A REASON TO SIN by Maureen McKade

I finished the third Forrester brother book A REASON TO SIN by Maureen McKade.

I'm a big fat cheater because in the process of searching for an excerpt for this review I ran across a few reviews. All of them were pretty stellar. However, I find I can't really slap my own breathless "Wow!" on this book.

This is a good book, but not the caliber of story I've come to expect from Ms. McKade. When I read A REASON TO LIVE, the first Forrester book, I was overjoyed to come across such a well written and thought provoking book. Ms. McKade was so profound and poignant exposing the pain, deprivation and sorrow of those two flawed and very human characters Creede Forrester and Laurel Covey that I find myself looking for that same depth of human emotion in all of her books. She's set a very high bar in my eyes and I really look forward to each of her books.

The two characters in this book, Slater Forrester and Rebecca Colifax have pain and suffering a plenty themselves. Slater was a spy during the Civil War and incarcerated in the hell hole Andersonville. While the incarceration is touched on I didn't feel like we had any real knowledge of what he suffered and why he sustained some of the injuries he's still recovering from. I have to say I felt a bit cheated in that department. Do I want to know every single nitty gritty detail? In this case I think so because it informs the character in the story so much. I just didn't feel like I got enough information about his past to understand who he is in this story.

Rebecca has been abandoned by a husband who had gambled away her fortune. When we meet her she is frantically searching for the scoundrel and ends up working in the same saloon Slater has settled in three years after the Civil War. While Ms. McKade provides a reasonable explanation why Rebecca would leave the only place she has lived, people she knows and take off for parts unknown all on her own, I didn't understand it. Or accept it. I just didn't. There is a very compelling mitigating circumstance here that I think worked more against Rebecca leaving her home in St. Louis than for her to go off to try and find her husband.

Rebecca, who introduces herself as Glory, begins her first job as a hurdy gurdy girl to make money while she is looking for her husband. Even though she is married Rebecca blushes her way through much of those first days living above a saloon. Do you believe a sheltered 22 year old woman in 1868 would sit soaking her feet with women who dance and have sex with men for money just two days after she's met them? I didn't. I also didn't buy that she would be able to sit and have a candid conversation with the soiled doves about sex. It just didn't jibe with what we had learned about this character to that point. I can definitely see that sort of relationship developing over time, but not in just two days.

There are other issues that arise, like those of the color prejudice Rebecca was raised with. In the course of a few sentences by way of a reprimand by Slater, Rebecca seems to put aside everything she's been taught about people of color to that point in her life. I applaud Ms. McKade very realistically tackling this issue but was disappointed it was resolved so easily and blithely.

The attraction between Slater and Rebecca is intense and immediate. Most times I have no problem with physical attraction being the basis for a couple getting together. Hey, it's what makes the world go round. However, Rebecca had been burnt in that sort of relationship in her marriage. It didn't make sense that she would so easily fall prey to that sort of attraction again and with a gambler to boot.

The conflict involving the saloon and the protection money in a town trying to boom and grow was a bit too pat and felt rushed at the end. Of course I felt that way about the resolution of Slater and Rebecca's story as well. However, I don't fault Ms. McKade for her epilogue in this one to put reader questions to rest. I understand completely why it was done.

All said. This was a good book when I was hoping for a great one. It wasn't everything I hoped it would be, but the good writing and sound story telling is all there on the page. I'll definitely be in line to buy her next book.

Look what I found yesterday...

Can you even guess what I'm going to be doing today? I was actually book shopping for nieces and nephews yesterday when I "just happened" to spot this.

Woo Hoo!

Let me eat cake, or what I've been doing lately.

Thanks for all the tips on how to indulge myself with some chocolate cake. You all are genuises and I'm keeping all your suggestions like recipes to take out and use in dire circumstances.

Perhaps like the one tonight where Shmoo is moping around the house because he and the GF are not getting along. There were slammed doors after school and angry AIM messages this evening. Seeing my usually witty, contrary and smart ass son dragging his chin around the house was enough to send me for chocolate cake. I had to do something to console myself so GG improvised and presented me with a Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream cone. I'm ashamed to say...IT WORKED!!!! I did feel better after the ice cream. Shmoo however...not so much.

