#TBRChallenge 2025: Rain Shadow

The Book: Rain Shadow by Cheryl St. John

The Particulars: Historical romance, Harlequin Historical #212, 1994, Technically Book 2 in Dutch Country Brides series although it was first one published, Out of print but self-published eBook available.

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: Cheryl St. John is an autobuy and this was her debut back in 1994.  I was in my first year of college so this one fit the Back In My Day theme this month to perfection.  

The Review: Let's be honest, when you take a ride in the Romancelandia WayBack Machine you just never know what you're going to get and y'all I was pleasantly surprised with this one.  There's a ton of potential minefields in this story but St. John skirts a good many of them and, in some ways, it's shockingly progressive (more on that in a bit).

Rain Shadow is a white woman with no memory of her family.  When she was just three-years-old, her adoptive father, a Lakota Sioux named Two Feathers, found her wandering around the remains of a burned out wagon train heading west. Nobody else survived and Two Feathers knows that this poor child will soon follow that fate once night falls if he doesn't rescue her - so he does. Albeit she has violet eyes, but with her black hair and tanned skinned due to the outdoors, she can pass as Indian (uh, somewhat) and the two eventually land with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. It's the closest Two Feathers can get to a life that is vanishing and, now a single mother to 7-year-old Slade, Rain Shadow plays the role of Indian princess in the show. They're on their way through Pennsylvania Dutch Country to their winter camp site when one of the trains derails. Animals are hurt, as are people - including Slade.  In the chaos, local farmer Anton Neubauer rescues Slade, gets the doctor to set his broken leg, and takes him back home until his family can be found.  It's Rain Shadow who knocks on his door.

Anton is a widower with a young son, Nickolas, right around Slade's age. His marriage was not a happy one, and his mail-order bride died tragically.  He lives on the same land as his father and two brothers (and their families) and they all work the farm together. He knows he needs to remarry, Nicky needs a mother and he needs a wife to keep house, but pickins' are kind of slim and frankly his heart isn't totally in it.  Then he meets Rain Shadow who is so unlike any woman he has ever known, well ever - and naturally these two rub each other in all the right and wrong ways.

Romancelandia does not have a great track record with Native characters, but St. John handles the subject with a lot more sensitivity that other writers weren't in 1994.  Rain Shadow loves Two Feathers and she knows his way of life is vanishing. She also yearns to learn more about where she came from and wants to provide opportunity for her son (mainly schooling), which means learning to adapt in a white man's world. To that end she's going to enter into a sharpshooting contest against the famed Annie Oakley in the spring.  Surely when she bests Annie the notoriety and publicity might lead her long lost family into recognizing and finding her.  The only thing she has from that time?  A heart-shaped locket that she constantly wears.

In order for Slade's broken leg to heal properly they have to stay put in Pennsylvania, with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show moving on without them. Rain Shadow hates the idea but she'd do anything for her son - so stay they must. As Two Feathers and Anton's father become friends, and Slade and Nicky become inseparable, Rain Shadow and Anton are drawn together - just in time for Rain Shadow's past to come a callin' - and let's just say she's not terribly happy to see the man who seduced her, left her pregnant with Slade, and then dumped her when someone better (and richer) came along. 

The romance started out a bit slow and rocky for me given the prickly natures of our couple. Also, to be blunt, Anton has very traditional ideas of marriage and women so someone like Rain Shadow who is hopeless in a traditional white household setting but can hunt, shoot and do men's chores is something he has to wrap his mind around.  Blessedly the author doesn't overly harp on this and once our villain shows up on the page, a lot of the needless bristling between our couple moves along in favor of them working together to defuse the threat.

Original Cover

The setting is lovely, the characters interesting, and the whole thing has a Found     Family-like vibe given Rain Shadow's past and the large, agreeable Neubauer family.  There's not really any red flags, more like rosy-colored ones. The villain turns a bit crazed at the end, complete with leaving a dead kitten for them to find (ugh), Anton's dead first wife obviously had some sort of mental illness but it's not as egregiously handled as I've read in other romances, and the word "exotic" is used to describe the heroine, albeit I only saw the word used once - which for 1994 feels progressive.

Speaking of progressive, Slade is the result of an affair Rain Shadow had and obviously she was never married.  She doesn't lie about this and is very matter of fact. Slade isn't something she's ashamed of so here he is, here she is, go suck eggs if you can't deal.  And for his part? While Anton has ideas about traditional womanhood he never looks down on Rain Shadow nor belittle her for the circumstances of her becoming a mother. He sees it as the fault of a villain who seduced a young girl (Rain Shadow was 16 at the time) and then abandoned her.

It all turns out right as rain in the end, with Rain Shadow competing against Annie Oakley and finally finding out more about her birth parents - which is another notable thing about this book.  St. John solves the mystery for the reader but doesn't pour on a heavy layer of syrup, which I appreciated.  Sometimes less truly is more.

This was a good solid read and if you're a St. John fan I do recommend it.  It was her first published romance and all the hallmarks found in her future books (especially the American-set Harlequin Historicals) are present here. After being in a dreadful slump it was so nice to finally pick up a winner.

Final Grade = B

#TBRChallenge Review: The Wedding Journey

The Book: The Wedding Journey by Cheryl St. John

The Particulars: Inspirational historical romance, Harlequin Love Inspired Historical #131, 2012, First book in multi-author Irish Brides trilogy, Out of print, Available digitally

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: St. John is an autobuy. Also I was so intrigued by the premise that I bought the entire trilogy back in the day because why let one book languish in your TBR if you can let three?

The Review: I didn't start reading for this month's Challenge until Sunday evening and I ended up DNF'ing my first choice after the prologue (seriously, here's my GoodReads "review"). Panic officially setting in, I picked up my tablet and went diving through the digital Harlequin stash and stumbled across this book by St. John that fit this month's Road Trip theme to perfection. I had a number of issues with this story but I managed to finish it in one sitting.

Nora, Bridget and Maeve Murphy live in Castleville, Ireland (there's references to a "County Beary" which I've never heard of, but Castleville is in County Mayo so if anyone Irish is reading this let me know if the authors of this trilogy totally ran off the rails) and they've just buried their father, who perished thanks to old friend influenza. Their mother has been dead for a decade and it's 1850, right in the middle of the Irish Potato Famine.  Times are hard and the landlord is throwing the girls out of the only home they've known.  They have a few coins and are well and truly desperate when they uncover a hidden letter in their mother's trunk. A man, who talks like he's a former beau, who says he's settled in Faith Glen, Massachusetts. Along with the letter?  A deed to a small cottage.

