Bride of the High Country
Kaki Warner


ISBN-10:
0425247503
ISBN-13: 978-0425247501
Publisher: Penguin Group
Line: Berkley Trade
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Pages: 400
Retail Price: 15.00



Genre: Historical
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating:

Margaret Hamilton escaped the Irish slums of Five Points as the ward of a wealthy Manhattan widow, but only marriage can make her future secure. Railroad mogul Doyle Kerrigan needs a well-connected wife. It seems a perfect match...until a shocking revelation sends her fleeing from the wedding reception.

Desperate to make a fresh start, Margaret takes on a new identity and heads West, finally stopping in Heartbreak Creek, Colorado, a dying mining town of little interest to anyone. Here, she finds new purpose, beloved friends to replace the family she’s lost, and a home at last.

But two men from Margaret’s past are on her trail. One is seeking vengeance, the other truth. When they both arrive in Heartbreak Creek, she must choose between the town she has come to love, and the man who might finally capture her heart….

Review

Margaret Hamilton has been the ward of the late judge Harold Throckmorton’s widow Ida since the age of twelve. She lived in unspeakable conditions before being rescued by Father O'Rourke. Now, fifteen years later, she has the chance to marry wealthy railroad mogul Doyle Kerrigan. It’s clear the two are unsuitable, but Margaret knows love doesn’t enter into the marriage. Doyle is looking for someone with social connections who will look good on his arm and social functions and doesn’t notice or appreciate Margaret’s sharp intelligence. Margaret is looking for safety, security, and the chance to put her secret past behind her. However, she learns something so appalling that she flees her own wedding reception to journey westward to make a fresh start under a new name, Lucinda Hathaway.

Furious at the embarrassment his bride has caused him, Doyle orders his business partner and advisor, Tait Rylander, to find Margaret and bring her home to him. Tait goes along with Doyle’s orders and soon learns there is another man, more dangerous than Doyle, in pursuit of the beautiful woman. Tait also has to fight his growing attraction to Margaret/Lucinda in order to do the honorable thing and bring her back to Doyle. Even though Lucinda has given up on love, she finds herself returning Tait’s affections even as she is not sure she can trust him with her secrets or her life. With all the odds against them, it seems impossible that Tait and Lucinda could ever find happiness together.

Overall, the book is well-written and the language is quite poetic at times. For example, Lucinda describes an optimistic friend as thinking every cloud is “woven with golden threads and sprinkled with diamonds.” Lucinda and Tait are appealing main characters. Although they're not perfect, they are a well-matched couple. Lucinda is intelligent, brave, beautiful, but guarded due to her deplorable childhood. If often looks like her need for security will get in the way of her finding true love or even a close friendship. Tait is honest, determined, and loyal, but his strong sense of right and wrong makes him quick to judge and he sometimes jumps to the wrong conclusion.

There are some very serious moments in this book and many of the terrible things Lucinda went through as a child are described in detail. However, when Lucinda and Tait are together and getting along, there are wonderfully entertaining scenes. The banter between the two of them is hilarious and their attraction shows through even when they are trying to fight it. However, just when you start rooting for them as a couple, things take a turn and the book changes its focus from their blossoming romance to Lucinda’s experiences with her new friends Maddie, Edwina, and Pru in the small town of Heartbreak Creek, Colorado. It almost seems like two separate books – one about Lucinda and Tait and one about Lucinda and her life in Colorado - and the two stories didn't merge together as smoothly as they could have.
The setting in 1870s Colorado is fun and reading about Lucinda and her friends is fine at first, but soon I just wanted to get back to Lucinda and Tait's story. Reading the first two books in this trilogy would probably would have helped me to better relate to Maddie, Edwina, and Pru. As it was, I found that even scenes with Lucinda and Tait fighting were more entertaining than Lucinda and her friends getting along! As for the love scenes between Lucinda and Tait, my favorite scene is actually one with the two of them riding a train and observing another couple on a passing train making love. In some of the other scenes, the reader knows the two are performing some pretty steamy acts, but the descriptions are not explicit and are lacking both heat and romance. I enjoyed the ending of the book and am impressed with how well-written the book is, but I wish there had been less of Lucinda on her own and more with Lucinda and Tait.

Reviewed by Christine


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