Conor's Way [Paperback]

Laura Lee Guhrke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1996

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Olivia was determined to save her family and their near-bankrupt Louisiana plantation no matter what--even if it meant taking in cynical ex-boxer Conor Branigan in exchange for help. It wasn't long before she discovered the secret pain hidden beneath his rugged ways. And his ache touched something in her, lighting a fire in her heart.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins (Mm) (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061084026
• ISBN-13: 978-0061084027
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,343,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times Bestselling author Laura Lee Guhrke spent seven years in advertising, had a successful catering business, and managed a construction company before she decided writing novels was more fun. The author of many historical romances, Laura has received many literary awards, including romance fiction's highest honor, the Rita Award. When she's not writing, Laura spends her time skiing down the slopes and wakeboarding across the lakes of her beautiful home state of Idaho. She loves hearing from readers, and you may write to her by visiting her website: www.lauraleeguhrke.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, September 16, 2005

By 

Shannon Curry (Lawrence, KS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Conor's Way (Paperback)

Conor's Way is a wonderful read. It's a romance novel, but it is also the
story of a man coming to terms with his own past and learning to look beyond it.
After refusing to go down deliberately in a fight, prizefighter Conor Brannigan is
beaten severely and left in the middle of the road, where stubborn, proud Olivia
Maitland rescues hyim and takes him in, nursing him back to health. During that time,
Conor finds his soul being healed by Olivia and her three adopted daughters, and
Conor learns, too, of Olivia's own pain.
This book really worked for me. Tyhe characters don't get into stupid fights. They
talk to each other, and their misunderstandings are genuine.
The author also draws her other characters well, and makes the small Louisiana town
where the story is set come alive for me.
Very highly recommended!

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable....., June 27, 2010

By 

Krista Lyn (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Conor's Way (Paperback)

This is my favorite kind of love story. It's the story of a tortured man who's lost his belief in love, a woman who's fighting to save her family, and a turbulent time in history. It is about the making a of family, the making of a couple, and the redemption of a man. It was a truly remarkable book.

Set after the Civil War, this book tells the story of a woman trying to hold onto her land from opportunistic carpetbaggers while raising 3 adopted daughters. She comes across a wounded man on the road and takes him home to nurse him back to health.

Conor Branigan is an immigrant from Ireland. He has survived watching his family starve to death, horrific torture in prison, and innumerable other atrocities. He is afraid of love and commitment, choosing traveling the circuit as a boxer in order to survive. Gradually his body begins to heal, but it's the healing of his heart that is the true magic of this book.

This book won the prestigious RITA award. It was well deserved. The writing in this book is amazing. The author uses the technique of flashbacks to help us understand Conor and his behavior. I loved the pacing and felt the author did an incredible job at switching between past and present. I usually prefer books without children, but the children in this book were absolutely necessary for the healing that Conor needed to experience. They were a delight and excellent secondary characters who added depth to the story line.

I recommend this book with no hesitation other than it's out of print, hard to find, and expensive to buy. If you can find it....it's definitely a keeper!

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A most unusual story line. Extremely well written., February 5, 2004

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Conor's Way (Paperback)

This book is multifaceted. It's very difficult to be concise about the plot because it deals with 2 major historical tragedies....the irish rebellion in the 1840's and the american civil war in the 1860's. Our hero, connor, is a product of Ireland and suffers deeply from the trauma of that conflict still going on to some extent in northern ireland at the time this book was written. Olivia, is dealing with post civil war
life and the evil of carpetbaggers laid on top of the trauma of the war itself. These are 2 very deep and emotional eras. While Connor is doing the boxing circuit in america trying to outrun his nightmares, olivia has adopted her best friends 3 orphaned daughters and is trying to save her run down plantation without money and without any help. Enter Connor who having won a fight that he was told to lose is beat up and left to die on the road to olivia's peachtree plantation. She finds him and nurses him back to health against her better judgment....dealing with his nightmares, his swearing and his tormented soul. The 3 girls are absolute joys. They add so much to the story as only life seen through the eyes of children can do. How their innocence wraps around connor's heart is so real you can feel it.I would not say this book is about saving peachtree plantation. This book is about that special something in people that makes them get up and keep trying when life is unbearable. And about how 2 very different people can help each other heal. It is the evolution from hatred and misery to finding hope, love and peace. I didn't rate this book a 5, although for the research alone guhrke should get a 6* rating because I don't like books that use flashbacks. I find it too distracting. It works in this story but it just isn't my thing. Incredible job, LG. Looking forward to other books by you.