Wanton Angel

by Linda Lael Miller

When Bonnie McKutchen left her weathy husband in a storm of heartache and betrayal, she fled New York with nothing but the dress on her back. Eli McKutcben finally caught up with her in a Washington mining town, outraged to find his beautiful wife dancing for money in a gaudy saloon. Yet as his temper flared, so did his passion...for nothing could extinguish Bonnie's blazes once she set them. Tormented with desire by his every touch, Bonnie yielded to the wild delight of her husband's embrace. Time and again she vowed to resist, and was sweetly defeated. But with savage pride, she denied her love...even at the risk of losing him forever!

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Historical, Westerns, Historical Fiction

346 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

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

Reviews

[Fre06 Begum · Rating 1 out of 5]

Losing a child doesn’t mean it gives you the right to sleep with OW in fact that makes it even more disgusting. He never truly explained or expressed his remorse over his cheating and heroine in the end didn’t make a huge deal about it so I guess it would be waste of energy on my part to rant on her behalf!

[Melanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not a big fan of this book... I don't like adultery, no matter the excuse, and Eli was to much of an a** for me to forgive him the way Bonnie did... 2.5 stars

[April Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't hate this book but got pretty frustrated with it several times.

The story effectively starts two years after the marriage between H/h fell apart (their young son died, H blamed h, cheated on her and then took off to a war in Cuba. h leaves NYC to go back to their hometown and he eventually follows her there).

I liked the premise of H/h having to reconcile their troubled marriage and come out stronger at the end of it.

While they did get their HEA in the end, it didn't feel earned.

For starters, the cheating that H did while he was married to h was completely glossed over. We know that h was devastated because of it and there were a few discussions about it but it was done so quickly that it didn't feel satisfying. Basically, H got off far too easily.

Spoilers below.

Towards the end of the book, we find out that H had an affair with a young lady (18 years old) in Cuba who nursed him back to health. He has somewhat reconciled with Bonnie when he tells her of the affair. She is devastated but then immediately jumps him and has sex with him. The affair is never discussed again. WTF!

Actually, that happened a few times throughout the book. H treats h badly and then kisses her and she loses her self-respect and immediately sleeps with him. One of my most hated romance tropes is when h's loins take over her brains and she sleeps with H after he treated her like crap. I can't stand it.

I was also frustrated with their communication levels. Early on, they're in a bad place so I guess it's somewhat understandable that they say things to hurt each other but it keeps happening until close to 80% of the book is through. It was so frustrating because I just wanted them to spit it out and say what they mean. Instead, they both said/did stupid sh*t just to piss the other person off.

[Char · Rating 1 out of 5]

I believe everything I have read by LLM she has written within the last 10 years (which I have loved) so this was her first "early" work for me. Just could not get into this story. It just seemed that her writing style was so different in this. I undersand authors often grow in their writing over years and maybe it was my problem to keep comparing this to her later works. Please don't let this keep you from trying it as we often know, alot of people like an author's earlier works to later ones.

[T from Istria 💛💚 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Weird writing. Never felt their love as we never experienced how they fell in love, the romance, the angst and heartbreak. Back and forth romance. Adulterous and not very sympathetic H. Not very likeable h either.

[Jena]

Safety avoid
Cheating H.

MCs son died, H blamed the h, cheated on her then went to Cuba.

H - the hub - had a full blown affair with an 18 yr old when he was at Cuba - while the wife/hub was preg again with his baby.

That’s just one of his affairs …. The H tells her about that particular affair - because he spent a lot time with that girl, and h insta forgave and had sex with him. 🙄

HEA ..until he cheats again I guess.🤷🏻‍♀️


Just looked at this authors bio. Ok, no wonder this woman thinks this is romance. 🙄

[Crisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

remember this as clear as day spent one day and read this with so much zeal it certainly did not disappoint. 5stars a thousand times. This story was so captivating to me personally, because it was my first historical romance and i have read many since but none will ever fill me with such intense emotions.

As stated by the brief intro bonnie married to her husband and decides to leave him after a few years together. However, with every romance there is unhappiness- and that was the lost of their son. Bonnie and Eli the town's local rich kid fell in love when they were little more than teenagers and got married moved to the city - they got pregnant had the kid - the kid dies- neither of them knows how to get by. he distances himself from her by going to war of course having a final bout of passion before his off resulting in her getting pregnant again.

two years later after recovering from yellow fever and surviving solely to get back to the wife he left behind- well dang is he in for a shock she left him months after he was gone and went back to their small town and it seems that she had the gull to divorce him well he's not having it he still loves his wife. And by God if he has to he will pay every penny to dance with her and allow no other man to touch her. And of course there is a kid involved -question of paternity -which really isn't questioned at all because he knows the kid is his.

Apart from the love story of these two- the story also centers on the struggles the town is going through and the length the hero will go to - to ultimately save the town and his relationship.

