Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very nice Post Civil War tale, January 1, 2009
After surviving a truly horrific attack in her home after the Civil War, Miss Jenny Colter takes a teaching position in the small yet closeknit town of Tumbling Creek, Missouri. She's with her two servants, Moses and Delcine, when the train she is on is held up by the infamous Morgan gang. Two of the brothers, Raiford and Luke are going through the passengers, stealing their belongings, when Jenny is overcome by the violence that Luke and Raiford use in order to subdue the conductor, and she takes off into the woods with Luke hot on her trail. After a brief tussle and a few gropes, he reluctantly lets her go, instantly smitten by her brave defiance of him, but afterwards he realizes to his horror that his bandana had slipped from his face during their brief skirmish and Jenny had gotten a good look at his face. Luckily for him, her destination of Tumbling Creek happens to be the Morgan brother's hometown and surrounded by his kin, he knows she will be unable to bring him to justice, but just in case, he devises a bunch of ways to keep her quiet, least of which, stealing into her hotel room to impart a friendly warning. He tells himself he is just keeping an eye on her while he is ruthlessly surrounding her within the friendly embrace of his family but Jenny has touched the deepest recesses of his lonely heart and for her, he is willing to give up his life of crime. He hopes to turn over a new leaf and go into politics and while on the campaign trail, Jenny sees a horrible ghost from her past and it's up to Luke and his two children to help save his beloved outlaw heart.
This book starts off with us, the reader, being chosen to bear witness to the undying love that our hero and heroine hold for each other that still resonates within the Ozark Mountains. It's a very private moment that we are intruding upon, but if I had stumbled upon two spirits getting it on before me, I would have stared, too. Our guide in this book, known as the Old-Timer, gifts us with this story through his eyes.
My first impression: Not as inflammatory as Huck Finn, but I still felt uncomfortable reading Moses and Delcine talk to each other. Not only that, I had to slow down my reading to try and figure out what the heck they were saying to each other. The "N" word is sprinkled about as well.
Jenny is a plain, freckled young woman who lost all her family during the war and after it. She's crippled and thinks noone could want her, which is just as well because after what she witnessed, she doesn't particularly want to be with a man. Enter Luke. No bodice of hers is safe from his demanding lust and though he starts off as a typical bodice ripping alpha male, complete with the obligatory scene of the bodice ripping male slapping his heroine in the face, (done to calm down her hysterics) he soon becomes a very sweet, gallant and caring hero, notwithstanding the whole threatening her life at knifepoint bit. I really liked him. True, he starts off a little grabby and a little rough with her, but he soon realises he needs to employ a much softer touch with his Jennilee, soon to be his Outlaw Heart.
This book has a gentle pace and I can easily see people dropping out before the finish line, but don't do that. This is a really lovely story and has an interesting look into the South and the sprawling Old West post Civil War. The infamous outlaws from the time era that this book encompasses (1870-1875) receive a few honorable mentions and I thought that was fun. It also gives us several glimpses into the savagery committed from both sides of the war though this book is decidedly skewed from the South's perspective, which was not so fun. Jenny sings a Southern song during a party and after I read the words from the song, alls I have to say is wow. Bitter much?
There is plenty of romance between Luke and Jenny, though a lot of screen time is shared with the quirky characters from the town of Tumbling Creek, plus Luke's family and his two children and the children that Jenny teaches. Also, this book goes off on a couple of different tangents. Luke reminiscing about his part in the infamous Lawrence Massacre in Lawrence, Kansas and Jenny, when she finally chooses to tell her story about the truly horrific day she lost her family. That story was BAD. Truly horrific. Though it makes me wonder how the Old-Timer knew that story. *shrug*
All in all, this was a very lovely story. Luke and Jenny were a great couple, but the use of the Old-Timer as the storyteller kind of gave me a standoffish feeling. It was as if I was reading this story through a filter. Eh. Just a minor complaint. 4.5 stars.
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
a sweet story, February 15, 2002
By A Customer
I really liked this particular heroine after reading so many books where the women are so beautiful, men are driven to insanity for them. This heroine also had to work for a living (she was a teacher), and had a very giving heart. She is shadowed by a horrific past and her youthful innocence was shattered by war atrocities. The hero is conflicted by his own past as well, and develops a sympathy for this not-so-beautiful- on-the-outside young woman. You just want to cheer them and hope they can live happily ever after, but you know they can't until they learn to confide in one another. Their love for each other develops with patience and compassion. I read this book while sick with the flu and really enjoyed it. I would recommend it for someone who wants something a little different.
|
|
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad at all, May 24, 2001
By A Customer
Like the reader from Dallas, I don't read romance, but a friend at work had a copy and I needed something to occupy my lunch hours. The story is classic formula romance, but I found myself enjoying it and rooting for the heroine and her fella. There were plenty of sub-plots to fill in the gaps and the love scenes are pretty spicy. All in all, not a bad way to spend a few lunch hours.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
by Rebecca Brandewyne
by Rebecca Brandewyne
by Rebecca Brandewyne
by Rebecca Brandewyne
