Customer Reviews

Brave the Wild Wind

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Brave the Wild Wind" is the first in a trilogy set in the wilds of Wyoming. As a Lindsey historical romance, it doesn't disappoint on the passion factor. The hero and heroine have a love-hate relationship, but it's easy to see why they'd fall in love, and such a pleasure to watch them try to deny it.

Tough-as-nails Jessie is headstrong and has a fighting spirit that allows her to run a ranch by herself one minute and integrate with a renegade Cheyenne Indian band the next. Chase is the no-nonsense gambler whose devotion to his stepmother leads him into constant clashes with her daughter and ward, Jessie.

There's a lot of fun stuff in this book. First, the Indian scenes are a delight and include two fascinating characters: Jessie's closest friend White Thunder and the Sioux warrior Little Hawk. Jessie's mysterious illness is also engaging - how often do you see the heroine of a romance get obnoxiously sick all over the place? And Chase's little run-in with a robber brings to life a conflict over the ownership of Jessie's ranch. It is also nice to see the guy in danger for once, rather than the girl who needs rescuing!

More importantly, though, Chase and Jessie make a great couple. Their clashes energize the story and keep you reading all the way through.

The only real complaint I have is over what happened (or didn't) to Laton Bowdre. I also wasn't too fond of the last few chapters in Spain, but only because the situation with Rodrigo seemed a bit forced. However, these aren't enough to detract from the story, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

"Brave the Wild Wind" is a delight to read. Be sure to read its two sequels, "Savage Thunder" and "Angel," as well. "Savage Thunder" is my all-time favorite JL and the best of the trilogy, with White Thunder as the hot male lead.

Personally, I'm not crazy about romance novels that have the hero and heroine and each other's throats, and this one does. Jessica was raised by her stubborn, angry father, who taught her to hate the mother who deserted her. Chase Summers is the stepson of Rachel (Jessica's mother), who gets caught up in the feud between Jessica and Rachel. Jessica is angry, sullen, and hard to like. Chase, too, is angry, stubborn, and not as appealing as some of Johanna Lindsey's other heroes. Together, they pretty much make each other miserable. Not one my favorites.

I've never come across a more unlikeable heroine. To be honest, I truly wanted to like this book, especially since I bought it based on reading reviews here.

Jesse Blair, the heroine is a spoilt, nasty piece of work. She is spiteful and cruel to her mother - no amount of excuses can exonerate her. Even though she comes round towards the end, and apologises... it doesn't make up for her bitchiness, and childish behavior.

Truly, I've never come across a more WHORE-RIBLE heroine, and the hero himself is selfish and dictated by his lust more than anything else. These two people seem to let their loins lead them, rather than their hearts. He would have no qualms bedding her - the daughter of a close friend, coz he thought she had been around. If he knew she was a virgin, he wouldn't have, coz he didn't want to marry her. What sort of bastard is that?

Still, it shows he doesn't even really like her. How can anyone? Like I said, all she does is scream in fury, stomp around and fly off the handle.

Some readers may call Jesse 'fiery', but in truth, she's not just a spoilt brat, she's cruel. You can tell it by reading between the lines - she rides her horse nearly to death, she takes out her anger on those around her, she tries to shoot to kill without remorse (shouldn't she at least feel a little conscience).... And she bares her body to men (not just the hero) without any shame.

Truly, I cannot understand why this book received 4 stars. The plot was okay, but the main characters sucked!

I give this 2 stars, coz I think it's too cruel to give 1 star. And I hardly ever give 2 stars.

This is one of Ms. Lindsey's Western romances. Raised by an embittered father who was desperate for a son, the heroine is taught a man's skills in ranching and defending herself. When her mother is allowed back into her life, she is introduced to her mother's stepson with whom she has a passionate affair. It is an interesting story set against the Wyoming frontier, replete with Indians that come across as real characters, not cardboard. Ms. Lindsey writes with such flair that most of her books are truly a delight to read. This is another one of them. I often have trouble with her titles as they seem to bear no relationship to the storylines.

I really liked the beginning of this book... how it drew me in and kept me turning the pages. It gave me the background I would need to understand why Jessie was the way she was.

Still, even with the background I was a bit turned off at just how hateful Jessie could be and sometimes for no real reason. The hatred for her mother I understood, but her actions towards others sometimes seemed "over the top". She came off as very cold. If Johanna wanted her character to come off that way, she did a very good job of it. Almost too good.

Chase was a great guy. He withstood Jessie's moods much better than any normal person would. Thankfully, Jessie did soften a bit by the middle of the book and the chemistry between them became more believable.

Although I found myself almost disgusted at Jessie at times, I did enjoy the story and grew to like her almost as much as I liked Chase. Their story had a nice ending and left me wanting more. I've just started the next book in the series and I don't think I am going to be disappointed. All in all, this book was a great read and a page turner for sure.

1st Chapter Simi-Spoiler .......But the rest is safe for the read.

WARNING FOR FIRST CHAPTER: Ok, this is the kind of book that starts off with the most discussing kind of human beings in the world! These people are the ones that prisoners want to torture and de-humanize in any way possible. The violent situation propels the story about the two main characters forward and we become proud of their overcoming the first chapter nightmare........The first chapter (if you can take it) has to be stomached, however, you can figure everything out if you simply take my two word descriptive....Ask yourself if you can stomach Violent Rape.

THE REST OF THE BOOK involved the two characters overcoming their own demons from the first chapter and happen to be overcoming them side by side. They are struggling to grow and tend to succeed even if they get in each other's way (and help each other) while overcoming personal strife.

This is a good story for those of you who like happy endings to a persevering heroine and hero.

I Have been reading Lindsey for many years now. I have read most of her books. My favorite will always be Hearts Aflame. I strongly urge others to read this book. It is full of rebellious passion and in the midst of a historical background. I introduced her books to many of my friends and relatives and they have been buying her novels since. A good wonderful feeling after reading a Lindsey. I assure you.

The best part about this book is the prologue, which is quite exciting. After that the book loses the momentum.

This is the only Johanna Lindsey book that I never finished. A Lindsey book is usually like pizza--even when it's bad, it's still good. But this book was horrible. The heroine is so annoying and unbelievably mean for no reason. Don't read it!

JL is one of the best romance writers and i have enjoyed many of her books but this was not one of them. the heroine was just horrible, she was a total brat. and there was'nt much romance between her and the hero, no real feelings. and he seemed to be a little afraid of her.