Sands of Gold by Day Taylor

Tags

california, historical romance

  Now that is the kind of cover I’d be ashamed to take on the airplane!!

This book continues the story of the Morrison, McKay and Gentry family begun in Magnificent Dream. Gold has been discovered at Sutter’s fort and the Gentry twins take different paths towards obtaining their fortunes – Cameron wheels and deals in burgeoning San Francisco as Robin heads for the hills with dreams of a big strike. Mormon Sam Brannan continues to amass great wealth as he has his fingers in every pie in California, but he also ignites the ire of Brigham Young and the LDS church. Susannah’s embittered brother Landry finally leaves New York bent on revenge against his father and former wife, as does her step-brother Asa who is now a member of the Danite sect of the LDS church (oooh, he’s a baddie).

That’s really all I can put into words on what the story is about – I don’t write book reports. I did find this a bit of a let-down from the first book, there was an awful lot of telling instead of showing as Day recounted California’s history and at times I felt like I was on the outside looking in – even the horrors of the fires were mostly recounted second hand – I want to be there. That said, seeing a lot of California’s growth from the point of view of Sam Brannan and his involvement with the Mormons was interesting, as well as the author’s insights into the workings and mindset of the LDS Church (it appears she knows what she’s talking about).

There was a tad bit more sex in the first parts of this book than the prior one, but still quite tame compared to today’s standards. I thought the freedom Susannah and Fiona were allowed a tad bit unrealistic, especially Susannah openly living with Cameron prior to being married and no one (not even her strict Mormon papa) raised an eyebrow?? Tollie being allowed to leave Ezra’s home at will and run around to saloons with Sam Brannan?? In the end this is a good book but not a great one – and despite that very cheesy cover I doubt a mainstream romance reader would enjoy this. It really is more history than romance, plus if you have to have a picture perfect HEA this is most definitely not the book for you.

For those interested in a really well told tale of old San Francisco and the Gold Rush I highly recommend Gwen Bristow’s Calico Palace.

Railroad Schemes & Lily Nevada ~ Cecelia Holland

Tags

california

 Railroad schemes opens as fifteen year old Lily Viner’s abusive father Jewell is in cahoots with King Callahan and his gang to rob the railroad money coming into Virginia City via stagecoach, and they use Lily as a red herring to bait the trap. Things go terribly wrong, Lily’s father is killed and King Callahan, the robber with a heart of gold, takes Lily along with him as they escape from the one handed Railroad detective Brand, who is bent upon capturing King and hanging him as a criminal.

Lily and King’s travels take them from Virginia City to Los Angeles, with glimpses at the Railroad barons, crooked politics, life in the Hispanic community and more as the author paints an entertaining look at the old west and California before the Southern Pacific Railroad came and changed life forever. King was the perfect foil for Lily as the crook with the heart of gold and Brand a perfectly rotten villain of the piece.

I found Lily to be highly engaging and I especially loved how the author brought in Lily’s love of books as a way of bringing her character to life – those references to Villette, Wuthering Heights, Great Expectations and more added the perfect extra touch. While not quite up to a five star read, this was a very quick, albeit enjoyable tale, and I am very much looking forward to reading part II of her story in Lily Nevada (review below).

It’s been five years since the close of Railroad Schemes and Lily Viner, now known as Lily Nevada is a member of a theatre group en route from Virginia City to San Francisco. On the way she briefly meets up again with the despicable (in her eyes) Railroad detective Brand. In San Francisco the acting troop reaches the heights of success in their version of Hamlet as the flames of anger from the depressed railroad working class swirl around them, and Lily also searches for true love and her long lost mother.

Sound interesting? Actually it’s not, at least for this reader. Without the endearing innocence of Lily in the first novel, along with the absence of her beloved books, Lily was rather bland and I didn’t find much in the rest of the story or characters to interest me much either, especially the railroad strikers and the riots. It all just fell flat and thankfully was over quickly at just over 200 pages. Three stars, not great but not really bad either. For those who want a thumping good read about 19C San Francisco I highly recommend Gwen Bristow’s Calico Palace.

Paloverde ~ Jacqueline Briskin

Tags

california, historical fiction, North America

 

Paloverde begins in Los Angeles in the late 19C and tells the story of Amélie Deane and the two Van Vliet brothers Bud and Vincent (nicknamed 3Vee). Both brothers are in love with fifteen year old Amélie but she can only marry one and she chooses Bud, and heartbroken 3Vee leaves to make his fortune mining. When 3Vee returns he is married with a child, no fortune, but still in love with Amélie. 3Vee gets too drunk at a party and the actions he takes have consequences for himself, Amélie and Bud that carry over into the next generation. There’s a whole lot more than that, but it’s too complicated to try and detail without writing a full recap, which I don’t like to do.

The second part of the book tells the story of Amélie’s daughter Tessa and 3Vee’s son Kingdon as Hollywood is coming into its own and The Great War is raging in Europe. Kingdon, a flying ace is injured in France and while recuperating from his injuries in Los Angeles meets Tessa by accident and they are surprised to find they are cousins. Sparks fly (of course) and they fall in love, but the long ago actions of Kingdon’s father threaten to split apart the two lovers who may or may not be too closely related for marriage, and they are eventually wrapped up in a Hollywood scandal of murderous proportions.

Briskin takes the reader on a grand old multi-generational family saga through old Los Angeles, a shocking court battle against the railroad, the first discovery of oil, the birth of Hollywood and its decadent lifestyle to a final culmination in an airplane stunt for Kindgon’s latest movie that threatens to go terribly awry. Although many of the storylines were fairly predictable in how they would be resolved (except for the last one – I did not see that one coming!), I still found the book to be highly enjoyable and had a very difficult time keeping my nose out of it until the very end.

California Gold by John Jakes

Tags

california, historical fiction

 

California Gold begins thirty years after the Gold Rush as James Macklin (Mack) Chance leaves the Pennsylvania mining town where he grew up and heads for The Golden State to make his fortune. After working and walking his way across country, Mack arrives in Oakland and is in for a rude surprise when he thinks he can stow away on the railroad’s ferry across the bay and they wouldn’t dare throw him overboard -oh yes they would! Once he makes it to San Francisco he witnesses a young woman jumping into the bay and fails in his attempt to “rescue” reporter Nellie Ross (much to her chagrin as he ruins her story for Hearst’s newspaper) and the two begin a strong friendship that eventually turns into much more.

Mack’s fortunes continue up and down as his drive and temper finally upset the movers and shakers of San Francisco and after surviving a vicious beating he leaves for Los Angeles to take old traveling companion J. Paul Wyatt up on his offer to join in with him in the “real estate” market — selling worthless lots to unsuspecting tourists. The land boom busts (where did Wyatt originally get the funds to purchase the land from?) and the unstable Wyatt leaves Mack high and dry with creditors and angry buyers knocking at his doors. Seeing potential in the worthless tar pits of the surrounding countryside Mack seeks employment with the oil prospectors as he learns the trade – finally striking black gold and setting him on his way to fortune and power.

Despite their lifelong love for each other, Mack and Nellie’s goals for their individual futures are too diverse for marriage (at least they think so) and Mack marries alcoholic Carla Hellman, daughter of wealthy land baron Swampy Hellman. It doesn’t take Mack long to realize the mistake he’s made, although grateful for the son Carla gives him. Mack continues to expand his business prospects, delving into real estate, agriculture, the burgeoning Hollywood film industry and these enterprises eventually lead him into increasingly dangerous conflicts with corrupt government officials and the growing labor unions.

Mack’s story takes the reader from 1886 California and on into the early 1900’s, as California struggles with the old and the new ways, including the catastrophe of the 1906 earthquake that results in a profound personal loss for Mack that forever changes his perspectives on life. As Mack assembles his great fortune, he finally realizes the empty shell his life has become and how little happiness all that wealth can bring without loved ones to share it with. All in all a very good (but not great) read, although IMO Jakes tried to stuff way too much into the story and had Mack’s business enterprises spread into way too many pies – I have to confess my eyes glazed over a bit at times – especially the complicated mechanics of getting that oil out of the ground. Four stars, although tops with me on big old fat sagas of Old California is still Celeste De Blasis’ The Proud Breed.