The girls have never heard of this man but with zero options they decide to take a flier. There's less than nothing left in Ireland, America at least offers hope. They sell a couple of things their mother saved "for a rainy day" and board the Annie McGee in Galway, headed to Boston Harbor. What money they had paid for their passage so the hope is they can find work on the ship.  That's turning out to be difficult until divine intervention steps in.

A young boy is hurt when the ship's doctor's assistant overturns a load of supplies on the dock. Maeve was a midwife and healer (homeopathic, herbal remedies) back in Castleville and that training leads to her reacting quickly. By the time the ship's doctor arrives on the scene she's fashioned a tourniquet and slowed the bleeding, saving the boy's life.

Flynn Gallagher is the ship's doctor, is from a well-to-do Irish family and is running from his past, hence ship's doctor. He's also smart enough to fire his assistant on the spot and hire Maeve once he learns she's going to be a passenger on the ship. Even better? He has positions for her sisters as well! Nora helping in the galley and Bridget taking a governess post for a family left in a lurch. Jobs squared away, the sisters set sail to America, hoping for a fresh start, and to learn more about their mother's past.

Flynn and Maeve are the featured romance in this story, and if you're wondering why I buried the lede, there's a reason for that - it's rather thin, along with the characterizations. There's quite a bit of telling in this one and while Flynn and Maeve have baggage it all felt surface level. Also Maeve borders dangerously close to Mary Sue territory and while the couple spends time together I felt like it wasn't meaningful time together. I'm not sure how these two fell in love other than they think the other one is kind and nice.

But hey, marriages have been built on less in and out of romance novels and the story moves along at a good clip in large part thanks to the setting.  St. John does a good job with it and features a light "found family" storyline and details about life on the ship. Think of it like a floating boardinghouse and you'll get a good idea of what to expect. There's trials, tribulations and plenty of personalities.  This aspect of the story is definitely what kept me turning the pages, more so than the romance. In fact I was so invested in all these people I met on the ship that the next book I'm reading is the second one in this trilogy.

This is an inspirational romance so I'm going to talk about The God Stuff. Folks, it's heavy and clunky. I am capable of enjoying inspirational romance but I much prefer the ones where that aspect of the story comes through in themes and nuanced characterizations. Here it's a lot of dropped scripture and characters praying when they burn breakfast (OK, not literally - but they pray a lot). It all felt heavy-handed, which is probably a good thing since it was easy to see coming a mile off and I would know to start skimming.

There's a Mean Girl secondary character's redemption at the end of the book that left me unconvinced but at least this is an inspirational where the couple isn't dead below the waist (Flynn and Maeve share a few kisses) and truly, the "life aboard a ship" stuff was really entertaining. Even with all my issues I was invested enough to snarf down the book in one gulp.  St. John has written better but after DNF'ing my first choice (after the prologue!), I certainly could have done worse.

Final Grade = C

Review: Dancing in the Dark

Cheryl St. John was one of my go-to authors over at Harlequin, having published some very good books with Harlequin Historical and Love Inspired Historical.  She took some time away from writing for personal and family reasons - and has reemerged thanks to self-publishing.  She's reprinted several of her older Harlequin Historical titles and Dancing in the Dark is the first in a new self-published continuity series, Aspen Gold, she's doing with several of her writer pals.  The series is set in a fictional small resort town in the mountains of Colorado where everybody seems to be distantly related (by blood or marriage) - so naturally, plenty of opportunity for drama and shenanigans.

There's no way for me to talk about this book, my experience reading this book without spoilers.  I'll try to keep them at a minimum but you've been warned: SPOILERS!

Kendra Price grew up in Spencer, Colorado "raised" by a single mother who had more boyfriends than good sense and a spiteful sister.  She had an aunt (her mother's stepsister) who took her under her wing and encouraged her love of dance.  Kendra was so passionate about dance, and so good at it, she's made a career for herself - touring with various companies and now parlaying her way into teaching.  During this time she also became fast friends with Dustin "Dusty" Cavanaugh.  Kendra spent a lot of time with the Cavanaugh clan, her and Dusty fell in love, made plans - and naturally it all went to hell in a hand-basket one fateful night when Dusty slept with another girl and got her pregnant.  This broke Kendra's heart and she hightailed it as fast and far as she could away from Spencer.

Oh, did I mention that the Other Woman who Dusty got pregnant is Kendra's evil sister, Erica?  She carried the pregnancy to term, signed away her parental rights, and now Dusty is a single dad raising his son with the help of his large, supportive family.

Unfortunately for Kendra the mountains and Spencer are in her blood.  Kendra inherited her aunt's lake home after she passed and Kendra spends the summers in Spencer, teaching dance.  She's also looking to regroup.  The grind of touring and performing are starting to wear her down.  Spending time in Spencer is dangerous - given her strained relationship with her mother, sister and the possibility of running into Dusty (not to mention her young nephew!) - but she can't stay away.  Naturally what happens, happens.  She and Dusty finally reconnect and secrets come home to roost.

You have to hand it to St. John - the conflict cannon is definitely loaded for bear.  The revelation of Dusty's Baby Mama doesn't come right out of the gate, and when it hits - it's a whammy.  I love emotional conflict where you really wonder how the heck the author is going to pull off the HEA - it's that intense.  And unfortunately? That's kind of the problem with this book.  The conflict and resolution of said conflict is problematic.  Because the only way to get to that happy ending is for Dusty to be absolved of his sins - and for that to happen?  The author has to villainize the Evil Other Woman to cartoonish proportions.  In the end Dusty = victim and Erica's motives are never really clearly defined other than she is a not a nice person.  I  also found the compare/contrast between the sunshine and roses Cavanaugh clan with Kendra's trailer trash slutty mom and sister to be uncomfortable. 

I'm not going to sugar-coat, it's problematic.  Especially if you're a reader like me who finds the Evil Other Woman trope problematic on it's face.  To be honest I'm not sure of any other way St. John could have resolved this conflict to get to the happy ending as long as Dusty was the hero.  Part of me wishes that Kendra's hero would have been some other dude and part of the conflict would have been her "forgiving and moving on."  But that's not the story St. John wrote and there's a lot I liked in this book.  It showcases how well St. John can wring out emotion in even the most deceptively simple passages and moments, plus I inhaled it in one sitting.  Yes, there's a fair amount of set-up and yes, there are a bunch of secondary characters, but I got invested and will continue on with this series even though I've never read a single book by any of the other authors.

I even signed up for their newsletter.  Seriously.

I'm not going to lie, this book is problematic and some of you may read it and think I'm totally insane - but this conflict is nothing if not gutsy.  If you're a new St. John reader I wouldn't recommend starting here, but if you're already a fan? It's an interesting read.

Final Grade = B-

Unusual Historical Best Bets for July 2019

July in the United States means heat, humidity, and large swaths of the population shooting off fireworks for a solid month terrorizing animals and keeping me up at night. It’s also my busiest time of year at The Day Job, with a variety of budget-related tasks and conference season hitting full swing. This year I’ll be soaking up some of that heat and humidity in New York attending RWA. Yes, I’ll be there - as will some of the Love in Panels crew. If you see us milling about, be sure to say hello! So what books look good for potential reading on my long (loooong) flight to the Big Apple? This month self-publishing takes front and center!

The Clothier’s Daughter by Bronwyn Parry

In the unusually wet summer of 1816, Emma Braithwaite struggles to keep her family’s traditional wool cloth manufacturing company afloat. Her father has died, her brother is missing, and the new cotton factories are spreading, rendering the fine worsted fabrics the Braithwaites have made for generations, expensive and unfashionable. Being a woman in a man’s world of trade is challenging enough, but when her warehouse catches fire it brings her only a step away from financial ruin and debtor’s prison.  

After eight years of war, Major Adam Caldwell is returning for the first time to his family home, Rengarth Castle, when he stops to assist at a warehouse fire … and comes face-to-face with the woman he once loved and lost. Despite all his efforts to forget her, in truth she’s never been far from his thoughts. He was unworthy of her then, and even more so now.  

But as the threats against Emma escalate, they discover that someone wants control of Emma’s family company and is prepared to murder anyone in the way of getting it - including Emma. 

Parry is an Australian writer known for her award winning romantic suspense. This is her first ever historical romance featuring a heroine desperate to save the family business, a hero returned from war, and nary a Duke in sight.

Bold Seduction by Karyn Gerrard

A Fascinating Proposition  

As owner of The Starling Club, one of London’s more popular brothels, Philomena McGrattan has seen and heard it all. There is little that surprises her anymore, and even less that interests her. When she is presented an opportunity at a tempting and bold seduction, she can’t help but rise to the challenge. A virgin son of a duke? How could she refuse?  

An Improbable Encounter  

Quiet and set in his ways, Lord Spencer Hornsby is a brilliant eccentric who prefers solitude and researching ancient civilizations. Alone in the Welsh countryside, with only his two wolfhounds for company, Spencer has little time or patience for the pleasures of society. But when an unexpected guest arrives at his isolated hunting lodge, Spencer cannot help but be irresistibly intrigued by the presence of this beautiful woman.  

Philomena is shocked to discover that the odd professor stirs up feelings she thought long dead. Spencer, ever the man of research, is eager to learn all he can. Will they find deeper emotions are in play as they take their journey of discovery? 

Delayed by other publishing obligations from writing the third book in this series, when Kensington passed on it, the author decided it would be best to have the entire series under her control. Kensington agreed, and this first book, originally published under the Lyrical banner has been revised and re-edited. I’m a sucker for a heroine with a “reputation” and virgin heroes, so of course I pre-ordered this. I’m shocked I missed it the first time around.

Secrets of a Highland Warrior by Nicole Locke

The key to his past…  

…lies with the enemy sharing his bed!  

Part of The Lochmore Legacy: a Scottish castle through the ages! Rory Lochmore had expected to wage battle, to claim land and finally secure his standing within his clan… Instead he won a wife. A McCrieff wife. Their convenient marriage could unite the two long-feuding clans forever. But can a political alliance give way to a passion strong enough to stand the secrets of the past? 

The final book in Harlequin’s The Lochmore Legacy miniseries is the medieval entry and provides more background on the Lochmore and McCrieff feud. Previous books, written by three other Harlequin Historical writers, covered the Victorian, Regency and Tudor eras, with various secrets hidden behind the castle’s walls revealed along the way.

Joe’s Wife by Cheryl St. John

After Meg Telford's husband dies in the war and is lauded as a hero, she must face the fact that she can't keep the ranch without a man to shoulder the workload. Nothing will stop her from saving Joe's dream. The war has taken nearly all the able-bodied men--and a devilishly handsome bad boy seems her only choice.  

Town pariah, Tye Hatcher has a reputation as a hell-raiser, but he's looking to prove himself and has his own plans for the land. Meg's proposal might be too good to be true, but he's willing to take the risk, even if the risk is his heart.  

Struggling with guilt and the rejection of the townspeople, Meg must learn that her convenient husband is a man who takes risks and does what's right for the sake of others. Her vulnerable dreams and their hard work will be for naught unless she and Tye reveal their secrets and face what they're both coming to understand--they can't change the past, but the future is in their hands. 

Originally published by Harlequin Historical in 1999, this is another self-published reprint that has me itching to do a reread. How long has it been since I’ve read this book? Well, I’ve been blogging for 16 years and I read it pre-blogging days. I loved it back then, and it’s a favorite of many in my personal Romancelandia clan. A widowed heroine desperate to save her farm marries the hero, a man who is constantly reminded by everyone in town (other than the heroine) that he’s “trash.”

What unusual historicals are you looking forward to reading this month?

Review: Cowboy Creek Christmas

2016 was not the greatest reading year for me - look no further than the last couple of reviews posted on this blog.  So I decided to finish up the year I was going to call in The Big Guns.  Cheryl St. John is my go-to "comfort read author" and I've enjoyed stories by Sherri Shackelford in the past - so Cowboy Creek Christmas had a leg up on most of my TBR pile right out the gate.  Final verdict?  While not without charm, I didn't love this.  I might have to officially declare myself broken.

Mistletoe Reunion by Cheryl St. John kicks things off with a reunited romance.  Marlys Boyd has moved to Cowboy Creek, Kansas to set up her own medical practice - but it's been a challenge.  Not only is she a woman doctor in an era when all female doctors were suspect - she practices, for that time period, alternative medicine.  Herbal remedies instead of bleeding an already sick patient, for example.  She decides that advertising in the local newspaper would be a smart way to drum up some business, but gets a shock when she meets the editor.  It's Sam Mason, the former fiancé she threw over in order to attend medical school.

After the busted engagement, Sam married another and had a son, August.  When his wife died in childbirth, Sam left the boy with his mother to raise while he was off fighting in the Civil War.  He later wrote about his experiences in a well-received book, which has led him to Cowboy Creek to start his own newspaper.  He feels no ill-will towards Marlys, but is still flabbergasted all the same when he finds out she's the new lady doctor everyone's been talking about.

I'll be blunt: St. John writes Competence Porn.  And in a genre that can sometimes fall down the Oh Come On Now Too Stupid To Live Rabbit Hole, her gentle romances featuring exceedingly practical characters can read like a breath of fresh air.  Marlys is calm, efficient, and very good at her job.  Sam's masculine pride took a hit when Marlys broke off their engagement, but over the course of the story, he understands why she did it.  Asking her to not be a doctor would be like asking her to stop breathing.  He didn't entirely understand it then, but he "gets" it now that they've been reunited.  These are characters who think things through, don't make rash decisions, but given their past history (Marlys dumping him once before, the fact that "most men" would demand a woman stop working upon marriage etc.) makes things complicated.

Where this story failed to engage me was in the execution - which honestly could be chalked up to a It's Me, Not You thing.  This is a "return" to Cowboy Creek.  There were three books before this one, so St. John's story is filled with many past couples and characters.  I wanted much more focus on the Marlys and Sam reunion and didn't really give a flying hoot about the past couples.  But for readers who have read the other books in the series?  They probably won't mind and will love the homey, holiday sweetness of the setting.  In many, many ways this read a lot like a small town contemporary to me.  Just, you know, set in post-Civil War Kansas.

Grade = B-

I fell right into Mistletoe Bride by Sherri Shackelford and barely came up for air while reading it.  Beatrix Haas had the misfortune of getting pregnant by a man who claimed to love her, but threw her over for another woman.  Now disowned by her domineering father, and her older sisters unwilling to go against their own husbands to take her in - her minister in Austria arranges for her to marry his distant cousin in Cowboy Creek.  She's in labor when she arrives in Kansas and there are immediate complications.  The midwife calls for town blacksmith Colton Werner, the only person close by who understands German.  Beatrix speaks some English, but in her delirium she has slipped into her native tongue.  When she finds out her intended, the former town sheriff, is dead and that her baby will be born a bastard, she's frantic.  Driven by her plight, and his own guilt, Colton tells the dying woman he'll marry her on the spot.  Which he does.  The pastor shows up and they exchange vows before the baby boy makes his appearance.

So we all know what happens next.  Beatrix miraculously survives and now Colton has a wife and child.  He's got a haunted past and she's carrying the baggage of her family estrangement.  It's a gentle, sweet romance between two people who don't think they're "good enough."  I also liked that Shackelford doesn't gloss over anti-immigrant sentiment, and in fact the Austrian Beatrix has some trouble with a prominent German family thanks to lingering hostilities stemming from the Austro-Prussian War (seriously, when was the last time you read that in a romance?)

Unfortunately it all gets a bit rushed at the end.  There's a turn of events with Beatrix's father that felt tacked on to me - and the bit with the German family comes to a rushed conclusion that I'm not sure I totally buy.  But the romance itself was very nice and I enjoyed these characters.  Also, yippee - blacksmith hero!

Grade = B-

These stories are cozy holiday reads featuring inspirational themes somewhere in the mid-range level of my own personal God Stuff scale (not overly preachy, but expect a fair amount of Christian talk/faith observance/themes).  I feel like both of these authors have written more compelling stories, but these aren't "bad" by any stretch of the imagination and if you've enjoyed the Cowboy Creek series up to this point, this book will likely be a surefire winner.

Final Grade = B-

Mini-Reviews: RITA Winners and Comfort Reads

I had a long flight on my way to RWA in NYC, in which time I managed to finish two books.  One of them, His Road Home by Anna Richland, then turned around and won the RITA for Best Novella on Saturday night.  For once, my timing didn't stink.

Rey Cruz is a Special Forces medic over in Afghanistan and has just told an Afghan warlord that he must regretfully decline his generous offer of the man's daughter to marry because well - Rey already has a fiancée.  OK, not really. As proof that he has a beloved waiting for him back home, he hits upon Grace Kim, a girl who went to school with Rey's sister and is now a biologist working in Seattle.  Grace is perfect fiancée material, so Rey prints up her photo off the ol' Interwebs, writes a touching endearment on it and viola!  Instant fiancée!  Until Rey almost gets blown to kingdom come and is rushed back to Walter Reed to learn to live without his legs.

Grace finds out she has a fiancé after Rey arrives at Walter Reed (with that photo) and word gets back to her small hometown in the Pacific Northwest. Needless to say, her family is a little concerned she failed to mention she got engaged! Grace's supportive boss is giving her time off and a plane ticket he purchased with his airline miles so she can be with her beloved. So Grace goes - if only to find out why a stranger claims they are a couple.

The set-up of this novella is just implausible enough to sound completely plausible.  Definitely one of the more interesting meet-cutes I've come across in a long while. I also liked that while Rey and Grace legitimately "like" each other, it's not instantaneous fireworks when they lock eyes for the first time. Besides losing his legs, Rey has a traumatic brain injury, but they soon discover that through text messages he can effectively communicate - which is how they get to know each other better.  I also LOVED that Rey isn't your standard issue "wounded hero."  Yes, he lost his legs.  Yes, he's learning to function with prosthetic limbs.  But he's not suicidal, he's not wringing his hands thinking his life is over, that no one will ever love him, and Grace isn't a heroine put on the page to "teach" him that life is still worth living.  Rey is, quite simply, getting on with his life.  Yeah, it sucks he lost his legs, but the man is still alive.

What didn't work as well for me was the writing style - and I can't quite put my finger on why that is. The dialogue didn't flow for me, and maybe that can be attributed to Rey's brain injury?  I'm not sure. But I had a hard time sinking into this novella and zipping through it.  In other words, I was able to put it down and walk away from it for long stretches at a time.  Take all this with the usual grain of salt.  However, there is a lot to recommend it. It's emotional. The author avoids common pitfalls of the Wounded Hero trope, and the characters aren't Midwestern White Bread.  Worth a look.

