Golden Fancy

Love and Adventure Collection #5

by Jennifer Blake

Serena Walsh had fled from the Mormon wagon train -- and from the clutches of the fanatic Elder Greer. She had been saved on the desolate prairie by the handsome, cynical Ward Dunbar who wanted her body as his reward. Now Serena was Dunbar's unwilling mistress -- and his prisoner. Now she was despised by Dunbar's beautiful partner, Pearlie, for stealing her man. Now she was desired by Nathan Benedict, the millionaire who wanted her love at any price. And still she was pursued by Elder Greer. Could Serena Walsh stand alone against the primitive passions of a hostile town?

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Westerns, Western Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Fiction

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 12, 1980

About the author

A 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.

Reviews

[KatieV · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the safe world of fantasy, I love the 'takes what he wants' alpha hero. Ward (who was supposed to be stoic and controlled normally) saw Serena and decided to keep her regardless of what she said. Since the story is told soley from the h's POV, we don't get his thoughts, but I've found with Blake that you just have to read between the lines to know the H is desperately in love with the h and doesn't say because he fears her rejection. I love it when the H realizes his love/need for the h before she does.

*** MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW ***

19 yr old Serena Walsh, originally from New Orleans, is part of a wagon train heading to a Colorado gold mining town when her parents die. A group of fringe group Mormons who still practice polygamy basically take over her life and commandeer her animals, buggy, etc. "for her own good". The pervy old elder is determined to make her his 4th wife. When he tries to rape her, she stabs him with a fork and ends up running away on the trail with nothing but her trunk of clothes.

She is found by Ward Dunbar who is camped out on his return to the gold mining town where he operates a saloon/gambling house. He used to be a lawyer from a high class family in Mississippi, but left that behind after being falsely accused of murder and then ostracised by everyone. I can't remember his age being stated, but I'm guessing early/mid 30s.

He is very suspicious of Serena. He thinks she's trying to play the "helpless lost female" to distract him while bandits come and rob him. He finally realizes she's not, but decides she's probably going to the gold boom town to find a rich man. She doesn't really defend herself, because she's angry with him and doesn't really care what he thinks anyway.

When they make it to Colorado Springs, he initially leaves her at a boarding house to make her own way. She goes out looking for work and ends up being attacked by a thug and the crazy old religious fantatic from the wagon train. Ward (who's come looking for her) rescues her from being raped and then takes her to a private railroad car headed to the mining town of Cripple Creek where he has his saloon. He has decided, unanamiously, that he will not allow Serena to go her own way. He's decided he'll put her under his protection and, in turn, she'll be his mistress. It seems the only 'work' available for women in this part of the country is prostitution.

On the train, he forces himself on her. I would call it somewhere between rape and forced seduction. She doesn't have a choice, but she's also turned on by him. He realizes she is a virgin and is appalled at himself....apparently it was okay to force a non-virgin in those days :P However, he continues with his plan to keep her as his for her protection and his pleasure.

He takes her to his saloon and installs her in his private rooms. She has no clothing to wear because he literally ripped up the bodice of her dress and gives her a robe to where around until her trunk arrives from the boarding house in Colo Springs. Apparently the trunk arrives and he never tells her. He's afraid she'll try to get away from him if she has actual clothes to wear. They go on that some weeks that way, with her living in his quarters and her "traitorous body" succumbing to him despite her efforts to remain passive. He does finally realize she shouldn't be confined like that so he buys her some clothing and takes her out with him.

He goes to Denver on business for a few days and leaves her with arrangements to have food delivered 3 times a day. However, his evil partner, the madame Pearlie and her thug Otto don't let her have the food and force her to dance in the saloon if she wants to eat. Pearlie then drugs Serena and sends her to "serve" richest man in town, Nathan. Nathan, who is a friend of Ward's, is not the type to rape a drugged woman, so he just watches after her until she is awake. He's actually enamored by her and wants to know her, so he doesn't try anything. Ward walks in, misinterprets what he sees, and then punches Nathan. He thinks that Serena is just trying to find her a rich man now that he is gone. However, he finds out the truth about everything that happened and fires Otto and dissolves his partnership with Pearlie. After that they live in more harmony and she begins to participate more willingly in bed.

He ends up leaving again to dig for gold. She doesn't know this, but he left the first time and this second time because he wanted to have enough money not to have to run a saloon. He felt like she would never marry him as he was and was determined to have something better to offer her. She, on the other hand, thought she was just a plaything he would tire of. At this point she is pregnant but hasn't told him yet. Turns out he knows that as well and is part of the reason he's so desperate to make a fortune.

He's only supposed to be gone a few weeks, but ends up being gone for months. During this time, Serena realizes she loves Ward. When he still doesn't return almost 6 mo's later, he is assumed dead and Pearlie takes the gambling house over and kicks the highly pregnant Serena out to the streets.

The millionaire Nathan was actually in cahoots with Pearlie to get Serena out of the saloon and maneuver her into being his wife. She actually marries him and gives birth while sick from a flu caught after being tossed out into the streets in winter. She doesn't remember consenting to the marriage at all. When she finds out she's married to him she begs him to give her time to adjust. The marriage is never consummated.

Ward comes back. he had actually been hurt and unable to return until now. Ironically he had also gotten the money he sought and was now the owner of a very profitable mine. By this time the baby is a month or two old. He finds out from Pearlie that Serena has married Nathan. He, of course, thinks it's because of the money (dude was fixated on money).

She finds out he has returned and goes into town on her own but doesn't see him. He sees her and follows her because he sees that the thug Otto is following her as well. He tries to rape her again and she shoots him with a small pistol she has, believing she killed him. Ward shows up and tells her to go and he will take care of the body.

Serena finds out the extent of Nathan's deception in getting her to marry him and she is angry, of course. Ward then summons her with a cryptic note and she finds out that he plans to blackmail her into having sex with him in exchange for him not telling the police about the shooting. They do have sex for a week or so, but she is angry and holds herself aloof from him, which seems to bother him a lot.

Finally, he swallows his pride and comes to tell her he's not letting her go and he knows her marriage with Nathan is not real. He demands she choose and she chooses Ward. Ward swears to get her free to marry him.

Very soon after that, Nathan gets killed in a mining accident at his mine. She assumes Ward was responsible (he wasn't). She inherits all of Nathan's money and Ward is named as a guardian of their son and the estate. There is lots more drama, mistrust, and forced seduction. All culminating in a fire that burns down the entire gambling/red light district. In the end, they are both back at the mansion she inherited, but she STILL doesn't believe Ward feels anything for her beyond desire and a sense of duty. Finally he confesses all: that he intended to marry her for a long time, he loves her more than anything, and was willing to do ANYTHING to keep her, which is why he blackmailed her. He never told her because he was afraid she hated him because of how he'd stolen her virginity and forced her to be his mistress. Turns out the guy she shot wasn't even dead, he left town. Cue happily ever after.

LOL - so many tropes hit! So much drama! I loved it. Only thing I'd change is some of the detailed descriptions of the mining town, scenery, way of life. Honestly, I skimmed through that stuff.

[Misfit · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Since she had known this man, she had been assaulted, nearly raped, subjected to public humiliation, and robbed of everything she owned. She had been hounded and harassed, held up to scorn, charged with vile accusations, branded with foul names, and threatened with acts of violence. Her life had been endangered, she had been harried and attacked, chased down, her horses and carriage taken from her, her clothing shredded, and her pride and modesty stripped away as dozens of strange men had prodded and handled her...Rage boiled up inside her, bringing color to her cheeks and a militant look to her eyes.

