Sandy M’s review of The Gunslinger’s Untamed Bride (Bride Series, Book 2) by Stacey Kayne
Historical Western Romance released by Harlequin 1 Jul 08
I reviewed Ms Kayne’s last two books in her Wild series and really enjoyed them, but this latest release is simply her best by far. The emotion is heart felt and starts pulling at you from the very beginning and continues in a variety of ways throughout the book. There’s also humor and action and lots of romance, of course, but you see the difference in her writing at a whole new level just from the emotion alone.
Her characters in this story are much more complex than ever before. Juniper is a man still mired in his past, waiting for it to rear up and destroy him one day. The scene where he leaves his family behind after the relative of a man he’d killed years before has hunted him down is one of the best in the book. You can feel the emotion eminating from the page. His remorse for his past is something that he must face time and again. He literally remembers the face of each and every man who drew against him and was felled by his hand.
When he meets Lily and realizes who she is, you can feel the guilt roil through him; and the same happens when she asks him questions about the night her father died later in the book. But Juniper is also a sensitive man who loves his family, cares about the people he works with and protects in town, and believes in law and order, but he’s also a man who hasn’t become so hardened because of his past that he doesn’t have the capacity to change and to love. When he does love, it’s completely and he would risk everything, including his life, for the woman who makes him whole. His complexity is never ending.
Lily’s life is a direct result of Juniper’s. Her family and home was destroyed the night her father was gunned down; her mother died a few weeks later, giving up her will to live; and Lily was ultimately dragged kicking and screaming to San Francisco where she has lived with her mother’s high-and-mighty family ever since, a family who has never loved her and only tolerated her. Her revenge on the family came when she turned 18 and Lily became a force to be reckoned with in business, being successful at everything she’s done and making millions.
She now does as she pleases when she pleases and thumbs her nose at her greedy relatives. She is just as complex as Juniper. When she learns he is an employee of her newly acquired lumber business, she doesn’t hesitate. She loads her gun, packs up, and heads out to kill him to even the slate. What she finds is a man who is nothing like what she’d ever imagined.
She also finds herself attracted to him, even after reminding herself who he is and how he’s hurt her. Her intelligent mind may understand that, but her heart is another matter and little by little the man Juniper has become slowly tears down the walls she’s built around herself. But her stubbornness and single mindedness gets her in trouble and when she realizes her actions can cause dire consequences when she’s with Juniper, her outlook on how she currently lives begins a serious alteration.
It is always a pleasure to see an author grow and begin to become a major standout in her industry, and Ms. Kayne is now well on her way in that direction. I knew I was going to like this book based on my experience with her prior work, but after reading just the prologue, I knew I was in for one heck of a fabulous read and she did not disappoint me. She can only get better from here on out. The deep level of emotionality combined with everday human complexity gives this book, and this author, a new dimension.
Grade: A-
From the back cover:
She vows to kill him….he’ll risk everything to protect her!
Lily Carrington sees the name of an infamous killer on the payroll of her new lumber company and leaves her cushy San Francisco office to journey into the untamed wilderness and avenge her father’s death. Unprepared for the turmoil of a lumber camp torn apart by financial strain, Lily finds herself at the mercy of lumberjacks willing to do anything to get their pay. A handsome stranger determined to keep the peace becomes her sole protector—the very man she’s sworn to kill.
Juniper Barns has sought out a secluded life to escape the ghosts of his past, men seeking revenge for those he’d killed during his youth as a gunfighter. Realizing his new pretty boss has come with vengeful intentions, Juniper knows his troubles have just begun. As they work together to bring the lumber camp under control, their mutual desire becomes a new threat.
Can they overcome a past built on vengeance to find love in their future?
Other books in this series:
