Kaki Warner’s TEXAS TALL –Charming & Sometimes Exciting Story of Love in Small West Texas Town

Set in 1875 in West Texas, this is the story of Charlotte (“Lottie”) Weyland, who has been on her own since she was fourteen, and Tyree Benton who joined the Texas Rangers seeking revenge.

 

The story begins with a scene where Lottie sets fire to her home with her grandfather in the shed. In Greenbroke, the small Texas town where now Lottie lives, Ty and some rangers come to town with a prisoner. Ty gets wounded in a shootout and Lottie rushes to help him.

 

So the romance begins.

 

As always, Warner writes well with clever dialog, vividly creating life in a small town in 19th century Texas. She obviously knows her subject well, perhaps because she is a Texan. We feel the heat of the hot summers and learn what it means to take any small job just to survive.

 

This story is a bit different from Warner’s other books. The first half of the book is in Lottie’s point of view and we don’t see much of Ty, who is in and out of her life. Only in the second half do we get some of Ty’s inner thinking.

 

Lottie has used her talent for “figuring” to grow a bookkeeping business, serving the town’s businesses and building a nest egg to buy a ranch.  She also learns to invest in land and mineral rights from the town’s banker. Clever girl. To have a ranch is Ty’s dream, but, proud man that he is, when Lottie offers to help, Ty refuses. They are in love, but they can’t seem to make their dreams come together. Then, into the mix comes her past.

 

The end of the book has some exciting moments and a great courtroom scene with a funny judge. Happiness arrives for some endearing characters. Another great story from Kaki Warner.

 

 

Kaki Warner’s WHERE THE HORSES RUN – Great Western Historical—and this one has Victorian England & Scotland, too!

 

Set 1871 in England and Scotland (bracketed by scenes from Texas and Colorado) this is the story of Rafford Jessup (“Rafe”), the former lawman we met in Behind His Blue Eyes.

 

Rafe is the wrangler Ash (Lord Kirkwell) hires to go with him to England to procure breeding stock for his thoroughbred ranch in Heartbreak Creek. One of the places they hope to buy horses is in Penrith, England where a former coal miner who became wealthy is being forced to sell his stock. His daughter, Josephine Cathcart, is a ruined woman who had a son by her baron lover who deserted her to marry someone of higher rank. Sadly, Josephine must go along with selling her prized stallion “Pens” unless her father can marry her off to a wealthy man. And so they travel to America. On the ship sailing back to England, they all come together.

 

Warner serves up a wonderful cast of characters with this installment in the series: cowboys, Scots, the Cheyenne Indian Thomas Redstone, who we have come to love from Warner’s other books, an Irish maid, and some irascible Englishmen, including the valet, Pringle who continually banters with Ash—all wrapped around a love story between two unlikely people in Victorian England who share a passion for horses.

 

Rafe is the 19^th century equivalent of a Texas “horse whisperer,” and Josephine is an Englishwoman who has borne her shame with dignity. I loved them both. And I was delighted to see that Warner brought back Ash and his countess.

 

The humor and emotion will have you laughing one moment and crying the next. And did I mention that there’s lots of fun in this most unusual tale. You can enjoy it alone, but it’s best devoured with the rest of Warner’s Heartbreak Creek stories: the Runaway Brides trilogy and the Heroes of Heartbreak Creek. I recommend them all!

 

Kaki Warner’s BEHIND HIS BLUE EYES – 1st in the Heroes of Heartbreak Creek trilogy will capture your heart

 Continuing on from the Runaway Brides trilogy, it’s 1871 and we’re back in Heartbreak Creek, Colorado Territory as some new residents arrive: Ethan Hardesty, an architect who blames himself for three deaths in San Francisco, and Audra Pearsall, a wannabe author from Baltimore who is caring for her aging father with dementia. Meanwhile, someone is sabotaging the sluice up at the mine and men have been murdered, casting the whole town in danger.

 

Warner writes superbly (as always) in this Western historical with a bit of a twist: the hero wants marriage and the heroine wants a trial relationship with sleeping privileges. I loved getting to see the old gang again, especially the Scottish earl, Angus Wallace, but you can still enjoy the book if this is your first as Warner explains all the characters. Ethan has a great sense of humor and his teasing of Audra is a hoot. (I loved the analogy of trying to fit “dancing pumps on a cat.”) There are moments that will have you chuckling and moments that will terrorize you as a dark menace sweeps into this sleepy town with the coming of the railroad.

 

A must read for fans of Heartbreak Creek and another good one from Warner! The next one up is Rafe’s story, Something In His Smile, and I’m thinking at least part of it will take place in Scotland.

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.

 

Kaki Warner’s WHERE THE HORSES RUN – Great Western Historical—and this one has Victorian England & Scotland, too!

Set 1871 in England and Scotland (bracketed by scenes from Texas and Colorado) this is the story of Rafford Jessup (“Rafe”), the former lawman we met in Behind His Blue Eyes.

 

Rafe is the wrangler Ash (Lord Kirkwell) hires to go with him to England to procure breeding stock for his thoroughbred ranch in Heartbreak Creek. One of the places they hope to buy horses is in Penrith, England where a former coal miner who became wealthy is being forced to sell his stock. His daughter, Josephine Cathcart, is a ruined woman who had a son by her baron lover who deserted her to marry someone of higher rank. Sadly, Josephine must go along with selling her prized stallion “Pens” unless her father can marry her off to a wealthy man. And so they travel to America. On the ship sailing back to England, they all come together.

 

Warner serves up a wonderful cast of characters with this installment in the series: cowboys, Scots, the Cheyenne Indian Thomas Redstone, who we have come to love from Warner’s other books, an Irish maid, and some irascible Englishmen, including the valet, Pringle who continually banters with Ash—all wrapped around a love story between two unlikely people in Victorian England who share a passion for horses.

 

Rafe is the 19^th century equivalent of a Texas “horse whisperer,” and Josephine is an Englishwoman who has borne her shame with dignity. I loved them both. And I was delighted to see that Warner brought back Ash and his countess.

 

The humor and emotion will have you laughing one moment and crying the next. And did I mention that there’s lots of fun in this most unusual tale. You can enjoy it alone, but it’s best devoured with the rest of Warner’s Heartbreak Creek stories: the Runaway Brides trilogy and the Heroes of Heartbreak Creek. I recommend them all!

Kaki Warner’s PIECES OF SKY – Worthy Western Historical set in New Mexico Territory

This is the first in Warner’s Blood Rose trilogy, named after the roses that surround the RosaRoja ranch owned by the three Wilkins brothers in New Mexico Territory. Set in 1869, this is the story of Jessica Thornton, on the run from her home in England and the brother-in-law who raped her and left her pregnant with his child. She is trying to get to the only man she trusts—her brother.

At a stagecoach stop, Jessica encounters Brady Wilkins, the eldest of the Wilkins brothers. He’s just taken a spill from his horse and looks beat up, and to Jessica, talks rough. But she does love his blue eyes, which appear to her like pieces of sky. Brady finds the Englishwoman’s strange ways funny (their exchange and Jessica’s thinking are very funny)—and he hasn’t laughed in years. And then came the stagecoach crash…

Both Jessica and Brady have scars; and each has sacrificed their own happiness for others. Both are bound by duty, and though from different worlds, inexplicably drawn to each other. I loved their exchanges, her dry wit, his suggestive banter. Warner writes beautifully, expressively (“Like a blind foal on a short lead, Brady knew he would stumble along wherever he was led—as long as she was on the other end of the rope.”)

In this and the two stories that follow, there’s lots of action, a despicable nasty villain and a fair amount of violence (sometimes told through flashbacks that bring the horrible to mind). There’s the budding romance between two unlikely people to add sweetness, but this is no sweet love story. It’s a tale of vengeance.

Warner’s style is unusual, complex and detailed. She gives you the gory details when it comes naturally to the story. She slowly develops her characters like a stew simmering all day on the stove. The three brothers and their interactions are priceless and very well written. This first book also has some great humor early on as Jessica, a very proper British lady, encounters Brady, the rough American rancher and domineering older brother.

Most of the three stories take place on the sprawling RosaRoja ranch. Warner paints vivid word pictures of the historic setting and the environs that give you a sense of the rugged, open West and make you feel like you’ve lived there.

You’ll have to be patient as each story unfolds, but I think you’ll find the wait is worth it. All the stories are related with several common characters, including the brothers. Warner does a great job of tying up all the loose ends in the last book, Chasing The Sun.

Here’s the Blood Rose trilogy—do read them in order:

Pieces of Sky – Jessica and Brady

Open Country  – Molly and Hank

Chasing the Sun – Daisy and Jack

Kaki Warner’s WHERE THE HORSES RUN – Great Western Historical—and this one has Victorian England & Scotland, too!

Set 1871 in England and Scotland (bracketed by scenes from Texas and Colorado) this is the story of Rafford Jessup (“Rafe”), the former lawman we met in Behind His Blue Eyes.

Rafe is the wrangler Ash (Lord Kirkwell) hires to go with him to England to procure breeding stock for his thoroughbred ranch in Heartbreak Creek. One of the places they hope to buy horses is in Penrith, England where a former coal miner who became wealthy is being forced to sell his stock. His daughter, Josephine Cathcart, is a ruined woman who had a son by her baron lover who deserted her to marry someone of higher rank. Sadly, Josephine must go along with selling her prized stallion “Pens” unless her father can marry her off to a wealthy man. And so they travel to America. On the ship sailing back to England, they all come together.

Warner serves up a wonderful cast of characters with this installment in the series: cowboys, Scots, the Cheyenne Indian Thomas Redstone, who we have come to love from Warner’s other books, an Irish maid, and some irascible Englishmen, including the valet, Pringle who continually banters with Ash—all wrapped around a love story between two unlikely people in Victorian England who share a passion for horses.

Rafe is the 19^th century equivalent of a Texas “horse whisperer,” and Josephine is an Englishwoman who has borne her shame with dignity. I loved them both. And I was delighted to see that Warner brought back Ash and his countess.

