Angelfire

Australian #2

by Linda Lael Miller

Shocked by the threat of an arranged marriage to an aging magistrate, Bliss Stafford fled through the rugged New Zealand countryside. But chance -- and the barrel of her father's pistol -- wed her to Jamie McKenna, a handsome, headstrong rancher whose bold touch flamed her innocent senses... In his embrace she discovered the wonder of desire, and the passionate man who would be her destiny. Yet his heart was captive to a beauteous widow -- and a hidden, bitter sorrow. Only a rare courage would drive Bliss to face the secrets of Jamie's past...to defy death itself for the radiant prize of a lifetime of tomorrows...

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Australia, Fiction, Marriage Of Convenience, Adult

347 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West. Raised in Northport, Washington, Linda pursued her wanderlust, living in London and Arizona and traveling the world before returning to the state of her birth to settle down on a spacious property outside Spokane.
Linda traces the birth of her writing career to the day when a Northport teacher told her that the stories she was writing were good, that she just might have a future in writing. Later, when she decided to write novels, she endured her share of rejection before she sold Fletcher’s Woman in 1983 to Pocket Books. Since then, Linda has successfully published historicals, contemporaries, paranormals, mysteries and thrillers before coming home, in a literal sense, and concentrating on novels with a Western flavor. For her devotion to her craft, the Romance Writers of America awarded her their prestigious Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
Long a passionate Civil War buff, Linda has studied the era avidly for almost thirty years. She has read literally hundreds of books on the subject, explored numerous battlegrounds and made many visits to her favorite, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where she has witnessed re-enactments of the legendary clash between North and South. Linda explores that turbulent time in The Yankee Widow, a May 7, 2019 MIRA Books hardcover, also available in digital and audiobook formats.
Dedicated to helping others, “The First Lady of the West” personally financed fifteen years of her Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women, which she awarded to women 25 years and older who were seeking to improve their lot in life through education. She anticipates that her next charitable endeavors will benefit four-legged critters.
More information about Linda and her novels is available at www.lindalaelmiller.com, on Facebook and from Nancy Berland Public Relations, nancy@nancyberland.com, 405-206-4748.

Reviews

[Viathenavy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. The heroine was so annoying. Jump to conclusions much?

[Barbara ★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jamie McKenna aggravated the hell out of me. What would it have taken to tell Bliss the truth...about 5 darn minutes! Instead he let her think the worst of him and distress herself to the point of fleeing. Bliss Stanton shows up unexpected and unannounced at Jamie's farm. She doesn't know him and he doesn't know her. She's very fiesty - mainly because she needed the attitude to survive her father's cruel treatment of her. After the life she led, how is she supposed to trust Jamie without question? It would be so easy to allay her fears but Jamie perpetuates the ruse just a little too far.

Hence, a book that should have been really good was just ok.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in LLM's Australia series. Moonfire being the first.

Jamie McKenna is a man beaten nearly to death by his indenturer, and saved by a woman that becomes a very dear friend. After he leaves Australia for New Zealand, he becomes a rich man with his own property and animals.

Bliss Stafford is a girl on the run from an abusive father and an unwanted fiance'. Spending the night in a barn, she is awakened in the morning by a man who almost spears her with a pitch fork. Intending to run off to America she tries again and again to get away from Jamie, but is found by her father and fiance' at an Inn. Upon finding Jamie and Bliss together they are forces to marry. Jamie thinks to make the best of the situation since he isn't completely against the idea of being with Bliss. Bliss has other ideas and runs off trying to make her way to America.

There are twists and turns, jealousy and old enemy's to fight. A great read for a weekend.

[Leni Sauls · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book at all. I wanted to slap Jamie all through it. He did not treat Bliss with any respect. He laughed while he hurt her, over, and, over again. He let her think he has a mistress, and, refused to pick his wife over Peony. He treated Peony with more respect than he ever did Bliss. I hated this whole book. Bliss had no backbone at all, as long as Jamie had sex with her she was fine with his treatment. There were no redeeming qualities to this book in my opinion. I could not like any of the characters.

[Elaine Key · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jamie McKenna found a beautiful lass sleeping in his barn. Bliss Stafford was running away from an arranged marriage. In 1888 women didn't have a say in anything. They were expected to marry the man their fathers arranged for them and obey their husbands. In New Zealand and in Australia Jamie had many enemies. He planned to return Bliss to her father but they were derailed on their way. This is an exciting romantic story that will leave you experiencing many emotions. You will laugh, cry, and be angry at all the injustices of that time period.

[Nastassja · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was nothing special about this book

I finished it because I paid for it but the plot was horrible and the characters lacked emotional maturity. I was very disappointed.

[Diane Hermann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what it is about the author's earlier books, but the heroines are young, immature & act the fool. I didn't like either main character & skimmed through the book to finish.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read set in New Zealand/Australia.

[Alene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bliss and Jamie's story. I'm sorry, I usually love Linda Lael Miller's books, but I really disliked this one. It was a chore to read. The most unlikeable FMC I have ever read. She was immature, impulsive, nasty, condescending, a chronic liar, a thief, she publicly accused the MMC of compromising her in order to force him to marry her so she could get free of her father, she constantly ran away like a child rather than deal with problems, etc etc. She had no redeeming character qualities at all, and it just defies belief that any man with a shred of self respect would remain with such a shrew. I couldn't wait for the book to end because I disliked her so much.

[mangotango · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book sucked. Honestly I am surprised how bad it was.

The story started off interesting enough, shotgun wedding. Lots of different places in New Zealand. But it totally devolved by the end.

Heroine: extremely annoying. I know she is young at 19 but 12 year olds are more mature than her.

Hero: he sucked. He told her nothing of his past then wondered why she was insecure?

They kept having the same arguments over and over. It was boring. I only read this book because I got a 2nd hand paperback bundle of books but this author, I am extremely tempted to give them all away.

2 stars.

[karen kisselstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little frustrating.

I was getting tired of the back and forth insecurity of Bliss, as much as I understood. I think I was feeling her own frustration with Jamie however. I put the book down but came back to finish it.

[LHC Girl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

This lady can produce a story. I read this series out of order so now I'm going to read Reeve and Maggie's story. Wish she would write Duncan's story. Highly recommend this series.

[Christel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 2nd bookin the Austrailian series by Ms. Miller. I actually like thisone better than the first one. Bliss is being forced to marry against her will by her father. So she leaves, runs away from home to find herself in Jamie McKenna's barn. But things go bad, Her father finds her and forces her to marry Jaime. Sparks start to fly, with everything in Jaime's past starting to come back and haunt him. Loved the story and the characters.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not usually one to read cheesy romance novels, but I picked this up one day at the grocery store while leaving town on a road trip, desperate for something to read.

To my surprise, I really enjoyed it. A very sweet, romantic little book and I can honestly say I was sad to see it end. A nice, fluffy historical fiction/romance.

[JoAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice continuation of Moonfire. Good character development although Bliss was not always my favorite character. She'd switch between being a bratty child to being a woman at the drop of a hat. Nice closure but hope the series continues with a book 3. Good descriptions of New Zealand and Australia that I felt I was there.

[Britney · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are not appropriate. My mother in law reads them so sometimes when we are staying at her house I get bored and read them. The stories are entertaining but much of the book has to be skipped:)

[Cecelia]

Just another reason to love LLM :)

[Brittney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mmmmmm.... Jamie McKennie. Bliss is a lucky woman! :)

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great fun read. Jamie is sexy as all get out and Bliss is a firery lass!

[Sassy]

This was really good. Actually more fun and better than average read of LLM. Liked the banter of the main characters. I didn't like that a certain character died.

[Celine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time buying the romance in this one. It just never felt developed to me. I enjoyed the setting and plot quite a bit.

[karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bliss was too stubborn and too much lack of communication between Jaimie and Bliss. Both Australian books left you hanging

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bliss flees her home and weds Jamie a headstrong rancher who is haunted by his past.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting read