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Ryan's Gold
DREAMS OF GOLD LED HER WEST, WHERE HER INNOCENCE WAS SOON LOST TO THE FLAMES OF DESIRE...Golden-haired Emerald Banyon sees her prospector father meet death at the hands of merciless claim jumpers. Vowing revenge, she escapes into the wilderness, only to be hopelessly lost in a furious snowstorm. But young Emerald's life changes the moment she meets Apache Ryan, the dark mysterious gunslinger who rescues her...and forever steals her innocence with his burning lips.Torn between regret and desire. Emerald struggles to contain the seething passion that Apache has stirred deep within her. For in Apache's fiery embrace, she has been born a woman...a woman who will soon face danger and adventure, and a love greater than any she could have imagined.
324 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 12, 1988
About the author
Cordia Byers
18 books21 followersCatherine Blair (a.k.a. Cordia Byers) grew up in Texas, were she spent her high school years writing romances for her friends. She received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Cornell University and currently studies opiate addiction. No one else thinks that the pun between "heroin addiction" and "heroine addiction" is as funny as she does. Catherine is a member of the Romance Writers of America and lives with her husband in San Diego, California.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 15, 2019
3 1/2 star would have given it a 4-5 but the ending was a big disappointment.
January 30, 2026
It was okay.
This book follows the same pattern as many of this author’s previous works. The hero is a jerk—attracted to the heroine but unwilling to accept it easily. He carries a general resentment toward women and places far more trust in another woman in his life, whom he deeply respects. She is mostly a friend figure in his life and while he trusts her completely, she later turns out to be truly horrible—something she carefully hides from him. Meanwhile, the hero remains deeply suspicious of the heroine.
The heroine, as usual, is alone—an orphan with no one to rely on—and the hero assumes the role of her protector. A very controlling protector. This recurring dynamic appears in most of the books I’ve read by this author.
In this story, the hero finds the heroine unconscious during a snowstorm and saves her. From that moment on, he takes it upon himself to protect her throughout the book. That part was actually good—I do enjoy protective heroes. Unfortunately, he’s also a jerk. The story leans heavily on the classic trope where the hero was jilted by another woman in the past and now takes out his unresolved bitterness on the heroine. She reminds him of his ex, who betrayed him, and he even calls out the ex’s name in his sleep. All of this makes it difficult to like the hero.
Although he is technically loyal to the heroine, he does attempt to be with other women—he just fails, supposedly because he’s already in love with her. Another major flaw is his refusal to admit or express his feelings at the right time. He keeps denying his love, which only leads to more misunderstandings.
Overall, the book was just okay. Nothing extraordinary or particularly memorable.
This book follows the same pattern as many of this author’s previous works. The hero is a jerk—attracted to the heroine but unwilling to accept it easily. He carries a general resentment toward women and places far more trust in another woman in his life, whom he deeply respects. She is mostly a friend figure in his life and while he trusts her completely, she later turns out to be truly horrible—something she carefully hides from him. Meanwhile, the hero remains deeply suspicious of the heroine.
The heroine, as usual, is alone—an orphan with no one to rely on—and the hero assumes the role of her protector. A very controlling protector. This recurring dynamic appears in most of the books I’ve read by this author.
In this story, the hero finds the heroine unconscious during a snowstorm and saves her. From that moment on, he takes it upon himself to protect her throughout the book. That part was actually good—I do enjoy protective heroes. Unfortunately, he’s also a jerk. The story leans heavily on the classic trope where the hero was jilted by another woman in the past and now takes out his unresolved bitterness on the heroine. She reminds him of his ex, who betrayed him, and he even calls out the ex’s name in his sleep. All of this makes it difficult to like the hero.
Although he is technically loyal to the heroine, he does attempt to be with other women—he just fails, supposedly because he’s already in love with her. Another major flaw is his refusal to admit or express his feelings at the right time. He keeps denying his love, which only leads to more misunderstandings.
Overall, the book was just okay. Nothing extraordinary or particularly memorable.
December 23, 2021
I've read several of Cordia Byers books, and she can tell a good story, though I can't say I liked all of them. This one I did, though it had its faults. The story of Apache Ryan and Emerald Banyon, both on a quest for justice and vengeance, both afraid to love and trust each other, and both jumping to wrong conclusions due to misunderstandings is one that'll hold your interest but could have done without a few cliches. Why must the h always seem to find herself employed in a saloon, gambling house, or anywhere else where she has to wear a dress that shows off her breasts to a bunch of horny men? Why does the owner always want to get her into bed, whether or not he has a mistress? And - most importantly - why does the h, despite his somewhat unsavory reputation, feel she can trust and rely on him when she can't do the same for the H? (Not to mention that she's a bit too quick to take the word of the H's ex-girlfriend, no matter what she says.) Happens once too often to be believable, but I guess we don't read these books for reality. Both the H and h were a little too quick to think the worst of each other. Whatever happened to the benefit of the doubt? A lesson they had to learn. Still, it's worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews