Rating: ★★★★★ stars
Date published: May 26th, 2014
Publisher: Molly O'Keefe
Synopsis: A gritty and emotional historical western romance by RITA-award winning and Bestselling author Molly O'Keefe.
Melody Hurst’s days as a Southern belle are over. Now she’s widowed and alone in the foothills of the Rockies, struggling to make a life in a dangerous world. She’s determined to secure a future by marrying – but love is out of the question.
Cole Baywood has turned bounty hunter after serving in the horrors of the Civil War, but the ghosts of the men and women he’s killed still haunt him. He’s drawn to the beautiful widow trying to seduce him, only the darkness in his soul forces him to reject her. Is it possible that Melody’s touch can heal the demons of his past? And how can he convince a woman who has lost so much to risk her heart?
What I Thought:
I love Molly O'Keefe. I haven't read a book of hers I haven't loved yet. Of course I had no idea she was such a prolific writer. She has 34 works listed. I came across her book, Crazy Thing Called Love, last year and that was my introduction to her books and writing. So far, I've read five of her other titles besides this one, and each one has been a five star read; that trend continues with this book. Of course none of my previous Molly O'Keefe reads have been historical, so I was very excited to see how she'd tell this story.
First of all, the blurb isn't lying. This book is truly gritty and emotional. The book starts off strong and continues throughout the story. There are a number of themes that play a very strong role in the book. One is the importance of family and the other is how to handle circumstances. I loved how real this story was. Historical romance was my gateway genre to reading. I can't recall reading any post Civil War setting novels this honest. I think because the war itself was so long ago, I'd romanticized it in my head, even though I knew better. But back to the book...
Melody and Cole. Saying I loved them does not tell you the full extent of my feelings. It doesn't tell you how much my heart ached for them, literally, when the full extent of all they had experienced became clear. Both of them suffered so much. I can't even begin to fathom what it feels like to have your entire world and everything you know to be decent and right, stripped away. Dreams, family, homes, everything. I loved seeing Melody go from being frightened and afraid to strong and determined. She was so resilient. I don't know if I'd be able to do what she did if I was in her shoes. My first impression of Cole was so different from who he turned out to be. I loved the layered depths of their characters.
I'm ecstatic that this is the first book in a series. The next book features Annie and Steven, who are siblings of Melody and Cole respectively. Their experiences during and after the war have been different from Melody and Cole's and I can't wait to learn more about them. I'm really hoping to learn more about what happened to the Baywood's sister Samantha. I was astonished by how quickly I read this book. The book might be under 200 pages long, but the content and quality of writing truly felt like that of an epic saga.
If there's one thing this book reinforced for me, it's that war is a horrible thing. It's not just the taking of life that's disturbing, it's the irreversible changes in the human psyche that take place. Those are the effects that last longer than any wound. It's Locard's exchange principle: "Every contact leaves a trace." (Just a little forensic science lesson for you.) Pick up this book. It's dark and real, but will blow your mind, in a good way of course. You'll become a fan of Molly O'Keefe just like me. :)
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1v6cBAn
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1v6cO6q
About Molly
Molly O'Keefe has always known she wanted to be a writer (except when she wanted to be a florist or a chef and the brief period of time when she considered being a cowgirl). And once she got her hands on some romances, she knew exactly what she wanted to write.
She published her first Harlequin romance at age 25 and hasn't looked back. She loves exploring every character's road towards happily ever after.
Originally from a small town outside of Chicago, she went to university in St. Louis where she met and fell in love with the editor of her school newspaper. They followed each other around the world for several years and finally got married and settled down in Toronto, Ontario. They welcomed their son into their family in 2006, and their daughter in 2008. When she's not at the park or cleaning up the toy room, Molly is working hard on her next novel, trying to exercise, stalking Tina Fey on the internet and dreaming of the day she can finish a cup of coffee without interruption.
She published her first Harlequin romance at age 25 and hasn't looked back. She loves exploring every character's road towards happily ever after.
Originally from a small town outside of Chicago, she went to university in St. Louis where she met and fell in love with the editor of her school newspaper. They followed each other around the world for several years and finally got married and settled down in Toronto, Ontario. They welcomed their son into their family in 2006, and their daughter in 2008. When she's not at the park or cleaning up the toy room, Molly is working hard on her next novel, trying to exercise, stalking Tina Fey on the internet and dreaming of the day she can finish a cup of coffee without interruption.
AUTHOR LINKS:
Website - http://www.molly-okeefe.com/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/MollyOKwrites
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MollyOKeefeBooks
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/223845.Molly_O_Keefe
* A copy of the book was provided by the author for an honest review. All of these opinions are my own and I wasn't compensated for them in any manner.*
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