Saturday, June 29, 2013

New Review: Shannon Drake (aka Heather Graham) BRANDED HEARTS – Great Story from the Old West

I am a huge fan of Heather Graham (aka Shannon Drake) and her Western romances. This is one of them, a post Civil War tale of the Wild West.

Why would Ian, an ex-Rebel officer and half Sioux Indian, think Ann McCastle was a virgin when she was running a saloon and bordello on the Colorado frontier? Well, he wouldn't...and she has no intention of informing him he is wrong when he was being so stubborn and acting like he knows it all. But no matter her experience, he was willing to marry her—no, he demanded she marry him—when he bought the controlling interest in her establishment. Since they both had grievances against a local bad man (though neither would disclose what those grievances were), and the marriage would make the bad guy really unhappy, why not marry? So they do. And then, as they say, we're off to the races.

Ian's a handsome warrior type who is just what McCastle's saloon needs. He cares more deeply for Ann than he wants to admit. Of course, Ann runs more than a saloon and bordello out of McCastle's but she isn't willing to tell Ian, nor is she willing to confess she has begun to love him.

You'll love the characters in this one, including a noble Pawnee Indian named Cloud Walker, a French chef, a sympathetic bartender, three ladies of the night with hearts of gold who are loyal to Ann, and a piano player who keeps all her secrets! Ah..the Wild West! I think you'll enjoy this one. There's lots of mystery and great chemistry between the two leads as Graham weaves a wonderful tale. But ignore the picture inside the cover that shows the dark haired Ian with blond hair, and the blond-haired Ann with dark hair. How did they get that so wrong?

Note: Heather Graham will be on my blog in late July so y’all come back ya hear?

2 comments:

  1. I love her work! I have every one of her Shannon Drake books on my shelf. Her Graham historicals, vampires, and some of her contemps too. I found her when I started reading in the early 90's and she quickly became a favorite of mine. :)

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    1. Leah, I so agree with you and I have read all her historicals. Just love them. I've been trying to convince Heather to return to writing historicals and she is very tempted.

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