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The Wildest Heart
Librarian note: an alternate cover for this edition can be found here.
No man can own Rowena Dangerfield--a sensuous, strong-willed lady with a fiery, unchained spirit--though many desire her. She had come to claim her birthright, following her destiny to the sprawling New Mexican frontier...and to the only man who can tame her restless heart.
A handsome half-Apache branded an outlaw--a rebel and renegade feared throughout the territories--Lucas Cord's body and soul cry out for the beautiful, headstrong stranger who has burst into his world. And neither peril nor the treachery of desperate men will prevent him from taking what he wants...or restrain a rampaging passion as wild and hot as the Southwestern winds.
No man can own Rowena Dangerfield--a sensuous, strong-willed lady with a fiery, unchained spirit--though many desire her. She had come to claim her birthright, following her destiny to the sprawling New Mexican frontier...and to the only man who can tame her restless heart.
A handsome half-Apache branded an outlaw--a rebel and renegade feared throughout the territories--Lucas Cord's body and soul cry out for the beautiful, headstrong stranger who has burst into his world. And neither peril nor the treachery of desperate men will prevent him from taking what he wants...or restrain a rampaging passion as wild and hot as the Southwestern winds.
608 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
115 people are currently reading
584 people want to read
About the author
Rosemary Rogers
113 books420 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Rosemary Jansz Navaratnam Rogers Kadison
Rosemary Jansz was born on 7 December 1932 in Panadura, British Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), she was the oldest child of Dutch-Portuguese settlers, Barbara "Allan" and Cyril Jansz. Her father was a wealthy educator who owned three posh private schools. She was raised in colonial splendor: dozens of servants, no work, summers at European spas, a chaperone everywhere she went. A dreamy child, she wrote her first novel at eight, and all through her teens scribbled madly romantic epics in imitation of her favorite writers: Sir Walter Scott, Alexandre Dumas and Rafael Sabatini.
At 17, Rosemary rebelled against a feudal upbringing and went to the University of Ceylon, where she studied three years. She horrified her family by taking a job as a reporter, and two years later marrying with Summa Navaratnam, a Ceylonese track star known as "the fastest man in Asia." The marriage had two daughters. Unhappily, he often sprinted after other women. Disappointed with her husband, in 1960, she moved with her two daughters and took off for London.
In Europe she met her future second husband, Leroy Rogers, an african-american. "He was the first man," she recalls, "who made me feel like a real woman." After getting a divorce from her first husband, she married Rogers in his home town, St. Louis, Missouri. They moved with her family to California, where she had two sons. Six years later, when that marriage broke up, Rosemary was left with four children to support on her $4,200 salary as a typist for the Solano County Parks Department. In 1969, in the face of a socialist takeover of Ceylon, her parents fled the island with only ?100, giving Rosemary two more dependents. At 37, the rich girl from Ceylon was on her uppers in Fairfield.
Every night for a year, Rogers worked to perfect a manuscript that she had written as a child, rewriting it 24 times. When she was satisfied with her work, she sent the manuscript to Avon, which quickly purchased the novel. That novel, ''Sweet Savage Love'', skyrocketed to the top of bestseller lists, and became one of the most popular historical romances of all time. Her second novel, ''Dark Fires'', sold two million copies in its first three months of release. Her first three novels sold a combined 10 million copies. The fourth, ''Wicked Loving Lies'' sold 3 million copies in its first month of publication. Rosemary Rogers became one of the legendaries "Avon Queens of Historical Romance". The difference between she and most of others romance writers is not the violence of her stories, it is the intensity. She says: "My heroines are me", and certainly her life could be one of her novels.
In September of 1984, Rosemary married a third time with Christopher Kadison, but it was a very brief marriage and they soon began to live apart. "I'd like to live with a man," she admits, "but I find men in real life don't come up to my fantasies. I want culture, spirit and sex all rolled up together."
Today single, Rosemary lives quietly in a small dramatic villa perched on a crag above the Pacific near Carmel. Her four children are now away from home and she continues to write.
Rosemary passed away at the age of 87 on November 12, 2019 in Carmel, California where she called home since the early 1970s.
Rosemary Jansz Navaratnam Rogers Kadison
Rosemary Jansz was born on 7 December 1932 in Panadura, British Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), she was the oldest child of Dutch-Portuguese settlers, Barbara "Allan" and Cyril Jansz. Her father was a wealthy educator who owned three posh private schools. She was raised in colonial splendor: dozens of servants, no work, summers at European spas, a chaperone everywhere she went. A dreamy child, she wrote her first novel at eight, and all through her teens scribbled madly romantic epics in imitation of her favorite writers: Sir Walter Scott, Alexandre Dumas and Rafael Sabatini.
At 17, Rosemary rebelled against a feudal upbringing and went to the University of Ceylon, where she studied three years. She horrified her family by taking a job as a reporter, and two years later marrying with Summa Navaratnam, a Ceylonese track star known as "the fastest man in Asia." The marriage had two daughters. Unhappily, he often sprinted after other women. Disappointed with her husband, in 1960, she moved with her two daughters and took off for London.
In Europe she met her future second husband, Leroy Rogers, an african-american. "He was the first man," she recalls, "who made me feel like a real woman." After getting a divorce from her first husband, she married Rogers in his home town, St. Louis, Missouri. They moved with her family to California, where she had two sons. Six years later, when that marriage broke up, Rosemary was left with four children to support on her $4,200 salary as a typist for the Solano County Parks Department. In 1969, in the face of a socialist takeover of Ceylon, her parents fled the island with only ?100, giving Rosemary two more dependents. At 37, the rich girl from Ceylon was on her uppers in Fairfield.
Every night for a year, Rogers worked to perfect a manuscript that she had written as a child, rewriting it 24 times. When she was satisfied with her work, she sent the manuscript to Avon, which quickly purchased the novel. That novel, ''Sweet Savage Love'', skyrocketed to the top of bestseller lists, and became one of the most popular historical romances of all time. Her second novel, ''Dark Fires'', sold two million copies in its first three months of release. Her first three novels sold a combined 10 million copies. The fourth, ''Wicked Loving Lies'' sold 3 million copies in its first month of publication. Rosemary Rogers became one of the legendaries "Avon Queens of Historical Romance". The difference between she and most of others romance writers is not the violence of her stories, it is the intensity. She says: "My heroines are me", and certainly her life could be one of her novels.
In September of 1984, Rosemary married a third time with Christopher Kadison, but it was a very brief marriage and they soon began to live apart. "I'd like to live with a man," she admits, "but I find men in real life don't come up to my fantasies. I want culture, spirit and sex all rolled up together."
Today single, Rosemary lives quietly in a small dramatic villa perched on a crag above the Pacific near Carmel. Her four children are now away from home and she continues to write.
Rosemary passed away at the age of 87 on November 12, 2019 in Carmel, California where she called home since the early 1970s.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
December 14, 2020
Rowena karısı hariç, entrikalarıyla güzel bir kitaptı.
April 5, 2021
In Rosemary Rogers' "The Wildest Heart" Lady Rowena is a beautiful woman who's valued by many men for her beauty or her wealth, or both. She was a heroine who intrigued me right from the start. Rowena was indifferent to men; despite their passion for her, she could not love anyone except outlaw Lucas Cord. For Lucas, Rowena was willing to renounce her inheritance or even die with him in the perilous mountains. Despite his conflicted past, Lucas was the only man to love Rowena for herself alone .
The negatives aspects:
If “The Wildest Heart” hadn't been written primarily in a 1st person diary format, I would have LOVED it for the epic range of emotion and intrigue. It would have been a thrill ride on a par with Rogers’ other great bodice rippers “Sweet Savage Love” & “Wicked Loving Lies.” As much as I understood and loved Rowena, she was the overwhelming focus of this book and I needed other perspectives.
Although the main reason I read romance is for the love story, what really matters to me is heroine’s travails. I can enjoy a great romance novel about a heroine’s struggles through life and the hero can be relegated to the background while the heroine grows and matures. In a way "The Wildest Heart" is one of those books and normally I would love this, but Rogers is too passionate a writer to keep the main man as just the prize the heroine wins at the end for completing her journey.
On top of that, it was too long. I know WLL was longer, but every page of that novel was packed with action and I couldn't wait to see what WTFery occurred next. Here the 1st person POV hinders this book because by default there is going to be a lot more introspection on one character’s part than action overall.
The only trope I despise more in a romance than a hero who is constantly weeping over his dead wife or lover is a Mama’s boy. Now Lucas is no Mama’s boy, but the fact that he’s obsessed and in love with the woman he thought was his mother as a boy only to find she’s just a stepmother puts him in a weird gray category until the end of the book.
The bewitching Elena is much older, but doesn’t look it. (Wouldn’t it be nice for once if the sexy older woman actually looked like a sexy older woman rather than always preternaturally young?) Lucas was a lonely boy raised by the Apache then taken in by his Mexican father who had no love for him. Elena manipulated him and gave him love when he never had known any before. She taught him to hate Todd Shannon, part owner of the SD Ranch. But this was all heard by Rowena. I think if I had seen or read about it through Lucas’s eyes I’d appreciate his story more and thus feel more satisfied overall.
It would have been fine if interspersed with Rowena’s diary entries there would have been other character’s perspectives, but to have only the prologue and epilogue be 3rd person was a huge mistake. With a book this long of such a grand scope...I needed more than just Rowena’s thoughts.
One thing I’m certain about is that Rebecca Brandewyne’s read this novel, for I can see the influences of “The Wildest Heart” in Brandewyne’s magnum opus, “Love Cherish Me.” It’s all there: the grand scope of a western epic, the fast-shootin’ cowboy of Spanish descent raised among the Indians who speaks with a pronounced Western drawl, the black-haired heroine on her way west to an unknown future, the powerful, older rancher who demands the heroine’s hand in marriage, the rancher’s younger relative who loves the heroine and fools her into thinking he’s a good guy. Then, of course, the murder trial at the end, the scandalous couple united against the world and the epilogue as they head into town with their children, while the townspeople wag their tongues about their past shocking antics. But I adored “Love Cherish Me.” It’s one of my top 10 bodice rippers, along with a couple of other Rogers’ books. For me, “The Wildest Heart” doesn’t reach that level of adoration.
Why not? Well, for one, for such a smart woman, Rowena certainly made some stupid decisions. Like not ignoring her dead Father’s urgent request to read his diaries because she was too lazy. Sloth is certainly my favorite sin, but she could have just skipped to the end of those diaries and taken a gander at what it was all about. Then there was her dumb mistake to trust the obviously telegraphed villain.
Now the positives:
When it came to Elena vs. Rowena that was awesome. I wanted more Rowena-Elena showdowns. Two alpha women fighting not just for a man but for power over everything. I love a great villainess; it makes the heroine stronger. As I said, I appreciated Rowena’s cold character, which was her coping mechanism to deal with a crazed life. She was certainly passionate where Lucas was concerned. I also appreciate that there’s no annoying gypsy dancing on Rowena’s part. (A heroine dancing like a gypsy in a Rogers novel is akin to a woman from the British Isles beings captured and enslaved in a harem for Bertrice Small. It’s what they do.)
The climax of the book was thrilling as in the last chapters Lucas and Rowena head into the mountains to flee from her wicked husband and fight off armed soldiers. Then there is that wonderful epilogue where we finally get to see Lucas’s opinions. How much more fabulous would this have been if we had been allowed to know more of Lucas’ thoughts! Or if not his thoughts, then witness his actions without Rowena present or hearing of them second-hand.
The ending did make up for the first third where Lucas was nowhere to be found. I adored this passage near the finale:
They looked into each other’s faces; searching, renewing, re-evaluating. It was as if, without words, Rowena was saying: “I love you, and I have chosen you. There is room in our lives for other people too, now that we are sure of each other.”
This was a tumultuous read, but I can’t say I loved it.
3 ½ stars bumped up to 4 because Goodreads doesn’t do 1/2 stars and I can’t give the same star rating to this as I did to Rogers’ much lesser work, “Surrender to Love.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2017
I have to confess at the outset that I probably would never have picked up this book if it weren't for needing a "bodice ripper" to meet that category for a reading challenge, and I was expecting the plot to be too over the top crazy for me. Well, it was kind of crazy and over the top, but as it turned out, that didn't stop it from being kind of boring for entire chapters at a time, which is why I settled on a two star rating. Perhaps if the author had cut out a couple of hundred pages and removed a lot of very similar repetitive scenes, I would have enjoyed it more.
The story is about a headstrong young woman, Rowena Dangerfield, who was raised in India by an indulgent grandfather and ends up (after a squalid detour in England ) in the American southwest, where she learns she is heir to half of her late father's ranch. Then a lot of other stuff happens including numerous proposals of marriage, getting kidnapped by Apaches and trying to resolve old feuds that go back a couple generations. It's a long and convoluted story, to say the least.
Part of my tepid reaction is probably because I never warmed up to any of the characters. Rowena was apparently so beautiful that every single male she meets from beginning to end immediately falls in love or lust with her, and her reaction to all the craziness seems to be long stretches of passively going along with it interspersed with random fits of pique. Everyone tells her that she's more intelligent and rational than other women, although she never does or says anything that seems particularly smart. On the contrary, for the most part, she's almost too stupid to live, such as how she procrastinates on reading her father's journals despite the fact that everyone tells her she should. As for the love interest, she gets involved with so many different men over the course of this story that the "hero" didn't really stand out until the very end, and all of the men were completely unlikable.
