Cordia Byers

I liked it at first, but soon changed my mind. When the h, Heather, starts out with spirit and a lively personality and then ends up TSTL, continually doubts and mistrusts the H, Nicholas, can't recognize that her childhood sweetheart, David, is the villain and is only using her and - worst of all - sleeps with him while pregnant with Nicholas's baby, (GROSS!!!) that's bad enough, but then later, after Nicholas rescues her from prison and cares for her after their son is born, she takes the baby and runs back to David, that's when I'd had it!

Heather got to be so annoying, the way she mistrusted Nicholas, yet took everything David said at face value. With Nicholas she was a spitfire, with David, a wet noodle. She'd argue and be snarky with Nicholas, but it was "Yes David, whatever you say David, I'll gladly kiss your butt David", ad nauseum. If the three of them had been held at gunpoint, and the gun was pointed at David, ten to one she'd have yelled: "Shoot Nicholas instead!!" It made me glad she suffered while in jail!

Not that Nicholas didn't have his bad points; no matter how much you care, locking a woman in her room and continually telling her "You're mine and no one else's" is not the way to win her heart! Even so, he was the better man when compared to from-saint-to-sinner David!

It also pissed me off that Nicholas felt guilty after sleeping with his former mistress, Meg, and thought of Heather, while she slept with David, didn't feel guilty and didn't think of Nicholas at all, despite not being turned on by David like she was with Nicholas. So many HR readers throw hissy fits when the H cheats, so the h deserves equal bashing! Fairs fair, after all.

Heather sure wasn't fair to Nicholas, he should have stuck with Meg.… (meer)

I adored this book! (And I don't care how silly that sounds!) It starts out unusual, with three mountain men brothers unofficially adopting an orphan baby girl, whose parents were killed in a carriage accident. Only a reference in a book gives a clue to her identity. She grows up with her "uncles" and is well cared for, learns to hunt, fish, sell and trade furs, and enjoy the beauty of nature. She also has a quick, intelligent mind, and wants to learn more beyond the world of the Carolina backwoods. There are some amusing scenes with William Bertram, a botanist who goes exploring in the area and nearly gets himself killed, is rescued by Fortune and "Tiny", (her remaining uncle, after the two others passed away) and stays a while to help educate her. He's the one who discovers who she really is, when he reads the inscription in one of the books that belonged to her late parents (Tiny couldn't read).

I was sorry to see him leave the story, as well as Tiny, who soon [passed away, but then Kane Warrick entered the picture, searching for the lost granddaughter of Lord Northrop, daughter of his late estranged son. The sparks sure fly when these two first meet, at a tavern where a furious Fortune is arguing with the owner, who's planning to cheat her in buying her fur pelts. Soon, it's Kane she's arguing with and that scene's a real riot!

Shortly after, the two of them aboard ship, headed for England, and Kane plays a sort of Professor Higgins to Fortune's Eliza Doolittle, as he attempts to teach her how to be a lady, instead of a "wildcat". (He teaches her more than he intended, when they end up in each other's arms.)

Soon, Fortune meets her invalid grandfather, who knows without needing proof who she is (she's the image of her late mother) and also her diabolical cousin, Nevin Manville, who aims to inherit everything Lord Northrop owns, has been mismanaging the Northington Mills to line his own pockets while the employees both work and live under deplorable conditions, that Lord Northrop, due to his ill health, is unaware of. (The reason for his estrangement from his son is revealed early on, though Fortune never learns of it.) The scene's set from the start, with Neville scheming and plotting, and making it clear to Fortune how he means to be rid of her, whatever that takes.

Kane, meanwhile, had an ulterior motive in his willingness to search for Fortune: some land that her grandfather owned, that he needs control of to build a canal for use with his own mill. Despite his feelings for Fortune, he's determined to keep his distance: a widower, his unhappy marriage determined him never to get too involved again, while his late wife's dying in childbirth has made him determined never to put another woman through that risk, as well as kept a rift between him and his four year old son, Price, whom Fortune meets and befriends from his tyrannical nanny.

Next thing you know, Fortune finds herself owner of the North Meadows Estate, as well as the Northington Mills, where she's determined to make changes to the deplorable conditions the workers have endured. With no legal leg to stand on, Neville will do whatever it takes to stop her, and get back with he feels should be his.

For their mutual interests, Fortune and Kane embark on a marriage of convenience, where he'll get the land he needs, she'll get the husband her grandfather's will stipulated she'll need to retain ownership of the estate, and Price will have a mother whom he already has grown to love and whom she loves as if he were her own.

The story is a dual focus, as Fortune works hard to save her mill, help the workers, and also get Kane and Price past the wall between them, as well as breaking through the barriers around his heart. Their marriage quickly goes from convenience to passion, but it's love Fortune's after.

I won't give details away and spoil the story, but I will say there were some very refreshing elements to this book that other HR novels could take a lesson from. The arguments, misunderstandings, and angry accusations were kept to a minimum, Kane didn't have too many arrogant, autocratic moments, Fortune didn't get snarky, or pretend indifference and when she first found out about the land Kane wanted, she didn't throw a typical temper tantrum and hurl insults; instead, she pretty much understood.

There was no prolonged separate bedroom nonsense, Fortune never left for parts unknown because of a misunderstanding, and there were no romantic rivals or cheating, though there was a close call with Kane, when he was trying to deny his true feelings for Fortune. He ended up at the home of his former mistress, Madelene and they got as far as her removing his clothes and fondling him, but he found he couldn't respond, got dressed and left, and that was the last Kane saw of her. (Thankfully, there wasn't one of those scenes where Fortune finds out, goes ballistic and either runs away or locks him out of the bedroom. The histrionics are kept to a minimum in this book.)

It is strange, though, how after that scene with Kane, Madelene disappears from the story, only mentioned once afterward, especially when you soon find out she's Neville's mistress, as well. (In fact, right after Kane leaves, Neville arrives, and he and Madelene have lusty sex on the floor.) It's implied that Neville might use Madelene to cause trouble between Fortune and Kane, but this doesn't happen.

It's impressive how Fortune brings about changes for the people in the village, as well as the workers, though a bit of a stretch, as she's only around 19 and her short time with her grandfather would hardly qualify her to run a mill or know how to make changes in the villager's standard of living. She should have been a few years older to make that more believable, but it was still good to read, as it'd be nice for things to happen that easily in real life.

I was also impressed with how fortune determined to fight for her marriage and Kane's love, she didn't run away like a spoiled brat or wimpy coward, she stayed in her marriage and fought to bring down the barrier of defenses Kane built around himself; she was a young woman who knew what she wanted and worked damned hard to get it.

I won't reveal anymore, except to say that the novel could have been a bit longer as the characters were all well written (even creepy Neville) and you hate to part with them. Also, the ending seemed a bit too quick, but that doesn't take away from the five star rating.

Read and enjoy!… (meer)

Star of the West is an older romance that takes place on a plantation in Mississippi, on a wagon train and then a ranch in Texas. The story uses several common themes: "accidental" deflowering of the young, heart-stoppingly beautiful, virginal woman (mistaken for a whore) by an older, experienced man, emotional relationship ping-pong and evil villains that go bat sh*t crazy in the end and manage to die without the hero & heroine having to kill them.
I have some minor issues with this book. Parts of this are kind of crazy, with things that aren't that logical- there are characters riding on horseback between Missippi and Texas to rescue the heroine, and I can't help wondering why no one ever uses the telegraph or thinks to get help(or check facts) from the law. There are little loose ends that aren't neatened up.
On the positive side, the relationship between the secondary characters was rather sweet.
3/5 stars… (meer)