The internet has been working better, but now I'm competing for time with my boys who have school work. I'm still looking for another provider. So far having problems finding "room" for us. Aaargh! Anyway, seeing as how during the day I'm at work it cuts into my computer time somewhat. Now that I get up at 5:30 a.m. I don't even have the early mornings to log on and keep up. I'm doing my best to make the rounds so bear with me.

I have been reading. Hip-hip-hooray!! I've finished TIED TO THE TRACKS by Rosina Lippi...good book. I just finished Lisa Marie Rice's DANGEROUS LOVER which I also liked. DL probably should have had more depth to the story but it stayed so focused on the H/H and it's pretty steamy, which I was in the mood for, so it worked for me. But I was really stoked to get REASON TO BELIEVE by Maureen McKade today. I'm already more than half way through it and really digging it. You just can't argue with a good western and Ms. McKade is just stellar in writing such fully drawn characters.

It's still hot and humid. I guess summer weather has been kicking some booty around the U.S. this year. So hey...stay cool out there.

MAIL ORDER BRIDE by Maureen McKade

MAIL ORDER BRIDE by Maureen McKade


I saw this quote for the book on the author's website and I just had to put it here because it sums up how I feel too.

"There have been so many romances with the title "Mail-Order Bride," one of them was bound to get it right. McKade does with her tale of Kate Murphy..." -- Marcia Abramson, Detroit Free Press

Kate Murphy arrives in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado after selling off the family farm to settle her dead father's debts. She arrives believing that leaving Kansas to start over fresh as someone's mail order bride is her only option since she has no money or means of support. She arrives in the midst of a huge mining accident in which her fiance has been killed. There she is far from everyone and everything she knows with no money, no job and no friends or family. Terrifying circumstances for a woman of those times to be sure.

I liked the gritty realism of the period in this book. Set in a mining town Ms. McKade doesn't hesitate from the opening pages to let us know how awful mining was (and is) for men who work below the earth. To demonstrate how far apart her characters are Kate Murphy has an interest in astronomy and her last remaining cherised possession is an astronomy book while Trev Trevalyn is tied to the earth and mining from his Cornish roots to his current position as superintendent of mines for the wealth mine owner, Cromwell.

There is a mixture of fascination, attraction, guilt and hopelessness for both Kate and Trev regarding their relationship. Trev is not the typical hero. He has been married before and set his cap and won his wife in a less than honorable manner and one for which he feels remorse. The story finds him a widower and with two young children to raise. He wants nothing to do with another relationship and his focus is on keeping his well paying job and raising his children with more hope and opportunity than he had growing up. I appreciated Ms. McKade showing us his conflict with balancing what he knew was right with wanting to keep a good paying job to provide a secure and good future for his children.

Kate on the other hand struggles to feel something for the man she came to marry and now must mourn and bury. She also has the more pressing need of a place to live and finding a way to support herself. Fortunately she finds an older mining widow to take her in. Good for Ms. McKade for not immediately having these two solve all their problems by marrying and then using the remainder of the book having them get to know one another. I think this story is more honest and interesting the way she did it.

While Trevalyn admires Kate and sees her sensibility and smarts, he is far more interested in her to provide reliable and loving care for his children than a love interest for himself. Kate sees Trev's offer as an opportunity to make some money, re-think her life and a chance to study something she loves and gain some independence.

Obviously since this is a romance, these two people find each other, but I liked that it was a struggle and not a pat resolution for them to come together. Also, while there is sexual tension, and I enjoy the steamy (remember my review of HOT NIGHTS?) I also appreciate that this book remained true to the characters and the times where a sexual relationship was not something a couple in a small community could jump into without repurcussions and a great deal of thought. In fact the issue is addressed in the book about the appropriateness of Kate coming and going to Trev's house and both their motives are questioned.

