Just Finished:

Synopsis: Tory Wells arrived at Sundance Ranch with only a battered suitcase and a letter from a friend that promised employment. Recovering from knee surgery, Tory desperately needed this job. And Ethan Reever was her only hope.

But Reever wasted no time in telling Tory he wanted nothing to do with some city-bred stranger. In his opinion, a woman like Tory knew nothing about ranch life, and he'd decided long ago that he had no use for pretty, useless women. Especially one who looked at him as innocently as Tory did -- no matter how much he desired her . . .

Tory knew one thing for certain. Determined to show him she could make it on her own, she vowed never to ask Reever for anything ever again. Not a job. Not money. And definitely not his love.

My Thoughts: Well, what can I say. I liked this in spite of myself. See, the story was a little bit too Diana Palmer-ish for my tastes; and I gave up Diana (who was one of my faves, btw) for one reason: I felt like I was re-reading the same story over, and over, and over again. The hero is always much older than the heroine, the heroine is almost always a virgin; the hero always calls the heroine “little one”, and the hero always has to explain what le petite morte is.

In Too Hot to Handle Reever, the hero, is 33; Tory, the heroine, is 20 (Palmer check #1); Tory is a virgin (Palmer check #2); Reever calls Tory “little one” (Palmer check #3); and although Reever doesn’t have to explain exactly what an orgasm is, he describes it as the two of them dying together (therefore, morte, therefore Palmer check #4).

Yes, I realize that this is Elizabeth Lowell, but I swear I could have been reading Diana Palmer. I really could have. In spite of this, the writing was good. I found myself submerged into the story and looking forward to what happens when I wasn’t reading it.

I did like Tory for the most part, although it did seem she played the victim a little too much, especially around Reever. She wasn’t strong in that aspect and that bugged me. I liked Reever also. Yes, he’s an ass, but that’s probably what I liked most about him. He wasn’t some lollypop version of a dime-store hero.

Okay, and so what if when she was in the throws of a good orgasm she said the three dreaded words ~~ I Love You. Not really my favorite thing to read, but I can deal with it. And of course Reever turned into and ass again for about 5 days after she said those dreaded words. Which caused the *gasp* big understanding. He thought she wanted to leave him to go back to competitive diving, she thought he could never love her. Sheesh, I hate big misunderstandings. But, it was all cleared up within the last few pages and I got my HEA with a big red bow tied around it.

And really, people should read it just for the bareback scene alone.

***This is a reprint. The story was originally published in Silhouette Desire #319 in November 1986***

Verdict: This was somewhere between Okay and Good. I enjoyed Elizabeth Lowell’s writing, even if the story itself held just about everything in it that I dislike about a novel. But I read it anyway, so that’s something. I’ve got more of Elizabeth’s books in my stacks and look forward to reading them in the future.

Labels: Elizabeth Lowell, Harlequin, Okay, Western Romance

Just Finished:



Why I Read It: Because I got it free from the Friends of the Library. And because it’s Linda Howard.

From the back cover: Victoria Waverly was a noble daughter of the war-ruined South, sold in marriage in a ruthless Western rancher. Only honor and pride could help her endure her painful role as wife in name alone. Yet honor could not quench Victoria's forbidden desire for the hired gunman Jake Roper. His narrow gaze was hard as ice, but the tender emotions he could not hide promised to unveil to Victoria the glorious mysterious of love. Jake cursed his burning need to the graceful lady, for he wanted nothing to stand in the way of his drive to reclaim his ranch -- Sarratt's Kingdom -- the empire that was his legacy and obsession. But ancient wrongs and blazing passions would bind together the proud, aristocratic beauty and the lean, powerful cowboy. In a bloody Western land war they would fight for Jake's rich birthright, and seize at last the love that was their hope, their dream, their destiny!

My Thoughts: This book grabbed me from the very beginning. It started so dark, with the rampage of McClain against the Sarratt family. I instantly got drawn into the story. I’ll just say it. McClain is a bastard.

Victoria was the bride of McClain, bought and paid for because her family was made poor during the war. She traveled to Sarratt’s Kingdom with her cousin Emma, and sister Cecelia. Jake and Victoria had chemistry from their first meeting and I enjoyed watching their game of cat-and-mouse. I enjoyed the buildup that Ms. Howard put into these two characters and their story.

This story also had great side characters. I cared about Emma and Cecilia as much as I did the main characters. I enjoyed their relationship with each other and with Victoria. They really were a family and made for a great part of this story. I also enjoyed the relationship between Emma and Ben. Their first meeting was a bit steamy and I knew something was going to happen there. There was also the sweet friendship between Luis and Celia. They made me smile.

On page 220, Jake pissed me off and I almost didn’t finish reading it. But I loved the characters enough that I wanted to finish their story, so I continued on. Then about page 228, I went “Oh wow” in spite of myself.

Since I’m a reader and not a reviewer, I have a habit of including spoilers when I write about what I’ve read so I’ve marked the next two paragraphs as spoilers. Read them at your own discretion.

***SPOILER*** I’ve seen A Lady of the West categorized as an abusive book ~ I don’t know that I agree with that. Jake did hit Victoria once ~ not purposefully, but he did do it when he thought Victoria was lying to him about being pregnant. He believed the baby was McClain’s, even though McClain could never consummate the marriage with Victoria. So he was taken over by rage, thinking Victoria was trying to pass off his enemy’s baby as his own. I’m not sure “understand” is the right word, but I guess I understand how it would happen. It doesn’t make it right, but it doesn’t make me altogether hate Jake for it either. Then, there’s the fact that Victoria slapped him too. ***END SPOILER***

***SPOILER*** What ended up happening to Cecelia was heartbreaking. I guess I knew was going to happen when she dropped the apple into Rubio’s stall (and the fact that I read about it over at Book Binge), but it didn’t make me cry any less. When Luis carried Cecelia’s lifeless body back to the house, I lost it. I cried for everyone involved. Cecelia was just discovering what it was to be a woman when her life ended so tragically. She was simple and sweet and really was loved by all the other characters who lived at Sarratt’s Kingdom. ***END SPOILER***

This book was Excellent and is staying on my keeper shelf. I laughed, I cried, I got angry ~ It just made me feel so many things and I know the characters will stay with me for a long, long time. I cared about them all ~ or at least the ones I was supposed to. I definitely recommend this one.

Labels: Excellent, Linda Howard, Western Romance

Just Finished:



Recommended by: Jennie posted a few days ago that some of Nora Roberts’ books were being adapted into movies for Lifetime. I wanted to read this one before I saw the movie.

From the Back Cover: When Jack Mercy died, he left behind a lot of enemies . . .and a ranch worth nearly twenty million dollars. Now his three daughters - each born of a different marriage, and each unknown to the others - are gathered to hear the reading of the will.

Willa, the only one who knew her father, boldly expects that everything will be hers. Tess, who has reluctantly flown in from Hollywood, just hopes to fly back with as much cash as possible - as soon as possible. And Lily Mercy would be grateful for anything; she has learned to expect disappointment, even cruelty, from men.

But the women are shocked to learn that before any of them can inherit, they must live together on the ranch for one year. They are sisters . . .and strangers. Now they face a challenge: to put their bitterness aside and live like family. To protect each other from danger - and unite against an enemy who threatens to destroy all. And finally, to weave together three very different worlds in this beautiful and isolated place called Montana . . .

My Thoughts: This was just Excellent for me. I loved it from beginning to end. There are so many stories within this book ~ there’s romance, there’s family and there’s a serial killer just to make it even more interesting.

Tess is the first born daughter by Jack’s first marriage. He kicked her and her mother out when she was still a toddler and she’d never seen him again. Tess is spirited, independent ~ a borderline overachiever. She is a scriptwriter in Hollywood and at first glance is rather shallow, self-serving, and conceited. Tess’s world seems to revolve around how things affect her. She agrees to live on the ranch for the amount of time required by the will and the day obligation is met, she plans on pocketing the money she inherits and head back to Hollywood.

Lily is the second born daughter by Jack’s second marriage. He also kicked her and her mother out when she was very young. Lily is sheltered within herself, gun shy, and doesn’t trust strangers. She’s recently divorced and is more than happy to stay at the ranch in Montana in hopes that it will give her the time needed to hide from her ex-husband and hopefully restart her life.

Willa is the third born daughter by Jack’s third marriage. Willa’s mother died young, so she was raised on the ranch ~ the only daughter who really got to spend any time with her father. Because she was raised one the ranch, she believes she is the one who should inherit it. Willa is tough, strong, independent, and determined to see the ranch be successful ~ maybe even more successful than when her father ran the ranch.

Added to the mix are three men who change the course of the women’s lives ~ Nate, the family lawyer who owns a ranch a short distance from the Mercy ranch; Adam who is Willa’s half-brother and also oversees the horse operations on the ranch; and Ben, who’s family owns the ranch neighboring the Mercy land. Together, Nate and Ben are listed as executors of the estate and they must help oversee the day to day operations for the next year as the girls learn to live together as a family.

This isn’t just a romance. This is the story of family. It’s great watching a year in the life of these ladies, transporting from strangers, to reluctant housemates, to sisters. It’s a slow transformation and one that is so fulfilling to watch.

Also, because watching the relationship between the three sisters is not enough; and because watching their individual romantic relationships develop is also not also ~ there’s also a murder mystery. There’s trouble on Mercy Ranch. It starts with the discovery of mutilated livestock. And then dead bodies begin appearing. Scalped.

There are just so many things I could say about this book. Yes, it’s a romance. Yes, it’s the story of family. Yes, it’s a murder mystery. And it’s amazing that with all of these elements, the story remained as wonderful as it did. The individual stories continued to grow and the characters became more endearing with each page that I read. I was impressed with the amount of research Ms. Roberts did in writing this story. As a Montana native, it was evident to me that she knew what she was writing about ~ she captured what so many of us love about living here.

This was excellent ~ definitely a reread in the future. I’d recommend it to anyone.

Labels: Excellent, Nora Roberts, Western Romance