As requested, a new instalment in the My Life in Books series. I know I’ve been promising one of these for a while now but I had to think on the best way to write them going forwards as the initial idea was to do the two age-slash-milestone-book posts and leave it at that. At last, I think I’ve come up with something you might enjoy, so (cue drumroll) … may I present My Life in Books (Part Three): Wild Men.
As you may have deduced from the title, this entry focuses on a type of fictional hero I have a particular soft spot for: one who can build a tent out of a handkerchief, catch a fish with a shoelace, and ride a horse upside down. Oh, and burn the sheets up (of course). These choices aren’t erotic so much as romantic, but I’m an absolute sucker for a good love story and make no apology for it.
Warning! This is total romantic schmaltz and has all the stereotypical cheese one would expect from this type of book:
Angry Alpha hero? Check.
Naïve virginal heroine? Present.
Improbable plot? Oh, ho ho, yes.
In fact, this scathing Publisher’s Weekly review from 1991 sums it up pretty well:
‘In this tedious historical romance, Lowell (Tell Me No Lies) gives barely enough plot to keep a short story moving. Willow Moran, a West Virginian who lost her parents and most of her possessions during the Civil War, is traveling west with her remaining valuables—five Arabian horses—to find her brother Matt, who is prospecting for gold. Her guide from Denver to the San Juan mountains is former Army scout Caleb Black who, unbeknownst to Willow, also is hunting Matt; on her deathbed, after bearing an illegitimate baby, Caleb’s sister named Matt as her seducer. The largely uneventful journey, complicated only by ruffians who are pursuing them (to steal Willow’s horses and finish a fight begun in Denver with Caleb), occupies a substantial portion of the book: Willow and Caleb spend much of their time riding, eating and lusting after each other. By the time the hero, ”with a silent curse at his unruly desires,” indulges in yet another assessment of the heroine, wondering ”how her hair would feel spilling over his naked skin, ” the reader is likely to be silently cursing right along with him—and brother Matt isn’t even close to being on the horizon.’
– Copyright 1991 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
So why on earth did I like it so much? Because it is epically enjoyable in all its sugary, schmaltzy ridiculousness, of course! Not only is Caleb’s hardness wonderfully hot – his character, not his penis, you dirty-minded individuals (although that particular bit of wood does make a, er, firm appearance) – but the landscape in which all this carry-on takes place is beautifully rendered by the author. The sex is very, very tame (and it does take Caleb and Willow absolutely ages to get it on with one another) but despite its relative chasteness and unrealistically perfect execution, it’s surprisingly enjoyable when it does eventually make an appearance.
In summary: 1990s-style Alpha hero who can ride a horse, deflower virgins with aplomb, and shoot a six-gun like no one’s business.
Also available from Amazon.com and Kobo.
Comanche Moon – Catherine Anderson
I adore this book and have re-read it more times than I can remember. If you haven’t encountered it yet, go buy it right now. Now, I tell you! Again, it’s a romance rather than an erotica, but it is beautiful and tumultuous and absolutely epic. It’s entirely possible that Comanche Moon spoke to me so strongly because there’s a strong capture fantasy thread running through it (if you’ve read the previous two My Life in Books posts you’ll know that that’s one of my favourite plot devices) but, having said that, I think the quality of the writing and Catherine Anderson’s overall execution of the storyline are what really sold it to me.
Hunter is the most delicious of heroes. He is angry. He is intelligent. He is stubborn. He has the capacity for both brutality and ruthlessness. But mixed in with all of that is an unfailing sense of morality – and it’s that sense of right and wrong that transforms him from an average hero into one who’s spectacular.
He said “woman” as if he were spitting bile and slid his lance arrow to her chin. She had heard of women being disfigured by Indians and expected him to slash her as he outlined her mouth and the slope of her nose. Breathless fear brought moisture to her brow. Black spots danced, blurring her vision.
She blinked and forced herself to focus on him. Laughter twinkled in his eyes. She realized that since he had decided not to kill her, he was, for some reason she couldn’t imagine, playing a hideous game, terrifying her to test her mettle. She caught hold of his lance and shoved it aside, lifting her head in defiance. Chuckling low in his chest, he leaned over his thigh, making a fist in her hair. His grip brought tears to her eyes.
As he turned her face to study her, he said, “You have more courage than you have strength, Yellow Hair. It is not wise to fight when you cannot win.”
Looking up at his carved features and the arrogant set of his mouth, she longed for the strength to jerk him off his horse. He wasn’t just taunting her, he was challenging her, mocking her.
“You will yield. Look at me and know the face of your master. Remember it well.”
In summary: glorious, intelligent capture fantasy-style romance with a sublime Comanche hero at the helm.
Also available from Amazon.com and Kobo.
If you loved reading James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans or fell for Michael Mann’s film version of the story (in case you need your memory jogged, I’ve included the – incredibly dated – 1992 film trailer below) then Pamela Clare’s MacKinnon’s Rangers series, of which Defiant is the final instalment, will likely result in a heady book crack fix. I actually discovered Ms Clare through her I-Team series and enjoyed the entries in that so much that I was persuaded to try out her historical offerings. (Hands up, I’d initially been put off them by the rather in-your-face shirtless fake-tan-man covers, which, stylistically, aren’t my bag, but the gamble well and truly paid off.)
The MacKinnon’s Rangers series follows the fates of three brothers in forced service to the British Crown, specifically, at the hands of one Lord William Wentworth, and Defiant is the last instalment in the trilogy. Now, while this book can, in my opinion, be read as a stand-alone, I suspect readers will enjoy it far more if they demolish books one and two, Surrender and Untamed, first so that they get all the backstory and can fully appreciate the depth of the conflict between Connor (the hero) and Wentworth.
Defiant is absolutely not a pick-it-up-and-put-it-down book. If you get this thing in your hands, just make sure you have a few clear hours ahead of you because I guarantee that once you start you will be glued until the very last page. The road for rough Scottish diamond Connor and the refined Lady Sarah Woodville, his love interest, is a difficult one but made all the more compelling by Clare’s exceptional attention to historical detail. It’s romance, but it’s romance with an edge to it – the frontier environment, together with the war that’s going on as Connor and Sarah fight to be together absolutely prevent Defiant from becoming predictable and boringly fluffy.
In summary: The Last of the Mohicans run through with a romance claymore.
Oh, and here’s that trailer I promised you:
Also available from Amazon.com.
Missed the first two My Life in Books posts? You can find Part One here and Part Two here.
*sigh*…So many good memories.
Oh and that movie! Every time I see that movie I still get shivers. Especially when he says Stay alive! I will find you!
*sigh*
That’s a lot of sighing
Can I assume that you’ve read all three of these, then? May I ask which you liked best?