MOUNTAIN MISTRESS [Paperback]

Nadine Crenshaw (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Zebra (November 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821722190
• ISBN-13: 978-0821722190
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 3.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,595,778 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Never judge a book by its cover, May 28, 2010

By 

SusieQ (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MOUNTAIN MISTRESS (Paperback)

MOUNTAIN MISTRESS has the silliest title and a cheesy-looking cover (very 1980's, with a blow-dryed blond hunk caressing a Barbie doll of a woman in a buckskin dress.) I had this in my "To Be Read" pile for several weeks, putting off reading it again and again.

Well, reading this was a lesson to me: never judge a romance novel by its cover, or even by its title. (At least not without reading it first.) This is a page-turner. The descriptions of the heroine, Victorine's, emotions after her family is killed; her conflict with her rescuer (and her attraction to), Waiting Cougar, an independent trapper - and HIS backstory, when it's given to the reader - are fabulous, and surprisingly inventive.

It is true that Cougar, after purchasing Victorine from the Blackfoot Indians who captured her, does hold her very much against her will. She wants to return to 'civilization' but Cougar is determined to keep his 'wife'; he's bought her, he's attracted to her, and believes they are fated to be together. This enforced marriage might not sit well with some readers, but the author does her damndest to make this make sense, and I think she pulls it off. For one thing, the love story, despite beginning with an enforced marriage, is given plenty of time to develop; the story progresses over a period of almost a year following the murder of Victorine's family. For another, Victorine is not allowed to become whiney, resigned, or spineless. Also, Cougar may be determined to make Victorine his wife in every sense, but he's not cruel, heartless or totally without insight. Their equal determination not to bend to each other's wants in this relationship is a major part of why the enforced-marriage theme works - we are given two characters who display strength of will and have to adjust and grow with each other. And amazingly, they DO. The difficulties Cougar and Victorine face during the winter months, combined with their growing mutual love and trust, molds these characters into different, and better, people, by the end of their story.

This is refreshing because all too often in romance novels, the main characters are portrayed like dolls who are manipulated into and out of their conflicts and it's mostly about good their sex life is. That's not the formula here. I'm glad I was able to put the silly title and book cover out of my mind, and really enjoyed this inventive and unusual romance. It would make a great movie.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mountain Mistress, March 22, 2002

By 

Gregory Crotty (Cincinnati, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mountain Mistress (Paperback)

Mountain Mistress was an extremely sexy, wonderful romance. The hero purchases the heroine from indians (she is innoncent still). He makes her his Mountain Bride. I loved it!!! Yes, against her wishes....He loves her deeply and will give her anything, except her freedom. THe heroine gives her virginity to him under duress, but falls madly in love with him. It is a book that has been underaated but you WILL NOT regret reading it. I have read and re-read this book at least 15 times. Get a copy. It is a definite KEEPER. I would rate it a ten!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You'll enjoy every single page. Happy reading!!!!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating Western Historical!, October 28, 2011

By 

Regan (San Diego) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: MOUNTAIN MISTRESS (Paperback)

This was Nadine Crenshaw's first book and it won the Golden Heart Award in 1987. I can see why. You WILL NOT regret buying this one, I promise!

This romance is one all consuming, passionate story of the relationship between a Scottish born mountain man the Indians call "Waiting Cougar" who takes an unwilling "winter squaw"--bought with beaver pelts from the Blackfeet Indians who captured her in a raid. Innocent young Victorine Wellesley was raised in Philadelphia in the parlor rooms of elegant homes only to be forced to leave when her father dies and her foolish brother takes her west. Almost raped by the Blackfeet Indians who killed her brother and his wife, she is "rescued" by Cougar and forced to travel with him high into the Bitterroot Mountains and to warm his bed of furs for the winter. He calls her wife but she knows better. She is not a real wife, only a "mountain mistress."

Victorine, who Cougar names "Flame," feels her identity slipping away as she begins to dress like a squaw, her beautiful fair skin turns brown from the sun and she falls victim to the passion he draws from her at his will. You will be inspired as her courage rises to every challenge and there are many in the wild mountains. Crenshaw, as she has with all her subsequent romances, draws you into her story and Victorine's mind. You can literally feel the anger and frustration rise in you as your sympathy for Victorine grows with each day of the long journey into the mountains. She wants her freedom but she cannot resist the man who has led her into this new life. But since she knows nothing of surviving in a wilderness, she is well and truly trapped.

It is hard to believe this was Crenshaw's first novel as it competes well with anything out there in romance today. Her writing is superb. Her story captivates--a real page-turner. She presents accurately the essence of the era (19th century American frontier), even the nuances in speech. She has the place names, history and Indian culture (Blackfeet and Salish) just right. In face, she has is ALL just right. It is such a good book!! I highly recommend it.

More by Nadine Crenshaw I recommend:

CAPTIVE MELODY (1988)
EDIN'S EMBRACE (1989)
SPELLBOUND (1990)
DESTINY AND DESIRE (1992)
THE HIGHWAYMAN (1993)
VIKING GOLD (1995)
FIELDS OF THE SUN (1997)