Golden Fancy begins in 1893 (I think that was the year, too lazy to go back and check). Serena Walsh headed west via wagon train with her parents in hopes of striking it rich in the latest gold strike in Colorado (couldn't afford going via rail, so they signed on with a group of Mormons heading west). Her parents died along the way, leaving her in the care of Mormon Elder Greer who lusts after the beauteous Serena and wants to make her bride #4 (or is that #5?). The lusty elder gets a wee bit carried away and though she's able to fight Greer off, she's banished from the train with only a few personal belongings (they took her wagon and furnishings away). Alone in the wilderness, she stumbles across gambler Ward Dunbar and he brings her first to Colorado City and then Cripple Creek, where he runs a gambling hall. Ward decides to *keep* Serena as his mistress, and she's pretty much stuck as if she did (or could) leave, with no money or friends she'd just end up in a crib or as another man's mistress.

So she stays with Ward, but life isn't all peachy since his partner Pearlie is none too thrilled with this new arrangement and she doesn't waste time when Ward has to head to Denver for a few days on business. She's a mean 'un. Serena also catches the eye of mining millionaire Nathan Benedict, the evil Elder Greer sticks around to cause more trouble, and there's also a jack the ripper like character offing local prostitutes..

I'm a fan of Jennifer Blake, so I'm always happy to find her older ones at the library sales when I spot them, and this one didn't disappoint. I like Colorado settings a lot, and while I've only visited the CO Springs/ Cripple Creek area twice, the author seemed to have a good feel for the historical setting, and from her notes at the end she did spend some time there getting a feel for things. One plus with Blake is that she's got a good knack for imparting to the reader the smaller details of the historical period she's writing about - you don't just jump out of those clothes in a couple of seconds (let alone get back into them without a maid). I didn't find this quite as steamy as other Blake novels I've read, but I do want to caution potential readers that this was written in 1980 and it does have the *forced seduction* trope that was very popular back than. It wasn't an alpha a-hole male kind of forced seduction, but it is there none the less. There are readers who can't get past them, hence the warning.

[Pooja Peravali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intrepid heroine, and I loved her friend Connie as well. She is put through quite a lot in this book - abduction, rape, childbirth, forced marriage - but holds up well under it all. The hero is rather dull however, and I almost wish we saw Serena attempt to work it out with the other man, Nathan. The writing is stellar and creates a vivid sense of time and place.

[Regan Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Absorbing Bodice Ripper from the Old West!

I am a fan of Jennifer Blake and love her “Love and Adventure” stories (she has two boxed sets of them—all eBooks). This one is a bodice ripper from the Old West and very well told.

Set in 1893, it tells of 19-year-old Serena Walsh who has lost her parents to typhoid and is forced to travel with a Mormon wagon train heading through Colorado where her father had planned to mine for gold. But the crazed Mormon Elder Greer has eyes for Serena and decides she will become his wife whether she is willing or no. When he thinks to take her by force, she stabs him with a fork and flees to the prairie. There, she is rescued by Ward Dunbar, owner of the Eldorado saloon, who sees her safely to Colorado and thinking she is a loose woman forcibly takes her innocence (yes, indeedy, this is a bodice ripper).

Ward, a lawyer turned gambler, wasn’t looking too good when he took Serena’s innocence and, making it worse, forced her to become his kept woman, holding her prisoner in a room above his saloon. Then, too, Ward’s partner, Pearlie, is jealous of Serena and resents her presence. But all is not lost; millionaire Nathan Benedict discovers Serena and wants her for his own, offering a fortune to Ward to leave her alone. And, oh yes, someone is killing ladies of the night.

It’s a tightly woven plot with lots of tension and very well written. Based on thorough research, Blake brings to life the gold mining town of Cripple Creek in the late 19th century with all its colorful characters and more than one villain. The story is told through the heroine’s perspective so you’ll be wondering what Ward is thinking much of the time, as I did, at least until he tells us what’s been on his mind. This is one story that will keep you turning pages.

