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Suspended for teaching human sexuality to her students, Truvy Valentine has come to Harmony, Montana, to visit her dear friend, Edwina, and try to forget that she will most likely die a tall, athletic old maid. Although she has diligently studied how to choose the perfect mate, no book could prepare her for her attraction to Jake Brewster, a man whose favorite things in life seem to be beer, boxing, and poker.
The proud owner of Bruiser's Gymnasium, Jake has little patience for the proper Miss Valentine—until he gets a taste of what simmers beneath her prim exterior. Trouble is, Jake's not the marrying kind—not hardly. Soon Truvy is teaching dance classes at Edwina's school and Jake is making her head spin. But the magic they find in each other's arms could turn to heartache unless they can learn to let go of the past and step into the future—together.
The proud owner of Bruiser's Gymnasium, Jake has little patience for the proper Miss Valentine—until he gets a taste of what simmers beneath her prim exterior. Trouble is, Jake's not the marrying kind—not hardly. Soon Truvy is teaching dance classes at Edwina's school and Jake is making her head spin. But the magic they find in each other's arms could turn to heartache unless they can learn to let go of the past and step into the future—together.
390 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 2001
About the author
Stef Ann Holm
41 books64 followersStef Ann Holm was born in Southern California near Hollywood. With the fantasy worlds of Disneyland and Universal Studios at her doorstep, her imagination was stimulated at an early age. She attended Chatsworth High where Kevin Spacey, Mare Winningham and Val Kilmer entertained on the school's stage. As a semester elective, Stef Ann enrolled in drama and played a Fandango hostess in the chorus of Sweet Charity. It was the beginning and the end of her acting and singing career. She got a "C" in Drama and an "A" in Creative Writing.
She sold her first romance in 1987. While waiting for a load of laundry to complete at the laundromat, Stef Ann made up the name for her heroine, Camry, when she saw a Toyota Camry parked outside in the lot. Who knew that model would end up being so popular, making her in-depth research seem so shallow. Stef Ann has had twenty-three novels and one novella published. Her editor calls her contemporary romances, "Slices of life stories about real people."
Stef Ann lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband, extended family and beloved Beagle.
She sold her first romance in 1987. While waiting for a load of laundry to complete at the laundromat, Stef Ann made up the name for her heroine, Camry, when she saw a Toyota Camry parked outside in the lot. Who knew that model would end up being so popular, making her in-depth research seem so shallow. Stef Ann has had twenty-three novels and one novella published. Her editor calls her contemporary romances, "Slices of life stories about real people."
Stef Ann lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband, extended family and beloved Beagle.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 14, 2014
2 ½ stars. It’s not that I wanted it to be over, it’s more like I was waiting for it to get good.
Hard to stay interested. Unusual things happened, but it wasn’t a good story. And I did not like the conflicts toward the end. They were typical overused romance novel conflicts. She says she wants no emotional attachment, and then she’s depressed because he does not offer marriage. And she makes a stupid assumption about something which upsets her.
My overall problem: this is contemporary thinking and actions set in the wrong time period. I believe the author checked her history, so it was possible, just not common for these things to occur. For example, Spalding made athletic shoes with rubber soles before 1901. But how many women wore them back then? Our heroine had Spalding shoes and won trophies playing women’s tennis. I suppose women’s tennis tournaments existed but rare. The hero runs a gym. A group of local guys go there to work out every day. These guys wanted to compete in Mr. Physique contests. This was a small town. How many small towns had athletic clubs back in 1901? My small home town in Indiana doesn’t have one now. Some cities probably had them. Also, there was not enough leisure time back then. People had to work hard all day to survive. What did these men do for a living that allowed them so much time at the gym? And then, how is Jake making a living? It seems he is living off his savings. It’s hard to believe he makes a living from the handful of guys who come to his gym every day. And all of them drink beer – a lot. I know I’m overdoing logic here, but it was too out-of-sync for me. It was a current day story, plopped into 1901.
As to birth control, in 1901 it was against the law for U.S. doctors to tell women about birth control. Around 1913 Margaret Sanger learned about birth control from doctors outside the U.S. And then she published that information and fought to change the laws in the U.S. (See Wikipedia for some good info about that.) So it is doubtful that the heroine would know about birth control methods in 1901. She claimed to have read it in a scientific book. Hey, I don’t require historical facts in my fiction, but all of this bothered me. Again, modern day thinking plopped down into 1901.
As to the story, Truvy loses her teaching job because she read sex education material to her students. Now she is staying with a friend in a small town in Montana. She meets Jake who owns the local gym. Truvy did not do or say anything that intrigued me. I felt no chemistry between Truvy and Jake. I would have liked better dialogue.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 388 pages. Swearing language: strong with religious swear words but not often used. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: two, plus one referred to. Setting: 1901 mostly Harmony, Montana with some Boise, Idaho. Copyright: 2001. Genre: western historical romance.
Hard to stay interested. Unusual things happened, but it wasn’t a good story. And I did not like the conflicts toward the end. They were typical overused romance novel conflicts. She says she wants no emotional attachment, and then she’s depressed because he does not offer marriage. And she makes a stupid assumption about something which upsets her.
My overall problem: this is contemporary thinking and actions set in the wrong time period. I believe the author checked her history, so it was possible, just not common for these things to occur. For example, Spalding made athletic shoes with rubber soles before 1901. But how many women wore them back then? Our heroine had Spalding shoes and won trophies playing women’s tennis. I suppose women’s tennis tournaments existed but rare. The hero runs a gym. A group of local guys go there to work out every day. These guys wanted to compete in Mr. Physique contests. This was a small town. How many small towns had athletic clubs back in 1901? My small home town in Indiana doesn’t have one now. Some cities probably had them. Also, there was not enough leisure time back then. People had to work hard all day to survive. What did these men do for a living that allowed them so much time at the gym? And then, how is Jake making a living? It seems he is living off his savings. It’s hard to believe he makes a living from the handful of guys who come to his gym every day. And all of them drink beer – a lot. I know I’m overdoing logic here, but it was too out-of-sync for me. It was a current day story, plopped into 1901.
As to birth control, in 1901 it was against the law for U.S. doctors to tell women about birth control. Around 1913 Margaret Sanger learned about birth control from doctors outside the U.S. And then she published that information and fought to change the laws in the U.S. (See Wikipedia for some good info about that.) So it is doubtful that the heroine would know about birth control methods in 1901. She claimed to have read it in a scientific book. Hey, I don’t require historical facts in my fiction, but all of this bothered me. Again, modern day thinking plopped down into 1901.
As to the story, Truvy loses her teaching job because she read sex education material to her students. Now she is staying with a friend in a small town in Montana. She meets Jake who owns the local gym. Truvy did not do or say anything that intrigued me. I felt no chemistry between Truvy and Jake. I would have liked better dialogue.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 388 pages. Swearing language: strong with religious swear words but not often used. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: two, plus one referred to. Setting: 1901 mostly Harmony, Montana with some Boise, Idaho. Copyright: 2001. Genre: western historical romance.
June 16, 2019
First, it is important to read the four novels of this series in order (see below). This is the absolutely wonderful story of Truvy Valentine and Jake "Bruiser" Brewster. Everything takes place in the delightfully small town of Harmony, Montana.
Truvy Valentine is a dedicated teacher of economics and the athletic coach at St. Francis Academy in Idaho. In her efforts to prepare her young charges for the world they are about to enter, Truvy makes an awful mistake. She teaches about human sexuality and gets caught by the school's director and a major benefactor. Miss Pond, the school's administrator suggests that Truvy spend the Christmas holidays thinking about staying within the bounds of the instructional guidelines of St. Francis. She tells Tru that she will telegram her when it is safe to call Tru back to teach.
Tru is on her way to see her very-pregnant friend, Edwina Wolcott, in Montana. Instead of Tom or Edwina meeting her train, they send the man who runs the local gym, Jake Brewster. Tru is particularly unimpressed with her escort.
When Tru does not receive the desired telegram (after the Christmas holidays), she takes up the job of teaching dancing lessons for Edwina. Although Tru is a quick study, she has no idea how to teach this subject. The students just happen to be the men from Jake's gym, getting ready for an important physique competition. Jake knows much more about dancing than Tru and eventually teaches her individually prior to her teaching her dancing groups.
Historical tidbits are sprinkled through the pages and characters from previous books in this series join Tru and Jake in HEARTS. This series is a delightful group of Americana stories. 4.5 stars
Brides for All Seasons
1. Harmony (1997)
2. Hooked (1999)
3. Honey (2000)
**4. Hearts (2001)
Truvy Valentine is a dedicated teacher of economics and the athletic coach at St. Francis Academy in Idaho. In her efforts to prepare her young charges for the world they are about to enter, Truvy makes an awful mistake. She teaches about human sexuality and gets caught by the school's director and a major benefactor. Miss Pond, the school's administrator suggests that Truvy spend the Christmas holidays thinking about staying within the bounds of the instructional guidelines of St. Francis. She tells Tru that she will telegram her when it is safe to call Tru back to teach.
Tru is on her way to see her very-pregnant friend, Edwina Wolcott, in Montana. Instead of Tom or Edwina meeting her train, they send the man who runs the local gym, Jake Brewster. Tru is particularly unimpressed with her escort.
When Tru does not receive the desired telegram (after the Christmas holidays), she takes up the job of teaching dancing lessons for Edwina. Although Tru is a quick study, she has no idea how to teach this subject. The students just happen to be the men from Jake's gym, getting ready for an important physique competition. Jake knows much more about dancing than Tru and eventually teaches her individually prior to her teaching her dancing groups.
Historical tidbits are sprinkled through the pages and characters from previous books in this series join Tru and Jake in HEARTS. This series is a delightful group of Americana stories. 4.5 stars
Brides for All Seasons
1. Harmony (1997)
2. Hooked (1999)
3. Honey (2000)
**4. Hearts (2001)
January 11, 2014
I really liked this story set about 1900. It had a strong female lead in Edwina, a "spinster" at 24. The story had Edwina living in her hometown after attending college in Chicago and returning to Montana to attend to the death of her parents. While in college Edwina had been with a man and had a ton of regret because she wasn't married, the guy was a toad and she felt stupid. Our hero was 32 and a store owner of sporting goods. The romance was top notch with the right amount of flirting banter, sexual tension and then honest love for the right reasons that I'm really glad I read this. It had loss, redemption and integrity. It was very funny too!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews