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105th out of 537 books
—
570 voters
No Place for a Lady (The Heart of the West #1)
Nothing in her past had prepared her for a Colorado cattle drive—or Luke Weber.
Longing for a new start, Crystal Clark arrives amid the splendor of the high country in June 1892. After the death of her father, Crystal is relieved to be leaving the troubles of her Georgia life behind to visit her aunt's cattle ranch. Despite being raised as a proper Southern belle, Crystal i...more
Longing for a new start, Crystal Clark arrives amid the splendor of the high country in June 1892. After the death of her father, Crystal is relieved to be leaving the troubles of her Georgia life behind to visit her aunt's cattle ranch. Despite being raised as a proper Southern belle, Crystal i...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
January 1st 2009
by Revell
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This was a nice story, but the story didn't flow very well. It got hung up in descriptions which gave it a choppy feel. I probably won't read the author again.
Jun 02, 2012
Mandi Ellsworth
added it
This seems to be a fairly popular title.
I didn't really like the main character in this until it was almost over. She just seemed stuck up. But I was glad it got better.
This takes place in the mountains of Colorado, around the turn of the century. A southern belle who has lost everything, comes to live with her Aunt for a while on her ranch, and finds to her dismay, that no one is up to her standards, especially not the ranch foreman.
The ranch foreman talks tough, but leaves flowers and peppermi...more
I didn't really like the main character in this until it was almost over. She just seemed stuck up. But I was glad it got better.
This takes place in the mountains of Colorado, around the turn of the century. A southern belle who has lost everything, comes to live with her Aunt for a while on her ranch, and finds to her dismay, that no one is up to her standards, especially not the ranch foreman.
The ranch foreman talks tough, but leaves flowers and peppermi...more
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This book is great book and then the cove caught my attention.The book is different from most western type of book, i enjoy
the book form the begging Here is Crystal Clark a young women who lost both parent and then has the world at her hands
and little money .So what is she to do she contacts the only relative she thinks she her aunt tell her to come to Colorado to
live on the ranch.
What is prim and prober girl to do on the ranch she was brought up to live the life of the rich and famous people sh...more
the book form the begging Here is Crystal Clark a young women who lost both parent and then has the world at her hands
and little money .So what is she to do she contacts the only relative she thinks she her aunt tell her to come to Colorado to
live on the ranch.
What is prim and prober girl to do on the ranch she was brought up to live the life of the rich and famous people sh...more
For a first novel I think this was a good start. The book is a christian / inspirational romance.
Crystal Clark arrives in Colorado's Yampa Valley amid the splendor of a high country June in 1892. After the death of her father, Crystal is relieved to be leaving the troubles of her Georgia life behind to visit her aunt Kate's cattle ranch. Despite being raised as a proper Southern belle, Crystal is determined to hold her own in this wild land--even if a certain handsome foreman doubts her abiliti...more
Crystal Clark arrives in Colorado's Yampa Valley amid the splendor of a high country June in 1892. After the death of her father, Crystal is relieved to be leaving the troubles of her Georgia life behind to visit her aunt Kate's cattle ranch. Despite being raised as a proper Southern belle, Crystal is determined to hold her own in this wild land--even if a certain handsome foreman doubts her abiliti...more
Maggie Brendan’s debut novel, No Place for a Lady, combines many elements that make for a great historical read: a pampered Southern belle, an ambitious cowboy on her aunt’s cattle ranch, love interests who come between them, tragedy, conflicts and surprises. Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Colorado Rockies, the story begins when Crystal Clark arrives at her Aunt Kate’s spread following the death of her father. Thrust into the rigors of life in the West, Crystal struggles to discove...more
Hmmm...what to say. Really, I wanted to give this one about 2.5 stars according to my ratings system. I didn't have any problem getting through the story, as I found the idea of a girl sent out to CO in the late 1800s after the death of her father compelling. Also, the fact that Crystal was determined to be strong and not shy away from the tough stuff made me happy, as usually these books devolve into the weak female saved by the strong male.
