order. Despite his best efforts to maintain isolation, he starts to make friends on his journey to trial. The people of the wagon train begin looking to Paynter for leadership, and he reluctantly falls into the role.

The opportunity to escape arises when the wagon train is attacked by bandits, but Paynter's growing ties to the travelers compel him to stay. As his trial approaches, Paynter must lean on his friends for salvation, but the laws of the west are swift and harsh, and a grueling confrontation with his past is on the horizon.

 

Hellie’s Heeds: 

So you might have noticed this is NOT a romance in the traditional sense, but it is about a time of our history where we Americans tend to think romantically, poetically even as a time when men were free, lived by their wits, and carried their own code of honor. In the vein of the Louis L’Amour books I cut my teeth on along with all the romance classics of Kathleen Woodiwiss and Barbara Cartland, Nix carves out his own path along the American Frontier. Nix’s hero, Jake Paynter, is a condemned man–or in the writing world, an anti-hero who is in need of redemption he doesn’t think he’s worthy of. Oh, how we enjoy that kind of hero. Jake killed a superior officer–hence the death sentence–but the reasons why leave the reader very sympathetic to his cause. While Jake isn’t always particularly lovable–he’s grumpy and draws away from people and says dark things–he is always likable, in a sense, in that the reader can respect his reasons for why he is doing something or thinking a certain way. Jake used to belong to the Confederate Army, which can have its issues in this day and age, but it seems his character has grown to be more inclusive of others at the start of this book and he does not assume superiority just because he is white and a man. Nix is able to make Jake “modern” while also making him a man of his time, which I think is a very thin line to be able to walk and still make fiction believable and engaging. 

Nix is also skilled at pacing and suspense, as well as vivid but not purpley descriptions of the fight/action scenes and the landscapes. I felt immersed in the 19th century wilderness of Nebraska and Wyoming territory, but not bogged down with too much detail or play-by-play. What I noted as I read it is how much the story unfolded like a movie across the page, as if it were something that Clint Eastwood would direct. The gunshot that hits a man in the center of his forehead, leaving a line of blood down his forehead before he falls, dead–very Quentin Tarantino. There were well-rounded women characters as well as men–which in the westerns I remember were not as true for me, but perhaps Louis L’Amour did write some colorful and realistic women. One of the Sackett books comes to mind.  

This book is one of three for Jake Paynter–and while his life was literally in danger every page of the book, I knew he at least had to make it to book two. Still, I’m curious how the rest of this saga will play out and I look forward to reading more by this author. I’m also curious if there will be love triangles or love affairs between a few of the characters I’ve grown attached to in this story besides Jake. Fingers crossed there will be a bit more romance to go along with the action-packed adventure. Well done.

 

Throwback Thursday Review - - Open Country

Today's Throwback Thursday review turns back the calendar to May 2010 and my first book by an author who has since become one of my favorites. With Home by Morning, the final book in Kaki Warner's Heartbreak Creek series, being released in July, I thought this would be a good time to re-post my thoughts on Open Country, the book that began my love affair with this award-winning author's work. 

~PJ


Open Country
Blood Rose Trilogy – Book #2
By Kaki Warner
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Release Date: June 1, 2010

Molly McFarlane is as desperate as a woman can get – even one alone on the frontier. Forced to flee with her late sister’s children, she must provide for her wards while outrunning the relentless trackers their vicious stepfather has set on her trail. To secure their future, she marries a badly injured man, assuming that when he dies his insurance settlement will provide all they need. But there is one small problem.


The man doesn’t die.



Since she was thirteen years old, Molly McFarlane has been assisting her famous surgeon father in the care of Civil War soldiers and taking care of herself. She’s never had a social life, never been courted by a young man and now, at twenty-six, she finds herself on the run with two young children. Far from their Georgia home, they are lucky to escape serious injury when the train on which they’re riding derails in Texas. Desperate for money to keep the children safe, when Molly hears that the train company will pay the families of the dead $300, she pretends to be the fiancé of a fellow train passenger who is seriously injured and not expected to survive and, when they won’t pay a fiancé, she convinces the local minister to marry them, even though the groom is unconscious. But, when she realizes that there’s a chance the man might live, and the only doctor in town is a drunk who’s convinced he’ll die, her conscience and her many years of nursing won’t let her walk away. 