Final impression: not a terrible novel, but rather silly and much too long. Read for Unapologetic Romance Readers 2017 challenge: bodice ripper category.
The story is about a headstrong young woman, Rowena Dangerfield, who was raised in India by an indulgent grandfather and ends up (after a squalid detour in England ) in the American southwest, where she learns she is heir to half of her late father's ranch. Then a lot of other stuff happens including numerous proposals of marriage, getting kidnapped by Apaches and trying to resolve old feuds that go back a couple generations. It's a long and convoluted story, to say the least.
Part of my tepid reaction is probably because I never warmed up to any of the characters. Rowena was apparently so beautiful that every single male she meets from beginning to end immediately falls in love or lust with her, and her reaction to all the craziness seems to be long stretches of passively going along with it interspersed with random fits of pique. Everyone tells her that she's more intelligent and rational than other women, although she never does or says anything that seems particularly smart. On the contrary, for the most part, she's almost too stupid to live, such as how she procrastinates on reading her father's journals despite the fact that everyone tells her she should. As for the love interest, she gets involved with so many different men over the course of this story that the "hero" didn't really stand out until the very end, and all of the men were completely unlikable.
Final impression: not a terrible novel, but rather silly and much too long. Read for Unapologetic Romance Readers 2017 challenge: bodice ripper category.
April 16, 2021
Sonunda bitirdim. 591 sayfa boyunca katlanabildiğim için kendimi tebrik ediyorum. Hayatımda hiç bu kadar kadını aşağılayan bir kitap okumamıştım sanırım. Kitapta geçen tüm karakterler sinir bozucu şekilde karaktersiz insanlardı, içlerinden bir tane bile düzgün karakter yoktu ve erkekler de katıksız bir şekilde kadın düşmanıydı. Tamamen insanların siyah veya beyaz olmadığını biliyordum ama buradaki insanlar kopkoyu bir griydi. Ve kardeşlik ve aile ilişkilerinin kötü olmasıda ayrı bir sinir konusuydu. Ama bu tip şeyleri takmıyorsanız okunabilecek bir kitap.
March 24, 2010
A tomb of Historical Romance, compulsively readable!
This was an amazing story, though not for the the faint at heart.
I was drawn to this massive book, by it's size, and genre.
This novel surprised me in so many ways. It was not what I was expecting, it surprised, and horrifed me, both in equal measures. The pages kept turning, almost on their own accord, as my blood pressure raised, and my fingernails suffered.
Rowena Dangerfield, the unwanted only daughter, of a selfish opportunist mother, and an escaped outlaw father, was raised by her grandfather, in the wilds of India. After his death, Rowena is shipped back to England, to live with her Mother, and Step-father.
This is where her story begins....
Rowena is an outrageously determined survivor, in a land among men, whom all seek to possess and own her. In an age, where woman were without freedom of choice, Rowena learns how to shut one's emotions off from others, in an attempt to endure what was chosen for her. Refusing to be a victim to her circumstances, she is dubbed 'The Marble Goddess.'
Discovering her father is still alive and a rich ranch owner in New Mexico, she ventures forth to meet the man she has never known, but she learned had always loved her.
And this is where her life begins...
This novel, although a love story, is a story of one woman's survival, and the trials she endures, while in search of herself.
It's unpredictabilty was refreshing.
It confuses you, it maddens you, it consumes you. The only thing it doesn't do, is bore you.
June 25, 2024
DNF at 76% because I truly could not take one more word in this overblown extravaganza involving characters that I did not care one iota about. You know it's bad when after many threats, you wish they would just go ahead and off each other so you can finally end the pure agony of following them in their journeys from a rapey India to rapey England to rapey New Mexico to rapey Apache nation to rapey and incestuous hacienda. But let me tell you how I really feel.
I am a sucker for historical romances, whether they are serious historical fictions or hokey bodice rippers. Rosemary Rogers is touted as the Queen of bodice rippers but my first experience with her, much like the circumstances surrounding her heroine's loss of virginity, was dismal, disturbing, and profoundly depressing.
I am not going to bother with details. As a general idea, just think of the corniest Hollywood epic westerns of lore like Duel in the Sun, and imagine you had to read it. Worse, at times, the romance took a backseat to a frustrating mystery that turned our heroine Rowena aka Jennifer Jones into Hercule Poirot. Things were aggravated by the first person narrative. I absolutely hated being inside her TSTL head.
The Big, Terrible, mystery that the h struggles with the entire length of the book could have been easily resolved in the first few pages of the novel if the heroine had bothered to read the journals that her late father bequeathed her, in which he, and a host of characters throughout the novel, repeatedly promised her that they would provide her the answers to Everything, yes literally every single question she had about the old West feud in which she was unwittingly embroiled. But no, she is too busy lazing in the Sun (her own words) to read the journals. Until three quarters into the book where she finally picks up the damn journals and I was crying Mercy, we can finally get to the bottom of this. Lo and behold, the pages of the journal have been so ink-smudged that they are illegible. That was when I DNF. The alternative being banging my Kindle onto my cranium until one of the surfaces broke.
Review originally posted March 2015, edited April 2016.
I am a sucker for historical romances, whether they are serious historical fictions or hokey bodice rippers. Rosemary Rogers is touted as the Queen of bodice rippers but my first experience with her, much like the circumstances surrounding her heroine's loss of virginity, was dismal, disturbing, and profoundly depressing.
I am not going to bother with details. As a general idea, just think of the corniest Hollywood epic westerns of lore like Duel in the Sun, and imagine you had to read it. Worse, at times, the romance took a backseat to a frustrating mystery that turned our heroine Rowena aka Jennifer Jones into Hercule Poirot. Things were aggravated by the first person narrative. I absolutely hated being inside her TSTL head.
The Big, Terrible, mystery that the h struggles with the entire length of the book could have been easily resolved in the first few pages of the novel if the heroine had bothered to read the journals that her late father bequeathed her, in which he, and a host of characters throughout the novel, repeatedly promised her that they would provide her the answers to Everything, yes literally every single question she had about the old West feud in which she was unwittingly embroiled. But no, she is too busy lazing in the Sun (her own words) to read the journals. Until three quarters into the book where she finally picks up the damn journals and I was crying Mercy, we can finally get to the bottom of this. Lo and behold, the pages of the journal have been so ink-smudged that they are illegible. That was when I DNF. The alternative being banging my Kindle onto my cranium until one of the surfaces broke.
Review originally posted March 2015, edited April 2016.
August 16, 2017
Maybe it is because "This" was my first romance novel ever, I was 15 and completely fascinated by Luca the Native American hero ...
Rowena was also a fierce and resourceful heroine who, except for the ridiculous interlude of her engagement to the loathsome Rancher man, managed to follow her heart through hell and fire ...
Of course it is a 80's type of romance with its fair share of bodice-ripped shenanigans and way too many assault scenes that would make me want to slap the author silly nowadays ...
If that trend is your cup of tea try this one !! It is a complex, original and emotional love story !!
Cheers
Rowena was also a fierce and resourceful heroine who, except for the ridiculous interlude of her engagement to the loathsome Rancher man, managed to follow her heart through hell and fire ...
Of course it is a 80's type of romance with its fair share of bodice-ripped shenanigans and way too many assault scenes that would make me want to slap the author silly nowadays ...
If that trend is your cup of tea try this one !! It is a complex, original and emotional love story !!
Cheers
December 16, 2014
As I'm writing this review, I still have a few pages left to read. But I'm not expecting the story to be wrapped up too well. The Wildest Heart was a wild ride. Kind of all over the place, literally and figuratively. It begins in India, goes to London, and ends up in New Mexico and Texas. Rowena was raised by her grandfather in India. Her mother never loved her father and didn't want her. Her father had to flee England because he killed a couple of guys (the details escape me now). He was the heir to some title I don't remember. It never really seems to be important. He builds his fortune in America, gold I think, and ends up owning a ranch with a partner. He finds out Rowena's grandfather has died and that she is living in London, so he sends for her because he is dying and wants to see her before his death. Rowena, in the meantime, had been living with her mother and stepfather who has raped her and made her his mistress. She has learned to hide her emotions and adapt.
She takes advantage of the opportunity for escape and flees to Boston, then on to New Mexico. Her father, in the meantime, has died before her arrival but has left numerous journals of everything that has happened. He has left instructions for her to read them and they will explain everything. She doesn't, of course, She has inherited his half of the ranch which her partner thinks should belong to him. Plus we learn of some codicil to her father's will which seems important at the time, but we never learn its contents because he burned it (?).
So much happens to her, from being kidnapped by Apaches to becoming betrothed to her partner who only wants to possess her and her inheritance. She ends up in love with a half-breed Apache who has been accused of murder (details escape me) and is constantly on the run and hiding. He is in love with his step-mother. Weird. Anyway, Rowena ends up pregnant with either Lucas or her brother's baby (not sure we will ever really know). Because of that, she marries her partner's nephew who has been his attorney. He starts out a good guy and her best friend but turns out to be a scheming scoundrel. Every character has their own agenda and it seems that the author is going to reveal important details that will tie some of it together, and then no.
I have so lost track of who is doing what and why, that I just want the book to be over with. I like Rowena and Lucas, her half-breed love. And I want there to be an HEA. But at this point, I just don't see it happening. So as soon as I finish these last few pages, I will amend this review.
Since I now have finished the last 20 or so pages, I feel she did wrap everything up pretty well. There was an HEA for the H/h of sorts. But there were also some relationships that remained unsettled. Plus by the end of the book, some of the conflicts that were resolved were ones of which I couldn't even remember the details. There really were too many misunderstandings to keep track of, or I am just a shallow reader. But I still felt it was worth the read.
She takes advantage of the opportunity for escape and flees to Boston, then on to New Mexico. Her father, in the meantime, has died before her arrival but has left numerous journals of everything that has happened. He has left instructions for her to read them and they will explain everything. She doesn't, of course, She has inherited his half of the ranch which her partner thinks should belong to him. Plus we learn of some codicil to her father's will which seems important at the time, but we never learn its contents because he burned it (?).
So much happens to her, from being kidnapped by Apaches to becoming betrothed to her partner who only wants to possess her and her inheritance. She ends up in love with a half-breed Apache who has been accused of murder (details escape me) and is constantly on the run and hiding. He is in love with his step-mother. Weird. Anyway, Rowena ends up pregnant with either Lucas or her brother's baby (not sure we will ever really know). Because of that, she marries her partner's nephew who has been his attorney. He starts out a good guy and her best friend but turns out to be a scheming scoundrel. Every character has their own agenda and it seems that the author is going to reveal important details that will tie some of it together, and then no.
I have so lost track of who is doing what and why, that I just want the book to be over with. I like Rowena and Lucas, her half-breed love. And I want there to be an HEA. But at this point, I just don't see it happening. So as soon as I finish these last few pages, I will amend this review.
Since I now have finished the last 20 or so pages, I feel she did wrap everything up pretty well. There was an HEA for the H/h of sorts. But there were also some relationships that remained unsettled. Plus by the end of the book, some of the conflicts that were resolved were ones of which I couldn't even remember the details. There really were too many misunderstandings to keep track of, or I am just a shallow reader. But I still felt it was worth the read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 9, 2009
Rowena is an independent woman. When her grandfather passes away, she finds herself being handed the duties of her grandfather. She reads a diary that belonged to her father and figures out that she is supposed to smooth things over with her family's rivals. Rowena is hot tempered, especially when conversing with the opposite sex. Will she be able to do what she is destined to or will her pride stand in her way?
I loved the dialogue in this book! Rowena reminds me a lot of myself and I was able to picture everything that was happening to her as though it was happening to me.
I loved the dialogue in this book! Rowena reminds me a lot of myself and I was able to picture everything that was happening to her as though it was happening to me.
December 29, 2014
Dec '14/Jan '15 BRRA Group Read
At long last I have read a book by the great RR.
I expected great things here, but was disappointed.
I guess when an author is as prolific as RR, every book cannot be a home run.
At long last I have read a book by the great RR.
I expected great things here, but was disappointed.
I guess when an author is as prolific as RR, every book cannot be a home run.
March 13, 2022
Is this a good book? Eh??? Maybe??? YMMV here depending on personal tastes of fiction. I'm normally not a RR fan so this came as a bit of a shock lol
Did I have a great time reading this during the year of our lord 2022?: Yes, and honestly I will take that during these times. My reading standards are shifting.
Will I keep this for at least one more re-read?: Yes, for now at least.
Some Squicks & Triggers:
-Rape & attempted rape
-Violence including death
I'm sure there are others but I'm not always good at content and trigger warnings because of my own trauma I am sorry. Proceed with caution if you so choose to read this book.
Also just because I choose to read fiction that depicts dark content does not mean that I morally agree with what that content depicts. Etc.
Did I have a great time reading this during the year of our lord 2022?: Yes, and honestly I will take that during these times. My reading standards are shifting.
Will I keep this for at least one more re-read?: Yes, for now at least.
Some Squicks & Triggers:
-Rape & attempted rape
-Violence including death
I'm sure there are others but I'm not always good at content and trigger warnings because of my own trauma I am sorry. Proceed with caution if you so choose to read this book.
Also just because I choose to read fiction that depicts dark content does not mean that I morally agree with what that content depicts. Etc.
November 8, 2009
A sweeping, beautiful epic romance, "The Wildest Heart" by Rosemary Rogers kept me entranced throughout 739 pages. Yes, 739 pages. Beginning in 1872 with Rowena in India, onto 1873 when upon her grandfather's death she is sent to her mother's (whom she has never met) in London, and off to America upon her finding out her father is dying and has left her his ranch in New Mexico and a very wealthy woman. These pages take you through her life to 1878 without disappointing and no obnoxious down time. When I first saw this book, I was overwhelmed. A romance THIS long? How much can the author write about? Obviously plenty and without disappointing the reader. This is a TRUE romance in my book. Lady Rowena is beautiful, fierce, independent and strong. Her life was never easy, she is The Wildest Heart. I felt so much of a connection with Lady Rowena, dislike towards Todd Shannon, unsure about Luke Cord, and all the players. I love when an author can build other characters without losing her key players. The late 1800s was a time of wild, raucous and outlaws, especially in the west. The author has woven the time period in beautifully.
Just beautiful. I say this book is worth each and every page you read. I wasn't disappointed and I am sure other readers won't be either. I will even say this, this is definitely going into my re-read pile for another round.
Just beautiful. I say this book is worth each and every page you read. I wasn't disappointed and I am sure other readers won't be either. I will even say this, this is definitely going into my re-read pile for another round.
November 19, 2009
I loved this book! It's a re-release of the 1974 original, and it's just a wonderful reminder of all the things that hooked me on the romance genre years ago.
It's not for everyone -- it's very long (which I love) and can be a bit of a slow read. If you like Gabaldon and "epic" scoped historicals, you should definitely give it a try.
See my full review at Alpha Heroes.
It's not for everyone -- it's very long (which I love) and can be a bit of a slow read. If you like Gabaldon and "epic" scoped historicals, you should definitely give it a try.
See my full review at Alpha Heroes.
August 5, 2015
I usually like Rosemary Rogers and her epic sagas but I was disappointed by this one. It took much too long for the hero and heroine to meet and when they finally did I felt no spark between them. In fact, for a good amount before Lucas and Rowena even set eyes on each other the author spends a lot of time setting up this push/pull attraction between Rowena and her business partner Todd Shannon so I left confused as to who exactly was supposed to be Rowena's love interest.
June 8, 2010
The Wildest Heart is a sweeping, epic historical written by the famous romance author Rosemary Rogers. She is probably best known for Sweet Savage Love, one of the first romance books that gets talked about time and again.
The Wildest Heart is narrated by Lady Rowena Dangerfield. She grew up in India with her grandfather the Earl of Melchester, an unconventional man who believed Rowena should be given the same education as a man. To say Rowena is an unusual young woman is an understatement. The Earl dies and she is sent to London to live with her mother and Stepfather. Her mother resents her presence and her stepfather lusts after her. It is quite an awful situation for Rowena. Eventually good news comes and she learns her father has sent for her to come to America. He is co-owner of a rance in New Mexico. So, Rowena sets off to the New World.
Things aren't what Rowena quite expected when she arrives. She learns her father has died, but he left her his journals where he chronicled his life. It seems there is a feud between the co-owner of the SD ranch, Todd Shannon and the Mexican family who claimed the land before, the Kordes. Rowena finds herself swept into the drama and intrigue.
I found myself swept into the drama and intrigue too! Rosemary Rogers excels at creating a stunning masterpiece with very intricate details that all tie into and explosive conclusion. This story was all over the map! On the one hand, it is incredibly well written. The plot is very detailed and thoroughly well thought out. On the other hand some of the subject matter is hard to swallow.
Since the story is narrated in first person, everything is discovered through Rowena's eyes. Rowena is a strong, prideful woman who is often described as cold or unfeeling as marble. She has build up this persona to shield the more vulnerable part of herself from the world. The reader understands this based on how Rowena grew up and the events that shaped her. I can't say I ever really warmed up to Rowena, but I understood her motivations very well. I also I can't say I agree with how she handled everything, but again I understand why. Rowena's personality so strongly leaps off the pages the reader will have no trouble understanding her.
What I think a lot of readers will struggle with in this story is the actual romance. Rowena eventually falls for Lucas Cord who is half Apache warrior. He is an outlaw and has an incestuous relationship with his mother. Yep, you read that right. Now, how in the world is this hero material? This was the main factor on what I struggled with and even though I did get past it (which is a testament to Roger's writing) I know it will be very bothersome to many readers. Also, it's not until the last half of the book that Rowena and Lucas begin their relationship and it is fraught with many obstacles. Of a 748 page book, I like my hero and heroine to spend more time together.
While I did enjoy this book, it is not one I would recommend to many romance readers. I think fans of historical fiction might be more intrigued by this story and then only those who enjoy more an anti-hero as opposed to a hero.
The Wildest Heart is narrated by Lady Rowena Dangerfield. She grew up in India with her grandfather the Earl of Melchester, an unconventional man who believed Rowena should be given the same education as a man. To say Rowena is an unusual young woman is an understatement. The Earl dies and she is sent to London to live with her mother and Stepfather. Her mother resents her presence and her stepfather lusts after her. It is quite an awful situation for Rowena. Eventually good news comes and she learns her father has sent for her to come to America. He is co-owner of a rance in New Mexico. So, Rowena sets off to the New World.
Things aren't what Rowena quite expected when she arrives. She learns her father has died, but he left her his journals where he chronicled his life. It seems there is a feud between the co-owner of the SD ranch, Todd Shannon and the Mexican family who claimed the land before, the Kordes. Rowena finds herself swept into the drama and intrigue.
I found myself swept into the drama and intrigue too! Rosemary Rogers excels at creating a stunning masterpiece with very intricate details that all tie into and explosive conclusion. This story was all over the map! On the one hand, it is incredibly well written. The plot is very detailed and thoroughly well thought out. On the other hand some of the subject matter is hard to swallow.
Since the story is narrated in first person, everything is discovered through Rowena's eyes. Rowena is a strong, prideful woman who is often described as cold or unfeeling as marble. She has build up this persona to shield the more vulnerable part of herself from the world. The reader understands this based on how Rowena grew up and the events that shaped her. I can't say I ever really warmed up to Rowena, but I understood her motivations very well. I also I can't say I agree with how she handled everything, but again I understand why. Rowena's personality so strongly leaps off the pages the reader will have no trouble understanding her.
What I think a lot of readers will struggle with in this story is the actual romance. Rowena eventually falls for Lucas Cord who is half Apache warrior. He is an outlaw and has an incestuous relationship with his mother. Yep, you read that right. Now, how in the world is this hero material? This was the main factor on what I struggled with and even though I did get past it (which is a testament to Roger's writing) I know it will be very bothersome to many readers. Also, it's not until the last half of the book that Rowena and Lucas begin their relationship and it is fraught with many obstacles. Of a 748 page book, I like my hero and heroine to spend more time together.
