Heartland (Hardcover)

by Rebecca Brandewyne (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Rachel Wilder is a volatile lass in 1870s Kansas. And she is deeply concerned about the eight children of her closest friend, who has died: Jonathan Beecham, the widower, is a shiftless father who prefers carousing in Wichita to tending his brood. But just as Rachel takes the children under her wing, in swoops their uncle, Slade Maverick, to carry out his dead sister's wishes and claim custody of the children. Rachel suspects that the "gunslinger," who once reportedly killed a man in a bordello brawl, is little improvement over Jonathan. However, Slade settles down to a quiet life of farming and child-rearing, and adopts a possessive protectiveness toward Rachel. But he doesn't reveal the depth of his affection for her, or the mystery behind his earlier exploits--until a figure from his past sends him an ominous message. Brandewyne's ( Across a Starlit Sea ) incorporation of historical material is sometimes awkward, worst when clumps of irrelevant facts are dropped into the narrative. The plot is largely predictable, and the spunky heroine and macho hero are occasionally silly, but this romance should amuse those seeking light entertainment.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Gunslinger Slade Maverick rides into town to care for eight orphaned children, but he meets his match in fiery Rachel Wilder. She doesn't trust the handsome man and is furious he is trying to take over as the children's guardian. Yet there's something about Slade that makes her tremble and the loneliness of her life melt away. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers (April 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727841866
• ISBN-13: 978-0727841865
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 1.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,452,326 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Slade and Rachel-A Match Made In Heaven, April 28, 2000

By	"lrabalais" (Alexandria, LA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heartland (Love Spell) (Mass Market Paperback)

When Slade and Rachel first meet they really rub each other the wrong way. He thinks she's a shrew and she knows he's a gunfighter.

The one thing they both care for are Slade's half sisters 8 children. Slade is determined to care for them, but with Rachel's help, of course. Consider 8 children and 2 adults in a 2 room house with a loft, and 3 men sleeping in a barn, a drunk for a father, and one suitor and you have all the ingredients for a funny, heartwarming story.

Heartland is truly a wonderful story to be savored as it is read. Rebecca Brandewyne is great!

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed..., April 1, 2007

By	ThisThatNEverything "thisthatneverything" (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heartland (Love Spell) (Mass Market Paperback)

After reading & loving Dust Devil by Rebecca Brandewyne, I went in search of more books by her. Heartland is one of the books I picked up & I hate to admit it but I was very disappointed. Like another reviewer I felt that the book was way too wordy & descriptive. I felt like the book could've been cut in half with all the excessive descriptions taken out. I also wasn't big on the ending being laid right out at the beginning & the storyline never really caught my interest. I've never found my mind wondering as much as I did with this book. And the "Head-hopping" that somebody else mentioned drove me crazy as well. On one page you'd jump back in forth between several people's heads. This usually doesn't drive me crazy but I felt that it wasn't done very smoothly & it was done way too often. From a romance reviewer who reads 50+ romances a year the best recommendation I can give is to pass on this book.

1.0 out of 5 stars Not impressed, January 24, 2006

By	Gemma "bookworm" (Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heartland (Love Spell) (Mass Market Paperback)

From the back cover:

He was notorious and dangerous...she was primly proper and beautiful...

With his six-shooter slung low on his hips and his bold, lazy smile, Slade Maverick looked as if he were riding to a showdown. Rachael Wilder couldn't believe the famous gunslinger had come to Wichita to care for three orphaned children. She didn't trust him for a minute! But she trembled every time he came near, dreamed of his kisses, and knew, deep in her heart, that he was the one she would long for all the days of her life.

And my review:

I'll admit, I came into reading this book with a jaundiced eye, as I'd been thoroughly bored by this author's novel "Rainbow's End". Still, I didn't want the 50 cents I spent on this book to be a waste, so I tried to read this.

Once again, I had the same complaints as I did with "Rainbow's End". Very, very wordy, and drawn-out sentences, leaving the reader to mentally gasp for breath and be forced to read each sentence at least three times for it to make sense. Head-hopping, which I hate.

And when the author needs to put in a long-drawn out (nearly 15 pages' worth of tiny type) sex scene as the prologue in the book just to keep the reader's attention, something's wrong! I've got no problem with books that open at the happy ending, then go back to show how the characters arrived at that happy ending. But don't use pornographic descriptions (that are not romantic) to try and get my interest peaked. It won't work!