Hank Wilkins is a complex, quiet man. He’s content to run the family ranch with his brother, Brady and visit the local brothel when he needs “attention.” Having his heart smashed to pieces by a fickle woman has destroyed his trust and he has no interest in giving love, or marriage, a second chance. Following the train crash in which he is almost killed, Hank awakens with amnesia, his only memory the sweet, southern voice of a woman who says she’s his wife. 

A figure moved closer. A woman. She bent close and spoke in a calm, soothing voice. “You’re safe, Henry. Stay calm. I’m here to help you.” 

Who the hell was Henry?

Her voice was familiar, but her face was only a blue. He tried to remember, but the effort sent him sliding back toward the void. Terror thundered through him. “Don’t go,” he choked out as blackness pressed against the edges of his vision.

“I won’t. I’m here.”

He felt her hand on his cheek, her palm cool and soft against his skin.

“You’re safe, Henry. You’re all right. I won’t leave you, I promise.”

Her touch was his lifeline, her voice his beacon. In desperation, he clung to it with all of his mind as the smothering darkness sucked him under.

Feeling guilty for what she’s done, Molly tells Hank’s brother, Brady, that she will have her marriage to Hank annulled but while Brady doesn’t trust Molly, he quickly realizes that she’s his brother’s best chance of survival. Not only that, but he’s terrified that his pregnant wife will have complications as she did with her last pregnancy so he convinces (blackmails) Molly to travel with them to their remote family ranch and stay until Hank is healed and Jessica has safely delivered their baby. Grasping the opportunity to keep the children safe, Molly accepts, never expecting to fall in love, not only with Hank but with his entire family. 

While Hank and Molly have plenty of life experience, when it comes to love and romance, they are both as awkward as newborn chicks, as is evidenced in the following two internal monologues as they each contemplate the rituals of courting.

     It was starting to sound less fun by the minute. He didn’t like courting. He didn’t know how to act or what to say, and the one time he’d tried it – other than with Molly, apparently – he’d felt big and awkward and clumsy. So much easier if he could just say, “We’re married. Take off your clothes.” Neat and simple.

He glanced at her, wondering if he should give it a try.

Her expression said not.

Just as well. He wasn’t feeling that perky.

     Courting. What did that mean, exactly? What was she supposed to do? Did she even have the proper clothes? It was ludicrous, really, that at the spinsterish age of twenty-six all those adolescent yearnings and doubts should grip her so strongly.

Would he recite poetry? Tell her she was beautiful?

The notion almost made her laugh. Romantic words from the man who had wrestled her over a chamber pot? Not likely.

As time passes and Molly and Hank grow closer, they both learn to open themselves to the possibility of love and trust between them. Molly yearns to truly belong to this man…this family…this beautiful but unforgiving land. But with the secret of their sham marriage, the knowledge that Hank’s memory could return at any moment and a madman closing in for the kill, the question becomes not whether Hank will forgive her and love and accept her as his wife but if any of them will live long enough to see tomorrow.

I loved this story! Kaki Warner grabbed me from the opening of the book and never let me go. Even now, days after turning the final page, I’m still thinking about the characters from this intensely emotional and realistic frontier story. Not just Molly and Hank, but the whole family. I came to care about all of them and hope to see them again in the next book in this series. The secondary characters in Open Country are a colorful cast and very important to the story, especially Molly’s niece and nephew. The scenes between six-year-old Penny and “papa-Hank” are some of the best in the book and had me laughing uproariously in some and wiping away tears in others. Fans of Warner’s first book, Pieces of Sky will be delighted to discover that Brady, Jessica and their children are featured prominently in Open Country. 

Several friends recommended that I read Kaki Warner’s debut novel, Pieces of Sky, when it was released in January. I haven’t found the time to read it yet but, now that I’ve finished her second book, Open Country, I’ll be correcting that oversight as soon as possible. Warner is a fresh new voice in historical romance who, through her vivid descriptions, compelling characters and smoothly flowing prose, brings the American Western frontier, with all its harshness and beauty, to life. I highly recommend Open Country!

~PJ

Have you read Kaki Warner yet?

Do you have a favorite among her books?

Do you enjoy historical stories set in the American West?

Home by Morning is on my "highly anticipated" summer reading list. What new books are you looking forward to this summer?

I have a signed copy of Kaki Warner's 2015 Rita-nominated book, Where the Horses Run for one randomly selected person who leaves a comment on today's post. (U.S. only)

Throwback Thursday - - Heartbreak Creek

PJ here. One of my favorite things as a reader is to find a new author who blows my socks off with her debut book but when that happens, it always makes me a little nervous about how much I’ll like her second book.  Will I be as enthusiastic or will I suffer the much dreaded second book let-down?  You can imagine how over-the-moon excited I was when all three books in Kaki Warner's debut Blood Rose Trilogy were five-star reads for me. (and Warner went on to be a double finalist and winner in the 2011 RITA® awards)  Warner's second series, set in Heartbreak Creek, Colorado has continued to carry her high standard of excellence, drawing readers more deeply into the lives of her characters in the small western frontier town with each book published and earning more awards for Warner, including another RITA® final. With the last book in the series, the highly anticipated story of Thomas and Pru, two beloved characters introduced in Heartbreak Creek, coming out in July, I thought this would be a good time to revisit Janga's 2011 review of the first book in the series, Heartbreak Creek. I highly recommend the entire series and, like Janga, am eagerly anticipating the long-awaited conclusion to a tumultuous journey of love we've now been following for four years. 



Heartbreak Creek
By Kaki Warner
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: July 5, 2011

The world that Edwina Ladoux was reared to inhabit is gone. All that remains of the once prominent Whitney family is “a weed-choked cotton plantation sold for back taxes, her father’s watch, and a graveyard full of new markers.” There’s no place for Southern belles in a Reconstruction Louisiana filled with carpetbaggers and desperation, and so Edwina agrees to marriage by proxy to a man she knows only from his ad in the Matrimonial News and the tintype he sent her along with a bank draft and railroad vouchers that will get her to Heartbreak Creek, Colorado. With a mixed bag of memories and her half-sister, Prudence, the offspring of Edwina’s father and a Rose Hill slave he loved but could not marry, Edwina sets out to meet her new husband—and her new life.

Declan Brodie has no idea what’s in store for him. A widower who needs, as his ad specified, a “sturdy English-speaking woman to help with mountain ranch and four children,” Brodie finds himself instead with a too-thin beauty whose only skill is sewing and who is ill equipped to care for his uncontrollable children. He’s not too sure of her sanity either, and his attraction to her is making him question his own.

Edwina and Declan have agreed on a three-month trial, and amid chaos and confrontations, conversations and kisses, the two fall in love. There’s a memorable moment about a third of the way into the book when Edwina recalls her life before it was shattered by war and recognizes the promise of her new life:

In better times, Edwina had worn gowns of lace and satin and brocade. She had adorned herself with costly jewels, rather than a single garnet ring that had once belonged to her grandmother. She had walked down elegant staircases under fine crystal chandeliers that shimmered with the glittering light of a dozen candles. Yet now, as she descended the uncarpeted staircase of the rustic Heartbreak Creek Hotel, dressed in an outdated frock and a borrowed shawl and wearing a simple ribbon in her hair, she felt as shaky and breathless as a debutante headed to her first ball.

As Edwina, the displaced Southern belle, becomes Ed, the ranch woman, she falls in love with the Brodie children as well. Just when it seems that happily ever after is within reach, the first Mrs. Declan Brodie reappears. While Ed and her no-longer husband are dealing with this complication, Lone Tree, an Arapaho obsessed with his need for revenge against Declan, proves a more deadly threat to their happiness.

Heartbreak Creek is the first book in Warner’s Runaway Brides series, and based on the series debut, I expect the new series to be as stellar as her Blood Rose trilogy. Edwina and Declan are wonderful characters, smart, courageous, and genuine. Each has an interesting history, a balance of strengths and flaws, and a rich sense of humor. Both have their reasons for being wary of marriage, but gradually, through emotional and physical intimacy, they learn to trust and to love one another. Watching them become more together than they are separately is a delight.

Warner also includes a colorful assortment of secondary and tertiary characters. In less skillful hands, the Brodie children might have become an inseparable blend of incorrigibility, but Warner makes big brother R.D., trickster Joe Bill, quiet scholar Lucas, and indefatigable Brin distinct and endearing personalities. Pru is perhaps the most compelling among the secondary characters because the reader knows there is so much more to her story than the blend of strength, intelligence, and vulnerability that we see in this first book. Maddie Wallace and Lucinda Hathaway are also fascinating characters, as is Thomas Redstone, Declan’s Cheyenne friend. Add to these some quirky locals, Heartbreak Creek itself (a mining town in danger of becoming a ghost town), and a West where, despite the laughter and tenderness that fill this book, danger—from nature and humans—is real. The result is another extraordinary book from Kaki Warner, who may be turning those persistent rumors of a Western romance revival into fact.

