Customer Reviews

Desert Hearts

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I've loved Westerns for decades, but neither the TV shows nor the classics like SHANE and LONESOME DOVE ever seemed to have enough romance OR powerful women. Lucky for me, there are books like Anna Gerard's DESERT HEARTS.

Gerard's book has everything I want in a Western, from connections to Dodge City and Tombstone to dry snippets of Western wisdom; from rough bank-robbers to brave lawmen--but like the best of women's fiction, DESERT HEARTS goes deeper into the characters and relationships than that. The bad-guy and the Pinkerton tracking him are brothers; this is no mere manhunt. And of course, the Pinkerton agent and the bank manager on this manhunt soon develop a more intimate "friendship" than you'd see between Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, because in Brimstone, the bank manager's a woman!

This is my favorite part of DESERT HEARTS--instead of being an anachronistically liberated 1990s woman in a historical setting, the heroine Jessamine is more a liberated woman of the 80's--the 1880's. She got her job the way so many Old West women really did; she inherited it when her husband died. She can make it in a man's world, but not by sacrificing her femininity. In fact, her friendship with two other strong women is one more way relationships in DESERT HEARTS take the joys of a Western and move them into the realm of woman's fiction.

I also appreciated the cultural diversity added by Lily, a Chinese friend of Jessamine's. It's nice to be reminded that the Old West was settled by more than white folks going after Indians!

All in all, an EXCELLENT read for lovers of romance and Westerns!

This book has a great Old West feel without the stereotypes. That's a refreshing change! I particularly enjoyed the use of real historical personages rubbing elbows with our hero and heroine. They add a reality to the book but don't overpower the story. Great read!

This story is highly entertaining with well drawn characters. It held my interest throughout. I can see it as a made for TV movie that would be enjoyed by a broad range of viewers.

The suspense holds you to every word

Fast-paced novel. Interesting character developments. Kept me wanting more!