The Last Renegade by Jo Goodman

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Wyoming Territory

Folks are dropping like flies.

Wyoming Territory, 1888. Kellen Coltrane finds himself in the midst of a mystery when his train ride is interrupted by a stranger with a fatal knife wound.  Before he breathes his last, Nat Church asks Kellen to finish his journey to the Pennyroyal Saloon in Bitter Springs where he had accepted employment as a hired gun. When Kellen arrives he’s met by the hotel’s owner, Lorraine (Raine) Berry, who makes the erroneous assumption that Kellen is Church’s partner, and Kellen decides to continue the deception.

Why did Raine need to hire a gunman? I don’t want to say too much so as not to spoil, but there was a trial a few years back that convicted one of the sons of powerful ranch owner, and it seems that some of the jurors who convicted him are having fatal *accidents*. OK, so you know who the baddies are at the get go, but things aren’t all cut and dried and there’s plenty of other dirty dealing and secrets going on underneath the surface to keep you guessing. Not everyone is what they appear to be (that includes Kellen), and it’s up to our pair to put the pieces together and catch the baddies, plus taking time to fall in love (this is a romance novel after all).

This was great fun with a good solid mystery that kept me turning the pages until the very end – and that includes Kellen’s mysterious past (loved it!). I really like the way Goodman uses dialogue and characters to move the story along, instead of long-winded, lengthy paragraphs of oh-so-tedious inner analyzing. Kellen and Raine have good chemistry from the get go, but it is slow to build while they’re getting to know each other – and I loved their bantering as much as I did the romance:

Am I allowed to kiss you?”

“Only if you want frostbite.”

“I’ll take my chances.

Kellen was a serious dishy hunk of a hero, Raine was definitely more than another pretty female, but my hands down favorite characters who stole every scene were the two young scamps nicknamed Rabbit and Finn. Picture a pair of very young cowlicked Ronnie Howards running loose in town and you’ll know what I mean.

We saw him from our bedroom window on account Finn had to piss and didn’t want to use the privy.”

“Rabbit was trying to shut the window on my-”

Rain’s quelling look stopped Finn cold.

Lol, and those boys were everywhere and into everything. This was a solid four-star read for me, but I’m tacking on an extra half star for the awesome finish as well as the big reveal on Kellen’s secret past. I loved every page. 4.5/5 stars.

Book source: library loan.

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Chasing the Sun by Kaki Warner

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New Mexico

This is the final book in Warner’s Blood Rose trilogy about the Wilkens brothers of RosaRoja ranch in New Mexico. This time we get youngest brother Jack’s story, and we haven’t seen him since the end of Pieces of Sky when he followed Elena to San Francisco in hopes of winning her hand, but he hasn’t been heard from for three years. Not. One. Letter.

The book begins with Elena returning home ready to take her final vows and become a nun. Jack was heartbroken when she refused to marry him (there are reasons for it, but I won’t spoil), went on a drunken binge, had a fling with saloon singer Daisy Etheridge, unknowingly impregnated her and then signed up on the first ship headed to parts unknown. Whew, long sentence. Anywho, Daisy’s at her wit’s end and needs some money and she heads to the Wilkens spread in hopes of finding Jack or sympathetic relatives (she really is a nice girl, and not a gold digger). And just as soon as Daisy and her daughter Kate are welcomed into the bosom of the the Wilkins household, a still heartbroken Jack finally decides to come home and he’s definitely surprised to find a woman he barely remembers and a child to boot – let alone his beloved Elena wearing nun’s clothing.

Hmmm. I did like this well enough, but not nearly enough as the first two, and I’m glad this was left at three books as the story was definitely running out of steam. Neither Jack or Daisy captured my interest like Jessica/Brady and Hank/Molly did in the first two books, and there really wasn’t a lot of chemistry between them. The underlying storyline wasn’t that compelling either compared to the first two books, the bad guys were rather *meh* and easily whipped, and outside of a nail biter of a rescue after a dangerous storm hits, there’s not much else there. Thumbs up on older brother Brady’s ever-increasing bunch at the ranch (Warner does write kids very well IMO), but the kids just weren’t as funny this time around, at least for me. Loved the epilogue though, that was a perfect finish to the story. 3/5 stars.

Open Country by Kaki Warner

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New Mexico

Open Country is book two in Kaki Warner’s Blood Roses trilogy (review for book one here) and begins in 1871 as nurse Molly McFarlane finds herself between a rock and a hard place. Her father is dead after supposedly committing suicide, her niece and nephew are at the mercy of their dastardly step-father (an evil baddie with nefarious plots), and it appears there’s some book he thinks Molly has and he’s hot to get it at any cost. Molly flees west with the children where they end up in a horrible train accident. Molly hears that widows will receive $300 for the loss of their husbands, and since Hank Wilkens is as good as dead anyway, she ups and gets herself married to an unconscious groom.

