I remember reading some of Laurie Grant’s medievals back when she wrote for Harlequin Historicals and I initially looked forward to reading her again. Unfortunately, while the German immigrant community forming the setting for Midnight Satin sets it apart from many Western romances and gives it an interesting flavor, an unnecessary villain and some choppy…
I looked at my database of reading for 2004, and realized that I’ve only read two Western romances this year. Fans of the Western romance subgenre know you can usually count on Jodi Thomas for an entertaining read. This book features nice leads, but is marred by sequelitis and a ridiculous action subplot. A Texan’s…
Maggie Osborne is a can’t-miss author for me. I’ve enjoyed some of her books more than others, but I can truthfully say I’ve never read a book by her that wasn’t a good one. Her latest, Foxfire Bride, is the best road romance I have read this year and also the best Western. Fox was…
Just when I thought I’d read almost every variant of Western romance, along comes Lynna Banning’s latest. Forget cowboys and ranchers, this is the tale of a town fundraiser and a mail-order bride competition. While the initial set-up of the story is rather contrived, the story does have some rather unexpectedly touching moments. Leora (Lolly)…
There’s just no nice way to say it: This book is terrible. The author means well, and the characters aren’t truly nasty as much as they are silly. I admit that when I opened it I hoped for a guilty pleasure. The teaser line (in bold print) reads: “You’re a disgraceful bounder, Creed Sixkiller.” Frankly,…
Untamed is the second book in Merline Lovelace’s series about the history of Oklahoma. It takes place in the early 1800s, back when the territory was still known as Indian Country. It certainly has a distinct sense of place. It’s also a flat, uninvolving and often annoying read. Lady Barbara Chamberlain comes to Indian Country…
Many of the romances I read – historical and otherwise – tend to be driven by character rather than plot. I love being able to get inside the heads of great characters and experience their lives along with them, but sometimes the detailed action and emphasis on external forces found in plot-driven stories perfectly fit…
Heart of Texas is a bland, unmemorable novel that has nothing particular to recommend it. I might as well be repeating the words of colleagues who have reviewed others of O’Banyon’s books, but loathe as I am to do so, the unsurprising plot and wooden dialogue, as well as the half-hearted hero and heroine left…
A Wanted Man, Susan Kay Law’s latest, has all the elements of an enjoyable western: a fine-looking cowboy, a sympathetic heroine, plus trains, horses, and an evil villain. All of these elements come together for an entertaining and romantic read. Laura Hamilton, a talented artist, is out on her own for the first time in…
The Irish Devil would have been a lot better if it had not had so many sex scenes. I don’t think there was a chapter where there wasn’t one (or two, or three, or four) sex scenes. After I finished the book, I couldn’t help but think it would have been a marvelous big, juicy…
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