However, the writing was pretty awful. I'm not a grea...more
However, the writing was pretty awful. I'm not a grea...more
Crystal Clark arrives in Colorado to visit her aunt, who runs a cattle ranch in the high country. Crystal herself is a Southern belle, but wishes to leave that life behind and start anew.
When tragedy strikes, Crystal takes over the ranch with the assistance of foreman Luke Weber, who doubts her abilities to be a capable ranch owner. However, she proves herself by standing up to the catty and spoiled April, Luke's intended, who is planning her wedding without giving much thought to whether Luke...more
When tragedy strikes, Crystal takes over the ranch with the assistance of foreman Luke Weber, who doubts her abilities to be a capable ranch owner. However, she proves herself by standing up to the catty and spoiled April, Luke's intended, who is planning her wedding without giving much thought to whether Luke...more
Well, from everything I've read out there, it seems I'm in the minority, because I was not very impressed with No Place for a Lady. And for that reason, this review will be relatively short and to the point. I really wanted to like this book, especially after reading several 5-star reviews on Amazon and BN.com, but in the end I was disappointed. The plot was flimsy; neither it nor the characters had much depth, in my opinion. I'm starting to think that I must not be a big fan of Christian Fictio...more
This is a western “romance”. This is mainly the story of Crystal, a southern belle, who has lost her father and has had to sell her house and goes to live to Colorado, where her aunt has a ranch. I think that the author manages quite well to describe how she sees Colorado through southern biased prejudices, and then experiences changes her views, opening her to the new world.
Luke is the foreman, and while he feels attracted to her, he thinks she is not Colorado wife material. There are a few adv...more
Luke is the foreman, and while he feels attracted to her, he thinks she is not Colorado wife material. There are a few adv...more
Dec 03, 2009
Lori
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Christian fiction fans, historical romance fans
Shelves:
books-i-ve-reviewed
Let me first say that I absolutely adored this book! It is a refreshingly different historical/western Christian Fiction romance. If you love romance, cowboys, southern belles, or westerns...I highly recommend Maggie Brendan's debut novel, No Place for a Lady...you will be blown away! I couldn't believe that this was Maggie's very first novel; it feels like she's been sharing her stories for years.
Crystal Clark's father has recently passed away, so she's decided to leave her life in Georgia behi...more
Crystal Clark's father has recently passed away, so she's decided to leave her life in Georgia behi...more
Crystal has had her share of tragedy in her life with lossing her mother at a young age and then her father has now passed leaving her with his debts to pay. She sells the house and leaves behind georgia to head to colorado to her only relative, aunt Kate on her cattle ranch. Little did she know that she would face more loss so soon. When her aunt dies and there isn't any reason to head back to georgia, she is determined to keep hold of kate's ranch by driving the cattle to the train and paying...more
After the death of her father, Crystal leaves Georgia for the harsher terrain of Colorado to stay with her aunt, the only family she has left. I don't care much for southern belles, so Crystal was a difficult character for me to like, though the men in the book were all falling all over her. It's easy to tell right away who the main romantic hero is, since he gets his own chapters, but he doesn't seem to like Crystal all that much for most of the book. He thinks she's soft and weak, unable to ha...more
I didn't hate the story or characters, but the quality of the writing wasn't great. I'm giving it a generous 2 stars because I only give 1 star ratings to books that I actively dislike.
Apr 03, 2010
Tressa (Tressa's Wishful Endings)
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
christian
This is set in the late 1800's in Colorado. It's about Crystal who has lost her parents and moves to her aunt's ranch to figure out what to do with her life. She becomes aquainted with Luke who is the ranch foreman. She ends up going on a cattle drive and falling in love with Luke who is engaged to another. I would have rated this higher, but the book was a little anti-climatic and there were some things that didn't make sense to me (i.e. how Crystal was able to pay off her aunt's loan to Mr. Mc...more
Free Kindle download, and I'm so very, very glad it was free as it was hardly even worth the time I took to read it. Honestly, it felt like a first draft, like the characters were still being fleshed out and developed and nowhere near being completely determined yet. Their motivations seemed ... not quite there. So the character's actions and responses could at times be baffling. The story was predictable and ultimately forgettable (I had to look up the blurb to jog my memory of the story for th...more
Well, somehow I read the second book in the series, "Jewel of His Heart", before reading this book, which is #1. I'm sorta glad I did because I actually like the 2nd book better and may not have been inclined to buy another book had I read them in order. While "No Place for a Lady" is an enjoyable piece of Christian fiction, I agree with one reviewer that the characters are not well developed (particularly Crystal)and therefore some of their actions are not believable. Nor does this book have th...more
NO PLACE FOR A LADY is speaking of Crystal Clark, a Southern belle who’s just arrived on her Aunt’s ranch in Colorado. From their first meeting, Crystal and Luke Weber, the ranch foremen, rub each other the wrong way. What follows is the typical formula for a Historical romance; brooding rancher, annoying female, and a tragedy that forces them to work together.
I enjoyed NO PLACE FOR A LADY. Though it didn’t have the caliber of suspense I like in a romance novel, and I found myself breezing over...more
I enjoyed NO PLACE FOR A LADY. Though it didn’t have the caliber of suspense I like in a romance novel, and I found myself breezing over...more
Crystal leaves Georgia to go visit her aunt Kate who lives in Colorado. Once she arrives all the hired hands take a liking to having a young girl around. One girl doesn't care of Crystal that much and that would be the foreman's fiancé. He keeps giving Crystal mixed signals and thinks she is going to make a mess of the ranch. When Kate passes away Crystal takes on the ranch and the problems.
The book was ok. The characters could have used some sprucing up a bit. Hard to believe a true southern b...more
The book was ok. The characters could have used some sprucing up a bit. Hard to believe a true southern b...more
Crystal is a well developed character I love! She's the only good thing about this book. The rest of the characters are either poorly developed or die. Really, why kill off characters before even giving readers a chance to know them? Also, too many unnecessary details while other information is lacking. It's disjointed, like the author didn't know what direction to go. There are countless improvements I'd make or ask the author to do so. I do love Christian stories, though, so I can only hope th...more
This one didn't turn out to be quite as interesting as it sounded from the synopsis, but it was a fairly entertaining and enjoyable historical romance. A plot that's been done many times before, but with a few tweaks here and there - mainly the details about Crystal having to learn how to run the cattle ranch and pay off her aunt's debts. The majority of the issues that kept the two characters apart involved a lack of communication, a major pet peeve of mine when it comes to romance novels, so t...more
A very sweet, clean romance, the quiet kind that allows the richness of developing relationships to evolve naturally without the cataclysmic hooks so common so often. Brendan takes a young Southern belle from Georgia who has just lost her parents and plops her down in Colorado with a widowed aunt trying to hold on to a cattle ranch. Her growth and experiences with life's struggles, as well as with romance ( in the form of the uncommunicative cattle foreman) are believable and tender. A very nice...more
After the death of her father, Crystal finds herself heading to Colorado in June 1892 to visit her aunt's cattle ranch. Being raised a proper southern belle, the wild country is a whole new life that she is willing to learn to live in to help her forget her troubles. The cowhands enjoy having a pretty lady around, but one in particular isn't sure if Crystal will survive living on a ranch. Luke has his doubts tested when tragedy hits the ranch and everyone must pull together to get the cattle to...more
Nov 12, 2011
Stephanie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
romance
An enjoyable read. At some points it felt as though the writing was lacking in some way, that it wasn't flowing as well as it should. However, the story itself was a cute one, even though the romance between Crystal and Luke took it's dear sweet time to develop. It's a Christian romance novel, but the religious aspects of the story, when they are evident, don't force themselves on you. The story stands on it's own, and would be a nice read with or without the religious aspects. A nice, innocent...more
Another free Kindle Christian book -- with a story of Crystal, a young lady from Atlanta, who ends on a ranch in Colorado, with her Aunt. Unfortunately, her aunt dies (her parents had died before the start of the story) and Crystal and the foreman bristle at each other. Eventually, the story has a good ending (yes, happily every after ending) but Crystal is not the expected softie, city girl. In fact, she even went on the trail drive with the longhorns being taken to market. It was a cute story.