Long story short, Hank survives due to Molly’s excellent nursing skills (her father was a doctor), but his memory’s still a bit off so he believes he married her for love (older brother Brady is in on the deception since he wants a nurse for his pregnant wife Jessica). Molly, Penny and Charlie are brought back to the ranch to join the ever-increasing Wilkens clan at the RosaRoja ranch in New Mexico, where Hank determines to court his *bride* again, and it’s beginning to look like everything might just work out…

And if he had to court a wife for the second time he didn’t remember from the first time, well . . . he’d do it . . . and hope they got to that taking-off-the-clothes part before he was so old he started losing his memory all over again.

That is until Hank’s memory comes back (no spoilers, that’s in the book description), and let’s say he’s not exactly amused. But don’t forget there’s still that evil baddie chasing her (he’s a mean one) and if Molly doesn’t have the mysterious book he wants so badly, just who does have it? And why are his employers so desperate to get it back?

I have to say I am loving this series to bits – especially the kids and the humor. Penny and Charlie are a perfect addition to older brother Brady’s expanding household, most especially Penny. Lord love a sticky six-year-old with a constantly dripping nose asking questions that no adult wants to answer 😀

Because Aunt Molly’s hurt and you said you would keep us safe and now we aren’t.” She let her hands fall to the bed and glared at him. “But I’m not leaving until I get my kitty. You promised.”

Like a dog with a bone, Penny never lets go…

The kid must be part Apache the way she snuck up on a person. “Say what?” he asked groggily. “That I puked.” He squinted up at her, trying to make sense of her words. Conversations with Penny were always a challenge. “Why not?” “Ladies aren’t allowed to say ‘puked.’

I enjoyed watching the relationship between Hank and Molly, and while I understood his anger at her original deception, I think Hank’s anger went a bit too far and it almost evolved into a Big Misunderstanding of the worst kind. The biggest plus for me though was getting to see more of Brady and Jessica from book one. Typically in series like these you’re lucky to get a brief cameo appearance here and there, but Warner puts Brady and Jessica front and center – thumbs up for that. My only real quibble is the final twists with the baddie chasing her, and Molly’s incredibly dumb stunt to save them all. I wanted to wring her foolish neck. Still, you don’t want to miss these and I’m already on the last book, Chasing the Sun.

FTC, Kindle edition via library loan.

Pieces of Sky by Kaki Warner

She looked at land and thought flowers. He looked at land and thought cattle. She was liveried servants and ivy-covered stone. He was hard-living cowboys and rough-hewn timbers. Champagne and Forty Rod. The two didn’t mix.”

Oh, but they do…

Jessica Thornton is a very proper English lady and she is very pregnant and on the run from her dastardly brother-in-law who wants to force her into signing over the family estate so he can bleed it dry. Jessica comes to New Mexico hoping to find her long-lost brother, but instead she meets Brady Wilkins (watch out for that umbrella, folks).  Jessica and others are injured when their wagon is attacked, and she’s brought to RosaRojas, the Wilkins ranch, where the doctor orders her to stay and rest until her confinement is over. In between battling that dastardly brother-in-law as well the evil baddie bent on revenge against the Wilkins brothers, Brady and Jessica are on the fast track to true love (this is a romance after all).

Yes, there’s more but you don’t need to know it all and I have better things to do today than to recap the whole thing. I loved this book and couldn’t put it down, and started right in with book #2 as soon as I was finished. Not only is Brady the hunkiest hero in recent memory (gawd, that smile of his), he’s got a real soft side hidden beneath that gruff exterior,

You’re here.” He spread his palm over his heart. “Inside me. Part of me forever. If I raise my hand against you, I hurt myself. If I disrespect you, I bring shame on myself. Whether you stay with me or not, that will never change.”

Sigh. And did I mention funny?

Clasping his hands in his lap to hide the effect of his own randy thoughts, he cast about for something to say, something that might intrigue or amuse her, and maybe entice her to take a seat and stay awhile.

 “You know how to ride a horse?” he whispered. Somehow she managed to nod. His lips tugged on her earlobe. “Astride?” “No.” “Time to learn.”

“I do rise when you enter the room. That’s why I don’t stand up.”

Lol. And what is the very best thing about this book? Brady and Jessica sit and talk to each other. They don’t have Big Misunderstandings, they work things out by talking to each other. I adored the times they sat on the porch just quietly holding hands – talk about actions speaking louder than words. This is the first in a trilogy about the three Wilkins brothers, the others are Open Country and Chasing the Sun. 4/5 stars.

FTC – Kindle copy obtained via library loan.

The Outlaw Hearts by Rebecca Brandewynne

1870. Jenny Carter has been through hell  – left for dead with the rest of her family brutally murdered and their Georgia plantation burned to the ground. Crippled for life, tortured by nightmares and virtually penniless and with no prospects for a husband on the horizon, Jenny takes a position as teacher in the remote Missouri town of Tumbling Creek. Along the way to her new home, her train is stopped and robbed by the notorious Morgan Brothers gang and Jenny accidentally gets a look at the face of one of the robbers and she’s in for quite a surprise when she arrives in Tumbling Creek and comes face to face with that robber – Luke Morgan. Luke tells her she’s wasting her time turning him in, with his huge family he’s got alibis a-plenty, but he’s still a bit worried and wonders if it wouldn’t hurt getting her to marry him as a wife can’t testify against her husband (yes, my eyes were rolling at this one).

