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Нежданная удача
В Сан-Франциско времен "золотой лихорадки" наживают огромные состояния и спускают их за ночь в игорных домах и борделях. Здесь одинокой девушке, да еще и красивой, остается лишь два пути - либо продавать себя, либо найти сильного покровителя.
Однако юная Тесса Уайт намерена искать золото наравне с мужчинами - и просит о помощи и партнерстве не кого-нибудь, а знаменитого на всю округу Лаки Монро.
Тессе и невдомек, что Лаки, с которым она поспешила связать свою судьбу, - само воплощение страсти и соблазна...
Однако юная Тесса Уайт намерена искать золото наравне с мужчинами - и просит о помощи и партнерстве не кого-нибудь, а знаменитого на всю округу Лаки Монро.
Тессе и невдомек, что Лаки, с которым она поспешила связать свою судьбу, - само воплощение страсти и соблазна...
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
7 people are currently reading
57 people want to read
About the author
Elaine Barbieri
59 books51 followersAKA Elaine Rome
Elaine Barbieri wrote over thirty historical novels that have been published worldwide. She was certain young adult readers would enjoy the excitement of historical romance if given a chance, and she welcomed the opportunity to write Miranda and the Warrior for this new audience. Elaine lived in northern New Jersey with her husband and family, and with Harrison, a demanding male who she is sure would be the ultimate hero -- if he weren't a cat.
Elaine Barbieri wrote over thirty historical novels that have been published worldwide. She was certain young adult readers would enjoy the excitement of historical romance if given a chance, and she welcomed the opportunity to write Miranda and the Warrior for this new audience. Elaine lived in northern New Jersey with her husband and family, and with Harrison, a demanding male who she is sure would be the ultimate hero -- if he weren't a cat.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 13, 2009
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this sweet little historical set during the 1849 San Francisco gold rush era. I'll admit I was attracted to the book first because of its striking cover, and second because I do enjoy a good American historical. But I was unprepared by how much I would be glued to the story. There wasn't anything particularly unusual about the plot of a virginal heroine (Tessa) determined to make it on her own and the bad boy gambler (Lucky) who's attracted to her (but doesn't want to be), but something about Elaine Barbieri's storytelling just worked for me. The story flowed smoothly, the characterizations were first rate, there was a nice little suspense plot at the end, and most importantly, I admired and respected the hero and heroine--EB made me care about what happened to Tessa and Lucky.
So 18-year-old Tessa, with her elegant beauty and platinum blonde hair, arrives in San Francisco as part of a wagon train filled with people hoping to strike it rich in the California gold fields. Due to the hazardous conditions throughout the trip, her parents don't make it, the wagon and the team break down, and Tessa ends up having to walk the rest of the way. By the time she gets to San Francisco and its "tent city", her feet are bloody, she's nearly emaciated and her good looks are covered in grime. She wanders into a tent where she hears music and laughter, and then collapses. As luck would have it, the gambling tent where she collapsed belongs to the well-known, highly successful, tall, dark and muscular gambler, Lucky Monroe.
Lucky's known hardship (he somehow became separated from his parents at the age of 10 while heading west) and once was in similar circumstances as many of the settlers heading west. But through hard work and perseverance, he's made a name for himself. When he sees Tessa it brings back thoughts of what he went through and would like to forget. He reluctantly agrees to help her, setting her up with a place to live with an older woman friend of his, but wants to give her the money to send her back home to Iowa. San Francisco is no place for an innocent, naive woman like Tessa. Tessa, being stubborn and an independent sort, doesn't want his charity--she wants a job in his tent. But the only jobs for women in his gambling tent are for prostitutes. Tessa convinces Lucky to let her provide supper for his customers so she can earn her passage back home. Lucky reluctantly agrees, and to his consternation Tessa wins over his rowdy customers with her cooking and a healthy dose of charm and beauty.
The more Tessa is around Lucky, the more she stirs up unwanted feelings in him. He can't help but admire her, and is extremely attracted to her beauty and her quiet determination. He fights it for all its worth, but it's not long before he admits to himself that it's no use--he wants her. But would Tessa want a man like him? Someone far more experienced and hardened by life? A man who has never experienced real love, who has a determined prostitute hell-bent on making sure he looks at no other besides her?