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt as though I had to interpret this novel through two lenses: 1) From the author and the time period she wrote it (1980's) and, 2) the actual time period & setting of the novel. I can't imagine this novel being written in this present day due to the characters, their struggles and their prospective journeys. More often, in present day novels, you are provided with equally strong leads who survive external pressures, but none so remarkable as those presented to the Hero & heroine in this book.

This story takes place in a mining town of Colorado in the 1880s when people flocked to this area in search of riches and a better life. The novel is about Serena Walsh & Ward Dunbar....what a winding love story! I rated this novel 5 stars because I was absolutely hooked!--For whatever reason. It's a very NON-PC book, but it makes you think about the lives and choices both men and women made when the country was still growing. It is an evocative read.

Regarding the characters in the book, I have to say that after listening to the book twice, I better understood the Hero, Ward. Although, initially I felt more compassion for Nathan (the other guy), but when I considered how underhanded he was in dealing with Serena and stealing her away from his best friend, I just couldn't get over it. It was despicable and quite unchivalrous.

Yet, the hero, himself is no angel. Ward is strong, handsome...very masculine and Alpha-male, but there is this underlying fear and feeling of "not being good enough" for Serena that is compelling, if not interesting. That feeling of fear and the need to strike it rich in order to provide something worthy to Serena is what defines all of his actions and decisions. I don't think you can see this until the end of the book when he confesses his love for her and explains all of his decisions and actions made throughout the book. I would have liked for him to have shared his heart throughout the book & communicated better with Serena, but then, if he had Serena and Ward would not have suffered so much and there would be no compelling novel...lol. I also thought that perhaps that same burden to provide and to provide well for a woman like Serena (even though she made no such demands on him) made him feel as though he could not share his worries with the heroine. Either way, I chalked it down as a characteristic of men in his time period.

Serena, is sweet and beautiful and very much a reflection of a woman in her time period (I would assume). I think she had to be strong, patient and display long-suffering traits in order to survive. She makes the most of her circumstances and follows her heart. Serena very much falls in love with Ward and that is something she does not ever let go, even though she is pushed in another direction. Her kindness and what she did for other women, in need, seemed to be her own way of using her the power she attained to improve the lives of the fortunate as she could relate so personally.

The book within itself is not a conventional romance nor does it present leads with superior moral character and there is something interesting in that formula. In fact, many of the characters are burdened with their need for "MORE." My feeling was that if every character in the book would have been happy with his/her own circumstance and made the best of their situation with their own partner, everyone would have been happy & they all could have lived life similar to an episode of "Little House on the Prairie." :-)

5 stars because I had to listen again and because it made me think deeply about the characters & their lives....

Narrator:
I thought the narrator was fabulous...very, very good. Her voice was crisp and she presented each character with their own unique inflections & cadence in voice that was distinguishable.

[Maura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This strikes me as typical of 1980s romance in many ways. The alpha hero who desires the woman so much that despite the guilt and remorse he feels he keeps the heroine as a prisoner, forcing her to accept his attentions and desperate for her to come to him willingly. Then there is the love triangle (more like a square in this story) between the heroine, the hero, the hero's best friend and another woman. At times, I liked the hero, at others I didn't. I felt like both the heroine and the hero had a bit too much blindness toward the other - anger that wouldn't let them believe the other and led them to more misunderstandings. The heroine completely frustrated me with her tendency to constantly believe the worst of the hero (granted, she had reason at times) and the hero frustrated me because he couldn't understand why she might think the worst of him. Not enough communication! And as ever, there is the soap-opera like drama that is the hallmark of this genre and time period.

