Customer Reviews

Cloudcastle (Love Spell)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have read many novels of Nan Ryan's and they have all been wonderful. Cloudcastle was no exception. From the first chapter, I was engrossed. All the right elements were there. Good plot, settings, action, suspense, romance and most of all PASSION. This book is definitely hot.

Natalie Vallance might be Nan Ryan's angriest romance heroine ever. She was also a bit vindictive and stubbornly refused to see any one else's view but her own.

Hero Kane was just a little better. He was a bit too cocksure, and loved to tease Natalie because she was always prickly.

Kane saves Natalie from certain death from Apaches at a stagecoach stop. That night both believe they will perish so they make love. The next day the army comes to the rescue and Kane, who had been in custody, is taken away in chains. Judge Natalie has a rude awakening when Kane is called into her court room to answer for murder charges. He is cleared but very distressing to Natalie is the deed that Kane shows the court that he won fairly from her deceased husband. It is of sacred burial land that once belonged to her. Unbeknownst to Natalie, her husband gambled some of her land away that was filled with gold.

Kane intends to stay in Colorado. Natalie believes he is there solely to torment her. She blames him for her loss of control the night they made love. Natalie is a world class blame shifter. She has a fiancé, Lord Ashlin Blackmore, who is morally repugnant in almost everyway, he even goes so far as seducing a mentally handicapped girl. This was hard to read and the fact that no one was suspicious of Blackmore's actions was even harder to absorb.

Natalie believes the worst of Kane, even when her Uncle whom she respects praises his character, she is undaunted in her hatred. She is immensely angry and even turns into a bit of a tease just to get back at Kane. This is, of course, his fault too. Everything he does irritates her and it was not until the last few chapters that we ever see her kind to Kane.

Kane loves to rile her and this got tiresome. He tried too hard. He never played hard to get until the last few chapters. Only then did Natalie take notice of him.

Natalie must keep Kane away from hidden gold in the mountain. She has promised her adopted Indian father that no man would steal the gold. Kane finds it and the last chapters of the book are really a race between Natalie, Kane and others to capture the gold. Neither the fate of the gold nor of the lovers held my attention.

I wasn't sure I would like this book because I found it in a bargain section of a grocery store. (Most books found there are usually there for a good reason.) This book was really very good!!! The story flowed beautifully, and you just fall in love with Kane immediately. The book was very sexy and flirtatious.

There was, however, one sex scene that certainly raised my eyebrows. I had to go back and re-read it a few times to make sure I wasn't imagining it. While not explicitly stated, it was quite apparent that it wasn't your standard vanilla scene, and certainly something I've never read before in a romance novel. Some people may find it offensive or unnecessary, but live and let live, eh?

The only disappointments were (1) the extremely quick demise of a subplot involving Belinda, a mildly retarded girl that was being abused by the villain; and (2) the hero and heroine of the book never find out just how evil their villain really is. In a town that liked this man, no one discovered the true extent of his crimes, so there was no elation at his downfall. It seemed as though the subplot with Belinda ended abruptly (perhaps an editor's demands due to the nature of her relationship with the villain?) and truly Belinda received no justice or mention in the end.

All in all, though, a very good read.

I have read many novels of Nan Ryan's and they have all been wonderful. Cloudcastle was no exception. From the first chapter, I was engrossed. All the right elements were there. Good plot, settings, action, suspense, romance and most of all PASSION. This book is definitely hot.

I wasn't sure I would like this book because I found it in a bargain section of a grocery store. (Most books found there are usually there for a good reason.) This book was really very good!!! The story flowed beautifully, and you just fall in love with Kane immediately. The book was very sexy and flirtatious.

There was, however, one sex scene that certainly raised my eyebrows. I had to go back and re-read it a few times to make sure I wasn't imagining it. While not explicitly stated, it was quite apparent that it wasn't your standard vanilla scene, and certainly something I've never read before in a romance novel. Some people may find it offensive or unnecessary, but live and let live, eh?

The only disappointments were (1) the extremely quick demise of a subplot involving Belinda, a mildly retarded girl that was being abused by the villain; and (2) the hero and heroine of the book never find out just how evil their villain really is. In a town that liked this man, no one discovered the true extent of his crimes, so there was no elation at his downfall. It seemed as though the subplot with Belinda ended abruptly (perhaps an editor's demands due to the nature of her relationship with the villain?) and truly Belinda received no justice or mention in the end.

All in all, though, a very good read.

I didn't think I would like it but I was wrong because I really liked this audio cassette recording of Nan Ryan's Cloudcastle and I liked the characters Natalie Vallance and Kane Covington. It's an abridged audio cassette but I thought it was fine and didn't mind the condensed story!