Neither here nor there, this is a romance so you know there’s this undeniable attraction between the two, and Luke can’t help lusting after Jenny despite her plain appearance and unattractive limp from her injury as he sees the *beautiful* woman on the inside. Luke has his own emotional baggage from the past and Jenny turns out to be just the woman to heal it and set him back on the straight path in life. The plot takes many twists and turns as our pair battle the town gossips, the baddies (and they are sooooo bad indeed) and Jenny’s suppressed memories of what really happened to her family.

Is this not the most awful cover ever?

Yes, I know it sounds like the usual romance stuff, but there’s a few twists in this that bring it up a notch or two. I really liked having a plainer heroine, as well as a hero who cares more about what’s on the inside. I liked the interactions with Luke’s large family and most especially the way Jenny was able to heal the emotional wounds of Luke’s two children and in the process perhaps heal her own as well. There’s quite a nail-biting finish topped off with a very enigmatic HEA that will leave you wondering what really happened. Despite the appearance of the covers (thank gawd I didn’t get cover #2), the sex scenes are rather few and far between, although when you do get them the purple prose is plentiful and fairly standard for 80’s romances.  All in all a quick, enjoyable read and the only quibbles I had was how the entire town (minister, sheriff et al) could look the other way and accept a notorious band of robbers into the bosom of the community and for that I’m knocking off a half star – 3.5/5 stars.

The Ballad of Cat Ballou by Roy Chanslor

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cat ballou, wyoming

Yes, believe it or not that glorious old movie starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin (did he steal the show or what?) was based on a book. I’d never realized it until a mention of it on a thread at HFO and had to read it for myself. Those too young to remember the movie you have no idea what you are missing and here’s a sampler for your pleasure,

Wolf City, Wyoming.  Kid Shelleen convinces his partner-in-crime Frankie Ballou to go to the Saturday night dance instead of their usual visit to Crib Street and there he meets Cathy Morgan, the prettiest schoolmarm west of the Mississippi.  It’s love at first sight and the two ride away into the night to hitch the knot and Frankie plans to go straight – until he’s caught red-handed with the loot from their latest train robbery and he’s hauled off to jail. Kid and the rest of the *gang* free him and Cathy joins him at Robber’s Roost, their mountain top hideout where their daughter Cat is born. Old Doc, Cathy’s father, gets Frankie a pardon (long story) and eventually they save enough to buy a piece of land in Purple Valley – but it’s a piece of land the Cattlemen’s Association needs to run their herds through – and thus begins a heated battle that ends in tragedy for Cat.

As she stood there by the graveside,

Her burnin’ eyes was dry,

But her heart swore, “I’ll have vengeance,

Tooth for tooth an’ eye for eye!”

Oooooh, I love Nat King Cole.

A determined Cat is set on revenge, but things don’t go as planned and she ends up in dire need of rescuing by the latest gang inhabiting the Robber’s Roost, and most especially their leader, Clay Boone. One look at Clay is enough for Cat to know he’s the man she’s dreamed of and she follows him to the Roost, much to the ire of Clay’s younger brother who desires the beauteous Cat for himself, as does Kid Shelleen who worships her from afar.  Will Randy’s jealousy destroy the relationship between the two brothers? Will his stupidity land them all in hot water?

And that’s about as far as I’m going, you know what I always say – read it for yourself.  This was a quick easy read with healthy doses of despicable cattle barons, bandits with a heart of gold, a gun battle or two and more than one in-the-nick-of-time rescue from jail. The love story between Cat and Clay was very sweet, I really liked how he fell in love with her before he even had a good look at her face.  No surprise, but Cat’s story is very different from that in the movie, as is the character of Kid Shelleen – no drunken buffoon here – just a dear bear of a man with a heart of gold that first loved the mother and then the daughter.  3.5/5 stars and I’d recommend it for anyone who enjoys a good western on occasion.

FTC, yes I’m sure you are terribly concerned about the source for this 1956 novel. Interlibrary loan. Happy now?

The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains by Owen Wister

Tags

North America, western, wyoming

The Virginian, Oh What a Man!

Wow, this was so good; I could not put it down. The Virginian is the most incredible, honest, honorable, handsome (sigh) hero to come along the pike in a long long time. And what a scamp, LOL at his plot to switch the babies (clothes and all) around, so that the parents took home the wrong kids, had to come back to the Judge’s ranch, leaving Molly the new teacher alone for him to call on!

Lots of love, laughter and excitement as the Virginian falls for the new teacher from the East, rounds up cattle rustlers and vanquishes the bad guys. The author’s prose was glorious, although rather dense (for lack of a better word); it reminded me of Nathaniel Hawthorne. You really have to pay attention and don’t let your mind wander or you will end up backtracking so you don’t miss any of the story. The author’s descriptions of the Wyoming countryside, and most especially the Tetons, were wonderful and I felt like I was right there.

Truly one of the best yarns I have ever read, with a nail biting finish during the final showdown with the bad guy, as Molly has to reconcile herself as to what is more important, her east coast sense of righteousness or her love for her man. Highly recommended.