Ellen O'Connell - Without Words

Bounty hunter Bret Sterling kills Rufus Petty, thief and murderer, less than ten feet away from a frightened, half-starved woman. Rufus should have surrendered. The woman should have kin to help her. But Rufus went down shooting, and the woman has no one. Bret figures by the time he finds a safe place to leave Hassie Petty, he'll earn the five hundred dollar reward several times over.
Hassie doesn't mourn Rufus, but the loss of the ten dollars he promised her for supplies is a different matter. The bounty hunter gives her nothing, takes everything, ties the body on one horse and orders her on another. Afraid if she defies him, he'll tie her down tighter than Rufus, Hassie mounts up and follows the icy-eyed killer.
Mismatched in every way, the sterling man and petty woman travel the West together, hunting thieves, deserters, and murderers. Wary traveling companions, friends and partners, lovers, Bret and Hassie must decide what they want, what they need, and the price they're willing to pay for love.

Comment: It was finally possible to read this book, the last one by the author I had in the pile. I might look for more by her in the future, though.

In this book we meet bounty hunter Bret Sterling as he catches up with another fugitive. Things don't go too well and he kills the man to defend himself. This means he can recover his reward but he feels he is now in charge of the man's stepmother Hassie, a much younger widow of the fugitive's father. To make things worse, she seems to be mute and Bret feels guilt so he decides to take her with him until some solution is found. They get along well enough until a job arises for her but pure chance reveals a trick to deceive Hassie and once more, Bret takes her with him. As their journey continues and the bounty hunting continues until Bret reaches his family home, the two get close. Will they want to never see each other again once Bret gets home to stop being a bounty hunter at last?

This book was published in 2014 but it feels like it could have been written in the 90s in terms of style, if one has read more western romances. The characters are complex but not complicated, they reveal themselves through their actions and little things as opposed to grand gestures or unbelievable steps. I think what I liked best was how simple both protagonists were and how simple they wanted their lives to be as well.

The plot isn't much more elaborate from what the blurb suggests. Basically, we can summarize this book as a romance on the road, so to speak, for the majority of the evolution between the protagonists happens while they are traveling and we learn of their feelings in small things such as a look, a thought, a kind gesture, an innocent action, a helpful hand and so on. We learn that as they spend time together, they recognize in one another the kind of person they want to be with and who makes their hearts sing.

Of course things aren't simple for Bret has family who won't welcome Hassie that easily and he also has expectations to meet, responsibilities to take care of. Having read plenty of romances already, I knew things would obviously end up well for them but it's always interesting to see how authors decided to move things along or how they create the scenes for what is necessary to happen to finally come to be and although how Bret's family acts isn't anything new, it still allowed for some drama and emotions to rise.

The romance was sweet and slow burning. I felt the protagonists had time to get to know one another and really fall in love. Hassie has endured a lot in her life but she still smiles and finds pleasure in simple things like dancing and listening to the birds. For her, this journey with Bret is like an adventure where she can be free and do fun and new things, and even dealing with the bandits they are capturing provides her with new experiences. The fact he takes care of her and defends her when strangers are mean makes her appreciate and, eventually, fall in love with Bret.

For hi, things are a little more complicated for he has a goal, he has family and obligations but deep down he is a good man and when he accepts he loves Hassie, he never vacillates in assuming it and telling others he wants to be with her. His dealings with family and the expectations regarding his work and his position in the family are the main reasons for conflicts as the story goes on to its end, but he cherishes and defends Hassie through it all, and I thought the relationship evolved at a believable pace.

There is some big drama in the end and some readers have said it seems things were a bit too silly, easily avoidable... I agree, there were some scenes I think were unnecessary, and see to contradict the evolution we saw happening throughout the novel but thankfully, things were solved pretty quickly and the main characters were able to learn from those experiences to reach their HEA.

All things considered, this was a good story, enjoyable and I liked reading it, only stopping when I had to. For those who like old fashioned novels that one can imagine would age well, this seems to be  a good example.

Grade: 8/10

Ellen O'Connell - Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold

"Eyes" is a story of family conflicts set in Colorado in 1885. Unmarried at 28, Anne Wells is a disgrace to her rigidly conventional family. Cord Bennett is the black sheep of the Bennett clan. When these two misfits are found alone together, violence explodes. Can Anne and Cord use the freedom of being condemned for sins they didn’t commit to make a life together in spite of their families?

Comment: I had this book to read since 2014. It does seem incredible how some books just get behind on schedule but with big TBRs... well, it was finally time to get to it.

In this book we have the story of Anne Wells and Cord Bennett, two people who live in the same small town but have not mixed because of how everyone ever saw Cord, just the mixed breed son of a respectable man who married an Indian woman.

However, Anne's life hasn't always been easy and recently even worse because her father wants her to marry a much older man, someone she can't abide. When she runs away, she rests in the barn of Cord's house but they are found and attacked. 

After enduring terrible accusations and physical attacks, can Cord and Anne accept they can have a relationship? Or will it be better for her to leave at some point anyway?

This reminded me of those older western romances that were more focused on the romance than any external issues the couples had to face. Everything was more about the way the couple connected despite the things that made them apart and they still faced adversity and accepted common ground.

The story is quite easy to follow. The author uses a tactic I am quite fond of, which basically means she develops the circumstances of the two protagonists very slowly, through very domestic and simple situations and scenes, so that we can get the feel things go slowly between them but as if each detail brings them closer, makes them more aware of one another and, to be honest, this is something I like because it gives credibility to the fact they are falling in love and not just being pals.

I liked knowing Cord and Anne. It's interesting that their relationship starts off the premise they are not good enough to be "decent" or "good" to be in others company but through the novel we get to see how, by small gestures and actions, they are more worthy than everyone else.

Cord is a fascinating character. He is considered a bad bet, even by his own family, despite them defending him on occasion. It was good to see how he "won" his brothers as the story moved along but it was also a little annoying how long it took them to just talk to him and accept what reality seemed to be.

His relationship with Anne also has ups and downs because sometimes they don't say what they really think. Of course, this is pretty common in real life and it was both sweet and romantic to see them change their minds about one another as the little details became more obvious.

The plot follows a simple pattern. We get to see the simple, domestic situations in which they see themselves while trying to make a relationship work and while they feel their dreams slowly come closer to reality. There is conflict and an enemy and close to the end of the story, something almost too bad happens but thankfully the author put the characters in the path to their HEA. 

I actually had a good time reading this and feeling hopeful things would end well. It's just a pity some parts dragged a lot, some things repeated a lot too. Perhaps a bit more of editing in some sequences could have stressed the important details without removing any impact from them. 

There are some flaws in the book, yes. More observant readers probably have discovered things not always in sync nor as well done. However, to me this was more interesting for the small things, like how both Cord and Anne take each other's existence into consideration when they decide to be married, to be together after the things they suffered at first. Even despite their pasts and the experiences they share and don't share. This is a romance and just for the fun of having seen a couple find happiness despite adversity was well worth it.

Grade: 8/10

Ellen O'Connell - Dancing on Coals

After escaping robbers intent on murder, Katherine Grant says, “I jumped from the frying pan into the fire. Before long I’ll be dancing on the coals.” The highwaymen were the frying pan; the handsome young Apache who saved her from them was the fire; and the coals? Gaetan.
Rage against the enemies of his people has consumed Gaetan from boyhood. The only use he ever found for any white was to test the sharpness of his knife. Forced by his brother to endure Katherine’s company, Gaetan tries to deny what he sees - the white woman has a man’s temper and a lion’s courage. She has an Apache heart.
In spite of hate, distrust and fear, surviving in the rugged country of southern Arizona and northern Mexico forges a strange bond between Katherine and Gaetan. When the bond turns to love, can they admit it? Can they bear the consequences?

Comment: I got this book some time ago, probably more than 18 months ago.. but, like so many others, it has been waiting and waiting in the pile. This month I added it to my reading list of May.

In this story we meet Katherine Grant, a woman from a rich family who went to look for adventure and saw herself in a robbery from which she runs away from only to be "rescued" by Indians. Although her position isn't the best possible, Katherine is a strong, confident woman and tries her best to survive and possibly run away. But even the best plans go wrong and after an attack, Katherine sees herself at mercy of Gaetan, an Indian that has reasons to hate all white people.

Gaetan only wants to fulfill his promise and get the white woman out of his sight but things aren't that easy to do and he needs to help her. After some ricks taken and solutions found, he brings her to the camp where his mates and their families are. Somehow he starts to understand and respect Katherine and things change between them, but will it last if she's not one of them?

I liked this book and the concept behind it. There's something special about the differences between whites and Indians in an historical context that appeal to me. It is sad so many books withing this cultural theme are so badly done or focused on silly situations. This story is solid and well structured and, since it's my first attempt reading something by this author, I feel quite pleased by how this worked out.

However, this isn't a fully perfect book to me. Some readers say Gaetan and Katherine's relationship took too long to develop but I don't mind that, they needed time to understand and grow to like each other.

What bothered me more was the dynamics in the relationship between Katherine and everyone else... I understand the fact she's so confident and strong are good characteristics to have in such dire situations as the ones she is involved in, but I felt she was too savvy and I'd have liked to see a heroine developing her self esteem and trust in herself throughout the novel. Katherine never needed it because she was already like that. Her challenges were difficult yes and I feel glad she achieved happiness...but I expected a heroine more shy or timid... 

The end of the book also annoyed me a bit. Well, not the book itself, more the epilogue. I mean, it was pleasant, positive, happy but so far apart from the novel and all the things Gaetan and Katherine struggled for... I envisioned something different, although I accept why things had that progress.

The details about Indians, their values and culture were interesting, but I felt not enough development happened in those areas. Too much running from enemies and doing other plans got air time out of what I think would have been better time dedicated to Indians and establishing a better notion of their communities and a life in one, I guess..

The romance was the best part of the book. It took time, it had a slow pace but when they finally admitted anything or did something to acknowledge their attraction I think any reader was ready to see it happen and that added even more strength to their connection. I liked how both learned something and became better people by having someone different but so alike to be in love with. After all, not all things each one considered bad was totally so and vice-versa. I liked how such a mutual learning process it was for them to be with the other and how important learning to trust the other was for both. 

Gaetan is a mysterious person, but I understand why he acted like that. His character was economical in words and actions but when he meant something, it was easy to see and justify.

Katherine is strong in almost everything but when she falls for Gaetan, it makes her have different perspectives in things... together they are a wonderful couple, indeed.

All in all, this is a great read but for me it lacked something to make it perfect. There's a sense of magic in the book, in terms of how one might feel while reading it, but somehow not all is as special as it could. I had a good time reading but some parts weren't as addictive to read and that slowed me down a bit.

But I still think it's a good book and I look for to read more by the author, which it seems will be better because other books have better average ratings.

Grade: 7/10