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Determined to make good on his promise to rescue Chloe Madison, Wade Benedict arrives in Louisiana where he finds a stubborn, irate, and brave woman who does not want or need his help, but when the underground rebellion she belongs to turns dangerous, his protection turns to passion. Original.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 10, 2009
About the author
Jennifer Blake
160 books545 followersA pseudonym used by Patricia Maxwell.
Jennifer Blake has been called a “pioneer of the romance genre”, and an “icon of the romance industry.” A New York Times and international best selling author since 1977, she is a charter member of Romance Writers of America, member of the RWA Hall of Fame, and recipient of the RWA Lifetime Achievement Rita. She holds numerous other honors, including two “Maggies”, two Holt Medallions, multiple Reviewer’s Choice Awards, the Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times BookReviews Magazine, and the Frank Waters Award for literary excellence. She has written over 60 books with translations in 20 languages and more than 30 million copies in print worldwide.
Jennifer and her husband reside in a lakeside Caribbean-style retreat in North Louisiana where they often entertain family and friends. Always a gardener, she spends much of her time encouraging her garden to bloom with her favorite daylilies and antique roses. She also enjoys walking her two dogs, Buffy and Lucky, and indulging in needlework, painting, and travel.
Jennifer Blake has been called a “pioneer of the romance genre”, and an “icon of the romance industry.” A New York Times and international best selling author since 1977, she is a charter member of Romance Writers of America, member of the RWA Hall of Fame, and recipient of the RWA Lifetime Achievement Rita. She holds numerous other honors, including two “Maggies”, two Holt Medallions, multiple Reviewer’s Choice Awards, the Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times BookReviews Magazine, and the Frank Waters Award for literary excellence. She has written over 60 books with translations in 20 languages and more than 30 million copies in print worldwide.
Jennifer and her husband reside in a lakeside Caribbean-style retreat in North Louisiana where they often entertain family and friends. Always a gardener, she spends much of her time encouraging her garden to bloom with her favorite daylilies and antique roses. She also enjoys walking her two dogs, Buffy and Lucky, and indulging in needlework, painting, and travel.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 16, 2011
This is a really amazing book, written just before the WTC diaster, and revised slightly in order to publish just after.
May 11, 2013
need series about the wives
July 21, 2019
I've never read any of the other Louisiana Gentlemen books by Blake and picked this one up as a fluke.
The story was nice. The idea behind the characters was good but the delivery wasn't. As a reader, it is completely unbelievable to me that an oppressed woman would fall into bed with a stranger so quickly.
I would have given this book 4 stars but the spelling and grammar mistakes were a huge problem for me. I had to constantly stop and reread or try to determine what the author was actually trying to say. It was a nice, quick read but I wouldn't read it again and I don't plan on trying out any of the other Louisiana Gentlemen books either.
The story was nice. The idea behind the characters was good but the delivery wasn't. As a reader, it is completely unbelievable to me that an oppressed woman would fall into bed with a stranger so quickly.
I would have given this book 4 stars but the spelling and grammar mistakes were a huge problem for me. I had to constantly stop and reread or try to determine what the author was actually trying to say. It was a nice, quick read but I wouldn't read it again and I don't plan on trying out any of the other Louisiana Gentlemen books either.
November 15, 2019
Both characters and romance arc were pretty well-done, although the heroes' first full sexual encounter was a little jarring, only in that the way it came about was abrupt and had the potential to be not all that compelling. While the overall concept was a little hard to grasp, I think it was done relatively well, and the themes of Muslim/American tensions and solidarity among women are still extremely relevant. I liked that Blake was able to weave something so real into a genre that is stereotypically superficial and taboo. I think this realness should be the norm--it makes the romance all that more relatable and poignant.
July 29, 2021
This proved a real disappointment for me. I expected the book to be set in Louisiana given the title . In fact , more than half the story was in a muslim country and involved the hardships faced by women there . The author displayed no signs of having been there, and I found her approach rather trivial . Much of the book seemed like a Mills and Boon romance and the ease of moving around and out of both Afghanistan and Pakistan less than credible . Not for me , I'm afraid .
October 29, 2018
This book about a rescue from Afghanistan was an interesting look into Islam. Little too much romance for my taste.
March 4, 2020
Pretty good!!
February 3, 2021
I really enjoyed the story line, but the female character got a bit annoying. Other than that, it was a good book.
May 2, 2022
As a teenager, Chloe Madison moved to the Islamic country of Haravistan after her divorced mother married a man from there. Years later, with her step-father fighting at the border and her mother deceased, Chloe's life and future are in the hands of her step-brother who has embraced the Taliban's ideology. While in a local stadium to witness the harsh punishment given to citizens that have broken the law, Chloe is approached by an American man who says he has come to take her home at the request of her father.
After several difficulties, Wade Benedict, the American sent to rescue Chloe, finally gets her back home to the states. But her step-brother, Ahmad, has followed them declaring a jihad against Wade's whole family. Ahmad has decided that he wants Chloe for his own, since learning that her father has died and left her a sizable inheritance.
Jennifer Blake has an author's note at the end of this book that she had started writing this book before 9/11. Afterward the book was almost dropped.
This was a re-read for me although I didn't recognize the title but from the first page, I knew I had read it before. An unforgettable story.
After several difficulties, Wade Benedict, the American sent to rescue Chloe, finally gets her back home to the states. But her step-brother, Ahmad, has followed them declaring a jihad against Wade's whole family. Ahmad has decided that he wants Chloe for his own, since learning that her father has died and left her a sizable inheritance.
Jennifer Blake has an author's note at the end of this book that she had started writing this book before 9/11. Afterward the book was almost dropped.
This was a re-read for me although I didn't recognize the title but from the first page, I knew I had read it before. An unforgettable story.
January 9, 2025
good read
October 2, 2010
I read this book in my matric year and wrote a review as part of my English portfolio that year. I came across that file this year and decided to post my review.
Set in Hazaristan, a fictional name for Afghanistan, this book deals with the issue of female oppression. Chloe Madison is a young American women trapped in an Islamic country after her divorced mother married a Hazaro scholar, forcing them to migrate to Hazaristan. However, it is not long before Chloe's stepbrother takes an intense disliking to his father's nes American family. Transformed by Taliban training into a hardened warrior, the merciless Ahmed sets out to subjugate these bold American women. However, Chloe's mother soon dies and her stepfather leaves, with Chloe effectively being left behind under the control of her stepbrother.
Meanwhile, in America, Chloe's biological father is on his deathbed. His dying wish: that Chloe be returned safely to America. Wade Benedict feels honour-bound to fulfill this wish but little does he expect to find a stubborn, angry and courageous young women who doesn't want to be saved.
Her outrage at the oppressive treatment of women has pulled Chloe into the dangerous world of an underground rebellion. She cannot desert the women with whom she has formed a daring alliance, and her self-appointed saviour cannot force her to abandon her friends and her commitments- even though her life may be at stake!
But Chloe has met her match in Wade, and as they escape through the treacherous mountains, unexpressed emotions wear away at their toughened exteriors and when danger stalks them as far as Turn-Coupe, Louisiana, together they must face a battle that can only be won by the indomitable will of a close-knit family...and unwavering love.
This book made an indelible impression on me and I look forward to reading the other books in the Louisiana Gentlemen Series.
Set in Hazaristan, a fictional name for Afghanistan, this book deals with the issue of female oppression. Chloe Madison is a young American women trapped in an Islamic country after her divorced mother married a Hazaro scholar, forcing them to migrate to Hazaristan. However, it is not long before Chloe's stepbrother takes an intense disliking to his father's nes American family. Transformed by Taliban training into a hardened warrior, the merciless Ahmed sets out to subjugate these bold American women. However, Chloe's mother soon dies and her stepfather leaves, with Chloe effectively being left behind under the control of her stepbrother.
Meanwhile, in America, Chloe's biological father is on his deathbed. His dying wish: that Chloe be returned safely to America. Wade Benedict feels honour-bound to fulfill this wish but little does he expect to find a stubborn, angry and courageous young women who doesn't want to be saved.
Her outrage at the oppressive treatment of women has pulled Chloe into the dangerous world of an underground rebellion. She cannot desert the women with whom she has formed a daring alliance, and her self-appointed saviour cannot force her to abandon her friends and her commitments- even though her life may be at stake!
But Chloe has met her match in Wade, and as they escape through the treacherous mountains, unexpressed emotions wear away at their toughened exteriors and when danger stalks them as far as Turn-Coupe, Louisiana, together they must face a battle that can only be won by the indomitable will of a close-knit family...and unwavering love.
This book made an indelible impression on me and I look forward to reading the other books in the Louisiana Gentlemen Series.
Read
October 5, 2012"Ti amo, Chloé, per quello che sei e per tutte le cose che vuoi fare. Per il tuo coraggio, la tua forza e perfino per quella venatura di eroismo che ti porta a correre dei rischi paurosi."
L'ambientazione di questo libro è contemporanea o quasi e i protagonisasti sono abbastanza insoliti per un romance, però, il libro è del 2003 e secondo me si sente molto l'atmosfera dell'America post 11 settembre... nel senso che ci sono delle semplificazioni e forse anche qualche stereotipo...
ho controllato sui dati relativi alla pubblicazione: l'edizione in inglese è del 2002 e procede di pochi mesi quella italiana...
inizialmente l'avevo mollato, poi, prima di scambiarlo, l'ho ripreso e l'ho terminato...
L'ambientazione di questo libro è contemporanea o quasi e i protagonisasti sono abbastanza insoliti per un romance, però, il libro è del 2003 e secondo me si sente molto l'atmosfera dell'America post 11 settembre... nel senso che ci sono delle semplificazioni e forse anche qualche stereotipo...
ho controllato sui dati relativi alla pubblicazione: l'edizione in inglese è del 2002 e procede di pochi mesi quella italiana...
inizialmente l'avevo mollato, poi, prima di scambiarlo, l'ho ripreso e l'ho terminato...
August 21, 2015
Very different. Wade Benedict became friends with Chloe Madison's father in the LA oil fields. When Chloe was 12 her mother married a man from Hazaristan and they moved there. When the Taliban took over, her mother is killed and Chloe comes under the control of her hated step-brother Ahmed. Wade finds her and they escape back to America to discover Ahmed has also arrived and plans to wipe out the Benedict clan. Love follows but it takes some TLC to undo 12 years of male middle eastern domination. VERY well done and interesting. Timely - highly recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 12, 2012
Picked at random from the library shelf, I didn't realize this was the conclusion of a series until afterwards, but I did think many of the supporting cast (family) ought to have their own stories, as they seemed an interesting bunch. The line between fiction and propaganda felt a little thin a times, with an obvious message on the author's mind, and I thought that weakened the story.
September 28, 2014
Para ser el último de los Caballeros de Louisiana, está muy linda, relacionar otras culturas, una linda integración de los anteriores personajes sin perder de vista la trama principal, los personajes son muy definidos y no se vuelven redundantes,
La historia podría haber mejorado en el final, pero está buena para pasar el rato.
La historia podría haber mejorado en el final, pero está buena para pasar el rato.
March 1, 2009
This one is a good romantic suspense! A great story about a man trying to rescue a woman trapped in a Taliban control Afghanistan. They do what they can to get the girl turned woman out the country to claim her inheritance in Louisiana. Very intriguing story!
Read
April 24, 2008Blake, Jennifer
September 7, 2014
good, definitely pulled me in...
September 10, 2015
A southern charmer, a damsel in distress in the middle east, followed by a bit of Louisiana loving...
Shall we just call this a bodice ripper with a burqa twist?
Shall we just call this a bodice ripper with a burqa twist?
January 17, 2016
Romance, suspense. Not bad.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews