Sandy M’s review of Chasing the Sun (Blood Rose Trilogy, Book 2) by Kaki Warner
Historical Western Romance published by Berkley 4 Jan 11
I hate it when time gets away from and I don’t get to those books I wanted to months ago. Chasing the Sun is one of those, after I read and reviewed Open Country in Kaki Warner’s Blood Rose trilogy. She gave readers a unique look into life back when our wild west was at its best, especially when it comes to women of the time. Those women are the backbone of who we are today, and Ms. Warner weaves their stories with an exquisite touch.
Though this series is basically about the Wilkins brothers and their want and need to keep their ranch, to make it profitable and a home for their families, it’s the women behind them who have a strength men may not totally understand, but they sure admire it. Chasing the Sun is Jack’s story, the youngest of the brothers. When he left the ranch three years ago, Jack had hopes of a bright future with the woman he loved, but when she finds a different calling, he moves on to seeing the world and all the adventures it holds. Coming home at last, he finds both the woman who left him and another whom he barely recalls from his drunken days and nights of gambling before taking off to Australia and other parts unknown to try to heal his broken heart.
Daisy’s dream is to be a singer on a real stage some day. All she’s been able to find so far is singing for drunks and cardsharps in a San Francisco saloon, which pays her just enough for her and her daughter to live on. But when life throws Daisy into a dangerous situation and gives her the opportunity for her lifelong dream at the same time, her only option is to make the trip to RosaRoja and Jack’s family for help. She never expects to see Jack again and is quite surprised and frightened when she discovers he’s home.
Jack has always been the charmer of the family, women falling at his feet whenever he feels the need for company. So you can imagine his bafflement when Daisy is the one who refuses him at every turn. I had to chuckle at times when these Wilkins brothers just don’t get women, especially their wives. But I guess that’s how most heroes are in romance until they understand it’s love that pushes them. Jack is typical male. He doesn’t understand why Daisy would rather be on her than married to him when he can’t tell her he loves her, that he’d rather be with her than anyone else, and all those usual things women need to hear from their men.
In the meantime, Jack knows something more is going on with Daisy and he’s on a mission to win her, her trust, and her love. Their picnic scenes as a family are some of the best in the book, even when one ends in near disaster. And that leads to more great scenes when the brothers search for Jack and his ladies during a violent storm. There’s a lot of emotion for all involved during suspense-filled days. I like seeing the brothers show their emotions, though they stop short of showing those feelings to others. I had hoped maybe this time we would see more between them, but the boys stayed boys, and I love them anyway.
I still have yet to read the first book in the series, but I hope to remedy that soon. So far I have enjoyed Open Country just a tad more than Chasing the Sun, only because of the circumstances Molly and Hank meet and the danger they must survive. But Jack has that way of worming into your heart just as he does into Daisy’s, especially when playing with his daughter. His siblings need to wake up a little sooner when looking at their little brother. He’s become a man they’d be very proud of.
Grade: A
Summary:
Daisy Etheridge always dreamed of singing on a real stage, rather than in a smoky San Francisco saloon. But along the way she fell in love, had her heart broken, and bore a child to a man who loved another. Now she has a second chance to develop her singing talent. With no other way to get the money she needs to support herself and her child during her training, she and her daughter travel to New Mexico Territory to seek help from the wealthy family of the man who abandoned her.
Jack Wilkins, a carefree adventurer, has always wanted to travel the world, rather than stay home to work the family ranch with his brothers. He thought he’d escaped three years ago when he followed his childhood love to San Francisco, only to find that his devotion wasn’t enough to keep her. Now, he’s back, trying one last time to win her – when out of the blue a woman from his past shows up with a baby who has eyes like his.
Caught between his feelings for his old flame, his attraction to Daisy, and his new role as a father, Jack does the honorable thing and offers marriage. But Daisy refuses. Although she has never stopped loving Jack, she’s unwilling to risk her dream for a man who might still love another, or who would rather chase the sun west than settle down with her.
But Jack won’t give up. As spring drifts into summer, tensions build, and the Wilkins family is strained to the breaking point when old enemies and financial ruin threaten the ranch. Then a violent storm brings everything to a head, forcing Daisy and Jack to make hard choices about which dreams are worth fighting for, and what they want out of their lives-and out of each other.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
