Wendy the Super Librarian‘s review of Sierra Bride by Jenna Kernan
Historical western romance released by Harlequin Historical 1 Aug 09
It’s really no secret that most romance readers have a weakness for a hunky hero. I’m a bit of an odd duck in that I tend to always gravitate toward heroines. I’m certainly not one to turn my nose up at a suitably attractive romance hero, but if the heroine has all the charm of a limp dish rag? There’s no plotting imaginative enough, no hero hunky enough, and no dialogue sparkling enough to save the book for me. I need the heroine. Which is why I generally love Jenna Kernan’s stories. She has a knack for writing fantastic heroines.
Sam Pickett is in the process of getting robbed and beaten up in one of Sacramento’s back alleys. Kate Wells is walking home after working another late night at the milliner’s shop. The only thing her late, unlamented husband ever gave her that she found remotely useful is a pearl-handled Derringer. When she passes the alley and notices two men and a woman attacking Sam? She screams for help and proceeds to whip out the pistol, saving Sam from further beating. Then, just as quickly as she rode to his rescue, she vanishes into the night.
Sam is one of the wealthiest men in Sacramento, having made his fortune in mining. Now he wants to bring the railroad through the Cascade Mountains, effectively conquering them once and for all. However he finds himself distracted by the pretty slip of a girl who rescued him. He has to find out who she is, and make her his mistress. Sam has no use for family and even less use for children, but even he’s in for shock when he tracks down Kate. She’s not only a widow (which suits his purposes for her quite amiably), but she’s taking care of a blind sister and elderly aunt. Bother! Not only that? Turns out her late, unlamented husband was a no-good scoundrel con man who found himself shot when he swindled the wrong miner.
What follows is Sam offering Kate the job of mistress, and her flatly refusing. That is, until her aunt’s home is threatened with bank foreclosure. This time though Kate vows that if she’s going to sell herself to a man, she won’t go cheaply.
I’ll be blunt, this is a hard book to get invested in during the early chapters. Kate follows a long tradition of self-sacrificing heroines, but generally speaking I emphasized with her. More often than not, she found herself pushed up against a wall, and pushing back meant taking what very few avenues were open to women in the mid-19th century. Sam was much harder to “like” since for a good portion of the story he’s nothing more than a horny guy pursuing a woman only because 1) she sure is pretty and 2) she doesn’t want a thing to do with him. When these two do finally come to an agreement, of sorts, I still had issues with Sam, who was treading a very similar path to Kate’s odious first husband.
For patient readers, the emotional pay-off comes during the latter half of the story when Kate and Sam begin opening up to each other physically as well as emotionally. They quickly learn that they have a lot in common, and that the attraction between them is more than just skin deep. It helps to sow the seeds for the happily-ever-after, and it also helps the reader buy into the turn-around both of these characters experience.
I’ve admire Kernan’s work for Harlequin Historical for the last several years, because she has a way with characters and setting. This is another enjoyable read, but most definitely a second-half book. Also, while it is firmly connected to Outlaw Bride, it stands alone reasonably well and shouldn’t confuse or confound newcomers to her work. All in all, while I didn’t enjoy it as some of her other work, it’s still not a bad show.
Grade: B-
Summary:
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Powerful Sam Pickett is used to getting his way. So he is baffled when Kate Wells, a feisty little hellion who steps between him and a bullet in the back, isn’t remotely interested in becoming his latest plaything—despite the fact she’s poor, with an aunt and blind sister to support!
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Sam’s life is transformed by this compassionate, hardworking woman—who is strangely cynical for one so young. He fully intends to make Kate his bride, but that could prove to be the greatest challenge of his life!
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Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
