Customer Reviews

Foxfire Bride

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had high hopes for this book when I bought it, but I am somewhat disappointed. I usually like unique female heroines, but for some reason Fox was incredible unappealing. I think if she said "fricking" one more time I would have thrown the book out the window. I think the author used superficial elements to try to convey Fox as a spirited, unique, independent woman, i.e. bacon grease, rough language, cigars etc. I would have preferred the author to use a bit more character depth to convey "true grit" and independence. I agree with the other reviewer whose visual on Tanner sucking on sweaty toes says it all.

Matthew Tanner has received a terrifying message - His father is being held for ransom in Denver. Matthew has the money that is being demanded by his fathers kidnappers, but he needs help. He has little time to make the long journey to Denver..he needs the best guide that money can buy.
When Matthew hears the best is a scout called Fox, he eagerly seeks him out. Matthew is completely shocked to find that Fox isnt a "he" at all...Fox is a woman. A woman like no other.

Fox was once the one of the most sought after scouts, but an injury ended all of that...Until handsome Matthew Tanner shows up and pleads for her to help him to save his father. Fox takes one look at Tanner and the money he is willing to pay her and decides that this is one offer too good to refuse.

I have read many books by Maggie Osborne and have enjoyed her work time and time again. Unfortunately, Foxfire Bride didnt do much for me. I felt like the writing was very choppy. Scenes would leap from one paragraph to the next with no smooth transitions and POV switches were all over the place. It all felt rushed somehow.

My main complaint with this book was all about the characters - Fox especially. I dont expect every character to be a beauty. I dont have a problem with a heroine being average or even ugly, but Fox was just flat out unappealing. She was so manly, I just couldnt get past it.
As for Tanner...I just felt like he wasnt very memorable. He was very blah to me. I couldnt connect with him or Fox at all. This made it hard for me to really care about their story and its outcome.

As I said before, I have read Maggie Osborne in the past and enjoyed her. I will definitely give her a try again in the future, but as for Foxfire Bride, this is not a book that I would recommend.

I enjoyed this one very much. Maggie Osborne is an author who doesn't write your typical whiny, helpless, feminine heroine which is why I love her books so much and continue to buy them new.

Fox, one the best scouts around, and her elderly friend Peaches are eeking out a living selling ice when Fox is approached to lead an expedition by a man named Tanner who tempts her with lots of gold pieces (and his ruggedly good looks, though she'll never admit it). Fox is the best and isn't afraid to boss the men around. When she discovers Tanner's true reason for the expedition she can't refuse even though the trip will quite possibly put all of their lives in danger. During the course of the trip Fox and Tanner begin a "liason" that quickly turns into a love with no future.

This book was a great western road trip with a foul mouth, rough around the edges heroine. In comparision, Tanner seemed almost a little bland but that's a mild complaint. This book reminds me why I used to love the romance genre so very much.

Set during the Civil War. Fox was the best scout in the area until a gunshot to her leg ended the career. She lives a quiet life now with her best friend, an elderly black man called Peaches. As much as Peaches has tried to help her, Fox could not get past her thirst for revenge against Hobb Jennings who ruined her life when she was a child. Jennings still lives high on the hog in Denver, where he runs Jennings Mining & Mercantile. A chance for Fox to kill Jennings arrives in the form of a handsome man looking to hire her as a guide through the wilderness to Denver.

Matthew Tanner needs to reach Denver within three months. His father, Hobb Jennings, is being held by kidnappers and he must get the ransom there in time. Two other men are in their party, Hanratty and Brown, as they begin heading west carrying gold ... gold that everyone in the world seems to already know about. Fox agrees, but Tanner must also agree to hire Peaches as their wrangler.

The trek is long and hard. There is danger at every turn. Tanner has no idea, at first, that Fox plans to kill his father. But even when he does learn it he cannot change the way he feels for Fox, nor does he wish to. However, he cannot believe his father has done what she claims.

***** The author hides Fox's real name until far into the book. Therefore, I will not reveal it. Rest assured the nickname is worthy. I especially love the fact that the author, Maggie Osborne, did not make her characters to be physically perfect, such as Fox missing an earlobe. This made Fox seem more real to me.

The story is extremely well written and there is something going on every minute. Boredom will NOT be a problem while you read this gem! If I did not know better I would swear Maggie Osborne somehow shocked life into the characters, even the secondary ones. Highly recommended reading. *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

In the tradition of "Silver Lining," Maggie Osborne has created another wonderful and unique heroine. Fox is gritty, determined, and willing to do what it takes to survive. "Foxfire Bride" is the journey of a woman who finds more than love on the trail to Denver; she finds herself as well. Although the story is a little predictable in places, it doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment. If you like unusual heroines that are a change from the standard romance lady, you'll love Fox and reading about her adventures.

Leslie Rosen Davis
Author of Dangerous Affairs

Though the name might sound strange, Fox is a woman, reputed to be one of the best scouts in the business before a gunshot to her leg put a halt to her career. Now she and her best friend, Peaches, an elderly black man who has been her companion since she was a young child are living quietly trying to make a living cutting and selling ice. Fox now has one goal in life, and that is to end the life of the man she holds responsible for ruining hers when she was but a child - a life that should have been one of wealth and privilege rather than the hard and dangerous life she'd been forced to live. The man she planned to kill was Hobb Jennings, living high and mighty in Denver off of the inheritance that should have been hers. Therefore, it had to be providence that brought the handsome stranger into her life looking to hire a scout to guide him through the wild and untamed wilderness to Denver within three months.

The man was Matthew Tanner and if he couldn't reach Denver in three months time, with a ransom in gold the people who had kidnapped his father would then kill him. Tanner didn't tell Fox, when she signed up at an exorbitant fee to guide him exactly why he needed to get to Denver. Fox originally looked at Tanner as a Godsend, but had she realized that they would be escorting a fortune in gold she was savvy enough to realize the increased risks. She also wasn't too keen on the two disreputable looking guards he'd hired, but after negotiating a position for Peaches to come along they all set out on an incredible adventure that would change a lot of how they looked at life.

As an introduction to this author I was extremely impressed with this well-written and captivating story. Fox was certainly a most interesting and intrepid heroine, never revealing her true name until the very end. Driven by revenge and hatred, she was fiercely loyal to her best friend Peaches and their special bond like father and daughter was superbly well done as well as the friendships that developed over the journey with the two guards, Hanratty and Brown. The romance between Tanner and Fox, both having no expectations of any kind of a happily ever after was sweet as well as a bit humorous at times. Reading between the lines I was not surprised by the outcome at the end of the journey, yet it in no way took away from any of the romance nor any of the enjoyment of the thrill of the ride.

BOTTOM LINE: You'll laugh, you'll cry, but you're definitely going to love the journey this author takes you on. --- Marilyn, for www.historicalromancewriters.com ---

The story is good- Fox is out for revenge against the man that stole her inheritance, her step-father. Peaches is a black man that somewhat raised her and they have been traveling together off & on all of Fox's life. Tanner shows up with 2 others guarding his ransom money and now he needs a guide to get him cross country to Denver in time to save his father's life that is in jeopardy.

The book is great. Peaches and Fox have the sweetest of relationships and the end is good (if you haven't guessed by now from other reviews). Personally, I am glad I didn't read them first- so there was a little suprise factor there for me to enjoy. And, yeah, there are parts that are unbelievable- like Tanner kissing Fox's toes straight out of her boots. But laugh it off and enjoy the story. I have enjoyed the MO books I have read and this was not disappointment!

This book was interesting and I was drawn in before I even
realized it. The heroine is a feisty redhead with alot of
attitude and the things she says are outrageous! She has more
guts than the men in which she is traveling with. I especially
liked her mentor/stand-in father Peaches who is a wizened old
ex-slave who goes with her everywhere. Their relationship is
especially heart-warming considering this story is set around
the civil-war era. If you like Cindy Holby, Linda Lael Miller,
or Joan Johnston you won't be disappointed!

I love all of Maggie Osborn's books. But Foxfire Bride is incredible. At the beginning you are not sure if you can even relate with the heroin but you come to admire the strengths and weakness of this woman. And the hero is such a compassionate hero, you can't help but cheer for him. If you like to laugh outloud and cry, you will thoroughly enjoy this book.

I have just read this book after reading the reviews and I must disagree with the first two reviews....I never got from the description that Fox wasn't a pretty woman, she had chapped cheeks and hands and cracked lips at first, but that doesn't make someone ugly. I pictured someone like Geena Davis, tall and stunning! Also, the word "fricking" was used by Fox when she had discovered something very disturbing. She didn't use it in her daily dialog. I counted and the word was used 18 times, not too many...and Fox had every right to use it when she was upset.

Fox was all woman on the inside and Tanner saw that as well as her feistiness...was a very good read, not quite up there with The Wives of Bowie Stone or The Promise of Jenny Jones, but still a great time!!