Lucky and Tessa start out the story not really liking each other, although each is physically attracted to the other. Tessa thinks Lucky is too bossy, unbending and high-handed, and even though he saved her life, she resents him just a bit. Lucky thinks Tessa is stubborn and doesn't belong in rowdy San Francisco, but mostly doesn't like the feelings she stirs up in him. But gradually as they spend more and more time together, they start to like one another, and the attraction grows. Of course they have to deal with a couple of baddies (one male, one female) who each want Tessa and Lucky for themselves. There's a mildly suspenseful plot running throughout the story , as the evil guy and girl plot to separate Tessa and Lucky, and it builds to a tragedy that actually happened to San Francisco in 1849. There's a sweet little ending to cap it off, and I'll admit, it brought a few tears to my eyes.
Now, why only 4 stars? I wish the author would have gone into a little more detail about Tessa's journey in the wagon train. There's a few details, and you see the results of the journey when Tessa finally arrives in San Francisco in horrible shape, but a few chapters about the hardships of the journey would really sell the determination of Tessa's character. Similarly, the reader doesn't learn all that much about Lucky's past, other than he was on his own at ten, worked hard and scrounged for everything he got. I would have loved to learn where he came from, some family details, or even more about how he came to be the successful man he was today. A couple of chapters on their backgrounds, some added heat in the love scenes (nicely done, but PG in nature), and this would've been a 5 star read for me. It still was a good read, but it had the potential to be even more.
So if you like an American historical filled with some colorful characters, a couple of nasty villains, and a hero and heroine you'll love and admire, and if you like a book that reminds you of the early romances of the 1980s and 1990s, then you'll love this sweet little story. This was a nice change of pace for someone who doesn't read a whole lot of historicals, and makes me eager to try a few more. 4 stars
So 18-year-old Tessa, with her elegant beauty and platinum blonde hair, arrives in San Francisco as part of a wagon train filled with people hoping to strike it rich in the California gold fields. Due to the hazardous conditions throughout the trip, her parents don't make it, the wagon and the team break down, and Tessa ends up having to walk the rest of the way. By the time she gets to San Francisco and its "tent city", her feet are bloody, she's nearly emaciated and her good looks are covered in grime. She wanders into a tent where she hears music and laughter, and then collapses. As luck would have it, the gambling tent where she collapsed belongs to the well-known, highly successful, tall, dark and muscular gambler, Lucky Monroe.
Lucky's known hardship (he somehow became separated from his parents at the age of 10 while heading west) and once was in similar circumstances as many of the settlers heading west. But through hard work and perseverance, he's made a name for himself. When he sees Tessa it brings back thoughts of what he went through and would like to forget. He reluctantly agrees to help her, setting her up with a place to live with an older woman friend of his, but wants to give her the money to send her back home to Iowa. San Francisco is no place for an innocent, naive woman like Tessa. Tessa, being stubborn and an independent sort, doesn't want his charity--she wants a job in his tent. But the only jobs for women in his gambling tent are for prostitutes. Tessa convinces Lucky to let her provide supper for his customers so she can earn her passage back home. Lucky reluctantly agrees, and to his consternation Tessa wins over his rowdy customers with her cooking and a healthy dose of charm and beauty.
The more Tessa is around Lucky, the more she stirs up unwanted feelings in him. He can't help but admire her, and is extremely attracted to her beauty and her quiet determination. He fights it for all its worth, but it's not long before he admits to himself that it's no use--he wants her. But would Tessa want a man like him? Someone far more experienced and hardened by life? A man who has never experienced real love, who has a determined prostitute hell-bent on making sure he looks at no other besides her?
Lucky and Tessa start out the story not really liking each other, although each is physically attracted to the other. Tessa thinks Lucky is too bossy, unbending and high-handed, and even though he saved her life, she resents him just a bit. Lucky thinks Tessa is stubborn and doesn't belong in rowdy San Francisco, but mostly doesn't like the feelings she stirs up in him. But gradually as they spend more and more time together, they start to like one another, and the attraction grows. Of course they have to deal with a couple of baddies (one male, one female) who each want Tessa and Lucky for themselves. There's a mildly suspenseful plot running throughout the story , as the evil guy and girl plot to separate Tessa and Lucky, and it builds to a tragedy that actually happened to San Francisco in 1849. There's a sweet little ending to cap it off, and I'll admit, it brought a few tears to my eyes.