~Janga

If you'd like to catch up with the series before this summer's release of Home by Morning, here are the books set in Heartbreak Creek, in order:

Heartbreak Creek - RITA® finalist
Colorado Dawn
Bride of the High Country
Behind His Blue Eyes
Where the Horses Run
Home by Morning

And if you'd like to read Warner's first trilogy, those books are, in order:

Pieces of Sky - RITA® winner
Open Country - RITA® finalist
Chasing the Sun

Today's Special - - Victoria Vane

I'm delighted to welcome Victoria Vane to The Romance Dish. Victoria has brought along a special surprise for our readers today - the hero of her new book, SLOW HAND, Wade Knowlton!  

Victoria Vane is an award-winning author of smart and sexy romance. Her works range from historical to contemporary settings and include everything from wild comedic romps to emotionally compelling erotic romance. Her books have received more than twenty reviewer awards and nominations to include the 2014 RONE Award for Treacherous Temptations and Library Journal Best E-Book romance of 2012 for The Devil DeVere series. She lives the beautiful upstate of South Carolina with her husband, two sons, a little black dog, and an Arabian horse.

Contact info:

Email: victoria.vane@hotmail.com           Website: www.victoriavane.com

Blog: www.embracingromance.com         Facebook: http://on.fb.me/YVeXrf

Twitter: @authorvictoriav                       Pinterest: http://bit.ly/1vONQZh

Amazon: http://amzn.to/10QMKT5                   Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1sccsM4

YOU TUBE : http://bit.ly/1yNtEMP

Hi Wade! May I call you Wade? Welcome to our little corner of the world. That’s a mighty fine looking Stetson you have there.  Gorgeous crystal-blue eyes too. Oh, and that adorable chin dimple. ::Sigh:: *whisper whisper* “Huh? I’m what?” *whisper whisper* “Oh. Yeah. Guess I got a little off track there. Sorry, Wade. Okay! On to the first question!”

So Wade, cowboys are known for rescuing damsels in distress and you sure did that the other night at the Denver airport. Please tell us about giving up your seat to the woman having an emotional meltdown at the gate and the unexpected results of that kindness.

“Nice to meet you, M’am.” (He doffs his hat).  “Now about Denver. It was a real mess that night with the foul weather and all. There were people piled up all over that airport. I was just sittin’ back bidin’ my time with my iPod when I looked up and saw this beautiful…er…girl talking to the gate agent. I couldn’t hear what she was sayin’ but it was evident she wasn’t getting on the flight.  When she turned around with tears streaming down her face, that just about did me in. I had a court date in the mornin’ but figured I could still make it back if I drove through the night, so I gave up my seat and rented a car. A few hours later I got a phone call from another damsel in distress who’d come all the way from Georgia to Montana to bury her father and lost her I.D.  I was headed to Bozeman anyhow so I told her I’d pick her up. You can imagine my surprise to find the very same woman from the night before!”

I imagine she was pretty surprised too! At first glance, a Georgia peach seems an odd choice for a man firmly entrenched in the wide open spaces of Montana. What is it about Nicole that caused you to take a second look?

He grins. “Couldn’t help looking. Nicole Powell is mighty easy on the eyes. But she’s a lot more than that too. Smart and sassy and just plain easy to be with. Something between us really clicked.”

Sometimes it just happens that way...if you're lucky.

You grew up in a ranching family but chose to leave the range for a legal career in town. Why?

“Ranching is a damned hard life with little reward. Hell, most people are barely scraping by these days. I wanted more than that from my life, but I still can’t bail out on my family, so now I find myself burning the candle at both ends. Don’t know how long I can keep on. Selling seems the smartest thing. I’d like to see my parents comfortable in their retirement not still working themselves to death but my brother and I don’t see eye to eye on this. It’s a major point of contention that almost always brings us close to blows.”

You up for a fast five?

Sure thing!

Boxers or briefs? Boxers. Easier to breathe.

Hugs or kisses? Long slow kisses.

Dinner or breakfast? Breakfast…in bed.
 Mmmm...I like the way you think! 

Sassy or sweet? Sassy. Love a woman who can hold her own.