While I did enjoy this book, it is not one I would recommend to many romance readers. I think fans of historical fiction might be more intrigued by this story and then only those who enjoy more an anti-hero as opposed to a hero.
October 23, 2011
Well I had to walk away from this one before I wrote anything about it other than my status updates while reading.
I read this book because while talking to my Aunt she mentioned her favorite author and recommended I read her book(s). I picked this one since it was one of few currently in print on the book store shelf. I'm not sure if it was such a good idea. I do have to admit that when I was in my teens I was guilty of stealing my Mom's bodice ripper romances from the '70's & '80's but I guess that was a guilty pleasure that ran out when I hit adulthood.
The heroine constantly told us she was unemotional, cold, and pragmatic when I as a reader found her to be naive and selfish. I could see the resolution of this book coming a mile away and was annoyed that it took so long to get there.
I won't even get into how very, very pissed off i got at Rowena. She had only a couple things to do that her father asked of her in his will and she did not do them, ever. Read his journals? How would one ever find the time between eating, sleeping, and horseback riding to read journals about a father she says she wanted to know but never got to. Everyone & I mean EVERYONE kept asking her if she read them and she says 'um, no, I didn't have time.' URGH!!
What is it with romance novels of this time that every female gets raped? Then never carries a gun or knife to defend herself? I really think if you are being grabbed and kissed against your will by a business partner and he has told you he doesn't care if you say no why oh why would you not carry a knife and pull it on him the next time he's near?
The whole premise of Lucas Cord and his romance with his step-mother is icky but what's worse is Rowena's belief her lust for Lucas will over come the hold step-mother has on him is laughable. I have met many 'mommy's boys' over the years and never will a man chose his girlfriend/wife over mommy.
All in all when read with the time this romance novel was written in then this was a good book. Looked at today I have to say it's ok bordering on bad. I only give it ok because I did find the twist with Mark Shannon kind of good, it was somewhat predictable but still a decent effort.
I read this book because while talking to my Aunt she mentioned her favorite author and recommended I read her book(s). I picked this one since it was one of few currently in print on the book store shelf. I'm not sure if it was such a good idea. I do have to admit that when I was in my teens I was guilty of stealing my Mom's bodice ripper romances from the '70's & '80's but I guess that was a guilty pleasure that ran out when I hit adulthood.
The heroine constantly told us she was unemotional, cold, and pragmatic when I as a reader found her to be naive and selfish. I could see the resolution of this book coming a mile away and was annoyed that it took so long to get there.
I won't even get into how very, very pissed off i got at Rowena. She had only a couple things to do that her father asked of her in his will and she did not do them, ever. Read his journals? How would one ever find the time between eating, sleeping, and horseback riding to read journals about a father she says she wanted to know but never got to. Everyone & I mean EVERYONE kept asking her if she read them and she says 'um, no, I didn't have time.' URGH!!
What is it with romance novels of this time that every female gets raped? Then never carries a gun or knife to defend herself? I really think if you are being grabbed and kissed against your will by a business partner and he has told you he doesn't care if you say no why oh why would you not carry a knife and pull it on him the next time he's near?
The whole premise of Lucas Cord and his romance with his step-mother is icky but what's worse is Rowena's belief her lust for Lucas will over come the hold step-mother has on him is laughable. I have met many 'mommy's boys' over the years and never will a man chose his girlfriend/wife over mommy.
All in all when read with the time this romance novel was written in then this was a good book. Looked at today I have to say it's ok bordering on bad. I only give it ok because I did find the twist with Mark Shannon kind of good, it was somewhat predictable but still a decent effort.
June 13, 2015
Historic Fiction Romance?
I was in the mood for a good, old-fashioned romance from the 70's, but this sure doesn't feel like romance. Admittedly, I gave up part way through, but Rowena is so cold-hearted, I just cannot accept her as the heroine in a romance. Therefore, I am categorizing this as Historic Fiction instead.
From others' reviews, I can see that Rowena ultimately loses her heart over Lucas, but I since I can't get myself to turn one more page, I won't be there to see it.
I would not recommend this one.
I was in the mood for a good, old-fashioned romance from the 70's, but this sure doesn't feel like romance. Admittedly, I gave up part way through, but Rowena is so cold-hearted, I just cannot accept her as the heroine in a romance. Therefore, I am categorizing this as Historic Fiction instead.
From others' reviews, I can see that Rowena ultimately loses her heart over Lucas, but I since I can't get myself to turn one more page, I won't be there to see it.
I would not recommend this one.
March 28, 2013
These 3 stars is for the writing power of Rosemary Rogers. In spite of absolutely hating the hero and the circumtances surrounding the heroine, i couldn't put down the book !
The truth about a woman's status during those times are abhorable - especially one without a male to protect her.
The truth about a woman's status during those times are abhorable - especially one without a male to protect her.
December 18, 2013
Bu nasıl bir kurgu ve hayal gücü , keşke almasaydım diyeceğim bir kitap .. Sevmedim zaten yarısına gelmeden bıraktım . Önce üvey babasının tecavüzü ardından babasının ortağının sarkıntılığı ve kadın karakterin ruhsuzluğu ...daha ne diyebilirim ki uyarıları dikkate alsaydım keşke diyorum sadece :((
September 29, 2008
Loved this book. I enjoyed reading it!
August 25, 2010
My favorite of all of her books. Written in the 70's.
August 7, 2021
Mi sono imbattuta in questo romanzo per caso, cercando una storia d'amore che non si limitasse al solito schema riduttivo di un incontro, più o meno focoso, ma volendo una trama che mescolasse anche elementi d'avventura. Rosemary Rogers viene presentata come la Regina del Romance storico e d'avventura e mi sono detta che potevo tentare questa nostra conoscenza in quest'estate di letture.
Alla fine di questo lungo viaggio durato circa 500 pagine, infarcite di colpi di scena, di attacchi apache, di comancheros, di uomini guidati dalla brama e dal desiderio di vendetta, la domanda fondamentale che mi sono posta è stata: fino a che punto un'autrice di romance può spingere la sua fantasia e una visione piuttosto semplicistica e superficiale del passato? Possibile che romance, in molti casi, debba essere sinonimo di una scrittura trasandata (che molti che apprezzano definiranno scorrevole) con un'incapacità di affrontare temi corposi e drammatici?
