REVIEW:
Christine
Young has done it again in this historical romance. The blizzards, betrayal,
deceit and a ruthless bandito like Chavez made this a great romance.
EXCERPT:
The sun beat down. Searing heat waves hit the hard
packed earth, blistering, charring everything, even the dry prairie grass. Jacob
St. John, his arms stretched overhead and bound to a whipping post, no longer
counted the lashes tearing into his back, no longer felt the horrific agony.
More than a half-dozen men and one woman were
gathered in the sage-patched backyard of the run-down shack. So far not one
person made a sound as they watched Chavez wield the whip, stripping the flesh
off his back.
If Chavez weren't so angry and seeking revenge of his
own, he would probably have just had him shot. Revenge was a powerful motive. Chavez
wanted Jacob to suffer, to yell before he died. It seemed Etta Barringer did
too. So far Chavez was toying with him, taunting and teasing him, cutting an
inch here, ripping an inch there, not doing much damage but making mincemeat
out of his back.
Jacob hadn't made a sound yet, not even a sharp,
indrawn breath. He wasn't about to even though he knew Chavez would get
impatient and start slashing. There was no hurry. Chavez had as long as he
wanted. No one save Etta knew where he was, no one would come looking for him,
at least not until the sun went down. By then Chavez would be done with him,
and he would either be dead or buzzard-bait. For the life of him, he couldn't
figure why Etta would hand him over to Chavez. She had always been Pinkerton to
the core, yet she had betrayed him once before. If he survived this, he meant
to have answers. He'd move heaven and earth to search out the lying Etta
Barringer and find out exactly what she had against him.
The pain of betrayal at the forefront of his mind,
and vows of revenge against the instigator of this kept him going. He focused
on the woman's laughter and the scent of lemons that permeated his soul.
He had been taken by surprise. Still, he didn't go
down easily. It took all of Chavez's men to get him bound securely to the post
in back of the shack. And of those men, not one came away from the encounter
without a scratch. Blood from the multitude of small cuts Chavez had inflicted
ran in rivulets from his back, pooling on the parched thirsty ground, soaking
into the dirt, staining it.
He stood, his head proudly erect and that seemed to
draw anger from Chavez. The grip of his fingers curled around the top of the
post, the only sign of Jacob's pain--and fury.
The first real stroke of the whip felt like a red-hot
branding iron searing across his back. Jacob didn't flinch, nor would he as
long as he could hear her laughter or smell lemons floating languidly on the
breeze. He wished he could see her, stare into her beguiling, green eyes until
she knew he'd never stop hunting for her. Fury at his own weakness rose, and
the anger he felt deep inside simmered, because she'd always attracted him. Ever
since she showed up in a small town in Oregon, seduced him then drugged him and
left him to sleep off the opium-laced whiskey, she'd fascinated him.
Concentrate on her--on what you're going to do when
you find her again . . .
BLURB:
The first book
in the Highland Series
Willfully
stubborn, innocently courageous, Callie Whitcomb braves a journey through the
treacherous highlands to the Macpherson castle. Callie flees from an unwanted marriage as well as her
ruthless half brother. Naively she believes Colin MacPherson, the head of the
clan, is loyal to her father and will give her sanctuary, protecting her from
the vile plans that have been made for her.
As hard and as
unyielding as the winter storms that sweep through the countryside, Colin is
irresistibly drawn to the impetuous beauty who has magically appeared on his
doorsteps. Despite his vows
of revenge against her father, she stirs his passion as well as his sense of
justice...but to love her would violate all his vows of revenge.
Highland Sunrise by Christine Young
Publisher: Rogue Phoenix Press
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (174 pgs)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rated: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Dandelion
Publisher: Rogue Phoenix Press
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (174 pgs)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rated: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Dandelion
I loved the rapport between the two
main characters. Although at times they both struggled to find the right words
to explain their feelings for each other, somehow they managed. They both loved
the other and so over time it became easier. Both were also very independent
and that caused a little friction between them. However, Ryder would typically
just shake his head and go with the flow. There were a huge number of sex
scenes, and I think this story would have stood alone quite well without so
many (there were times they did nothing to forward the plot, but seemed added
just to have a sex scene), but they didn’t detract from the plot either.
There were so many other fascinating
and fun characters in the story: her sister, her cousins, their husbands, her
aunt, the Duchess. Reading about all the things they attempted and succeeded in
doing was really fun. They were not the typical regency “tonnish” people of the
days. This made this story much more fun.
And of course, although there was a
lot of fighting, terror, murder and mayhem, the story has a very satisfying
ending.
Life has thrown
Christel McClellan some experiences that could have devastated a less
determined woman. Beautiful, self-assured and fiercely independent, she is
trying to forget the loss of her stillborn child. But is the child alive?
Life is carefree for Ryder
MacLaren who loves to see what is on the other side of the sunrise. Laird of Clan MacLaren, he is wealthy, handsome and
happily unencumbered...until stunning Christel McClellan enters his life. When
he hears her story, he believes the child she thought dead has been sold to a
wealthy buyer.
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