Kristie J’s review of Notorious (Frontier, Book 2) by Patricia Potter
Historical Western published by Open Road Media 13 Oct 15
Since I switched almost completely from reading print books to ebooks, I’ve slowly been working on collecting my favourite books as ebooks so I will have them with me always. Alas, some are too expensive or some haven’t been available and I have a mental list to check every so often to see if they have been released as ebooks. One of them I’ve been following is Notorious by Patricia Potter. Although a number of her other books have come out, only recently has this one. Although it cost more than I usually pay for ebooks, since this Western is one of my faves, I didn’t mind as much.
I first read this one many years ago and, if anything, I enjoyed it even more years later. So my money was well spent. We first met Marsh briefly in a previous book. He’s a cold-blooded gunslinger who’s also quite dapper. He was a bit sympathetic in that book, though his appearance was brief. But now he has a story of his own to tell.
When he helped out the hero Lobo in the previous book, Lawless, this seemed to put Marsh at a crossroad. He’s good at what he does, gunslinging, but he realizes the older he gets the more likely he is to die in a gun battle. He has happened to win a saloon in a poker game and contemplates giving up his current profession to work the saloon. Once he sees the dilapidated condition it’s in, well, he’s perverse and now he wants to take it on as a challenge.
There just happens to be a saloon across the street owned by Cat, also known as the Ice Queen of San Francisco, our heroine. The last thing she wants is any competition and, in fact, has driven all those trying to open the Glory Hole, as it’s known, by any means she can, honestly or dishonestly if needed. So when she hears about Marsh’s, or Taylor as he know prefers to be called in order to distance himself from his former job, Cat is all set to make sure he’s run out of business too. Unfortunately, he has the backing of a very influential member of San Francisco who smooths the path on a number of things. Finally Cat appeals to a rather corrupt cop, who kidnaps Marsh/Taylor and plans to have him shanghaied.
But Cat doesn’t want to take things that far. Though she refuses to acknowledge it, there is a strong and growing attraction between the two of them. Instead, Taylor spends some time in jail and when he gets out, he’s none to happy, no sir!
Thus begins a game of one-upmanship between the two of them. Taylor brings in a singer, Cat brings in dancers to do the Can Can and so on.
It would be quite easy to dislike Cat. She does come across as strong and cold and quite the bitch, but as we get to know her background, we can see why she is the way she is and even admire her for what she has accomplished.
And I quite like Taylor. Once he quits the gunslinging and as he slowly admits to his attraction to Cat, he loosens up quite a bit. He also has a sad past. He lost his entire family during the Civil War, thus the lack of caring. It hurts too much.
Something else I appreciated about this book is the couple is older, in their late 30s, if I recall. And even though I didn’t mind this when I first read the book when I was in my early 40s, now that I’m not, I like their age even more
This book was originally published in 1993 and it well stands the test of time. And now that it’s available as an e-book, I’m doing my part to spread the word about this Very Good Western and the other excellent Westerns that Ms. Potter writes.
Grade: B+
Summary:
Their rivalry was as fierce as the attraction between them. They were kindred spirits who had walked on the dark side of life: Marsh, the strong lover she both feared and hungered for; Cat, the angel who could destroy him…or give him back his soul.
In 1870s San Francisco, the fierce rivalry between a former gunslinger and a woman running from her past turns into a passionate, undeniable attraction in award-winning author Patricia Potter’s sexy and suspenseful historical romanceMarsh Canton, the scion of a wealthy Georgia family, spent four years fighting the war of a divided nation. When he returned home, he found his family gone and his way of life destroyed. Turning his back on his heritage, he struck out for the west, achieving notoriety as a stone-cold gunslinger. Now, reinventing himself yet again, he arrives in San Francisco to take over the saloon he won in a poker game.
Natchez born-and-bred Catalina Hilliard is haunted by her violent past. Dubbed the Ice Queen, she sleeps with a Derringer under her pillow and runs the elegant Silver Slipper saloon. With the help of the local law, she keeps a monopoly on the trade by running all her rivals out of town. She’s about to meet her match in Marsh Canton, who has also spent a lifetime running. But they can’t run forever, and the passion igniting between them has just changed the stakes. Even with the odds against them—and a dangerous man gunning for Marsh—it’s their last chance to make things right and choose love.
No excerpt available.
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