[Birjis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Golden Fancy was amazing. I think there was 'an air of change' in this bodice ripper while staying true to it's genre maybe because of the style of Jennifer Blake's romance? The hero, Ward is absolutely obsessed with the heroine, Serena. He doesn't offer marriage to Serena, he never tries to make her jealous or go through a parade of females when he feels rejected, in fact he is quite mature for a BR hero 😆. As women from those days with no man to 'look after' Serena falls into drastic circumstances everytime Ward isn't around her, she makes a number of enemies only because she is beautiful. I like both the H and h in this book, the romance and sex scenes are sensual which I find very rare in BR books. When they admit to themselves that they love each other I feel a satisfication instead of thinking they are bound to fall for each other because they are hero and heroine: the forced seduction, the times they spend talking to each other although vague about their thoughts, Serena coming clean when she is in trouble to Ward and the maturation, advancement of musing a complication Serena faces sometimes was bewildering to me for a BR heroine.
She despises Ward sometimes with hateful pettiness and at the same time was torn with compassion for him. He took advantage to the fact that she was alone in the world, he forced himself upon her, kept her as a prisoner of his pleasure, got her with child then left her. He made no promises of love or marriage but then he gave her shelter and protection and was gentle with her.

What irritated me was every descriptive body attributes of Serena, she is white here, pink there, a nuns drab is sexy on her, she doesn't want to tempt men but her dress magically entices men and whoever is obsessed with her is obsessed until the end of the book.


***full spoilers***

Serena Walsh becomes a casualty of poverty after her parents death then falls victim to a fanatic Elder Greer who wants Serena as his fourth wife claiming he wants to guide Serena towards righteous womanhood and shelter her immortal soul from evil. Escaping from almost getting raped and married in the barren plains of mountains with only her parents little belongings she was allowed to carry she meets Ward Dunbar who immediately assumes wrong about her. Instantly suspicious of Serena he doesn't believe her story of almost getting raped and being kicked off the wagon train, he thinks she is playing the damsel in distress and expects her to have 'hidden company' come and rob him. Anyways he doesn't abandon her, he tries to rape her and after a mutual understanding they will part ways later. After reaching Colorado Springs Ward leaves Serena at a boarding house, knowing she has little money she goes out to look for work and ends up getting attacked by a ruffian and fanatic Greer who has also reached the same town and is not ready to give Serena up. Ward rescues her and kidnaps her on his friends private rail car to a city Cripple Creek, it's a mining town where Ward with a partner owns a saloon. He decides to take her under his protection and makes Serena his mistress keeping her in his private rooms with only a wrapper to wear. There is rape then eventually surrendering to passions.
Pearlie, Ward's other partner of saloon immediately takes dislike to Serena, when she figures out Serena isn't like any other girls Ward brings Pearlie makes trouble. Ward leaving Serena alone in the saloon and going away days and months for business trips puts Serena in major trouble due to Pearlie. Serena then meets Ward's friend Nathan who takes interest in Serena. Eventual manipulation in absence of Ward makes Serena Nathan's wife while she gives birth to a baby, all done when she was unconcious.
Ward returns to town and is hurt, Serena finds out Nathan's deception. Ward makes arrangement to still get Serena to sleep with him which eventually makes Nathan take Serena and the baby to leave the town. After an accident which leads to Nathan's death and end to the bad guys they have their HEA.

[Nessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

A VERITABLE WASTE OF TIME. It wasn't bad but, it wasn't good either. Half the story, the MCs aren't even together!! I hated how we didn't even get to see the hero's POV until right till the end. It's like the entire story just features the heroine and her plight, and the hero's just there as a side schtik for sex! And don't even get me started on the supposed villain in the story. Nathan's a good man but, he coveted another man's lover and married the women while she was under the influence of drugs! Can you believe that?! Total shithead and coward!

The MCs had great chemistry, but I felt it was stilted because throughout the way, their interactions apart from the sex was soooo stiff.

[Giulia Vasquez · Rating 1 out of 5]

it's been a really long time since I read a book so bent on delivering a lazy plot

I just have to assume the author equates bodice rippers to idiotic heroines and an even more idiotic storyline, as if she was challenging herself to present us a ridiculous book

here you will find body betrayal trope
a heroine that will forget all about being raped and even feel sorry for the hero


waste of time

[Mas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved, loved, loved it! What an epic romance. It had everything I liked in a book. The story was very different as well. For a long book, the pace was excellent as well. Didn't sleep well for two nights because I couldn't put it down. Sadly, it takes a lot to get me to be so enthralled with a book. I will definitely be rereading this one. I just wish things had turned out differently for Nathan.

