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Judith of Blue Lake Ranch
Judith of Blue Lake Ranch By Jackson Gregory
- GenresWesterns
130 pages, Paperback
First published May 28, 2004
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12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 31, 2021
This story caught my attention and held me until I’d read the whole thing in a little over a day. Definitely a high-octane story and one where I couldn’t quite guess what was going to happen next.
Judith doesn’t have an easy road as a majority owner in a ranch that has suddenly gone from thriving to failing in just a year. She’s got to deal with running a ranch on nothing, plus all the strange accidents and sicknesses that keep happening at the ranch. Is someone sabotaging her best efforts? At least she’s got Bud Lee as her ally...
I’ll definitely be reading other Jackson Gregory novels.
Content: basic swearing and profanity
Judith doesn’t have an easy road as a majority owner in a ranch that has suddenly gone from thriving to failing in just a year. She’s got to deal with running a ranch on nothing, plus all the strange accidents and sicknesses that keep happening at the ranch. Is someone sabotaging her best efforts? At least she’s got Bud Lee as her ally...
I’ll definitely be reading other Jackson Gregory novels.
Content: basic swearing and profanity
January 17, 2022
This is definitely a dated book. From the style of writing, to the way most men viewed women, to the way ranches–or at least this ranch–were run, to the level of drama, it all screams early 1900s. That’s okay, I like stories set during that time.
I liked Judith and Bud Lee. I even like Carson and some of the others. The housekeeper cracked me up with her suspicions that made her shiver and added excitement to her life. The mystery wasn’t really a mystery as you knew who was behind it, but you didn’t know what was going to happen next.
I will note that I had to laugh quite a bit at the description of Judith at the party. The author talked about her white arms and her “milk white throat” and I lost it. It seems that he forgot that this girl has spent months in the saddle, in the sun and wind. Does he think she has been covered head to toe? No tan? No sunburn? No freckles? Oh, Judith, teach me your ways!
The ending really bugged me. I do not like stories where the law can’t do anything to stop the bad guys and so the characters have to stop them themselves. If this is a picture of what California was like back then, no wonder they have problems now!
There is a lot of swearing in this book including multiple uses of the Lord’s name. There is also some kissing, fighting, drinking, and more swearing.
I probably won’t read this book again.
I liked Judith and Bud Lee. I even like Carson and some of the others. The housekeeper cracked me up with her suspicions that made her shiver and added excitement to her life. The mystery wasn’t really a mystery as you knew who was behind it, but you didn’t know what was going to happen next.
I will note that I had to laugh quite a bit at the description of Judith at the party. The author talked about her white arms and her “milk white throat” and I lost it. It seems that he forgot that this girl has spent months in the saddle, in the sun and wind. Does he think she has been covered head to toe? No tan? No sunburn? No freckles? Oh, Judith, teach me your ways!
The ending really bugged me. I do not like stories where the law can’t do anything to stop the bad guys and so the characters have to stop them themselves. If this is a picture of what California was like back then, no wonder they have problems now!
There is a lot of swearing in this book including multiple uses of the Lord’s name. There is also some kissing, fighting, drinking, and more swearing.
I probably won’t read this book again.
April 12, 2025
While it's dated, this was a book of a woman being a bad ass as she becomes the boss at a horse ranch, taking no shit from the sexist men attempting to ruin her. I adored this.
July 31, 2024
I found this book randomly at a thrift store. It is now one of my all-time favorites.
It begins with the introduction of a few ranch hands, which matters because these names will come up again. We find out that the ranch isn't doing so great, probably because of a corrupt ranch general manager Bayne Trevors, but Bud Lee can't do much about that.
Cue the grit-and-spit arrival of Judith, the original (now deceased) owner's daughter, who promptly demands the rotten manager to leave. She has bought out the other stake owner and now legally has majority share in the ranch. When he snubs her, she shoots him. Like ya do. Thus begins Judith's work to redeem her ranch, saving it from the hands of an encroaching company who wants to buy them out, with a little romance, a good amount of drama, and a heap of character in there as well.