La storia è quella della bellissima Lady Rowena Dangerfield, cresciuta in India con il nonno, dopo il drammatico divorzio dei suoi genitori, la fuga del padre in America, e il matrimonio della madre con il suo amante. Della fastosa e seducente India, che Lucinda Riley ha magicamente rappresentato in LA ROSA DI MEZZANOTTE, non compare neanche una virgola, ridotta a un racconto di poche pagine, senza atmosfera o respiro, prima che la ragazza venga spedita, selvaggia e irriverente, in Inghilterra dalla madre, quando il nonno muore.
Qui, come la più classica delle eroine gotiche, viene sottoposta alle voglie del patrigno e la violenza si consuma con una superficialità narrativa che dimostra solo il tono con cui proseguirà il romanzo, da un punto di vista anche strutturale piuttosto confuso. Si passa infatti dalla terza persona del periodo indiano, a un racconto in prima che dovrebbe essere un resoconto di una vita fatto da una prospettiva poco chiara.
Da questo momento, in una folla di personaggi quasi tutti uguali, senza dimensione e profondità, Lady Rowena passa nel giro di pochi capitoli a brillare come nuova attrazione dei salotti londinesi, per poi essere mandata via dalla madre, alla scoperta della malattia del padre in America, che ne vuole fare la sua ricchissima erede.
Nella terra dei selvaggi, Rowena incontra il socio di suo padre (nel frattempo passato a miglior vita), un certo Todd Shannon, uomo dispotico ma fascinoso che esercita su di lei una certa attrazione, ma che vorrebbe sposarla soprattutto per impadronirsi della metà del ranch che il padre le ha lasciato. Ma soprattutto Rowena finisce per essere coinvolta nelle trame di un odio confuso e spiegato con racconti che si passano di bocca in bocca e che riguardano un certo Lucas Cord, mezzo sangue indiano e allo stesso tempo messicano, sui cui sembrano concentrarsi tutti i mali del mondo.
Tra aggressioni varie, donnine che si offrirebbero alla prima occasione, agguati e qualche bacio che dovrebbe essere appassionato, ma che riflette la freddezza di un personaggio come Rowena, quando siamo intorno alla metà del racconto, Lucas fa la sua comparsa come protagonista che suscita odio e amore.
Rapita dagli indiani, venduta e finita nelle mani di Cord, Rowena arriva nella valle segreta dove vive la fascinosa Elena, che come quella del mito greco, è la più bella del creato e seduce tutti gli uomini che le ruotano intorno, anche se appare un po' tardona per colpa dell'età: il padre di Rowena ne ha subito il fascino, lo stesso Lucas, figlio adottato dalla donna, Todd la odia, ma c'è una sorta di attrazione. Rowena cercherà di strapparle Lucas con tutte le sue forze.
La trama poteva presentare degli elementi interessanti, ma la superficialità con cui tutto è affrontato non permette la fruibilità di questa storia se si desidera un minimo di credibilità. Un esempio fra tutti! Come può un lettore con un minimo di raziocinio emozionarsi o lasciarsi affascinare dalla scena del salvataggio di Rowena dalle rapide di un fiume, quando l'eroe, Lucas, poche ore prima è stato colpito ripetutamente da una valanga di proiettili, sparati dal fratello Ramon, geloso di lui? Manco fosse superman capace di resistere a qualsiasi colpo ad eccezione della kryptonite!
Siamo oltre il senso del ridicolo, in quanto è già miracoloso che non sia morto dissanguato, ma addirittura dovremmo credere che è un supereroe che salva con la sua forza l'eroina dall'impeto e dalla violenza della corrente? Magari in un fantasy, cosa che qui non è! Oppure l'orripilante scelta del nome del bambino che i due avranno sul finale? Qualcuno che ha apprezzato il romanzo mi potrebbe spiegare non tanto il primo nome, Guy, messo a ricordo del padre di Rowena, ma quel Ramon, stesso uomo che ha violentato la protagonista, per averla sorpresa tra le braccia del fratello? Perché chiamare il proprio figlio con il nome di un violentatore? Non ci viene, ovviamente, spiegato.
Qualunque fosse l'intenzione dell'autrice, a mio parere non è riuscita a produrre un romanzo credibile e quando in un racconto, che si può riempire di colpi di scena, si sfiora l'inverosimile, l'emozione più probabile è il fastidio o l'ilarità. Decisamente bocciato!
Alla fine di questo lungo viaggio durato circa 500 pagine, infarcite di colpi di scena, di attacchi apache, di comancheros, di uomini guidati dalla brama e dal desiderio di vendetta, la domanda fondamentale che mi sono posta è stata: fino a che punto un'autrice di romance può spingere la sua fantasia e una visione piuttosto semplicistica e superficiale del passato? Possibile che romance, in molti casi, debba essere sinonimo di una scrittura trasandata (che molti che apprezzano definiranno scorrevole) con un'incapacità di affrontare temi corposi e drammatici?
La storia è quella della bellissima Lady Rowena Dangerfield, cresciuta in India con il nonno, dopo il drammatico divorzio dei suoi genitori, la fuga del padre in America, e il matrimonio della madre con il suo amante. Della fastosa e seducente India, che Lucinda Riley ha magicamente rappresentato in LA ROSA DI MEZZANOTTE, non compare neanche una virgola, ridotta a un racconto di poche pagine, senza atmosfera o respiro, prima che la ragazza venga spedita, selvaggia e irriverente, in Inghilterra dalla madre, quando il nonno muore.
Qui, come la più classica delle eroine gotiche, viene sottoposta alle voglie del patrigno e la violenza si consuma con una superficialità narrativa che dimostra solo il tono con cui proseguirà il romanzo, da un punto di vista anche strutturale piuttosto confuso. Si passa infatti dalla terza persona del periodo indiano, a un racconto in prima che dovrebbe essere un resoconto di una vita fatto da una prospettiva poco chiara.
Da questo momento, in una folla di personaggi quasi tutti uguali, senza dimensione e profondità, Lady Rowena passa nel giro di pochi capitoli a brillare come nuova attrazione dei salotti londinesi, per poi essere mandata via dalla madre, alla scoperta della malattia del padre in America, che ne vuole fare la sua ricchissima erede.
Nella terra dei selvaggi, Rowena incontra il socio di suo padre (nel frattempo passato a miglior vita), un certo Todd Shannon, uomo dispotico ma fascinoso che esercita su di lei una certa attrazione, ma che vorrebbe sposarla soprattutto per impadronirsi della metà del ranch che il padre le ha lasciato. Ma soprattutto Rowena finisce per essere coinvolta nelle trame di un odio confuso e spiegato con racconti che si passano di bocca in bocca e che riguardano un certo Lucas Cord, mezzo sangue indiano e allo stesso tempo messicano, sui cui sembrano concentrarsi tutti i mali del mondo.
Tra aggressioni varie, donnine che si offrirebbero alla prima occasione, agguati e qualche bacio che dovrebbe essere appassionato, ma che riflette la freddezza di un personaggio come Rowena, quando siamo intorno alla metà del racconto, Lucas fa la sua comparsa come protagonista che suscita odio e amore.
