Tall in the Saddle (Bella After Dark) [Paperback]

Barbara Johnson (Author), Karin Kallmaker (Author), Therese Szymanski (Author), Julia Watts (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bella After Dark | Publication Date: November 19, 2007

The playful quartet that penned the acclaimed Once Upon A Dyke and Stake Through the Heart are back are now turning to the Wild (and Very Hot) West to bring you another collection of erotically charged, action-packed, tales--this time gleefully taking on cowboys, school marms, snake-oil salesmen, saloon girls, preachers, bank robbers and lone gundykes. With the turn of each page, you'll wonder who the hero is, who the villain is, and who gets the girl--and if it's even the right girl!

You'll thrill as they reinvent the myths of the old west with a decidedly lesbian slam dunk, weaving tales of saloons, horses, bank robberies, sheriffs, cattle rustlers, guns and very tight corsets and loose women. You'll find enough romance, passion, intrigue, thrills, chills, hair-breath escapes, hot-and-wet sex, and death-defying acts of selfless love to leave you breathless and waiting for more...

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Bella Books (November 19, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594931062
• ISBN-13: 978-1594931062
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #474,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is really a mixed review and should probably be a 3.5, February 25, 2008

By 

constantread "constantread" (NM) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Tall in the Saddle (Bella After Dark) (Paperback)

I rate the novellas from 3 to 4.5 individually. Therese Szymanski doesn't come up to her usual standard; I found myself flipping pages and skimming--she gets a 3. Karin Kallmaker managed to break my heart with her story Cowboys and Kisses about a frontier whore. She gets a 4.5. Barbara Johnson's story of a couple of women in a tight spot entertains in spite of the fact that it almost had a tragic ending.(4) I wished that Julia Watts had been able to add just a few pages to her story of the grade B western actresses in love; it was fun to read(4). The book was worth the money.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It was enjoyable..but, May 2, 2008

By 

K. Buchanan (Seattle, Wa USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tall in the Saddle (Bella After Dark) (Paperback)

I enjoyed reading this but I didn't feel that some of the authors were up to their usual standards. I was a little let down to be honest. I like Karin Kallmaker's Cowboy and Kisses but it was a little like watching an accident happen. I couldn't look away. The writing was very well done - but the story didn't end the way I would like. That's a matter of personal choice however. I would give her story a high rating in readability, I just personally didn't like the ending. The other stories were just okay. I have read other stories by at least one of the authors and felt that she wasn't up to her usual standards. It isn't a bad book. It's just not a great book.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A misleading disappointment, February 5, 2011

By 

Lucille O'Campbell (Missouri, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tall in the Saddle (Bella After Dark) (Paperback)

None of these stories lived up to my expectations. I was hoping for some stories set in the old west featuring strong lesbian heroines - we don't really get that.

The teaser for the book is somewhat misleading - there is the mention of a lone gun dyke - yet no story featured such a character. Also two of the stories aren't even really in the old west - one being a dream and the other being about 1940's Hollywood.

Two of the stories revolve around brothels - prostitution is not one of my favorite subjects.

In the first story, "The Life and Times of Bad Bill" we have a character who is a criminal with no redeeming qualities really - and furthermore - she isn't even really in the west, since she is dreaming about the part that has to do with the west. I got the impression the author considers westerns kind of silly - and therefore she had no real business even trying to write a western.

In the second story - "Desert Spring" we have things that come to nothing - the female character, Corrine who calls herself Cory and dresses in drag - never confronts the renegades who killed her first lover - nor is any motive given for why they did so. Briefly she works on a cattle ranch but isn't physically strong enough to handle the job. The cattle rancher has been having problems with rustlers - but again this comes to nothing - there is no confrontation between her and the rustlers.

In the story "Cowboys and Kisses" - we're back in the brothel again. The story is virtually plotless - and the ending is a complete downer.

The final story "The Sweetheart and the Spitfire" does not even happen in the old west at all - instead it is set in the 1940s - and has to do with being a lesbian actress and the consequences that can come from that. Their solution seemed a bit unbelievable to me - but at least it wasn't depressing.