SPOILERS BELOW!
I adore Judith, I really do. She takes the feministic fem fatale archetype and absolutely tromps it. She's a wonderful tough lady, and I do mean lady, because she learns how to refine her toughness into gentleness, without losing either quality. She is the definition of the feminine genius, because she never stops being female despite riding, shooting, and leading with the best of anyone. She knows when she needs to put her foot down, and when she needs to be mild; she grows as a person, as a woman, and encourages growth in others.
Bud also has a great, great arch; I love the tough-but-softy trope but I also love how he guards against it. It strikes me as realistic because he HAS idolized The Perfect Soft Woman, and I can see the manly desire to that. He wants someone who needs protecting, someone delicate and meek, and it's all the easier to build up because of the media he's been taking in. Judith challenges that, not because she's the opposite, but because she's WHOLE - she DOESN'T need protecting, until she does. She ISN'T delicate, until she is. She is realistic, she is human, and she is what he actually needs - not some 2D version of femininity.
The ending is also very powerful, because it's so visceral in different ways. Each character has a battle to overcome, and they are overcome in different but totally triumphant ways. It could be argued that Judith's situation is not realistic, and let's be real, it really isn't, but it's a heck of a twist in an otherwise realistic, "normal" story. Bud's showdown with Trevors is also exciting because it's not what I was baited to expect from a Western. It's a very manly throw-down of raw power, which matches how Bud Lee operates - he saw women one way, and Judith helped adjust that, and now he gets to put his manhood on the line in a classical way.
Overall, the plot is a celebration of men and women learning more about each other, and learning to embrace their strengths and shore up their weaknesses, all without losing who they are. Absolutely superb.
It begins with the introduction of a few ranch hands, which matters because these names will come up again. We find out that the ranch isn't doing so great, probably because of a corrupt ranch general manager Bayne Trevors, but Bud Lee can't do much about that.
Cue the grit-and-spit arrival of Judith, the original (now deceased) owner's daughter, who promptly demands the rotten manager to leave. She has bought out the other stake owner and now legally has majority share in the ranch. When he snubs her, she shoots him. Like ya do. Thus begins Judith's work to redeem her ranch, saving it from the hands of an encroaching company who wants to buy them out, with a little romance, a good amount of drama, and a heap of character in there as well.
SPOILERS BELOW!
I adore Judith, I really do. She takes the feministic fem fatale archetype and absolutely tromps it. She's a wonderful tough lady, and I do mean lady, because she learns how to refine her toughness into gentleness, without losing either quality. She is the definition of the feminine genius, because she never stops being female despite riding, shooting, and leading with the best of anyone. She knows when she needs to put her foot down, and when she needs to be mild; she grows as a person, as a woman, and encourages growth in others.
Bud also has a great, great arch; I love the tough-but-softy trope but I also love how he guards against it. It strikes me as realistic because he HAS idolized The Perfect Soft Woman, and I can see the manly desire to that. He wants someone who needs protecting, someone delicate and meek, and it's all the easier to build up because of the media he's been taking in. Judith challenges that, not because she's the opposite, but because she's WHOLE - she DOESN'T need protecting, until she does. She ISN'T delicate, until she is. She is realistic, she is human, and she is what he actually needs - not some 2D version of femininity.
The ending is also very powerful, because it's so visceral in different ways. Each character has a battle to overcome, and they are overcome in different but totally triumphant ways. It could be argued that Judith's situation is not realistic, and let's be real, it really isn't, but it's a heck of a twist in an otherwise realistic, "normal" story. Bud's showdown with Trevors is also exciting because it's not what I was baited to expect from a Western. It's a very manly throw-down of raw power, which matches how Bud Lee operates - he saw women one way, and Judith helped adjust that, and now he gets to put his manhood on the line in a classical way.
Overall, the plot is a celebration of men and women learning more about each other, and learning to embrace their strengths and shore up their weaknesses, all without losing who they are. Absolutely superb.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews