Customer Reviews

Touch the Wind

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was riveted from the beginning till the end of the book. It's a pity that Sheila had to learn the lesson about men the hard way when her newly-married husband turned out to be a jerk.

I like Laredo, the American outlaw who joined the Mexican bandits. His whimsies about home, about eating cherry-topped sundae was really touching. You can actually feel his emotion, how much he missed home, and yet unable to return because he was a wanted man. I like Rafaga too, the outlaw leader, who was a very charismatic man. His mistress committed a crime which amounted to punishment, and despite his heavy heart and sadness, he continued on with the punishment.

Sheila, the Texan heiress, was rather petulant, for me. But I admire her survival spirit and courage. Not many would be like that in her position.

The ending, like all the Janet Dailey books I read so far was rather abrupt and left to the reader to contemplate further what happened next.

A great read.

As I have read Janet Dailey in the past I looked forward to reading this book. The book was good up to the demanding and whipping of Sheila by Rafaga. For someone who has seen the abuse of a person, I found this part of the book very degrading. I did not finish the book, in fact I threw it away. It will be some time before I read another of her books
Anonymous

I loved this story. I have read it several times. I had read it in the past and lost my copy of it so reordered it. I would like to see Janet Dailey write another book and let us know what happened to the Rafraga? After all he was wanted by the law. She left it up in the air. However I still loved the story.

I felt that this novel, although it may not have ended the way I wanted it to, was interesting in nature. The characters were well defined and had a lot of depth. Even thought the story line was a little on the exaggerated side, it still kept my undivided attention. If you are looking for a good romance novel, this one will make an excellent read.

Ive read this book before, a long time ago. It was just as good as
I remembered it to be.

I usually read historical novels but I loved this book. For once the male character doesn't spill his guts for the reader until the very end, Rafaga is defintely the strong ,silent type. And not a wimp just because he is faced with a beautiful woman. You'll want to read it all over again when you find out what he was thinking along the way.

This book may be many things - but a romance novel it is NOT! It could have been legitimately seen as an exploration of a "Stockholm Syndrome" situation ala a Patty Hearst or a Jaycee Lee Dugard type point of view. Except both the publisher and the author [shame on them!] have marketed it as a romance.

I can hardly believe some of the "positive" comments on this book. Take this one:

"It's a pity that Sheila had to learn the lesson about men the hard way when her newly-married husband turned out to be a jerk."

Hubby may have been a jerk, but the so-called hero, Rafaga, is a criminal, a murderer, an adulterer [but that's okay, because the man he is cuckolding is a drooling idiot via a gunshot head wound - so no harm no foul, right?!!], a rapist and a strong-man dictator in his little fiefdom. Next to Rafaga, hubby was downright innocuous.

Oh, here's one to make you choke:

"I like Rafaga too, the outlaw leader, who was a very charismatic man. His mistress committed a crime which amounted to punishment, and despite his heavy heart and sadness, he continued on with the punishment."

First of all, she was not his mistress - mistresses have a choice about whether or not to become mistresses. Let's call a spade a spade. She was his unwilling sex slave. As in, I have had your husband killed, there is no one here who will help you, I will rape you every night if I want to [and does] and you can do nothing about it and I will keep you captive in my camp until I decide otherwise and you have no choice in the matter. A sex slave in the fullest sense of the word.

And her so-called crime? Trying to escape! The so-called punishment? A public flogging! As in strapped between two posts and publicly whipped. Can anyone remember the scene from "Roots" where the slave overseer whips Kunta Kinte to break his spirit and force him to respond to the name Toby? Same type of scene here. That's not a "punishment" - that is a violent conditioning technique. To call it abusive is an understatement.

And this comment really threw me:

"Sheila, the Texan heiress, was rather petulant, for me. But I admire her survival spirit and courage. Not many would be like that in her position."

Survival spirit? It is after the "hero" had her publicly flogged; we see that Sheila is also broken in spirit. Like most normal humans, who find they cannot escape an abusive situation, eventually, she is so broken that she ends up clinging to her abuser because she no longer has the will or strength to stand on her own. Which is why she rejects her rescuers and tries to return to her abuser at the conclusion. Her torture conditioning would allow no other response.

But this comment takes the prize:

"I read this book years ago and loved it. Very sensual and sweet. The last line gives me cold chills! It's a book that always ends with a sigh."

Sweet. Sensual. Good G-d Almighty.....there are almost no words for the sheer idiocy of that statement.....the whole book should produce chills....

I will give Janet Dailey this much credit. She at least had the decency to write a forewarning in the original edition....since at that time she was mainly known as a Harlequin author.

Best kudos goes to Harlequin for refusing to touch this story. They, at least, had the wits to recognized that while it may be "well defined", "interesting" and "riveting" - it is NOT a romance novel.

All her life,cool, beautifu Sheila got what she wanted. Now she yearned for the raw passion of a man beyond her reach, a violent mysterious outlaw whose followers adored him. A lion of a man who held her for ransom-a man who would trade her for a fortune in gold. But Shelia wanted only him-with all the reckless longing her body and soul.

Janet Dailey, the New York Times bestselling author who has touched the hearts of millions, shines in this unforgettable novel. Sweeping from the wealth and glamour of a modern Texas city to the rugged majesty of Mexico's High Sierras, this is a magnificent tale of desire and destiny from one of the world's most beloved storytellers.
---------- Reviewed by Janet Sue Terry, author of the contemporary romance, "Set Me Free" series. Book 1 - Possibilities and Book 2 - Resolutions. Newest release is Just Our Best Short Stories 2005. www.janetsueterry.com.