Customer Reviews

Fair Is the Rose

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

 

 

Wow. Very well done story.
It always bugs me a bit when someone is ready to die of love 24 hrs after meeting. In this story the chemistry is almost immediate but the relationship is very believable. The storyline is unique and engaging and just a great romance.

Definitely one of Meagan's best, on a scale with Penelope Williamson, who holds #1 in my heart right now for great romance-writing for grown-ups.

Action packed, mysterious heroine, sullen and brooding but confident gunslinging special agent hero, and a 'whole pasel of outlaws and villains' make this 1875 western a real winner!

Christalbel Van Alen has escaped a mental institute and is being pursued by a relative who wants her dead! She, the only witness to a murder, disguises herself as a widow and is traveling to find the smallest ghost town in the west to create a new life for herself. However, her dreams are disturbed when her stagecoach is captured by outlaws and the prisoners are taken captive for ransom.

There Christal comes face to face with a real life gunfighter, an enemy whom also becomes her saviour. MacCauley Cain.

But Christal runs again when she feels threatened of her past being discovered and true to life, her past finds her. If you enjoy outlaws, gunslingers, bounty hunters, saloon girls and cowbows (the genre) and mysterious heroines or heroes, then you'll love Fair is the Rose. Fair is the Rose keeps you turning page after page and on the edge of your seat.

Personal note: I admit I own tons of Meagan McKinney's novels purchased from 'dime stores' and have never read any, until I read 'Fair is the Rose' and I began searching through my hundreds of romance novels to find ALL of McKinney's writings. She quickly became one of my favorites. But one thing I noticed in 'Fair is the Rose', the heroine never bathed! Talk about scent of a woman!

This book had it all and will receive a place of honor on my bookshelves next to Julie Garwood and Judith McNaught.

"It was a bad hanging." What an absolutely wonderful opening sentence. If that doesn't gain your interest, then I don't know what will.

The best part was that the book kept on delivering page after page and never faultered.

I hated to see it end.

This was my second McKinney read, and needless to say, I can't wait to read more.

I enjoy Ms. McKinney's books but although this one started out with a bang I felt it ended on a fizzle. I felt oddly let down at the end, I can't quite put my finger on it, perhaps because, having read "Lions and Lace," ***spoiler*** I wanted more "reunion time" between the sisters. Also, I felt the story descended into melodrama at times. But overall it was a diverting read worthy of a hot summer night, and a hunk of a cowboy worthy of a few good swoons!

I usually don't read western romance, I love mostly historiacal romances (especially regency). This is the second book of Ms. McKinney that I have read and I think she is a great writer..one who fully develops her characters and picks an interesting plot.

This being said, this was a GREAT BOOK. Don't even hesitate to buy it.

Christal is running from the law when she gets held hostage at gunpoint. The leader of the gang, Macaulay Cain, is a hard man but she gets glimses of his softer side. She becomes a puzzle to him, an obsession that he cannot shake off. He wants to know why she never talks about her past, never talks about her family. She IS holding in a deep dark secret. She is running from the law because her supposedly killed her parents and ran away from a mental instituiton. The person who is really reponsible for this crime is her uncle, but no one believes her. Therefore, she doesn't want to tell Cain the truth .

The story grabs you even more in the second half, where Cain ends up being a cop who is under cover as an outlaw. After his team catch the bad guys, she runs away. But his obsession of her leads him to follow her all the way to the brottols. He thinks she's prostituting but she really is a dancer. I can't say any more because I don't want to kill the book for the rest of the readers but it is a great books with a lot of funny and interesting plot twists. I can still play out some of the scenes , like a movie. For instance, when the group of outlaws expected him to rape her, he didn't . He took her behind tree and they acted it out. He respected her and took it upon himself to protect her. Also when she was running to him to show how much she loved him, she was throwing her wealthy jewelry to strangers. It was funny how Mckinney depicted this scene. (this scene u probably won't get till you read the book because it is kinda out of context because i don't want to kill the story)/ ENJOY!!

The concept of this book is interesting, a high bred woman wrongly accused of murder is on the run and ends up kidnapped by a band of criminals, led by one of my favorite heroes ever, Macaulay Cain. He is phenomenal. My favorite part of the book is during Cristabel's captivity when Cain is her abductor. The relationship they formed was actually quite lovely considering the crazy circumstances. Once back in the 'real world' things get even more tumultuous and I absolutely LOVED how Cain was obsessed with Cristabel and would do ANYTHING to find her and get to the truth of who she was and what she was running from. He is just an all around good man, but he's no push over. I wish Cristabel would have trusted Cain sooner than she did and I wish the villain was punished a bit more for all his wrongs, but overall the book is a 5 star read for me and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fantastic western romance.

From the synopsis, the book may sound sappy, but it isn't. The hijacking and the events that took place left you breathless, and when they find each other again -quite interesting. I didn't give it 5 stars because the ending could of been better.

Overall, if you want a book that takes you back to the 1800's, with a runaway, murder, and some outlaws thrown in, this book is for you.