So after half a semester of reading difficult things, this book was refreshing. I didn't have to over think, I just had to be entertained. I was entertained by this book, when I wasn't trying to find some irony or other things that I have had to do this semester. There a few things that I wondered if someone in this period would say but I dealed. I like how this book wasn't pushy about Christianity. It's the kind of book that gets under your skin that you like. I think this is the author's first...more
I'm the author of the book and long after the page proofs were done and I finally received my copy, it had been a while since I'd read my book. I thoroughly enjoyed it,forgetting I was the author. It's a test of endurance and faith and some have called it amaturish, but those that loved it-got the story and the dialogue. I wrote the story that God laid on my heart. I do hope you'll consider book #2, The Jewel of His Heart.
A very enjoyable and fast read. However, most of these "Bride of the Old West" Christian Romances are pretty much alike. I think somewhere there is a generic book you get in a Christian writing class and you just change the names, places, and the silly misunderstanding that makes the couple work at cross-purposes until the end of the book. If you like this genre of historical romance, you will love this one.
This book started out a little rough. It seemed like the author was trying too hard, and I felt like I was reading a high-school essay. There wasn't much depth to the characters. The story line wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, either. The ending was rather abrupt and predictable, the main character, Crystal, was a little too "perfect". I felt like I couldn't relate to any of the circumstances or people. The relationship between Crystal and Luke reminded me of Anne and Gilbert (Anne Of Green Gabl...more
i hardly ever read christian books, or westerns, and this was both, but it was surprising enough ok for me. it didn't bludgeon one with the christian message and the story moved on fast. nice people were killed off, which doesn't always happen. all in all, not a bad book at all, considering it really is not what i usually read. a big plus--it was free!
This was actually much better than the back-cover blurb sounded to me.
Crystal arrives in Colorado to visit with her aunt after the death of her father in Georgia. Her father's debts forced her to sell everything they owned and getting away to Colorado seems like the thing to do until she can figure out what she wants to do in life. While there she meets Luke, her aunt's ranch foreman and they form a love/hate relationship. Throw in a jealous "girlfriend", a trail drive and a good dose of traged...more
Crystal arrives in Colorado to visit with her aunt after the death of her father in Georgia. Her father's debts forced her to sell everything they owned and getting away to Colorado seems like the thing to do until she can figure out what she wants to do in life. While there she meets Luke, her aunt's ranch foreman and they form a love/hate relationship. Throw in a jealous "girlfriend", a trail drive and a good dose of traged...more
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Brenda Lott aka Maggie Brendan
Hello, dah-lin. My name is Brenda Lott, and I'm from Gah-gah (Georgia) which makes me a Southern belle. Think Scarlett O'Hara. No, make that Margaret Mitchell since I, too, write historical romance novels. My pen name is Maggie Brendan, and I host a writers' critique group in my home. I'm a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and American Christian Write...more
More about Maggie Brendan...
Hello, dah-lin. My name is Brenda Lott, and I'm from Gah-gah (Georgia) which makes me a Southern belle. Think Scarlett O'Hara. No, make that Margaret Mitchell since I, too, write historical romance novels. My pen name is Maggie Brendan, and I host a writers' critique group in my home. I'm a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and American Christian Write...more
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