The humor and emotion will have you laughing one moment and crying the next. And did I mention that there’s lots of fun in this most unusual tale. You can enjoy it alone, but it’s best devoured with the rest of Warner’s Heartbreak Creek stories: the Runaway Brides trilogy and the Heroes of Heartbreak Creek. I recommend them all!

Kaki Warner’s WHERE THE HORSES RUN – Great Western Historical—and this one has Victorian England & Scotland, too!

Set 1871 in England and Scotland (bracketed by scenes from Texas and Colorado) this is the story of Rafford Jessup (“Rafe”), the former lawman we met in Behind His Blue Eyes.

Rafe is the wrangler Ash (Lord Kirkwell) hires to go with him to England to procure breeding stock for his thoroughbred ranch in Heartbreak Creek. One of the places they hope to buy horses is in Penrith, England where a former coal miner who became wealthy is being forced to sell his stock. His daughter, Josephine Cathcart, is a ruined woman who had a son by her baron lover who deserted her to marry someone of higher rank. Sadly, Josephine must go along with selling her prized stallion “Pens” unless her father can marry her off to a wealthy man. And so they travel to America. On the ship sailing back to England, they all come together.

Warner serves up a wonderful cast of characters with this installment in the series: cowboys, Scots, the Cheyenne Indian Thomas Redstone, who we have come to love from Warner’s other books, an Irish maid, and some irascible Englishmen, including the valet, Pringle who continually banters with Ash—all wrapped around a love story between two unlikely people in Victorian England who share a passion for horses.

Rafe is the 19^th century equivalent of a Texas “horse whisperer,” and Josephine is an Englishwoman who has borne her shame with dignity. I loved them both. And I was delighted to see that Warner brought back Ash and his countess.

The humor and emotion will have you laughing one moment and crying the next. And did I mention that there’s lots of fun in this most unusual tale. You can enjoy it alone, but it’s best devoured with the rest of Warner’s Heartbreak Creek stories: the Runaway Brides trilogy and the Heroes of Heartbreak Creek. I recommend them all!

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.

Review: Kaki Warner’s TEXAS TALL – Charming, Sometimes Exciting, Story of Love in Small West Texas Town

Set in 1875 in West Texas, this is the story of Charlotte (“Lottie”) Weyland, who has been on her own since she was fourteen, and Tyree Benton who joined the Texas Rangers seeking revenge.

The story begins with a scene where Lottie sets fire to her home where she lived with her grandfather and a barn in which there is a man before she flees on horseback to Greenbroke. In the small Texas town where now Lottie lives, Ty and some rangers come to town with a prisoner. Ty gets wounded in a shootout and Lottie rushes to help him.

So the romance begins.

As always, Warner writes well with clever dialog, vividly creating life in a small town in 19^th century Texas. She obviously knows her subject well, perhaps because she is a Texan. We feel the heat of the hot summers and learn what it meant to take any small job just to survive.

This story is a bit different from Warner’s other books. The first half of the book is in Lottie’s point of view and we don’t see much of Ty, who is in and out of her life. Only in the second half do we get some of Ty’s inner thinking.

Lottie has used her talent for “figuring” to grow a bookkeeping business, serving the town’s businesses and growing  a nest egg to buy a ranch.  She also learns investing in land and mineral rights from the town’s banker. To have a ranch is Ty’s dream, but, proud man that he is, when Lottie offers to help, Ty refuses her money. While they are in love, they can’t seem to make their dreams come together. The, into the mix comes her past.

The end of the book has some exciting scenes and brings happiness for some of the endearing characters. A charming and sometimes exciting story from the Old West.

New Review: Kaki Warner’s HOME BY MORNING – A Great Finish for the Heroes of Heartbreak Creak and a Worthy Hero!

This is the last book in a six-book series of great western stories. Because they are all related and the same characters show up in many of the stories, I do recommend reading them in order. This last one ties them all together in the telling of the romance between the Cheyenne dog soldier, Thomas Redstone, and Prudence Lincoln, the black daughter of a wealthy man who was educated with her half sister, Lucinda (whose story is told in book 1 of the Runaway Brides trilogy).

We have encountered Thomas and Pru before and have waited till now to get the conclusion to their on and off romance. The story begins in 1871 as Pru is raising money in Indiana to educate the freed Negroes. When Thomas returns from England and comes for her, she puts him off saying (yet again) she must finish this first. Thomas is not happy but he does protect her from one evil man named Marsh. Then Thomas goes home to Heartbreak Creek. And with him is his newly adopted blind, black child “Lillie” who is a wonderful character.

The tale is full of suspense, action, laugh out loud scenes, a villain to hate and great dialog. It’s the final gathering of the heroes from Heartbreak Creek and their brides and if you’ve read the others, you’ll want to be sure and read this one.

Thomas is one of my favorite heroes. I loved his “take no prisoners” approach to defending those he loves. You will love him, too. A handsome Cheyenne hunk.

Home by Morning is another great western romance by Warner… highly recommended. Buy it on Amazon.

Runaway Brides:

Heartbreak Creek

Colorado Dawn

Bride of the High Country

Heroes of Heartbreak Creek:

Behind His Blue Eyes

Where the Horses Run

Home by Morning