I would definitely recommend this novel for an excellent read.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise is good. Marriage breakdown after the death of a child; husband became a ho and ran off to fight in a stupid war, and the abandoned wife went back to hometown to find herself. Husband then went to look for her. Oh....the fights, the arguments, the drama with the m and ow...and then the HEA. Until the next time something happens, and the husband reverts back to a man ho.

[eevee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bonnie runs away from her husband, Eli, because he basically abandoned her after their son died. He ignored her, cheated on her, and then went to Cuba to fight a war despite being a pampered businessman. However, Eli is called to Bonnie’s new town because one of his businesses there is failing. They struggle between blaming each other over their son’s death, having angry sex, and being jealous.

It was all right. Hero was kind of an ass and a little bland. I’m iffy about the heroine. Three different men are in love with her for no reason. Maybe she’s just that beautiful? She’s also a little materialistic and it’s hard to see why she and Eli are in love. I felt like there was more chemistry with Bonnie and another guy named Forbes, who had apparently been obsessed/in love with her since childhood. It seems like she chose Eli just because he’s rich.

Speaking of Forbes, I also didn’t like how he was basically given a slap on the wrist as if he was a charming scoundrel for all he did. He was basically manager of a smelting company owned by Eli and Forbes kept the workers in horrible conditions (i.e., child labor, underpaying workers, skimming off the top, unsafe conditions, and more). But the characters basically just laugh and forgive him like “Oh silly Forbes, you rascal!” And he even gets his job back! Are you kidding?!

The plot is mostly angsty and has a lot of pushing and pulling. It is also a slow burn because they don’t actually get together until basically the last 2 chapters (they do have sex before that, though).

Safety information: the hero has cheated on the heroine multiple times and abandoned her after their child died. He allows rumors to be spread that he has had sex with some women in the town. Also, Bonnie was a paid... dancer? It’s very scandalous at the time and was basically considered sex work (even though no sex was involved and she was alway faithful to the hero). She dated another man as well (again no sex or feelings).

All in all, I wouldn’t reread or keep on my shelf but I would recommend it if you don’t mind cheating or the push-and-pull, lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers-again type deal.

[Monica Hills · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were parts that I really enjoyed in this book but at other times I was very frustrated with Eli. By the end of the book I outright disliked him. Bonnie was an interesting character but I wish she had stood her ground more. Ultimately I had to give this book 3 Stars- because I did not like the ending. I knew it would turn out that way as this is a historical fiction romance and hence predictable but it still frustrated. This book was written in the late 80s so that was also probably part of the problem. Overall, not a bad book but it is definitely more romance with a woman who was just not as strong as I wanted her to be.

[TheBookishWife · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hated it, but LOVED it more!!

This book will make you laugh, scream, cry, and ultimately leave you smiling.
No, the H had no plausible excuse for his infidelities IMO. However, the author did an outstanding job in her writing of these two broken souls that made forgiveness possible for THEM, not us.
Great story. It was made all the better with the available Audible. I will be reading and listening to this one again.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The MC was frustrating. I think she was supposed to be a strong independent woman who dont need no man but ultimately ended up being stupid as fudge. However, she wasnt as bad as other MCs, the male lead on the other felt shallow w/o much depth to his character. But I've read worst so 3/5 stars.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t like Eli at all but I couldn’t put this book down so that is why I gave it 3 Stars.

[Deborah Gaspar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance.

[Joyce Koopmeiners]

worst book ever

[Diane Hermann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did manage to finish, frustrating as it was. Both MC's were unbelievably immature throughout the book. I didn't like either one of them. This was a painful read.

[Ginger Shoun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wanton Angel

Very different from any book I have ever read! So many misunderstandings that kept me interested and on the edge of my seat for hours.

[Jeanne (love2cook) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good historical romance story from Linda Lael Miller. Bonnie from the slums of the mining town in Washington state. Married the grandson of the owner of the smelting company, Eli McKutchen. She lived the life of luxury in New York until their son died and her world fell apart. She divorced her husband and moved back to Northridge. Eli followed her after he returned from the Cuban war. They were like oil and water, but still in love with each other. They had many issues to work through in order to have the life together that they always wanted. Good read!!

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in late 1800's Pacific NortWest. Woman returnes to her home town seeking divorce from her estranged husband. She was left by her wealthy husband back East after they lost a child and he cheated. Story was about being forgiven and seeking redemption.

[Lady Jaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this years and years ago, and picked it up to see if the story held up. It kinda did; somewhat. I liked it, although not as much a so did then, and the story dragged in some places. But I did manage to get some enjoyment out of it. Not bad.

[karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definately like linda's later books better. Bonnie was too much of a game player for me

[‎‧₊˚✧ storm ✧˚₊‧ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I regret reading this.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of Mrs. Miller's books are a GREAT read!! Always worth read over again!

[Rhonda Soukup · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another historical piece in the early 1900s about a divorced couple. This book was like all other Miller romances except this time the confusion of romantic feelings was based on a married couple who couldn't seem to get it together. The saving grace of this story was the other things happening in the town, i.e. flood, union strike, other blooming romances.