If I have any complaint it's that the characters aren't honest with themselves...let alone each other about their growing attraction and feelings. Just when it reached the point of "oh for godsakes people" they both seemed to wake up out of their trance. After creating these two pretty sensible and forthright people I was disappointed Ms. McKade chose to make them clueless about their relationship with one another.

This is a good solid read. I would classify it more as a historical set in the west rather than a western.

My Haul from the Bookstore

Ames posted a great review of DARK FEVER by Karen Marie Moning. While I'm a KMM fan I wasn't sure whether I wanted to buy this book in hardcover since it has the fae in it. For some reason the fantasy, fairy, elf world just doesn't appeal to me. But what with Ames' review and the excitement of Halloween and all the cute little kiddies dressed up I lost my mind and bought the book. Yeah it was actually part of my November book allowance and I put quite a dent in it last night with my purchases.

Here's the list:

DARK FEVER by Karen Marie Moning

PASSIONATE THIRST by Cameron Dean (new to me but somebody recommended her and I'm giving it a try)

KNIGHT OF DARKNESS by Kinley MacGregor (aka Sherrilyn Kenyon) This is a Lords of Avalon book. I have the other one in my TBR. But I didn't want to chance not having this if the first one is good.

THE RULES OF SEDUCTION by Madeline Hunter

CONSPIRACY GAME by Christine Feehan

VALLEY OF SILENCE by Nora Roberts (Book 3 in Circle Trilogy). I now have all 3 books and have yet to crack one. But now that I have them all, maybe it's time to give them a go.

I went to the store to get Kresley Cole's book NO REST FOR THE WICKED, but no such luck. I have to work again today, but I'll go looking for it again on Friday.

I just finished MAIL ORDER BRIDE by Maureen McKade. I'm so glad I found this author thanks to Wendy (Super Librarian). Ms. McKade has been a real find for me. This wasn't your typical mail order bride book seeing as how the groom was dead in a mining accident upon the bride's arrival. It was a good read.

Now I'm anxious to read Feehan's book as I've been enjoying her paranormal series and of course I'll probably read KMM's book right away too. I'll be too curious to leave it and it IS a hardcover after all.

So, what's everyone else reading?

A Book Review and a New Job

TO FIND YOU AGAIN by Maureen McKade

FROM THE BACK COVER

It has been seven years since Emma Hartwell's capture by a tribe of the Lakota Sioux. But her recent rescue by the US Cavalry feels like anything but salvation. She has been forced to leave behind her beloved child, and return to the family who can't accept her, only to be shunned by the townspeople as an outcast. Emma is haunted by her life with the Elk tribe. She sets off on a dangerous journey, fueled by a fierce love of her son and fears for his safety, in an effort to find the tribe and reclaim him.

Only Ridge Madoc stands in her way. A former army scout with a keen tracking sense and a keener sense of justice, Ridge has been sent by Emma's father to bring her back--a task that will give him the chance of reclaiming some of the land that was rightfully his. But, he never expected a woman as determined and courageous as Emma. Now, Emma must appeal to Ridge to help her with her desperate quest, and Ridge must struggle with his desire for a woman who no longer has a place in his world...

This book confirms it. I'm definitely in a western frame of mind. Nothing else in my towering TBR appealed to me but this book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. While I can't say it was as an emotional read as her book A REASON TO LIVE, it was still very satisfying.

Ms. McKade does not write wimpy women or women who do the TSTL things that drive us all crazy. Emma Hartwell is very much a woman of her times who is coping the only way she knows how with the circumstances she is in. My heart was in my throat when she had to make the decision whether or not it was in her son's best interest to be raised by her or the Lakota tribe he knows and is accepted by. If you knew you would be bringing your child to a place where he would be shunned, not allowed to go to school, spat upon and hated would you still take him back to your world? Or, would you leave him some place where you knew he was loved and adored and would never be judged as being "half"? Could you do it even if you couldn't stay and raise him yourself? What would you do?

Ms. McKade did a great job presenting this dilemma and all the realistic arguments pro and con a mother would be making before a choice is made. That sequence in the book is wrenching and emotional.

