Customer Reviews

The Ranger And The Redhead (Harlequin Historical)

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

 

 

These days good Westerns are so hard to find, but THE RANGER AND THE REDHEAD is wonderful! You'd have to go a long way to find a heroine who is as spunky, yet refined as Charlotte Greenfield. A preacher's daughter on her way west, Charlotte (Charlie) needs to make a whole lot of changes in order to survive, but she never once compromises who she is down deep inside. She'd a fabulous heroine, one I loved and cheered for from the first page to the last.

Will Bondurant is her perfect match. Strong and sometimes taciturn, Will proves again and again that he is a hero worthy of the name. Watching Will and "Charlie" spar -- and make up -- is one of the most delightful things about this story. You just know that when you close the book that these two really are going to live happily ever after.

With the feel of the west as strong as the smell of woodsmoke, this is a fast-paced and well written book. I have a couple of Banning's on my TBR pile, and I've just moved them to the very top.

I enjoyed reading Miss Banning's story. It was the first I've read by this author. The hero and heroine were strong characters and this came through clearly. The vivid settings left me feeling I was there with them, experiencing the heat, cold, and dangers that seemed to come at them at every turn as they travelled across the mid-west to Oregon. Good reading!

Who reads romances for the heroine?

I don't. But I've liked all of Lynna Banning's heroines, which are feisty and determined. In THE RANGER AND THE REDHEAD, Will Bondurant is the perfect match for the brave Charlotte Greenfield, who must travel to Oregon for a teaching job. Will is her guide, and along the way they dodge dangers on the trail--and their growing attraction for each other. Will Bondurant is tough and sexy--and his greatest need is love. I rooted for him all the way.

If you get this title, also try Banning's THE ANGEL OF DEVIL'S CAMP (RITA nominee), LOST ACRES BRIDE, and THE SCOUT.

Known for her historical research and well-rounded characters, Lynna Banning recreates yet another memorable western romance. It was a pleasure to add this title to our library collection. Clever, funny, and of course the happy ending!

Charlotte Greenfield has a secret. She has to get to Oregon where she hopes to reconstruct her life as a teacher of the "savages".

Yup! she gets picked up in an Indian raid and galluped away with. Along comes rugged Will Bondurant who is on leave from the Texas Rifles tracking down a murderer.

Will gets knifed in a fight to win "Charlie's" freedom from the renegade Indians. Now Charlotte needs to save Will from infection in order to return to the wagon train.

The wagon train has no extra room to take on Charlotte, except for one learing man. Huh! No way was Will going to let this guy get his hands on innocent Charlotte.

Well, therein starts a great, humorous story of the trials and tribulations of Will, the hunter and "Charlie", his nephew on their trek to Oregon.
With a band of renegade Indians, Long John and his Indian companion, and the tracking of Luis to contend with, their ride is hazardous, tiring, and sometimes funny.
Yep! they still find time for a little hanky-panky. I swear that the authors of today super-impose their own loose morals [or those of the editors] on these female heriones, who in that day and age prefered death to dishonor, at least the goody-goody ones.
All we hear about are the loose-moraled females [and I don't think there were that many]
Ah well, I consider PMS a little too overboard for the frontier life. Not that it didn't happen.

Excellent story - well paced - neat secrets - great characters.
Definitely Recommend - m

i didnt care for this book, Charlotte got on my nerves from the start, she was a preachers daughter and she was annoying as hell, will was okay but he put up with to much from her,and if your a avid book reader who enjoys romance in your books its not for you, it has sex in it about 200pages into a 296 page book, and wasnt even worth putting into the book, just skims over it, this was my first time reading a book from this author and i think i will pass on trying anymore, the plot was good, he is willing to take her to her destination after her wagon trail is burned out and she is kidnapped by Indianans and he rescues her. it sounds better than what it was.

The Ranger and the Redhead is another overdone girl-wears-boys-clothes tale that everyone is too blind to notice the heroine has boobs. It was a struggle to read. Took me two months, and I sighed with frustration throughout the story because I not only saw numerous incoherent sentences, but many similes that were awkward and silly sounding. Not only did the amateur writing jerk me around, but I found much of the dialogue and many other things--too many things to mention--not believable or corny. Here are just a few. And I mean only a few. First, I didn't buy Five Feathers' spit on Will's knife something likely to cause a serious infection. Not one that causes a dangerously high temperature. I'm inclined to believe dirt, sweat and Will's own hands as the real culprit. No one was terribly clean in this story. If Five Feathers carried so many germs that his spit caused Will such an infection, he would've made his entire tribe sick. I notice the H & H drank a heck of a lot of coffee. Second, (p. 14) Will is walking straight for Charlotte in a scene and she can't even see him. Trust me, no woman who's been sweltering in the heat for days then sits in a smoke-filled tepee is going to smell sweet. This author isn't the first to use the unbelievable thinking-about-sex-while-dangerously-ill or about-to-die set-up. Example: (P. 15, Will has fought Five Feathers and won. He's fixing to help Charlotte onto a horse while Five Feathers stands and watches, yet they're still unsure they'll get out of the encampment alive.) `Then he noticed her eyes again, and the spit went right out of him. They were a soft, dark gray, almost black, and the expression in their depths made him hungry for something he couldn't even begin to name.' Hmm. I bet I know what he was thinking, and it wasn't buttered mash potatoes. After reading the first fifteen pages, I knew the story was in trouble. Later in the story, past numerous more unbelievable stuff, inside Chili's cabin, Will kept putting wood on a fire that he said wasn't suppose to need more wood. Then they have sex with Chili's dead body laying on the front porch. That always gets me in the mood. (As far as I'm concerned, the pathetic love scene could've been left out. It did nothing for the story.) Unless you have a bur in your pants, no one is going to feel anything through denim, especially someone else's soft skin--(p. 178) And I have a feeling no woman other than an amazon can just toss a horse saddle onto her shoulder and walk away without breaking a sweat or her back--(p. 196) I always love it when characters don't notice something yet have the ability to recount the entire incident. Example: (p. 226) Will and Charlotte are goo-goo eyeing each other over a table at the hotel dinning room. Will tells the waitress to close the kitchen door on her way out. `The woman shot a glance at him, but he didn't notice. Neither of them noticed. They were engrossed in each other. She (the waitress) did as he asked.' Now, if they didn't notice anything, they wouldn't know if the waitress closed the door or stripped naked. Back when the two are on the trail, Will explains his mixed heritage. Pages later he goes into it all over again. On (p. 229) Charlotte refers to certain persons as "white trash", which is totally out of character for a woman whose religious convictions would expect her to have compassion for other less fortunate than her. After all, isn't that why she going West to teach Indians? At times I was unclear whose point of view I was reading. The Luis situation was so poorly played out, I never really understood the whys and hows of it, and by this time I didn't care, but I wasn't reading it because I was riveted to the pages. I was looking for the next unbelievable thing or convoluted sentences to pick apart. By the time I finally finished, I was utterly exhausted. After reading the other reviews, I was surprised so few noticed this stuff. Perhaps they are friends and relatives of the author. Shows you can't trust some reviews.

Miss Charlotte Greenfield has to get to Oregon. She has a teaching contract. She also has a secret. Rugged Will Bondurant is her ticket. Through hostile Indian Territory, he will protect her. Over rough terrain, she will obey his authority. During the long dark nights, they will . . . well . . .

In the magical world of writing, an author must maintain reading interest by using crucial strategy. In THE RANGER AND THE REDHEAD, Lynna Banning's crucial strategy is . . . simply . . . writing a very good story . . . for 178 pages. In the beginning, Banning's story is colorful, alluring, and a degree of doom flickers throughout.

. . . and then . . .

It is true; the difference between a 'good' book and an 'ok' book can be a matter of a few words or a poorly constructed scene. In THE RANGER AND THE REDHEAD, that scene occurred on page 178. Worse, it occurred during the BIG moment! Setting: Will and Charlotte are hot for each other; they are ripe for intimacy.

* * * "She was as hungry as he was . . . "Will (Bondurant)," she murmured . . . "What is happening?" she said in a dazed voice. "Damned if I know," he said . . ." * * *

(Reader: GROAN) (NO! NO!) Will Bondurant's four words are definitely NOT in character. No way would this man utter those words! Will Bondurant is an intense gunman, a killer, an experienced man. "Damned if I know" sounds like something a fourteen-year-old boy would say! Talk about 'yanked' out of a scene! And not just any scene, this was the BIG scene - the pivotal plot-point! Sadly, irreversible reading damage was done. Suddenly the dreaded 'nitpick syndrome' took over and all the remaining dialogue began to appear misplaced. Regrettably, what started as a very good book, suddenly turned into just an ok read!
Grade: C+

MaryGrace Meloche.