Customer Reviews

No Other Love (No Other Series)

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

 

 

I was lucky enough to read the "No Other" series in order. I found this book a "must read" after reading the first two books. The characters are written superbly. The hero and heroine are both strong and stubborn. The dialogue between them is stimulating and amusing at times and there is just enough conflict to keep the reader interested (if not a bit frustrated!) This is my favorite book of the whole series, but to really understand it, you must read the books in order since the characters in this book are introduced in them. I highly reccommend getting them all!

The only think I liked about this book was Sloan's name. I hated Sabrina, which really surprised me because I thought she was going to be likable from the other two books, but no. Ms. Drake retreated into her usual style and the character of Sabrina from No Other Man and Woman became a stupid, shrewish, pouty character who held absolutly no interest for me.

I wanted to like Sloan, I really did, but he was so mean to her. I mean, yes, Sabrina was an idiot, but their relationship consisted almost entirley of him forcing her into bed and yelling at her, usually calling her a "little fool" of some rubbish like that.

These characters were so utterly awful that I have no memory of what the rest of the book was about. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth and when I think about the book is a vague feeling of disgust. Don't bother with it- this book is not worth the money or the time.

This is the last in a series from Shannon Drake. It is definitely the weakest in the trio for a variety of reasons. First, the heroine is what I classify as 'too dumb to live'. She makes many bad decisions that put the hero at risk and require him to save her. Second, there are several forced seductions that really didn't do it for me. Finally, the heroine is such a shrew to the hero, I could never understand why he was in love to her. The author needs to work on developing her characters and showing why the grow to love each other instead of focusing on action. It would also help if she created more likeable characters.

I do not agree with the low reviews on this installment in the NO OTHER trilogy. I enjoyed this romance and the way Heather Graham (writing under Shannon Drake) wove the history of the Black Hills and the struggle between the American settlers and the Indians into this western romance. While there was some repetition of the earlier story from NO OTHER MAN, NO OTHER WOMAN, presumably to make the novel a stand alone, the rest of it was a good read. I have read almost all of her historicals by now (just saving the last few on my shelf for a rainy day), so it is only comparing her best romances to this one that dropped it to 4 stars.

Like the first two books, this story is set in late 19th century...this one takes place in both Scotland and the Black Hills. We met Sabrina Connor in the first book when her sister, Skylar, fled New England and the stepfather who murdered their father. Then we saw her again in the second book when she came to join her sister in the Dakota Territory. While hiding from the same evil stepfather, Sabrina was mistaken as a saloon prostitute and lost her innocence to half-breed Sioux and friend of Hawk, Major Sloan Trelawny. After that, Sloan and Sabrina are both very angry at each other though clearly not able to forget the passion they shared that night. Sloan, a Calvary officer and liaison to the Indians, will come to Scotland to aid his blood brother Hawk only to learn that Sabrina, there with her sister, is pregnant with his child. Reluctant to agree to his noble proposal of marriage, Sabrina is finally talked into it and follows him back to America and the Black Hills even as the situation with the Sioux Indians grows more perilous.

You have to love Sloan, who while starting out as something of a jerk when it comes to Sabrina, then becomes the patient, consistent husband and lover who will never give her up. Yes, I can agree that sometimes Sabrina came across as a shrew. But she was trying to deny her love for the half-breed Indian she married. I thought Graham did an excellent job with the human emotions and made the tension between the two seem very believable.

Having studied the history of the American West, even reading some of the original journals, I found this tale fascinating. Graham introduces us to Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, among other Indian leaders, as well as George Armstrong Custer and the officers of the 7th Calvary, explaining very well the events that led to the battle of Little Big Horn in eastern Montana Territory.

I recommend this one and the whole trilogy but do read them in order.

Plotwise, this book was ridiculous. Sabrina is a spoiled brat who can't get over the fact that her husband is part Sioux and will be involved in the upcoming war with the Indians. She whines, pouts and plays the jealous wife far too often. Sloan is too proud to tell his wife that he didn't just marry her because she was pregnant, he married her because he was in love with her. The plot mostly consists of him yelling at her and forcing her to want him because she won't admit that she is falling in love with him.

However, the history woven into the plot made this book amazing. It was so heartbreaking to read about Custer's last stand and know that his adoring wife was anxiously awaiting his return to the fort. It brought home the fact that the wars with the Indians were similar to the battles we fought in the Civil War. Many of our soldiers had made friends among the Indians and some even considered them family. Shannon Drake did a stellar job of portraying both sides of the story and should be congratulated on a job well done.

This book was exciting from page one. Normally, I like to read series books in order, but I was powerless to put this book down. This was truly an addicting romance.

I enjoyed No Other Man and No Other Woman more than I did No Other Love. Most disappointed.