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laden_bookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this more
I loved the pitch but somehow feel like the novel underdelivered. I think first person limited the story too much for me to get invested in the stakes. Emma Bull's Territory is a more satisfying read with a similar setting.
I loved the pitch but somehow feel like the novel underdelivered. I think first person limited the story too much for me to get invested in the stakes. Emma Bull's Territory is a more satisfying read with a similar setting.
moirwyn's review against another edition
4.0
This review originally appeared on my blog, Books Without Any Pictures:
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2016/07/11/blog-tour-giveaway-the-last-woman-standing-by-thelma-adams/
The Last Woman Standing is a western historical fiction novel about the gunfight at the OK Corral. Josephine Marcus is a rebellious young woman who doesn’t want to settle down with a nice Jewish boy. She’s lured to Tombstone, Arizona by the promise of Johnny Behan, a local sheriff. Josie arrives in Arizona naive and full of hopes, but quickly has to learn the ways of the world. Johnny keeps promising her the world, but stops short of actually marrying her. And Josie begins to develop feelings for Wyatt Earp, one of Johnny’s friends/rivals who symbolizes everything that Johnny is not. But Tombstone itself is brimming with tension and resentment that’s about to boil over into violence, and Josie finds herself caught in the middle between her old and new loves.
As the book progresses, Josie really comes into her own. At first, her primary goal is getting out of San Francisco and establishing a life for herself. Once she gets to Tombstone, she encounters a world that’s totally different from her sheltered upbringing. At first she trusts in Johnny, but then as she begins to see through him she manages to build her own life and friendships without him and finds a place in Tombstone by her own right. Finding Wyatt was the icing on the cake.
The Last Woman Standing really made me appreciate modern life, and the variety of choices that modern women have and often take for granted. After being with Johnny, Josie found herself in a predicament where she was no longer considered marriage material by proper society, and had limited options for supporting herself. Josie began to realize that her only real social capital was her beauty and its leverage with men, and it was a hard realization for her to make.
Overall, I enjoyed The Last Woman Standing, and would definitely recommend it. It’s filled with romance and adventure amidst a backdrop of possibility.
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2016/07/11/blog-tour-giveaway-the-last-woman-standing-by-thelma-adams/
The Last Woman Standing is a western historical fiction novel about the gunfight at the OK Corral. Josephine Marcus is a rebellious young woman who doesn’t want to settle down with a nice Jewish boy. She’s lured to Tombstone, Arizona by the promise of Johnny Behan, a local sheriff. Josie arrives in Arizona naive and full of hopes, but quickly has to learn the ways of the world. Johnny keeps promising her the world, but stops short of actually marrying her. And Josie begins to develop feelings for Wyatt Earp, one of Johnny’s friends/rivals who symbolizes everything that Johnny is not. But Tombstone itself is brimming with tension and resentment that’s about to boil over into violence, and Josie finds herself caught in the middle between her old and new loves.
As the book progresses, Josie really comes into her own. At first, her primary goal is getting out of San Francisco and establishing a life for herself. Once she gets to Tombstone, she encounters a world that’s totally different from her sheltered upbringing. At first she trusts in Johnny, but then as she begins to see through him she manages to build her own life and friendships without him and finds a place in Tombstone by her own right. Finding Wyatt was the icing on the cake.
The Last Woman Standing really made me appreciate modern life, and the variety of choices that modern women have and often take for granted. After being with Johnny, Josie found herself in a predicament where she was no longer considered marriage material by proper society, and had limited options for supporting herself. Josie began to realize that her only real social capital was her beauty and its leverage with men, and it was a hard realization for her to make.
Overall, I enjoyed The Last Woman Standing, and would definitely recommend it. It’s filled with romance and adventure amidst a backdrop of possibility.
lissalovestoread's review against another edition
2.0
This book wasn't for me. I liked the concept of the book, but found the actual reading of it quite laborious. The portions of the book I preferred were the parts in which Josephine was home with her family in San Francisco, which doesn't bode well for a book that is telling the story focused on her time in Tombstone instead.
I just felt that the Tombstone section of the book moved very slowly. I didn't ever really feel any connection to Josephine, and other than Albert & Mollie, I didn't like any of the other people in Tombstone---even the Earps. So for me a huge part of the book just dragged along, and my reading dragged along with it, as I was always setting the book aside.