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly couldn't stand Pearlie. Pearlie was so fucking obnoxious. Serena was useless. Ward was unnecessarily cryptic and vague. The Mormon elder was ridiculous. Honestly the only person who was somewhat decent was Nathan, but we all know his fate now don't we.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Bad

It has the desperately smitten heroes which I love. She's a bit of a twit, but I suppose someone has to be.

[Su · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow? 70's, 80's rape theme is heavily included in this book too. H`s attitude was not indicating any love until the virtually the last page.

[°мαggιє° (っ⚈ᴥ⚈)っ™ · Rating 2 out of 5]

rape after insta love. BARF

[Suzy Vero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Golden Fancy (1980) is one of my favorites by Jennifer Blake … a memorable BR story set in the Cripple Creek, Colorado gold rush of the mid 1800s. Although I read it awhile ago here’s a short review to entice you:

💛 Serena is rescued by a Mormon wagon train, and the elder wants her for his fourth wife. She escapes his clutches, and is abandoned on the barren plains when along comes Ward who immediately assumes the worst of her, and doesn’t believe her story. He too attempts to rape her but they reach an understanding.

💛 They eventually end up in Colorado Springs, and there develops a love triangle between Serena, Ward and his business partner Nathan… both men are despicable at times. Tho when she falls into drastic circumstances Ward does rescue her. And, she in return can be petty towards him.

💛 The romance and sex scenes are sensual and well written … rare for an early BR. I liked both the hero and heroine in this story … they are complex characters, and when they admit they love each other it shows how they’ve grown emotionally.

💛 Golden Fancy is an amazing beautifully written story … the plot is complex … I’m not going into details… as the cover says:

The Mormon lusted to save her soul…
The gambler wanted to ravish her body.
The millionaire would have her at any price…

Cover by the artist Elaine Gignilliat.

[Cindy Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second time I have read this book.....I obviously liked it the first time because I rarely read a book a second time.

This story about a young woman kept by a gambler is very well written. The plot develops very well as do the characters. This book isn't just about the steamy sex....although, there is plenty of it, and it is very well done. The characters involved all go through a revolution as their lives are impacted, not only by each other but by circumstances beyond their control. The historical background of the gold rush in Cripple Creek in the mid 1800's is fascinating.

I highly recommend to readers of romance and historical fiction. It was better the second time I read it!

[Zena · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story opens with the heroine very unhappy with a Mormon family that has adopted her after the death of her parents. She is earmarked as the 4th wife of one of the Elders and really doesn't like this idea, but she travels with them - safety in numbers and all that.
This fanatical Elder keeps popping up in the book and he is portrayed in an ugly light.
Meantime, Serena tries to get her life together, falling under the spell of a very special man ... And so on.
This is the 3rd Jennifer Blake book I have read and thoroughly enjoyed.
Christine Marshall does an excellent narration in the audiobook.
An exciting and entertaining story that kept me glued to the pages and audio and I highly recommend this book.

[Roub · Rating 3 out of 5]

poor Serena! she was harassed and pursued by men, and got nearly raped many times. she had lucky escapes thanks to Ward and Nathan! her biggest enemy was Ward's business partner, Pearlie, who was green wid jealousy of Serena because she wanted Ward's attentions for herself. she was up to a lot of mischief throughout the book and i was glad when Elder Greer murdered her !

[Bev Mcallister]

Not worth finishing........

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read.

This book was well written. The author ready incorporated the true history of Cripple Creek extensively within the story. An enjoyable re as d.

[Debbie "Buried in Her TBR Pile"]

Love and Adventure Collection - Part 2 (Love and Adventure Boxed Sets)

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great one!

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is a great book to read