Final Grade = B-

Romance readers talk about "comfort reads" and Cheryl St. John is mine.  She writes historical westerns (which I love!) and there's something about her writing style that just flows for me. I don't mean this in a bad way, but it's simple. St. John writes straight-forward, clean and simple. She's not flowery. She doesn't toss in $25 word, and she tells a good story.  After a bit of a hiatus, she's back with Sequins and Spurs, which I liked, but didn't love.

Her Daddy abandoning their family hit Rudy Dearing so hard that at 16 she ran away from home to make her way in the world. She became a performer, singing, dancing and acting her way across the US. Now, after years away, she decides to come home to her mother and sister.  She wanted to come home before now but didn't quite know how, and now it's too late. She finds a man living in her mother's house who turns out to be her sister's husband.  Mama and younger sister are both dead.  One from illness, the latter from an accident. Ruby has come home looking for a second chance only to find out that she's too late to mend those fences with her family.

Nash Sommerton didn't know Ruby but heard plenty about her. While his wife and mother-in-law never said an unkind word about her, Nash can't help but be bitter.  His mother-in-law's illness, his wife's accident, Ruby should have been there to help....and she wasn't.  Now she's back and Nash has no idea what to think of her.

St. John's westerns have a similar feel to Americana and come across as more "homespun" than "gritty."  It's why I think I classify her books as "comforting." I sank right into this story and zipped through it on the plane to New York without coming up for air. Nash and Ruby are two characters who bristled against family expectations and therefore do have quite a bit in common.  And while it's kind of "icky" that Nash moves on to the other sister?  While he cared for his wife, it wasn't a love match. He had hoped it would eventually generate into one, over time, but they never got the chance.

My issues with this story are conflict related.  The author throws in plenty of conflict, both internal and external road-blocks to the happy ending, but they lacked urgency.  The best way to describe it is that while the conflict exists, the characters didn't have to work very hard to move past it. I normally like this about St. John's characters.  She writes exceedingly practical characters who aren't prone to dramatics or flightiness, but here the conflict fell flat.  That being said, St. John has a way of conveying so much with a few well chosen words. Here was one of my favorite moments, Ruby is talking to Nate about her father leaving them and Ruby's hesitancy in attending Sunday church services.

She pursed her lips before speaking. "Mama acted like nothing had happened. She believed God was taking care of us." 

"She had a strong faith, your mother." 

"God didn't pull weeds from the garden or gather us hand-me-down clothes from the church storeroom.  God didn't send money home to Mama all those years. That was me."

No, I didn't love it - but I'm not sorry I spent time reading it.  Of course I'm rarely sorry after spending time in the worlds that St. John creates.

Final Grade = C+

TBR Challenge 2014: Badlands Bride

The Book: Badlands Bride by Cheryl St. John

The Particulars: Historical romance, Harlequin Historical, 1996, Out of print, available digitally

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?:  St. John is an autobuy for me.  I still have a few of her older backlist titles buried in the TBR, and this was one of them.

The Review:  I haven't read a St. John yet that I didn't like.  That being said, the plot description of this particular story sounds like an aneurysm just waiting to happen.  Besides the sheer, insurmountable volume of my TBR, that's probably the main reason why this story languished for so long.  I should have never had any doubt however.  Why?  Because I had forgotten what St. John does so well - and that's write characters who aren't prone to dramatics.

Hallie Wainwright wants two things in life: 1) to be a newspaper reporter and 2) for her father to take her serious.  Her father runs one of the many papers in Boston and she's desperate for him to see her as a vital part of the family business, much like her two brothers.  However they think Hallie is just a pest and decide to give her an assignment to keep her out of their hair.  Like many newspapers, they run ads.  Some of these ads are from men out west looking for brides.  So Hallie is dispatched to interview some of these potential brides and write a puff piece.  Low and behold, she does.  Then Hallie overhears her brothers talking about how the whole thing was just a ruse, and kind of a surprise that the piece was so well-received.  Shortly thereafter she learns that one of the brides, her main contact for the story, is breaking off her "engagement."  Feelings already bruised, Hallie decides to travel with the remaining brides to North Dakota and write a follow-up story.  Since the first piece was a hit, this one will probably be even bigger and then, just maybe, Daddy will open his eyes.  Naturally things don't go smoothly.  Their stagecoach gets robbed and Hallie ends up shooting one of the bandits.

Cooper DeWitt is white, but was raised by the Sioux.  With the tribe forced on to reservations, Cooper comes up with a plan.  He grabs up some land (it pays to be white) and starts a freight company.  Hauling freight means he can get supplies to the tribe, plus business is good.  Money fixes a lot of problems.  He advertises for a wife because of his sister-in-law's son.  When his Sioux brother died, it is tasked to Cooper to look after his wife and child.  Cooper realizes that for Yellow Eagle to have a life and help his people, he's going to have to learn to read and write.  He's going to have to play on the same field as the white man.  And for that?  He needs someone to teach the boy.  What he didn't expect was Hallie.  Not only did she shoot a bandit but she claims to be a reporter (of all things!) and isn't his intended bride!  Plus having been robbed, she has no money and no way to get back to Boston.  Whatever shall they do now?

What they do, of course, is enter into an arrangement.  She'll teach Yellow Eagle, help Cooper set up accounting on his business and in exchange he'll pay for her ticket back to Boston once the stage rolls back their way.  It's a pretty desolate part of North Dakota, which means Hallie's going to be there for a while.  Which, of course, means that these two will eventually fall in love.

The conflict has all the potential to be a hot mess.  Reporter heroines have a bad reputation in the genre, mostly because they are easily prone to too-stupid-to-live shenanigans.  Hallie rashly deciding to head west all in the name of a follow-up story in the hopes of finally getting Daddy's approval sounds really, really unpleasant.  However, it totally works here.  Why?  Because St. John makes me understand Hallie.  Yes, she makes a rash decision.  But you know what?  You understand why she does it.  She does it because she's a woman ahead of her time who keeps getting figuratively backhanded by the very people who should be her biggest supporters.  Plus it helps tremendously that she's not a drama queen.  Hallie is not one prone to theatrics, praise the Lord.

Cooper is a very interesting character and I felt the author handled his back story well.  I especially appreciated that she didn't travel down the "he was kidnapped!" plot thread.  Cooper went to live with the Sioux under other circumstances, which I found refreshing.  The main conflict for him is that Hallie is a "city girl" and North Dakota is a very harsh reality in comparison.  When he starts developing feelings for her, he wrestles with what this will mean.  He would never be happy in Boston and she could never be happy in the Badlands, could she?

The secondary characters add to the story and keep things rolling along.  This is a good solid western with believable conflict and no over-the-top shenanigans.  St. John writes about nice people who you want to live happily ever after.  They're good, solid folks.  Already in the mood for a western, I inhaled this in one day - making this a good, solid read.

Final Grade = B

TBR Challenge 2011: Comfort Food

The Book:  Land of Dreams by Cheryl St. John

The Particulars: Historical western romance, Harlequin Historical #265, 1995, Out of Print, has not been digitized but should be fairly easy to find used.

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?:  Cheryl St. John is an autobuy for me.

The Review: Every romance reader has at least one "comfort author."  An author whose books evoke warm fuzzy feelings - like drinking hot chocolate on a snowy day, your grandmother's apple pie, or homemade macaroni and cheese.  St. John is one of those authors for me.  If I had to label her particular "formula," I would say that she writes nice romances, about nice people.  Land of Dreams, only her third published book, reads like classic St. John.  If you've read this author before, this book holds absolutely no surprises....but then it doesn't have to.  It's pretty dang enjoyable, just like grandma's apple pie.

Thea Coulson has gone through life in her tiny Nebraska town known as Too Tall Thea.  She's either looking men in the eye, or looking down on them.  Between her height, her pale as snow complexion, and her red hair - well, it's no wonder she's an old maid.  Her status is also her burden to bear.  She runs her father's household, even though he's married to her stepmother.  She's also roped into various local causes, church functions, housewarming parties etc. etc. etc.  Thea does not have a life of her own.  Nobody is outright cruel to her, it's almost worse than that.  They take her for granted.   And she's so desperately lonely.  So lonely that when an Orphan Train rolls through and nobody claims Zoe, a young cripple girl who cannot talk, Thea convinces the social worker that she'll look after her until a suitable family can be found.

Booker Hayes has finally left the Army, and has gone to New York City to visit his younger sister.  Only he discovers both Julia and her husband have died, and his niece Zoe was taken to the foundling home.  When he gets there, he discovers he's too late.  She was hustled on board an Orphan Train.  So now he's off to Nebraska, where he discovers Zoe in the home of Thea Coulson.  Booker has some land in the area, and a lot of big dreams.  He wants to raise his niece, the only family he has left.  However, there's Thea to consider.  A woman he didn't expect to find, a woman he can't believe is still single.  Are all the men in town blind and epically stupid?

What we have here is a favorite trope among many romance readers: the Plain Jane heroine who is sitting on the shelf, and the hero who is immediately captivated by her.  There is no warming up period for Booker.  He takes one look at Thea and is smitten.  It actually gets worse for him once he gets to know her and discovers how kind, caring, and thoughtful she is....on top of being beautiful.  He can't believe his good fortune!  Now to convince her that he's the only one for her.

Naturally, it's not that easy.  Thea is filled with a lot of self-doubt.  Nobody is outright mean to her.  Nobody says nasty things to her...well, to her face anyway.  No, they don't see her at all.  She's the grease that keeps the cogs moving.  She's a necessity, but she's also wallpaper.  Nobody sees Thea, they just see what she can do for them.  And Booker is desperately afraid of turning into one of those people.  He wants Thea, and badly.  But does that make him just as selfish as....well....everyone else in her life?

The conflict here is very gentle.  Some would even say this book is a slow starter.  Even though she doesn't wallow, this is really Thea's story about her discovering her self-worth.  For that reason, some of the conflict between the couple stems from them not sitting down and hashing out their feelings.  Of course, after 27 years of believing she's not good enough, Thea's insecurities are pretty easy to understand.  What I really appreciated is that this allows the author to show the reader Thea's faults.  Without these faults, our heroine would have been a hopeless Mary Sue.  A Mary Poppins clone taking in orphaned children, baking pies for the church bake sale, and cooking her father's meals.  These moments allow the reader to see Thea's warts - she's slow to trust Booker, her selfishness.  It all makes her seem like a real person.

The author spices up the final quarter of the story with some external conflict.  This is actually pretty good stuff, although I would have liked more in the way of remorse from the idiot townspeople.  Also, this is when the relationship between Booker and Thea is finally consummated....and it's worth the wait.  I like sex as much as the next girl, but after a while I get a little bored with historical characters hopping in and out of bed without so much as a by-your-leave.  There's quite a bit of tap-dancing here, again because of communication issues, but hell, if I'm honest?  It was damn refreshing.

This is by no means my favorite book ever by St. John, but it was a pleasant, cozy read.  Which probably sounds like I'm damning it with faint praise - but I'm really not!  If you're a fan of historical westerns that give you that warm fuzzy feeling?  Yeah, this is good stuff.  I'm not going to say drop everything, run to the nearest UBS and buy it now!  But if it's sitting in your TBR or you stumble across it one day?  It's a really nice read.

Now someone pass me another slice of granny's apple pie.


Final Grade = B

Truer Than The Red, White And Blue

I know. It seems like I've been doing a ridiculous amount of promo on the blog lately. Well, brace yourselves. I've got more!

February 1 finds Harlequin unveiling three more Blogger eBook Bundles. The gals over at We Write Romance bring forth some of their Top Picks (with titles from the Intrigue, Presents, American and now-defunct Bombshell lines), while Smart Bitch Sarah gives us a rockin' socks bundle featuring titles from Blaze, Desire and Presents.

Once again, I'm up to bat with another (yes, another) bundle of Harlequin Historical titles.

This go-around my desire was to cram down your throats suggest titles that illustrate how wonderful historical romances not set in England can really be. No really, they can be. Trust me on this one.

Prairie Wife by Cheryl St. John may be my favorite title by her to date. It's a marriage in trouble story set in the west, about a once happily married couple who drifts apart when their toddler son dies in an accident. It's gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, and damn near sucks all the oxygen out of the room - but man, it packs a wallop!

Married By Midnight by Judith Stacy is an amusing story that will lighten just about any foul mood. It's also set in late 19th century Los Angeles, a setting that is criminally under-utilized. Heroine is a bridesmaid for the third time in a month and is ready to scream. Her latest wedding obligation finds her meeting up with the hero again, several years after he broke her heart. He's ready to settle to down, but doesn't want to deal with all the wedding goo-ga - so he and his buddy enter into a wager to see who can get married within the next month. He meets the heroine again, is immediately smitten with her, completely disregards the wager, they marry and whamo! Yeah, she finds out about it. Not happy. Not happy at all.

The Bride Fair by Cheryl Reavis won the RITA award in 2003 for Best Short Historical, and it's a fantastic story. Set in North Carolina, post-Civil War, the Army Colonel hero, and former POW, is commanding the local occupying troops. Needless to say, nobody is happy to have them there, especially the heroine, whose home has been commandeered to house the commanding officer (uh yeah, the hero). The war has taken everything from her, her father is very ill, and she's carrying a small mountain of burdens. Thrown into this mix is the hero, who begins to show her through his actions that he is a good man, with his own burdens to carry.

This bundle is currently on sale all over the darn place. A few places where it's available:

eHarlequin, retailing for $12.60

Books On Board, retailing for $9.98

Sony Store, retailing for $12.60

Amazon Kindle Store, retailing for $9.99

Barnes & Noble Nook Store, retailing for $9.99

But...I'm not seeing it on Fictionwise yet. Hopefully soon.

ETA: As Phyl indicated in the comments - it's up on Fictionwise now! Yippee! $14.00, with big savings if you use their micropay program.

I really loved all of these stories, and hope you'll like them too. Also, this is the first time any of them has been available (legally anyway) in a digital format. Yeah, for more formats! Yippee!

More Promo And A Whine

For those of you not totally sick of me pimpin' "my" suggested Cheryl St. John eBook bundle for Harlequin, I'm over at the Harlequin Blog today doing...yeah, more pimpin'.

The bundle is pretty much on sale all over the darn place, and now Sony finally has it listed. Yippee!

In other news, I had so hoped that I would be able to get my reading act together in 2010, but so far I've been a massive FAIL. My "goal" was to get some sort of consistency in my reading. To carve out reading time every day in order to get into some sort of rhythm. Last year was filled with either me tearing through books in a day or not reading a single, solitary word in any book for days on end. Seems that pattern is holding for 2010 so far, and it's giving me massive TBR Anxiety.

Crippling, borderline psychotic, TBR Anxiety.

And I can't even use the excuse that I'm reading crap. I'm reading good stuff! Argh!

I'm hoping to get my act together this weekend, especially since the first day of the TBR Challenge is coming up next week!

Um, yeah. It would look kinda bad to skip the first month....wouldn't it?

Launch Day Is Here!

January 1 not only means the first day of a brand new, shiny year - but it's also launch day for the first round of the Harlequin Blogger Bundles! And what should greet me this morning when I clicked over to Harlequin's eBook site? This lovely banner. They even have a separate page set-up showcasing all the currently available bundles! How awesome is that? Way awesome!

Dear Author's bundle showcases Unusual Heroines, featuring stories from Harlequin Blaze, Harlequin Temptation (oh, how I miss that line!) and Harlequin SuperRomance.

We Write Romance has selected a bundle filled with four stories from Harlequin Presents.

And then there is my bundle, chock full of Cheryl St. John and Harlequin Historical western goodness.

These bundles are available at several of ebook retailers and prices vary. You can currently find The Harvey Girls bundle at:

eHarlequin, selling for $12.60

Amazon Kindle, selling for $9.99

Fictionwise, selling for $11.90 (there is a micropay rebate option)

Books On Board, selling for $9.98

Although I'm not seeing it over at the Sony store yet. Bummer!

So for those of you who do ebooks, I hope you'll consider downloading one (or all!) of these bundles should the spirit move you. I'd love to see one (or more) of the Blogger Bundles make Harlequin's Top 10 Bestsellers list.

Happy New Year!

Harlequin + Super Librarian = More Awesome!

Remember when I posted about the upcoming Cheryl St. John ebook bundle I proposed to Harlequin? The one coming out in January 2010? I mentioned in that post that I had proposed three different ideas for ebook bundles, hoping one would "stick." Turns out - they liked them all!

Coming in February 2010 is the Love, American Style Harlequin Historical bundle! My goal for this bundle was to showcase the diversity that can be found if readers would just Please For The Love Of My Sanity Read Some American Historicals Already. In this bundle are three books that have previously been unavailable in electronic format.

Prairie Wife by Cheryl St. John - Yes, more St. John. But really, you cannot go wrong with this woman! This is my favorite of her books, an emotionally gut-wrenching, western-set, marriage in trouble story (which I normally don't care for - but holy cow is this a good one!).

The Bride Fair by Cheryl Reavis - Reavis is one of my very favorite Harlequin authors who consistently delivers in her historicals as well as her contemporary-set stories. This one takes place post-Civil War, in the South, and features a Southern heroine with a real dilemma on her hands and the Northern, former POW, commanding officer who has commandeered her family home for the occupying troops.

Married By Midnight by Judith Stacy - This is the story that will lighten up the bundle. Set in late 19th century Los Angeles, the heroine finds herself a bridesmaid for the third time in three months, when she runs up against our hero, a man who broke her heart as a young girl. The hero has entered into a wager with his best friend, and ultimately falls under the heroine's spell - but what happens when the heroine finds out about the wager? Yeah, it doesn't bode well for our hero. Stacy is kind of hit or miss for me, and this one was a major hit. It's charming, it's funny, and it's set in Los Angeles. More historicals need to be set in L.A. Says me.

Also, good news via an e-mail bud of mine - she has discovered both of these bundles at the Kindle Store over at Amazon. Just go to the Kindle Store and search "super librarian" and they'll both pop up, available for pre-order. Amazon is retailing both bundles for $9.99 and if their list price is anything to go by - they'll be around $14.00 at other ebook retail outlets. Woot!

As for that third bundle I proposed? Given the theme of the bundle, Harlequin has told me they're holding it back for a Summer 2010 release. And no, I'm not spilling the beans on that one just yet. You'll have to be patient and wait.

Harlequin + Super Librarian = Awesome!

Massive Bat Cave news. Huge, colossal Bat Cave news.

Several months back, the digital team over at Harlequin contacted several bloggers about the possibility of putting together some ebook bundles. One of the bloggers they contacted was none other than lil' ol' me. Naturally, I practically fell all over myself saying yes. Which means I now had to come up with some ideas. I started out with two goals:

1) Create bundles featuring books I personally enjoyed.

2) Try to concentrate on books that currently are unavailable electronically.

I came up with three different bundle ideas - sending them all off to Harlequin hoping there would be one set they didn't think sucked. Well, I recently heard back from them. They selected my Cheryl St. John bundle!

Wahoooooooey!

As you are all well-aware, here at the Bat Cave we lurve us some Cheryl St. John. She is not only our very favorite Harlequin Historical author, but now that Maggie Osborne is retired, she also may be our favorite western romance author. The Doctor's Wife, The Lawman's Bride and The Preacher's Wife are all connected books in the author's Harvey Girls trilogy. The first two titles have never been available electronically, and all three have been out of print for some time.

Wahooooooooey!

The first round of Blogger Bundles are set to launch in January 2010. They'll be available to purchase over at eHarlequin, and one would assume at other ebook retail outlets. I have no idea on cost yet, but going by other historical bundles they offer, my guess is somewhere in the ballpark of $20.

Merry Christmas Baby

Yes, I am still sick, but am on my way to a speedy recovery (I hope). I took the day off work (I never call in sick), and spent the day lounging about whining recuperating. Lucky for me, I had a really great "comfort" read to keep me company.

A Western Winter Wonderland is a new holiday anthology due out in October from Harlequin Historicals. It has everything I love in a holiday anthology. Quick, heartwarming reads that leave me with a warm satisfying afterglow.

Cheryl St. John headlines with Christmas Day Family. Marvel Henley is an old maid. As in 33. Positively ancient for a never-married woman in 1886. When her father took ill, Marvel cared for him. When money started running out, she took in borders - which is what she's been doing ever since her father passed. She has a comfortable life. A good life. And even turns down a marriage proposal from an old (as in, old enough to be her father) family friend. Life is going smoothly, and then the new town doctor shows up. Marvel agreed to board Seth Paxton as a temporary arrangement. She certainly wasn't counting on him bringing two small children and a dog with him.

What I really enjoyed about this story was that Marvel is a very capable heroine. She's got a comfortable life, and is content. She just doesn't realize her life could be even better - and that's where Seth comes in. But Marvel is unsure. Seth is very handsome, and younger than she is. What would he want with an old maid? This is classic St. John. If you've liked her stories in the past, this one is going to work for you.

Fallen Angel by Jenna Kernan finds single mother Abby March hunting for a Christmas tree with her son, Daniel. Unfortunately they unwittingly stumble across a wanted man facing off with bounty hunter, Ford Statler. Daniel ends up saving Ford's life, but Abby is accidentally shot. Ford takes her back to town, puts her up in a fancy hotel room and nurses her back to health. Conflict arises from his haunted past and her disastrous relationship with Daniel's father.

I love "cabin" stories, where the couple finds themselves sharing close quarters. This one is great, because Abby has preconceived notions about Ford, and he shatters them at every turn. I also loved the way this one ended, with Abby taking matters into her own hands.

One Magic Eve by Pam Crooks features a heroine with an unusual occupation. Sonja Kaplan trains carrier pigeons for the U.S. Army. Unfortunately she's single, secretive about her work, and has numerous soldiers calling on her at her isolated cabin. I mean, what are the good townsfolk supposed to think? Young Beau Lattimer rescues an injured pup in the woods, and decides to take him to Sonja's. She's good with birds, maybe she's good with dogs too! That's where Chet Lattimer finds his son, and when his boy makes a connection with the mysterious Sonja, Chet decides that maybe spending more time getting to know the woman might not be the worst thing in the world.

Chet's a respected man drawn to Sonja, but unsure what to think when he finds her keeping company with Indian braves and military men. Once he learns the truth, he finds himself even more attracted to her, and is grateful for the help she gives him with his son. He didn't know Beau existed until after his mother died, and Chet's been a bit out of sorts ever since.

All of these were quick, heartwarming reads - perfect holiday fare. These are sweet reads, with no s-e-x to speak of, which frankly is a good thing because it fits within the context of all the stories. It's the kind of book you can give your grandmother or your 12-year-old daughter and not worry about having lengthy discussions on "the smut you're reading" or the "birds-and-bees." Basically this bad boy is my very definition of a comfort read. Buy it now and save it for Christmas Eve. Final Grade = B+

Fantastic Book Alert!

What are you doing reading my stupid little blog? Don't you know you have to go the bookstore! Any bookstore, take your pick!

I have just read the most fantastic book, and I'm fairly gushing over it. So brace yourself, you'll probably get very sick of me before this is all done.

I have just finished Prairie Wife by Cheryl St. John, a February Harlequin Historical, and it is simply the best book I have read in a long, long time. A true keeper - and it's been damn near forever since I've had one of those. St. John can always be counted on to write an emotional, heart-felt story, and she pulled out all the stops with this one.

Jesse and Amy Shelby had a happy marriage. A true love match, they live in Nebraska and run a way station to serves travelers heading west by stagecoach. Then their 3-year-old son, Tim, dies tragically and everything changes.

Instead of dealing with her grief, Amy shuts down emotionally. She keeps busy with work, and closes herself off to all those around her. She erects barriers so she doesn't have to feel anything, especially pain.

Jesse wants to grieve over their loss. He wants to hold his wife, make love with her, and talk with her. But Amy has distanced herself and Jesse has no idea how to reach her. So when she repeatedly pushes him away, he finds solace in a whiskey bottle.

What I loved about this book is that the author writes with an aching subtlety. She shows you what the characters are going through, and how their coping methods are doing futher damage. She doesn't beat you over the head with the internal struggles, instead showing them during the course of everyday life. When external conflict arrives, the characters begin to realize what a mess their marriage is and that they need to do something in order for it to survive.

I tend to avoid "marriage in trouble" plots in a big way - but I love westerns and I've really enjoyed St. John's work in the past. I'm glad I threw caution to the wind and bought this book over the weekend. I'm even happier that I decided to read it now and didn't leave it languishing in my TBR for eons. It's really a beautiful story. Simply breathtaking.

I'm not a crier when it comes to emtional books (I'll bawl at movies though - I'll admit it) but this story just about damn near ripped my heart out. It's been a long, long, long time since I've read a story this resonant and powerful. Please consider giving it a shot.

And that is our gushing moment for today....