Ultimately I found the dynamics between her parents & siblings to be the only portion of the book i was truly invested in. Her father was lovely, and I enjoyed the segment when we heard more of his backstory. I was disappointed by how soon that part of the story ended.
I just felt that the Tombstone section of the book moved very slowly. I didn't ever really feel any connection to Josephine, and other than Albert & Mollie, I didn't like any of the other people in Tombstone---even the Earps. So for me a huge part of the book just dragged along, and my reading dragged along with it, as I was always setting the book aside.
Ultimately I found the dynamics between her parents & siblings to be the only portion of the book i was truly invested in. Her father was lovely, and I enjoyed the segment when we heard more of his backstory. I was disappointed by how soon that part of the story ended.
snwsandy's review
1.0
Listened to the audio book and after the first few chapters I was over it. This story is the nicer, flirty version of the biography of Josephine Marcus Earp, but the reader tries to make it tough and gritty. Honestly, this is just a polished up story around "I Married Wyatt Earp" which is much better book. It tries to fill in the blanks of the lives between Josephine and Wyatt that just does not seem real. I know its fiction, but better adaptations exist. I was bored and somewhat irritated with the readers accent.
trudecal's review against another edition
4.0
I really loved how this story was framed - an old woman looking back, yet at the same time a very young and naive woman's POV. The end dragged a bit for me, but still a fascinating story that's worth reading.
mel_smith's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
nferre's review
2.0
This was OK. Not bad, it kept me entertained, but I expected more historical background and less fiction. Some of the dialog was clearly 20th century. It did, however, make me want to watch the movie Wyatt Earp with Kevin Costner, and that's not all bad :-)
artfuldanni's review against another edition
3.0
A well imagined romance set in the Wild West.
Admittedly, I wasn't terribly fond of Josie/Sadie through much of the book. Her vanity rubbed me the wrong way, and I had expected her to be a bit more plucky and self assured than a hot mess of emotions around attractive fellows.
That said, her interactions with the others in the story kept me reading, and I read it quite quickly. I'm a sucker for a decent western (completely my dad's fault) and the one thing Josie and have in common is enjoying some scenery - and the descriptions delivered! The other characters; Doc Holliday, his gal Kate, Mollie the photographer, Johnny the Scoundrel, Madam Moustache - were all entertaining and enjoyable in their own ways. Yes, even the cad. You need a good cad in these sorts of stories, and Behan was top notch.
Overall, an enjoyable read.
Admittedly, I wasn't terribly fond of Josie/Sadie through much of the book. Her vanity rubbed me the wrong way, and I had expected her to be a bit more plucky and self assured than a hot mess of emotions around attractive fellows.
That said, her interactions with the others in the story kept me reading, and I read it quite quickly. I'm a sucker for a decent western (completely my dad's fault) and the one thing Josie and have in common is enjoying some scenery - and the descriptions delivered! The other characters; Doc Holliday, his gal Kate, Mollie the photographer, Johnny the Scoundrel, Madam Moustache - were all entertaining and enjoyable in their own ways. Yes, even the cad. You need a good cad in these sorts of stories, and Behan was top notch.
Overall, an enjoyable read.
thecaledonianrose's review
1.0
Not good.
Too much sex, not enough story.
There could have been much more explored in the relationships between Josephine Marcus and the men she was most prominently involved with, but the author instead chose to sensationalize her story, focusing on Josephine's seemingly insatiable desire for sex with 'rough men of the West' and cowboys. I was really disappointed in this book - I expect a certain amount of liberties taken when it comes to historical fiction, but this barely nodded in the direction of historical, instead freely embracing the fictional. While it's not really known what the truth was where Josephine Marcus's past was concerned, it seems like Ms. Adams wanted to just highlight the more salacious speculations.
Couldn't finish the book because of it. Really disappointed.
Too much sex, not enough story.
There could have been much more explored in the relationships between Josephine Marcus and the men she was most prominently involved with, but the author instead chose to sensationalize her story, focusing on Josephine's seemingly insatiable desire for sex with 'rough men of the West' and cowboys. I was really disappointed in this book - I expect a certain amount of liberties taken when it comes to historical fiction, but this barely nodded in the direction of historical, instead freely embracing the fictional. While it's not really known what the truth was where Josephine Marcus's past was concerned, it seems like Ms. Adams wanted to just highlight the more salacious speculations.
Couldn't finish the book because of it. Really disappointed.