Tux or jeans? Jeans and boots fit most every occasion.

So Wade, are there any more at home like you?

“No M’am.” (He flashes his dimples)  “I’m one of a kind.”

::Sigh:: Then let me just say Nicole is one very lucky woman. 

Victoria, we sure appreciate you bringing Wade along to visit with us today. If he’s an example of the men in Montana, I’m booking the next flight out! Do you mind if I ask you a couple questions also?

Absolutely!

What is it about Montana that enticed you to set Slow Hand there? Will all of the books in the series be set in Montana?

Many elements of this story are somewhat biographical. Like Nikki, I was estranged from my father. He had moved to Montana with plans of retiring but shortly after was diagnosed with lung cancer. This whole experience inspired my story. He passed away in 2008 and his ashes are scattered on a river near the Beartooth Pass. I went to Montana in 2013 to research my book but also to say my final good bye.

ROUGH RIDER, featuring Wade’s brother Dirk, also takes place in Montana but the third book in which my hero is a marine scout sniper from Wyoming has several settings (Southern California, Iraq, Alaska and Wyoming). The fourth book mainly takes place in the Nevada desert where they are gathering wild horses and then the story moves back to Montana. All of the characters are connected in some way which allows old characters to make cameo appearances which I think readers love.

You have a fascinating cast of secondary characters I’m hoping we’ll see again. Are you able to tell us about any of the future books you have planned and who the lead characters may be?

ROUGH RIDER features Wade’s bitter and antagonistic brother Dirk, and a minor secondary character named Janice. This is a character-driven story with a lot of emotional intensity as I also pick it up in the present when Dirk is struggling to get his life back on track after some serious war injuries. Janice has some scars of her own but she’s exactly what he needs.  Here’s the blurb:

Two wary hearts ... Janice Combes has two loves, bucking bulls and Dirk Knowlton. But Dirk only has eyes for a dazzling rodeo queen. How can Janice ever compete while mired ankle-deep in manure? Exchanging playful banter with Dirk is all Janice can expect-until the stormy night he knocks on her door dripping wet and needing a place to crash.

Different Dreams... Dirk Knowlton is living the cowboy dream. Life should be good-roping, branding, backing broncs, riding bulls, but there's a void he can't seem to fill. After getting hung up by a bull, he wonders if this is really the life he wants. Restless and rebellious, he bolts...but there's a certain cowgirl he can't forget.

When a battle-scarred Dirk returns to his Montana ranch he's determined to hang on at any cost. Janice has come back home to lick her own wounds. When old dreams turn to dust, can two wary hearts take another chance on love? 

SHARP SHOOTER, the third book in the series, features a hero introduced in book #2. Reid Everett is a marine scout sniper from Wyoming and one of Dirk’s old rodeo buddies.

SILVER TONGUE also features an interesting character, a Native American horse whisperer who is mentioned in book #2 and book #3 but the reader doesn’t actually meet until #4.

Readers might be seeing Allie again as I am working on a potential storyline, and I also have plans for Nikki’s sister Shelby but this will probably be a spin off book.

Thanks so much for visiting with us today. Would you or Wade like to ask our readers a question? 

In this series, I used several settings for the sake of variety. What is your favorite setting for a romance novel?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SLOW HAND Sneak Peek

Victoria Vane is a multiple award-winning romance novelist and history junkie whose collective works of fiction range from wildly comedic romps to emotionally compelling erotic romance. Victoria also writes historical fiction as Emery Lee and is the founder of Goodreads Romantic Historical Fiction Lovers and the Romantic Historical Lovers book review blog.  Slow Hand marks Victoria's foray into contemporary romance. 

Social Media:

Website | Facebook | @AuthorVictoriaV | Goodreads | Pinterest

Slow Hand

By Victoria Vane

Sourcebooks Casablanca

November 4, 2014

$7.99/£5.99

Summary:

In rural Montana…

Wade Knowlton is a hardworking lawyer who’s torn between his small-town Montana law practice and a struggling family ranch. He’s on the brink of exhaustion from trying to save everybody and everything, when gorgeous Nicole Powell walks into his office. She’s a damsel in distress and the breath of fresh air he needs.