Rapita dagli indiani, venduta e finita nelle mani di Cord, Rowena arriva nella valle segreta dove vive la fascinosa Elena, che come quella del mito greco, è la più bella del creato e seduce tutti gli uomini che le ruotano intorno, anche se appare un po' tardona per colpa dell'età: il padre di Rowena ne ha subito il fascino, lo stesso Lucas, figlio adottato dalla donna, Todd la odia, ma c'è una sorta di attrazione. Rowena cercherà di strapparle Lucas con tutte le sue forze.
La trama poteva presentare degli elementi interessanti, ma la superficialità con cui tutto è affrontato non permette la fruibilità di questa storia se si desidera un minimo di credibilità. Un esempio fra tutti! Come può un lettore con un minimo di raziocinio emozionarsi o lasciarsi affascinare dalla scena del salvataggio di Rowena dalle rapide di un fiume, quando l'eroe, Lucas, poche ore prima è stato colpito ripetutamente da una valanga di proiettili, sparati dal fratello Ramon, geloso di lui? Manco fosse superman capace di resistere a qualsiasi colpo ad eccezione della kryptonite!
Siamo oltre il senso del ridicolo, in quanto è già miracoloso che non sia morto dissanguato, ma addirittura dovremmo credere che è un supereroe che salva con la sua forza l'eroina dall'impeto e dalla violenza della corrente? Magari in un fantasy, cosa che qui non è! Oppure l'orripilante scelta del nome del bambino che i due avranno sul finale? Qualcuno che ha apprezzato il romanzo mi potrebbe spiegare non tanto il primo nome, Guy, messo a ricordo del padre di Rowena, ma quel Ramon, stesso uomo che ha violentato la protagonista, per averla sorpresa tra le braccia del fratello? Perché chiamare il proprio figlio con il nome di un violentatore? Non ci viene, ovviamente, spiegato.
Qualunque fosse l'intenzione dell'autrice, a mio parere non è riuscita a produrre un romanzo credibile e quando in un racconto, che si può riempire di colpi di scena, si sfiora l'inverosimile, l'emozione più probabile è il fastidio o l'ilarità. Decisamente bocciato!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2012
Loved this book will read it again
June 26, 2013
"I don't have the knack for taking feelings apart and weighing them."
October 12, 2019
Rowena Dangerfield was born amid a storm or scandal to a selfish, opportunistic, reluctant mother and an eager, loving father, who abandoned Rowena to save his life when his temper won a card game. Reared by her grandfather who didn't believe in schools, church or proper young lady trappings, Rowena travelled, growing up resourceful and independent.
When her grandfather dies leaving her penniless, Rowena goes to the mother that still doesn't want her and a stepfather who sees Rowena as a nuisance to marry off then as an object of lustful desire. Rowena learns the hard way to depend only on herself but the light at the end of the tunnel is Rowena's father asking her to come to America.
Unfortunately, Rowena's father, Guy, died while she travelled to him and got off on the wrong foot with his partner, Todd, who resents Rowena as his partner's heir. Todd tries to bully and charm Rowena out of her share of the ranch and even encourages his nephew and heir into a relationship with Rowena but none of his schemes seem to work.
While Todd pretends he and Guy agree on everything, Rowena finds the partners didn't agree on local outlaw, handsome, half-apache, Lucas Cord. Smoldering Lucas would like nothing better than to claim Rowena as his own. Rowena decides her father's friend could change her mind about many things beginning with having a man of her own.
One of the forbidden reads in my youth by a pioneer of the genre gifted to me recently is definitely no longer risqué, acceptable or politically correct (on multiple levels) but in its time it was all three. A long, winding tale that is good but not great and extremely overwritten in places but the reader should consider the books age as they read.
Rating 3.75stars
When her grandfather dies leaving her penniless, Rowena goes to the mother that still doesn't want her and a stepfather who sees Rowena as a nuisance to marry off then as an object of lustful desire. Rowena learns the hard way to depend only on herself but the light at the end of the tunnel is Rowena's father asking her to come to America.
Unfortunately, Rowena's father, Guy, died while she travelled to him and got off on the wrong foot with his partner, Todd, who resents Rowena as his partner's heir. Todd tries to bully and charm Rowena out of her share of the ranch and even encourages his nephew and heir into a relationship with Rowena but none of his schemes seem to work.
While Todd pretends he and Guy agree on everything, Rowena finds the partners didn't agree on local outlaw, handsome, half-apache, Lucas Cord. Smoldering Lucas would like nothing better than to claim Rowena as his own. Rowena decides her father's friend could change her mind about many things beginning with having a man of her own.
One of the forbidden reads in my youth by a pioneer of the genre gifted to me recently is definitely no longer risqué, acceptable or politically correct (on multiple levels) but in its time it was all three. A long, winding tale that is good but not great and extremely overwritten in places but the reader should consider the books age as they read.
Rating 3.75stars
June 16, 2023
This book had soooo many of the tropes I like to read: lots of angst, slow burn, unrequited love, other woman drama, intrigue, anti-hero. Rosemary Rogers is such an AMAZING storyteller. The storytelling alone is 5+stars. The main negative in this book that does not add it to my favorite pile: the hero and the heroine are apart most of the book. I have noticed that author always include some kind of long separation in the other books I've read but in this one, the physical separation at least, was the rule not the exception. I had to skim in parts to move the story along to the parts they were together.
The step-mom part was gross but I didn't stop reading.
The step-mom part was gross but I didn't stop reading.
July 29, 2018
This books was a gift form the author herself. I could not love the author or this book more. I thought it was riveting. A young woman refusing to live her life as men would have her live it; what more could you expect from a reading such as this. I could not put it down because the scenes were so tantalizing. This is a great read for any romance book club, or someone looking for cross off a romance novel for their year long list of books.
January 31, 2025
3.5 stars - The storyline was superb with unsuspecting twist. But for me the first 300 pages(eBook) were basically the prologue and could’ve been kept wayyyy shorter. The heroines nature didn’t allow for many emotions which made the read a bit on the dry side, and obviously affected the romantic parts as well. She was unbelievably strong and found her match.
May 11, 2017
This is literally the stupidest book I have ever read. And that's saying something considering I read the KFC book Tender Wings of Desire.
Why did I read it? Because I was bored and it was one of a select few 'available now' books featured through my library's online reading system.
Why did I read it? Because I was bored and it was one of a select few 'available now' books featured through my library's online reading system.
June 15, 2020
What a crazy enjoyable ride. Many twists. Strong willed female. However, it seems she believes anything told to her. I really enjoyed this story because you don't know what to expect or who to believe. Love the ending.
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