Ellen O’Connell’s BEAUTIFUL BAD MAN – A Great Story of Second Chances from a Wonderful Author of Western Romance!

Set in Kansas in 1880 (except for the prologue set in 1866 and 1871), it tells the story of two people who met one night at a circled wagon train when they were young. He was a thief looking for food and she was his rescuer when some drunken men wanted to hang him. Neither forgot each other, but when they meet years later, all has changed.

Caleb Sutton has become a hardened gunslinger, good at killing men; and Norah Hawkins is a broken widow looking for death. When Cal realizes she is “the Girl” who saved him, he can’t leave her without helping. And she needs help, as a land grubbing rancher is using any despicable means he can to steal the settlers’ land.

O’Connell weaves a complex tale of second chances and redemption as lives affected by the evil actions of others are dealt with in the context of love. Cal is hardened and brutal (but still noble), haunted by the ghosts of his past. He believes he is “the devil’s spawn” as he was told as a boy. Though deep down he has a tender heart, he hides it from all but Norah. Norah is a courageous woman who only needs a reason to live. And Cal gives her one.

It’s a great story, well told and with richly developed characters. There’s lots of action, too, and the plot is cleverly woven, the dialog wonderful.

I highly recommend this and all O’Connell’s novels.

LaVyrle Spencer’s HUMMINGBIRD – A Second Chance at Love From a Very Unlikely Place

Set in 1879 in Colorado, this is the story of the very proper Miss Abigail McKenzie who decides she needs to make some money to keep herself and her home. So, when two men, wounded on a train in what was thought to be a robbery, show up in her town and the doc says he needs a place to put them—at the railroad’s expense—she volunteers. One is the “hero” and one is the “train robber,” but it matters little to Abigail who is good a tending the sick after caring for her father until his death.

The “hero” turns out to be a shoe salesman who is every bit the gentleman that Abigail is a lady. And soon, 33-year-old Abigail is dreaming that she may have a suitor to make up for the one she lost 13 years earlier.

David Melcher, whose wound turns out to be only a big toe shot off, is quite enamored with Miss Abigail, but most of her time is taken up with the “robber” who is gravely wounded in his upper leg. Through a series of events, Abigail saves his life and yet, when he awakens, he’s like a bear coming out of a cave, snapping at her every move.

Spencer does a brilliant job of keeping up the tension and the banter going between Abigail and her most difficult patient, the handsome and darkly sensual man who only gives her his first name, “Jesse.” It is all the more amazing when you consider that most of the book occurs in her home and in a single room, her bedroom occupied by the recovering train robber.

Jesse comes to think of Abigail as his “hummingbird” as she is small and flits about in a most efficient way. And he views with disdain the would be hero Melcher who would have Abigail as his own. Jesse and Abigail are not initially attracted to each other: she is too proper, too stiff; and he is too crude, too rough. But Jesse sees deeper into her heart and her past than Abigail does and over time, painfully sorts out what has her bound in the rigid rules of propriety.

Sometimes the courtship of two creatures is a mad, frantic dance—a biting, clawing fight before the passion overtakes them. Such is the mating dance of Jesse and Abigail. She resists her feelings for him until she is forced to face them and choose. Will Abigail choose the very proper Mr. Melcher, or the crude Jesse?

Spencer deftly weaves a “second chance” story where both hero and heroine learn something of their true hearts’ desires. It is rich in detail with superb dialog, intricately interlaced with just enough action to keep you turning pages. Some of the secondary characters are priceless. Though there is not much of the Old West here, you still get an accurate picture of life in the small town of Stuart’s Junction in late 19^th century America.

A splendid romance and a very worthy read.

Lizzi Tremayne’s A LONG TRAIL ROLLING – A Pony Express Adventure!

Set in 1860, this is the story of Aleksandra from Poland and Xavier , a Californio who becomes a station keeper for the Pony Express where he meets Aleksandra. Trained in Cossack horse riding, she decides to join the Pony Express while eluding the Russian man she believes is responsible for her father’s death. Disguised as a boy, she rides through difficult territory where the Paiute Indian Wars are raging.

The author’s considerable research into the era and the Pony Express are reflected in great detail in this story, which is nearly 400 pages. If you’ve always wanted to know what it was like to be one of those riders, or all that went into the Express, you will experience it with Aleksandra. The action scenes with arrows flying all around her and a villain in pursuit will keep you turning pages but they come in the last half of the book. (The beginning requires patience as Aleks and Xavier get to know each other and share information about the Pony Express.)

Both Aleksandra and Xavier are exceptional people and are attracted to each other from the beginning. Each has reservations, but the relationship progresses at a steady pace.

Exceptional detail and historical authenticity add to this Pony Express adventure!

Rebecca Brandewyne’s LOVE, CHERISH ME: Captivating Saga of the American West

When I finished this book, it was so good, I found myself wanting a sequel. Alas, there is no sequel, but And Gold Was Ours gives us another glimpse of Storm and Wolf.

Who could not love Wolf (El Lobo)? He is a man haunted by his past in an era where bad men seized lands to impose cruel dictates. We don't learn the complete story of Wolf's past until the end, but it's worth the wait. As for the heroine, Storm Lesconflair, the belle of New Orleans, she starts out as an indulged 16-year-old given every advantage, but when her parents die, her life takes a plunge. Rising to every challenge, she becomes a beautiful woman of grace, intelligence and depth. And their love is the love of legends.

The romance is divided into five "books" and spans the time period 1848 to 1866. The first chapter shows us the present, 1866, and it's almost an epilogue that can be skipped till the end (I re-read it after I’d finished the book). Then we are back at the beginning, in 1848, and Storm is being forced into an arranged marriage with a rich, cruel Texas rancher she doesn't love. On her way to meet him, a gang of outlaws overtakes her stagecoach and Storm is taken captive. She is then won in a card game by the gunslinger they call El Lobo, thought to be a half breed Indian but a man all men fear and respect. The darkly handsome gunslinger, dressed in black and silver, seems to have honor and would give her freedom, but Storm prefers his company to the thieves and scoundrels in the bar. So she follows him...

The story unfolds as we travel from New Orleans high society of the mid 1800s to the Texas frontier to San Francisco and then back to Texas. Along the way, Brandewyne introduces us to some wonderful characters, including a group of Comanches who are Wolf's adopted family, and we get to learn about the Indian culture, which had much to suggest to the white man.

If you like romances that sweep you away and the story of love that conquers overwhelming odds, you will love this story. I highly recommend it.

Kaki Warner’s HEARTBREAK CREEK – Great 1st in the Brides Trilogy, a Must Read Western!

First in the Brides trilogy (Heartbreak Creek, Colorado Dawn and Bride of the High Country), and set in Colorado in 1870, this is the story of Edwina Ladoux, “the once reigning belle of Sycamore Parish” in Louisiana, now a widow, who because of circumstances decides to become a mail order bride to a man described as an “honest, hard-working widower” seeking a “sturdy English-speaking woman” to help with his ranch and 4 children.

Edwina doubted she could be considered “sturdy,” but decided to proceed nonetheless. In her own words, “She might be leaping from the fat into the fire, but at least for that brief moment she hung suspended between the two, she would be totally free.” How could you not like a woman who would take a leap like that? Especially when she drags her older sister, Pru, along with her for this adventure into the unknown. Like several of Warner’s latest novels, this one features a train ride (to Colorado) and names like Damnation Creek—I loved them.

It gets more interesting as we learn that Pru is Edwina’ half sister and her mother was black. Pru is a beautiful, accomplished woman who is self-educated and able to care for both Edwina and herself. Both Pru and Edwina have a past that still affects them. Our hero, Declan Brodie, is a man of few words who is overwhelmed by his sprawling ranch and his four children. He also has a past that haunts him—his first wife left him for another man and Indians killed both.

Edwina thinks of Declan as a “great lump” due to his size. He calls her Miss Priss and then “Ed,” which she likes better. He has agreed to her terms—to give her a few months without consummating the marriage to see if they are compatible. Initially it seems they are not when he learns she can’t cook and she imposes rules on the children that have them bristling, but then Declan begins to admire other things about her. I loved their conversations and sparing. I loved the way Warner had the exasperated man cursing in his mind. She captures the male point of view so well.

Warner plunks you down into the late 19^th century American frontier with ranchers, Indians, freed slaves and others trying to build a new life. And we are introduced to the other “brides” in the trilogy so read this them in order.

The dialog is realistic and rich, the characters varied and well drawn and the plot is intriguing and exciting. Spread over all this like chocolate shavings over cake frosting is Warner’s dry wit. Simply delicious.

Shirl Henke’s GOLDEN LADY – Masterfully Written tale of the Old West!

This was Henke’s first novel, published in 1986. It’s book #1 in the Old California Couplet (Love Unwilling is the other). The eBook version (which I read) may have changed slightly from the original since I know Henke has updated her backlist titles as she publishes them in ebook format. No matter the edition you read, it’s a grand story, impeccably researched and well told.

The story begins in 1848 as 19-year-old Esteban Santadar views the devastation from war torn Mexico City where the forces of Santa Anna have lost to the Americans. Wounded, he goes home to Sonora to heal and to resume his life among his aristocratic family. At the same time, 13-year-old Amanda Whittaker’s father dies on a wagon train headed west, leading her mother to marry a hard man just to survive. Four years later, Esteban is coming into his own as a merchant trader and horse breeder working with his Irish uncle but being pressured by his family to take a worthy Mexican bride. A world away, Amanda is raped by her stepfather and she flees to San Francisco where she goes to work in a brothel, first as a maid and then, under pressure to help another, as one of the prostitutes. Amanda hated it, and at the first opportunity, left to find a better life.

One night in the brothel Amanda had seen a man (Esteban) who captured her young heart. Years later, when Amanda has been freed from the bordello and adopted by a rich German as the daughter he never had, she encounters Esteban once again, this time in connection with his beautiful golden palomino horses. He is taken by Amanda’s beauty and her ability with horses, and, of course, he pursues her. She tells Esteban lies about her past, even as she knows his family and his culture would insist he take only a pure bride. She doesn’t want a man to accept her as a “reformed whore” (her words), so she marries him even as her friends tell her she is building a house of cards that will one day fall.

I love that Henke brings you into the early days of San Francisco and the different cultures and attitudes that came together in that amazing city. I wasn’t too keen on the rape and prostitution of the heroine, but Henke did a good job of redeeming her. Amanda is a very likeable heroine, and while I could understand her not wanting a man she loved to know of her past, it was clear the lies she told would eventually lead to her downfall. Henke brought us to that point in masterful fashion, as she did Esteban’s change of heart. There are also some wonderful secondary characters, too, including Esteban’s Irish uncle and his wife, the old man “Hoot” who helped the runaway Amanda, and of course the German who made her his daughter.

It’s a great story and I recommend it.

Lori Austin’s BEAUTY AND THE BOUNTY HUNTER – Clever, Gritty Tale of a Female Bounty Hunter in the Old West and Her Magical Man!

Ok, so you know when you see the title you’re thinking the heroine’s the beauty, right? Wrong!

Set in Kansas and Missouri in 1870, this is the story of Cathleen (“Cat”) Chase, a farm wife who became a bounty hunter, a legend known as Cat O’Banyon, in order to hunt down her husband’s killer. In her words, her occupation was “born from the ashes that had tumbled across Billy’s grave nearly two years ago.”

Cat learned all she knows from Alexi Romanov, a man so pretty he is a beauty with “hands that could make a violin sing or a woman moan.” He was more than her teacher and her healer when she was broken up over Billy’s death; he was her lover. After he’d taught her to shoot and take on any disguise, she left him without a word. Now he’s come to find her.

This is a very clever, well-written tale that captured me from the first page. The banter between Cat and Alexi and Cat’s own thoughts are priceless. And there is more here, lots more. It reflects research into the period, which I so appreciate. It’s a post Civil War story in which the hero is still suffering from the nightmare he experienced.

It’s a story of running away from your past and dealing with the hard stuff. As Alexi said,

“I understand more than most the need to become another. To bury the past along with who you were, to create a new life completely different from it, and forget, or try to, the person who came before.”

I highly recommend this unique story from the Old West. It will keep you reading to solve the mystery and finally see Alexi and Cat come together.

The Once Upon a Time in the West series:

Beauty and The Bounty Hunter

An Outlaw in Wonderland

The Lone Warrior

Hunter Jones, et al - SEXUALITY AND ITS IMPACT ON HISTORY - A great addition to the knowledge of women’s lives in history!

Taking a short break from Western historical romances, I have just read a new book that documents some interesting cases of women in history.

According to the authors’ description, Sexuality and Its Impact on History: The British Stripped Bare chronicles the pleasures and perils of the flesh, sharing secrets from the days of the Anglo-Saxons, medieval courtly love traditions, diabolical Tudor escapades (including those of Anne Boleyn and Mary Queen of Scots), and the Regency and the Victorian eras. That pretty much sums it up, however, it doesn’t fully convey that this is serious history. The last essay includes America… the Gold Rush and the Civil War and the women drawn to “service” the men involved. It also features a bit about the sex trade in New Orleans.

Each author presents a segment of history and the women whose stories are worth knowing. Along the way, you pick up some fascinating bits about marriage traditions and laws, prostitution and the reasons for it and the life of women in those eras.

Heaven help you if you were a royal. The story of Mary, Queen of Scots was very compelling and well done. My heart went out to her, a queen at six days of age tor between those who wanted to take advantage of her claim to England’s throne. That her fellow Scots should betray her and her cousin, Elizabeth, murder her was a horrible end for so promising a life.

As an author of historical romance who does extensive research for my stories, I found the book of keen interest. Others who just love reading about history will find it of interest, too. A great addition to the knowledge of women’s lives in history!

Catherine Hart’s SILKEN SAVAGE – Captivating Tale of the Cheyenne before Little Big Horn—a Love Story to Remember!

June is Western month on the blog and this time I’m starting with a classic!

Set in 1866, Silken Savage tells the story of 16-year-old Tanya Martin, who travels via wagon train with her family to meet her fiancé in Pueblo, the Colorado Territory, when nearly to their destination, Cheyenne warriors seize five of the women, including Tanya. The chief’s nephew, A Panther Stalks, and leader of the group, claims Tanya for his own and treats her better than the other captives who are treated brutally. Tanya, who Panther calls “Little Wildcat,” takes to Cheyenne life like a duck to water and becomes Panther’s woman, eventually his wife, planning never to go back to her old life.

Hart’s unique style makes for a captivating tale with wonderful characters and many twists and turns. The relationship between Panther and the golden girl who held his heart was certainly well done. And the action never stops. You understand the Indian-white man conflict from the Cheyenne point of view as Tanya becomes one of them, happy to be with Panther and his people. (George Custer is actually one of the characters.) Of course, Panther has a secret that will become very important.

At times, the heroine seemed too perfect, her strength and abilities nearly supernatural. First, she learns the complicated Cheyenne language in “weeks.” Then she fights off the rival Ute tribe killing and scalping a warrior. But the one that really got me was when she killed two armed men with her knife and, though pregnant, had the strength to load the dead bodies onto the men’s horses, this after she took down a 14 point buck with an arrow (and hoisted the buck up over a tree limb to “bleed out”). After that she killed a full-grown cougar and skinned both animals and preserved the hides. For a 16-year-old white teenager who’d only been in the west for a short while, it was beyond belief. And I don’t think a white girl taken captive, beaten, branded and treated as a slave, dragged around by a strip of leather around her neck, would be quick to fall in love with the Indian who did it, even if he was handsome and wanted only her. 

But all this was really only at the beginning of the story—a story I could not put it down.

I recommend this one for all of you Western historical lovers, particularly those who love those half Indian heroes. This one’s a saga you won’t forget!

Hart’s Native American trilogy:

Silken Savage

Summer Storm

Night Flame

Jan Cox Speas’s MY LORD MONLEIGH – A Beautifully Written, Poignant Love Story From the Scottish Highlands in the late 17th Century

This is set in the Scottish Highlands in the late 17^th century (mostly on the west coast) during the time when the Scots fell under Cromwell’s cruel hand as King Charles lived in exile in France. The Catholic Royalists, such as our hero, Lord Monleigh, faced opposition from both the English and the Covenanters (Scottish Presbyterians).

The story has a melancholy feel that persists as 23-year-old spinster, Anne Lindsey, who lost her parents and then her relatives with whom she was living, is forced to live with staunch Covenanters who treat her like a servant. As the tale begins, Simon, the Earl of Monleigh, who Anne knows, is in prison in Edinburgh awaiting death while Anne’s benefactors look forward to his execution. Anne looks back at her memories of Lord Monleigh, beginning with the night she met him on the moors high above the ocean, and the rest of the story unfolds.

Monleigh is man who can be a wise, though at times hard, leader of his clan, fighting to restore his king, but at the same time a charismatic charmer of the lasses. When he focuses his attentions on innocent and beautiful Anne, she has no will to resist. He exposes her to adventure, music and passion she has not known, but has longed for. He believes he has rescued her from a dismal life, but he has also exposed her to danger, and he offers her no future. He is hunted by the English for his raiding and smuggling, something he does to pay the high English fees levied on the Scots, and knows the noose is tightening about his neck.

In Anne’s own words:

“He had enthralled me, bewitched and enraptured me; and I knew I played a dangerous and deadly game by so giving myself into his keeping. He was no god, in truth, or even godly. He was only a man, a mere mortal, who went in leather breeks and a dark cloak lined with scarlet, wearing a long sword at his side and a wicked blue dirk in his belt—who felt anger, boredom, indifference, who loved and hated as other men; who stood taller than most and held his dark head with a greater pride.”

The story is told through Anne’s perspective and in the first person, and somehow that seemed to fit. It is beautifully written with near magical dialog and tender emotions on every page. I cannot recommend it highly enough to those who love the deep historicals from Scotland. It’s a keeper as are all of Jan Cox Speas’ novels.

Should you wish to acquire it, at the moment, you will have to buy it used and in paperback, but trust me, it will be worth it. And while you’re at it, I recommend getting Bride of the MacHugh, also by Speas, and equally good.

Aleen Malcolm’s THE DAUGHTERS OF CAMERON – A Splendid Finish in the Highlands for a Great Trilogy... A Keeper!

This is a brilliant finish to the Cameron trilogy of stories set in the Highlands and the wilderness of America… all highly recommended. This one features the two daughters of Cameron, a feisty lass whose daughters are much like her.

It begins in 1782 in the Great Lakes region of the American wilderness after the war. Golden-haired Kestrel and her sister, the raven-haired Rue have experienced hardship and the brutality of evil men. Thus, they have walled off their hearts and trust no one.

Dr. Nick Mackay, fresh from the battlefield, promises Cameron he will wed Kestrel and care for her. Very soon, he realizes what Cameron must have seen—that he loves the wild girl. Meanwhile, the pirate Hawk captures the ship the two sisters are sailing on to Scotland and decides to make Rue his wife.

I love Aleen Malcolm’s writing. She is historically detailed; her stories reflect much research and they are emotionally moving. I can forgive her the frequent head hopping as she jumps from one character’s mind to another because her characters are so well developed, so endearing. Simply wonderful.

Malcolm holds back nothing as she reveals the savagery young women faced on the frontier but she brings into the sisters’ lives wonderful men to love and care for them and tame their wild spirits. They can be read as stand alones but get the trilogy. You will love it.

The Cameron trilogy:

The Taming (Sir Alex Sinclair and Cameron, set in the Highlands)

Ride Out the Storm (Alex and Cameron in the New World)

The Daughters of Cameron (Rue Sinclair and Torquin MacKay and Kestral Sinclair and Alex MacKay

Remember their sacrifice and give thanks...

 
In America, this is a special day of remembrance. Because some of our men and women in uniform paid the ultimate price, we have the freedom we do. 

On this Memorial Day, remember their sacrifice, pray for their families and thank God for the freedoms you have today.

“All we have of freedom, all we use or know —This our fathers bought for us now and long ago.” ~ Rudyard Kipling

Best Scottish Historical Romances!

Geddes MacGregor once wrote, “No one in Scotland can escape from the past. It is everywhere, haunting like a ghost." Scotland’s past is the subject of this list, romance novels set in Scotland, most in that magical part of Scotland called the Highlands. Some are romances with a Scottish hero or heroine. All are rated 4 or 5 stars. Enjoy!

·               A Dangerous Love, The Border Lord's Bride, The Captive Heart, The Border Lord And The Lady, The Border Vixen and Bond Of Passion (from The Border Chronicles) by Bertrice Small

·               A Gentle Feuding by Johanna Lindsey

·               A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught

·               A Year and a Day by Virginia Henley

·               Abducted Heiress by Amanda Scott

·               Almost Heaven by Judith McNaught

·               Beloved Rogue by Penelope Williamson

·               Border Lord by Arnette Lamb

·               Bound to the Highlander by Kate Robbins

·               Bride of the MacHugh by Jan Cox Speas

·               Charming the Shrew and Daring the Highlander (MacLeod duology) by Laurin Wittig

·               Children of the Mist by Aleen Malcolm

·               Claimed by Tarah Scott

·               Clandara by Evelyn Anthony

·               Come The Morning, Conquer the Night, Seize the Dawn, Knight Triumphant, The Lion in Glory, When We Touch and The Queen’s Lady (the Graham series) by Heather Graham Pozzessere

·               Davy’s Last Ride by Brit Darby

·               Desiring the Highlander by Michele Sinclair

·               Devil of Kilmartin by Laurin Wittig

·               Devil’s Mistress by Heather Graham

·               Emerald Embrace by Shannon Drake (aka Heather Graham)

·               Forever My Love by Rebecca Brandewyne

·               Gather the Stars by Kimberly Cates

·               Heartstorm by Elizabeth Stuart

·               Heather House: Witch of the Moors by Carmen Caine

·               Highland Moon by Judith E. French

·               Highland Rebel by Judith James

·               Highland Warrior, Highland Outlaw and Highland Scoundrel (the Campbell trilogy) by Monica McCarty

·               Highlander’s Hope (a Regency based in Scotland) by Collette Cameron

·               If You Dare, If You Desire and If You Deceive (the MacCarrick Brothers trilogy) by Kresley Cole

·               In From the Cold by Nora Roberts

·               His Stolen Bride by Shelly Thacker

·               Kilgannon and The Wild Rose of Kilgannon by Kathleen Givens

·               Knight of Fire by Shannon Drake (aka Heather Graham)

·               Lady of the Glen by Jennifer Roberson

·               Laird of the Mist by Paula Quinn (and all six in her MacGregor/Children of the Mist Series)

·               Lord of a Thousand Nights by Madeline Hunter

·               Lord of Fire by Emma Merritt

·               Moonstruck Madness by Laurie McBain

·               My Lord Monleigh by Jan Cox Speas

·               My Wicked Enchantress by Meagan McKinney

·               On a Highland Shore and Rivals for the Crown by Kathleen Givens

·               Oriana by Valerie Vayle

·               Rebellion by Nora Roberts

·               Rosamund by Bertrice Small

·               Silk and Steel by Cordia Byers

·               Sound of the Heart by Genevieve Graham

·               Snow Raven by Patricia McAllister

·               Tempted and The Border Hostage, duology by Virginia Henley

·               The Bedeviled Heart, The Daring Heart and The Bold Heart by Carmen Caine

·               The Border Bride by Elizabeth English

·               The Border Lord by Jan Westcott

·               The Captive by Parris Afton Bonds

·               The Chieftain’s Curse by Francis Housden

·               The Daughters of Cameron by Aleen Malcolm

·               The Guardian by Genevieve Graham

·               The Lady and the Laird, Nicola Cornick

·               The Legend and The Destiny by Kathleen Givens

·               The Magnificent Rogue by Iris Johansen

·               The Passionate One, The Reckless One and The Ravishing One (the McClairen’s Isle trilogy) by Connie Brockway

·               The Pride of Lions, The Blood of Roses and Midnight Honor by Marsha Canham

·               The Renegade (first released as The Renegade and The Rose) by Christine Dorsey

·               The Queen’s Lady by Shannon Drake (aka Heather Graham)

·               The Taming, Ride Out the Storm and The Daughters of Cameron by Aleen

            Malcolm

·               The Scotsman by Juliana Garnett (aka Virginia Brown)

·               Threads of Destiny by Arnette Lamb

·               To Beguile a Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt (one of the Four Soldiers series)

·               To Conquer a Highlander, Highland Hellcat and Highland Heat by Mary Wine

·               White Knight by Jaclyn Reding

·               Without Honor by Elizabeth Stuart

I hope you will consider my novels set in Scotland’s past… Rebel Warrior (a medieval) and  A Secret Scottish Christmas (a Regency) and my Regency novella, The Holly & The Thistle.