Ridge Madoc is just the sort of self contained and stoic man of the west I enjoy reading about most. He is very reminescent of Louis L'Amour heros. While a tough man of his times, he not only is respectful of Emma as a woman, but respects her as a person who has survived very difficult circumstances and who deserves and has earned the right to make her own choices.

So I finish this great historical that was published in 2004 to read this post at AngieW's site that included parts of a letter from author Brenda Joyce about the state of historical novels in the romance genre. It made me wonder when did we readers stop buying them? I don't remember making a conscious choice not to buy historicals. I have noticed there haven't been as many to choose from.

I hadn't read a good western in some time until Wendy spoke about Maureen McKade and it sent me to the bookstore to buy the recently released A REASON TO LIVE. You just don't hear about or see many historicals on the store book shelves any more. Wendy's comment today was that we need diversity. Amen to that! I'll never understand any industry...music, books, TV, movies glomming to whatever is hot at the moment and dumping everything else. Is it that complicated to be diverse?

A final note...I've taken a part time job. Yeah, who knew? I thought I was retired too!! It's just two days a week and that's all I want right now. So my first day is tomorrow. Then since my son is on fall break we will be taking off a few days so I probably won't be around much this next week. Don't you just love the Fall?

So, I read some books...

I've read a bunch of books lately. Normally I don't mention a book here unless it makes an impression on me one way or the other. But I had the books stacked up to add to my spreadsheet and thought what the hell, let's see if I can give a brief review of the books. Of course this lead to all sorts of conflict for me. But screw it. No worries about linkage, authors, or book covers. Here's the low down on my latest reads.


TO HAVE AND TO HOLD by Patricia Gaffney - Good book. Surprised me...and I'm a jaded reader.

EDGE OF DANGER by Cherry Adair - Was sufficiently hooked to want to continue trilogy.

EDGE OF FEAR by Cherry Adair - Paranormal elements begin to be a little thin, but I'm hooked.

EDGE OF DARKNESS by Cherry Adair - Went too far with magic elements. Disappointed.

MURPHY'S LAW by Lori Foster - Anticipated story of secondary characters form JUDE'S LAW and I was disappointed. Still a fan, but this was not Ms. Foster's best effort. I thought it was a waste of some terrific characters.

TOO WICKED TO WED by Cheryl Holt - I don't know why I keep buying her books. I didn't finish the last two. I expected nothing and was surprised. Language rhythm and syntax bugged me.

DARK DREAMERS Anthology by Christine Feehan & Marjorie M. Liu - Ms. Feehan's story was tried and true Carpathians...boring. Ms Liu's story was moving, intriguing and I wanted more. IMO Ms. Liu's book makes it worthwhile purchase.

THE SOUTHERN DEVIL by Diane Whiteside - Not as good as IRISH DEVIL, but better than RIVER DEVIL. How's that for vague? Only an okay read.

A REASON TO LIVE by Maureen McKade - A rec by Wendy Super Librarian. Wendy's review(Aug 29 2006) is awesome use link on my sidebar and go check it out. This was a great book. I highly recommend it.

ZERO TO SEXY (EC e-book) by Jan Springer - Just not a good book. I've got other Springer books, but while this is a quickie...it has no substance at all.

HAWK'S PREY (EC e-book) by Dawn Ryder - Okay. Liked enough to try another book. I'm looking for more character development.

IMPROPER PURSUITS (EC e-book) by Dawn Ryder - All dessert and no main course.

So all in all I really liked A REASON TO LIVE by Maureen McKade. I very enthusiastically recommend this book. TO HAVE AND TO HOLD by Patricia Gaffney is a gem to read. I'm very intrigued by the Majorie Liu story in the DARK DREAMER anthology I can't wait for her to write the secondary character's stories. Once I read the first EDGE book in Cherry Adair's trilogy, I was sufficiently intrigued that I knew I'd read all three. Like Ms. Foster's book MURPHY'S LAW, I think there was a missed opportunity here. While having the books come out in three successive months is great for the reader, maybe taking longer with the plot development particularly in the third book would have been better.

Whew! I did it...I feel so much better. Was it good for you?

P.S. I went back and put Amazon links in for books.