Even the lawyers wear boots…

Nicole Powell is a sassy Southern girl who has officially sworn off cowboys after a spate of bad seeds—until her father’s death sends her to Montana and into the arms of a man who seems too good to be true. Her instincts tell her to high tail it out of Montana, but she can't resist a cowboy with a slow hand…

Excerpt:

He went to work on his shirt buttons. His collar was soon wide open revealing a generous show of muscular chest that make her hands itch to rip it off him. She diverted her gaze and curled her itchy hands by her sides.

“Have no fear, cowboy,” Nikki replied in a tone meant to disguise the warm flush that had come over her. “I corralled all my wild impulses long ago.”

“Did you, now?” He still stood in doorway, head cocked. “Somehow, I think you may have missed a few strays.”

“Maybe I need to make myself clearer. I have an aversion to cocky cowboys.”

Just keep telling yourself that, Nikki. Maybe if you repeat it often enough it’ll become true.

“Is that so?” His brows flew upward. “I can’t say I ever met a woman with an actual aversion to me.”

“Don’t take it personally. It’s nothing against you in particular, but to your type.”

“And what do you think you know about my type?”

“Since I don’t have a pole handy, enough to keep you at arms-length. Besides that, this whole line of conversation is entirely inappropriate in light of professional ethics, don’t you think? You are my attorney, after all.”

“Well, darlin’,” he scratched his unshaven jaw, “there’s a little hitch to that.”

“What do you mean? You said you’d help me.”

“And I will, but you can’t engage my professional services until I know who you are.”

“I’ve told you who I am!” she insisted.

“Sweetheart, I’m a lawyer, and according to the law, your claim don’t weigh without authentication.”

“Authentication?”

“Proof.”

“So what are you saying? That you don’t believe me?”

“I’m not saying that at all. Only that our professional relationship will commence once you get your I.D. In the interim,” His gaze slid over her in a way that threatened to melt her insides, “you’d best find yourself a nice, long, sturdy pole.”

Buy Links:

Amazon | Apple | B&N | BAM | !ndigo | IndieBound

Review - - Rodeo Queen

Rodeo Queen
By T.J. Kline
Publisher: Avon Impulse
Release Date: November 26, 2013

Newly crowned rodeo queen, Sydney Thomas has big plans and the talented horse trainer hopes her new title will help them come true.  When a well respected stock contractor offers her a job it puts her professional goals within reach and she happily accepts his offer.  Then she meets the gorgeous, arrogant, chip-on-his-shoulder man who will be her boss and starts second guessing her decision.

Scott Chandler has no use for rodeo queens.  Experience has taught him that they are pampered, self-absorbed divas who will stomp on a man's heart then hit the road without a backward glance. He doesn't agree with his boss's decision to hire Sydney and has no intention of making things easy for her. Instead of softening his feelings toward her, the fact that she's a hard worker and seems to be a nice person only makes him dig in his heels harder.  But the fact that she's drop dead gorgeous and sexy as all get out has him more than willing to indulge his desire for her even if he still thinks she's hiding her true nature.

Just when Sydney and Scott begin to realize that there might be more than desire at the root of their growing feelings, the past intrudes on the present, putting much more than their fledgling relationship at risk.  Will they allow negative forces to come between them or will they find the strength and courage to fight for a happy ending?

I have mixed feelings about this book.  It has several elements that I enjoy:  a western theme, a strong heroine, a brooding hero, horses, sexy cowboys and a touch of danger as well as an author who knows the life about which she writes.  There's a lot of potential here for character growth, a gradual deepening of sizzling desire into a solid emotional commitment and a triumph of love over hate.  I wanted to like it a lot but there were issues that tempered my enjoyment.  Maybe I'm just used to reading about contemporary characters with more life experience and stability but I found the hero of this story very immature.  True, he's had heartbreak in his life but he had more mood swings than a 13-year-old girl and I didn't care for his treatment of the heroine nor her willingness to have an ongoing physical relationship with him in light of it. I was happy with the heroine's growth over the course of the book but I would have had more confidence in a happy-ever-after if the hero's growth had been commensurate with her's. Having said that, there are still many things I like about the author's writing and I'm sure that there are many people who will like this book much more than I did.

This is T.J. Kline's first book and, while it didn't knock my socks off, it shows enough potential for me to definitely check out her next one.

~PJ

Review - - Bride of the High Country

Bride of the High Country
Runaway Brides - Book 3
By Kaki Warner
Publisher:  Berkley Sensation
Release Date:  June 5, 2012

New York City, 1855

Arriving in America with her family at the age of ten, Cathleen Donovan looked forward to a wonderful new life but when they were betrayed by the Irishman who was to have been their guide, she was thrust into a living hell that no child should even know of let alone experience.  Two years later, the only surviving member of her family, Cathleen finally escaped her captors and, thanks to a kindly priest, was placed into the care of a wealthy New York matron.  Leaving her Irish heritage behind, she became Margaret Hamilton and with her guardian's guidance, was transformed into a respected and much sought New York City socialite but she's never forgotten those two years of hell and fear of discovery is her constant companion.

New York City, 1870

Confident that neither scandal mongers nor her former captors will be able to touch her once she's the wife of Irish railroad mogul, Doyle Kerrigan, Margaret looks forward to her impending wedding.  But, on the eve of the nuptials she begins to question whether she really knows the man she's about to marry and when she accidentally overhears a damning conversation on her wedding day she knows she will endure a life of misery if she stays with him.  With the encouragement of her guardian, she hides her wedding gown, takes a new name (Lucinda Hathaway) and escapes with the railroad shares Kerrigan has given her as a wedding gift, leaving her furious new husband to explain his missing bride to the hundreds of guests waiting to toast the happy couple.

Owing his life to Kerrigan, Tait Rylander has been his friend and business partner since the two met during the Civil War.  Together, they've built a business empire but Tait, a lawyer and southern gentleman, has come to realize that Doyle is a ruthless man prone to shady dealings and brutality of which Tait wants no part.  Compounding the strain between them is Margaret, a woman Tait secretly admires, respects and desires; a woman he would have courted himself had Doyle not made the first move.  Now Tait is on Margaret's (Lucinda's) trail, sent by Doyle to bring his errant bride, and the railroad shares, back to New York City.  He finds her without much trouble but, once he does, his loyalties begin to shift.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again.  I am not your enemy, Lucinda.  I never have been.  And I never will be."  


He watched a great sadness come over her face and something close to tears glitter in her eyes.  


"And yet you're here, Tait  What am I to make of that?"


Tait.  It was the first time she'd called him by his given name.  "I'm here to protect you."  


"From whom?  Smythe?  you didn't even know about him until after you arrived.  Doyle?  If that's the case, you should have stayed to stop him, rather than coming after me.  Instead, you've trailed me like a hound on a blood scent.  Why would you do that"?


For you.  The unspoken thought exploded in his mind.


I came for you.

To begin with, Margaret and Doyle's marriage license was never signed nor filed and is in Lucinda's possession.  To put it simply, she's not married.  Then they discover that Tait is not the only person following her.  A dangerous man from her past is on her trail too and his purpose is deadly.  Tait appoints himself her protector, slowly becomes her friend and, finally, so much more.  But Doyle is becoming suspicious and Lucinda has a hard time trusting anyone, especially a man like Tait who sets her body on fire and stirs dangerous emotions in her heart.  The American West and long desired independence are within her grasp.  Will she she give up her dream for love?  Will Tait and Lucinda find a way to craft a new dream?  Or will Doyle and a powerful villain exact revenge and bring their happiness to an end before it has the opportunity to blossom?

Once again, Kaki Warner has captured my interest and my heart with a deeply emotional story about love, friendship, overcoming adversity and following your dream.  Up to this point, we've only known Lucinda as she is after arriving in Heartbreak Creek, Colorado (in the first two books of the trilogy) with her past a mysterious secret.  I have to admit that, of the four women who banded together and formed a tight friendship in those books, Lucinda was my least favorite.   That all changes with Bride of the High Country.  With her attention to detail, multi-layered characters and sweeping, frontier settings, Warner once again has created characters I care for, fear for and cheer for.  Tait and Lucinda are two people who deserve happiness and their journey, while fraught with danger and heartache, is also filled with humor, hope,  lasting friendship and enduring love.

Edwina, Maddie, Prudence, Lucinda and their families are wonderful characters.  As with the ladies themselves, the bonds I've formed with them are strong and lasting which is why the latest news from Kaki Warner has me jumping for joy.  Ms. Warner has signed a contract for three more books set in Heartbreak Creek, Colorado.  I can hardly wait!

The books in the Runaway Brides trilogy are Heartbreak Creek, Colorado Dawn and Bride of the High Country.  I highly recommend them all.

~PJ

Stock Up Saturday

If I Fall
By Kate Noble
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Release Date: April 3, 2012

If I Fall picks up right where Kate Noble’s previous book, Follow My Lead, leaves off (though you certainly do not have to have read Follow My Lead before reading this one) with Sarah Forrester suffering betrayal and humiliation at the hands of her fiancé, the Duke of Rayne. He fell in love with someone else and Sarah graciously let him go. However, she quickly became known as the “Girl Who Lost a Duke”. In order to save face and protect her heart, Sarah collaborates with Lady Phillippa Worth, the reigning leader of the ton, to create a new persona and soon becomes the Golden Lady—the woman every man wants and every woman wants to be.

Sarah’s childhood friend, Lieutenant Jackson Fletcher has been at sea since he was sixteen. He returns to London to await new orders and is anxious to see the people he has always considered family—the Forresters. However, his dear friend Sarah is nothing like she used to be. Gone is the funny, sweet, endearing girl and in her place is someone cold, snobbish, and condescending. Jack must work hard if he’s to crack through Sarah’s façade. His hard work backfires and thrusts him into a dangerous situation that involves murder, top-secret information, and Sarah.

From the moment I closed the last page of Follow My Lead and witnessed Sarah Forrester’s heartbreak, I wanted her to have her own happily ever after. She certainly deserved it. She was a likable secondary character who became a loveable heroine in her own book. I completely understood why she put up a front and acted the way she did after The Event...why she felt the need to reinvent herself. And I simply adored how persistent Jack was to bring back the “old Sarah”.

Even when she was cold as ice to him, Jack had discovered that there was nothing that made him more awake than the presence of Sarah Forrester.

An uncomfortable realization, that.

During this process, Jack discovers something about himself that he didn’t realize and must come to terms with his own inner struggles. When he’s hit with news that he had dreaded hearing upon his return to London, he turns to the only person who understands him: Sarah. These two are so perfect for each other and I couldn’t have asked for a better hero for Sarah. Their story is filled with lovely prose, tender moments, and a very nice twist at the end. If I Fall is another terrific historical from the talented Kate Noble and if the excerpt in the back is any indication, we will soon be blessed with another. This one joins all of Ms. Noble’s
previous books on my keeper shelves and, like the others, is one I highly recommend!

~Andrea

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CATCH ME A COWBOY

By Katie Lane

Publisher:  Grand Central

Release Date:  March 27, 2012

For the last nine months, Shirlene Johnson used retail therapy to deal with the death of her husband.   But due to her shopping sprees and lack of financial management, Shirlene finds herself without any funds and evicted from her posh mansion.  Never thinking she would have to live in her childhood home – a dilapidated trailer, Shirlene faces the fact that this tiny trailer is her new home.  The memories of her alcoholic mother and her not-so-fun childhood seem to haunt her as soon as she pulls into the dusty driveway.   Shirlene finds her luck turns from bad to worse when she discovers four runaway children have taken up residence in her childhood home and the town’s biggest redneck jerk is living right next door.   Now, not only does she have to try to set things right with the bank and try to get her home back, but now she finders herself the caretaker of the four children while trying not to succumb to the rippling muscles and sexy smile of her neighbor, Billy “Bubba” Wilkes. 

Billy Wilkes came to Bramble to settle an old family score.  Believing the long ago death of a relative in the dusty streets of Bramble has cast a curse upon his family, Billy and his brothers are determined to cancel the curse once and for all and that begins with the demise of the town.   Befriending the town’s people and acting like the biggest redneck in Texas, Billy has gained the trust of pretty much everyone.   Except his new neighbor Shirlene.  Billy is usually on task and in character all the time, but he finds himself lost in Shirlene’s eyes (and her curvatious body).   Soon he realizes Shirlene has slipped behind his guard and found a spot in his heart.  But will she understand his motives once his secret is out?

Shirlene is a woman down on her luck but determined to do the right thing and to live her life on her terms.   She’s a “go get ‘em” kind of gal and I really like her spunk.  The sarcastic yet flirty repartee between Shirlene and Billy had me giggled frequently.  Billy’s one liners and pet names for Shirlene are just priceless.   While the sarcasm and humor is fabulous, the sweet, soft moments are just as great.

This is my first Katie Lane book, and I must say it won’t be my last.   This book is such a fun, light read.   If you need a giggle or two interspersed with some sizzling sexual tension, then this one is for you!

~ Buffie