Now, why only 4 stars? I wish the author would have gone into a little more detail about Tessa's journey in the wagon train. There's a few details, and you see the results of the journey when Tessa finally arrives in San Francisco in horrible shape, but a few chapters about the hardships of the journey would really sell the determination of Tessa's character. Similarly, the reader doesn't learn all that much about Lucky's past, other than he was on his own at ten, worked hard and scrounged for everything he got. I would have loved to learn where he came from, some family details, or even more about how he came to be the successful man he was today. A couple of chapters on their backgrounds, some added heat in the love scenes (nicely done, but PG in nature), and this would've been a 5 star read for me. It still was a good read, but it had the potential to be even more.
So if you like an American historical filled with some colorful characters, a couple of nasty villains, and a hero and heroine you'll love and admire, and if you like a book that reminds you of the early romances of the 1980s and 1990s, then you'll love this sweet little story. This was a nice change of pace for someone who doesn't read a whole lot of historicals, and makes me eager to try a few more. 4 stars
December 18, 2009
Tessa White lost everything on the trail to California and ended up walking the rest of the way (who fed her and helped her?). At the end of the trail in San Francisco (see map above, I thought the gold camps and Sutter's fort were the end of the trail but what do I know?), she manages to collapse right in front of the most handsome and available gambler in the city - Lucky Monroe (how good is that?). Lucky tries to send her home to Iowa but our stubborn independent miss is determined to work off her debts and convinces Lucky to let her cook for his gambling customers, certain they're dying for a home cooked meal.
Of course there's the evil evil brothel owner Harley Knox who wants Tessa to enhance his stable of imported French whores (awfully smart of him to know Gold was 'gonna' be discovered in 1848 and bring those women all the way from France just in the nick of time...), as well as Lucky's slutty girlfriend/barmaid Delilah who resents the growing attraction between the two. Original no? Not.
Ok, ok, so it is just a romance and I should be more forgiving on the details, but how hard is it to do a little fact checking or read up on your period before writing a book? Where was all that infamous San Francisco mud? Why did it seem like the gold fields were just outside of town when even now with cars and roads its a looooong day's drive to get there? In a town filled with tents and shanties how did Harley have a house with mahogany floors and a marble staircase? WTF was it with Lucky talking all the time about just buying a ticket home to Iowa for Tessa (Greyhound maybe?). She's just come off the trail - that would be the trail that takes all summer and you barely made it over the mountains before winter hit (remember the Donner Party?). It has to be late Fall/early Winter by the time the story begins so who is going to head back East on a wagon train that time of year? And they sell "tickets"? Is he going to send her back via ship to the East coast? No that won't work because there's still how to get her to Iowa. Basides I think most of the ships that came into the harbor had a hard time getting back out - all those sailors deserting for the gold fields.
Don't we expect cohesion and reality in our contemporary novels? Wouldn't you be rolling your eyes if a heroine in the 1980's whipped out a cell-phone and starting sending text messages? That is what I'm looking for in a book and not just wall-paper dressing with let's say for example "J" taking a knife she's got hidden under her mattress to chop off "R"'s hair instead of the pair of shears any well-bred young miss would have in her sewing basket. Let alone how she got all that covered in head to toe blood off of him with nary a basin of water in her room.
Sorry, I went OT with a small poke at another book/author. Back on topic - I found this book slow paced, predictable with not even enough sex or purple prose to make it fun. No pots of honey here. If you're looking for a quick easy read with a simple story in a wall-paper historical setting this might be the book for you. If you'd like some more realism and meat to your Gold Rush story I highly recommend Gwen Bristow's fabulous Calico Palace.
February 14, 2021
This was a good western historical romance. It takes place during the days of the gold rush in 1849, San Francisco. Tessa is new to town barely surviving the wagon train that took her parents. She is lost and all alone. She stumbles into the tent of Lucky Monroe. Though he's a grumpy gambler who owns a gambling tent, he feels the need to help poor Tessa. Little did he know that she would be as feisty and stubborn as he is. This was a good story about perseverance and overcoming the hardships of those times.
March 1, 2017
Cliched and not my favorite genre, but I'm working my way through the box-o-books in alphabetical order.
May 8, 2010
3.5 stars. This was a nice little satisfying read. Not a keeper and not something I'd rave to friends over but a good, honest love story between two people whose lives intersect in 1849 San Francisco. I enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews