lilacfaerie's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Hero sexually assults heroine at gunpoint, twiceainhoalikesbooksandmangos's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I don't know how to feel about this. I did enjoyed the book, but I don't know how to feel about it. If it was full on bodies reappear I would of prepared myself beforehand. So I don't know how to feel. But being a book from the 80s I should known.
Spoiler
The non consensual parts of the book were hard to read for me, bc im not a fan of anything noncon in romance books. Especially if they are past as something that is not that bad, like in this one. I was certainly not expecting it, and Jesse keeps doing similar things to trick her into beingwhit him that i felt kind of torn by. But i really like their first time together. It was sweet and exciting. It changed my view of Jesse. But he came back to his old ways so i don't know
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent
showmethemonet's review against another edition
2.0
If the two potential heroes of this book were a perfect example of the available offerings available to a single woman as a husband at the time -- Abigail was better off spending time with her dying father for all those years.
Daniel worships her purity and calls her a whore over a misunderstanding he doesn't even try to understand before storming out of her life. Jesse lies about his identity in a huff about being mistaken for a train robber and pushes Abigail's sense of propriety to the brink - literally having to point a gun at her for a kiss.
LaVyrle Spencer writes pretty well, but this is that dated brand of 'romance' that can leave a bad taste in your mouth.
And trust me, I like rogues and rakes that push a bit, that seduce-- but there's just a line that can be crossed that takes it a bit too far and Hummingbird just dances all over that line before pushing you down the stairs and telling you it did it because you made it; also it loves you. 🙄
Add in the fact that Abigail is so stiff and unrelatable for far too long - and I was definitely ready for the end.
Daniel worships her purity and calls her a whore over a misunderstanding he doesn't even try to understand before storming out of her life. Jesse lies about his identity in a huff about being mistaken for a train robber and pushes Abigail's sense of propriety to the brink - literally having to point a gun at her for a kiss.
LaVyrle Spencer writes pretty well, but this is that dated brand of 'romance' that can leave a bad taste in your mouth.
And trust me, I like rogues and rakes that push a bit, that seduce-- but there's just a line that can be crossed that takes it a bit too far and Hummingbird just dances all over that line before pushing you down the stairs and telling you it did it because you made it; also it loves you. 🙄
Add in the fact that Abigail is so stiff and unrelatable for far too long - and I was definitely ready for the end.
sewcialist_librarian's review against another edition
5.0
I have read this so much that I destroyed the first copy I owned and had to buy a new copy. *sighs* I love this story.
melissad75's review
3.0
Closer to a 3.5 rating. I like it pretty well. It definitely had its good points and I liked Spencer's writing, but I had some issues with the hero that were probably mostly a function of the book being published in 1983. He was sexually aggressive with the prim, inhibited heroine in a way that would make a lot of readers in 2016 a little uneasy.
Also, the story dragged on longer than it should have, and I found some of the later chapters -- in which the relationship between the hero and heroine is put on hold while the heroine explores another, much less interesting relationship -- tedious to get through. But I liked it enough (and have fond enough memories of another of her books, [b:Morning Glory|987577|Morning Glory|LaVyrle Spencer|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1313525407s/987577.jpg|3147510]) that I'll give LaVyrle Spencer's other romance novels a try at some point.
Also, the story dragged on longer than it should have, and I found some of the later chapters -- in which the relationship between the hero and heroine is put on hold while the heroine explores another, much less interesting relationship -- tedious to get through. But I liked it enough (and have fond enough memories of another of her books, [b:Morning Glory|987577|Morning Glory|LaVyrle Spencer|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1313525407s/987577.jpg|3147510]) that I'll give LaVyrle Spencer's other romance novels a try at some point.
technolass's review
2.0
This is a hard book to really define in my mind. I've read other books by this author, and didn't find them as internally conflicting as this book was. It really frustrates me when authors set up scenes in which a female character is on the verge of rape, says no, and the guy just keeps going regardless, and then the woman likes it in the end. To me, no means no, period. Considering that this story takes place in the late 1800's, this should have been even less acceptable then than it seems to be now. I found the plot to be interesting enough that I had to finish the book, despite my previous comments. This was my book of choice to read at work during calls, so it was a fairly slow read for me, which I suppose only prolonged the situations in my mind. But, overall, not one of the author's best books in my personal opinion.
lauriereadslohf's review
4.0
The author spends the majority of the book concentrating on the developing romance between Jesse and Abigail. They start out absolutely despising each other, they bicker - constantly - but it's not annoying bickering, it's funny (I laughed out loud more than once) and it's believable, then over the course of the book they become friends. This was a close to perfect book but it wasn't perfect because it was about 80 pages too long, IMO. About three-quarters of the way through the book Jesse is healed and takes a back seat in the action as the author explores the conflicting emotions in Abigail's head as she considers a proposal from David, the perfect bore, umm, I mean, gentlemen. Fortunately, the last few chapters were definitely worth hanging in there for. The historical details were great, I really felt like I was whisked back to 1879, and the dialogue was down-to-earth. There were so many lines that made me melt, here's one:
"She'd had so little love, he thought, I will drown her in it for the rest of her life". This from an alpha hero! How can you resist?
Comical, touching and wonderful. Despite my little complaints, I'm very glad I finally read this book.
"She'd had so little love, he thought, I will drown her in it for the rest of her life". This from an alpha hero! How can you resist?
Comical, touching and wonderful. Despite my little complaints, I'm very glad I finally read this book.
roselaina's review
DNF at page 108.
Extremely disappointing. I’ve read three LaVyrle Spencer books before, and I loved them all, Morning Glory especially. I expected another well-written romance that would quietly tuck itself into my heart and surprise me with the intensity of emotions it would evoke.
What I got instead was a mess of forced, inconsistent “banter” (an insult to the word, honestly) and characters that made no sense. Jesse was awful from the start, but I tried to keep going, sure it would get better. And then Jesse forced Abigail to kiss him (not a peck - a three-page-long ordeal) by freaking PULLING A GUN ON HER, and I had to put the book aside in disgust and disappointment.
“But this was written in the 80s!” you argue. “The heroines were always kissed into submission against their will.”
And yes, to a point. Usually, I go into books written in this time period with certain expectations. When those scenes occur, I read them, uncomfortable, but knowing it’s a stage the romance genre went through to get to where we are today.
But there are limits to things I will not tolerate, regardless of publish date.
This was not a ~she put up a token resistance but almost immediately became an enthusiastic participant~ situation. Not only did he use a weapon to force her into the act (and basically verbally threatened to do more at a later date), at the end of the ordeal, she feels “filthy” and “violated,” not only from the assault but because she eventually started to enjoy it a little toward the end.
I wanted to retch reading that.
And to make it EVEN WORSE (that would have been enough, but this is the piece that just makes it even more incomprehensible to me), Jesse ISN’T EVEN THE VILLAIN train robber he’s accused of being. He is a photographer. Just a regular guy. Who?? Thinks this is okay?? And then LAUGHS after she leaves the room, his own private joke because only he knows that the gun has been empty the whole time.
Spencer can do a million times better. That saying, “I’m not mad; I’m just disappointed,” comes to mind, but it wouldn’t be true. I am extremely disappointed, as evidenced by how many times I’ve used that word in this review, but I’m mad, too.
If you like the premise of this book, read The Outsider by Penelope Williamson.
If you want quality Spencer, read Morning Glory.
Whatever you are looking for in a romance, I sincerely doubt you’ll find it in this book.
Extremely disappointing. I’ve read three LaVyrle Spencer books before, and I loved them all, Morning Glory especially. I expected another well-written romance that would quietly tuck itself into my heart and surprise me with the intensity of emotions it would evoke.
What I got instead was a mess of forced, inconsistent “banter” (an insult to the word, honestly) and characters that made no sense. Jesse was awful from the start, but I tried to keep going, sure it would get better. And then Jesse forced Abigail to kiss him (not a peck - a three-page-long ordeal) by freaking PULLING A GUN ON HER, and I had to put the book aside in disgust and disappointment.
“But this was written in the 80s!” you argue. “The heroines were always kissed into submission against their will.”
And yes, to a point. Usually, I go into books written in this time period with certain expectations. When those scenes occur, I read them, uncomfortable, but knowing it’s a stage the romance genre went through to get to where we are today.
But there are limits to things I will not tolerate, regardless of publish date.
This was not a ~she put up a token resistance but almost immediately became an enthusiastic participant~ situation. Not only did he use a weapon to force her into the act (and basically verbally threatened to do more at a later date), at the end of the ordeal, she feels “filthy” and “violated,” not only from the assault but because she eventually started to enjoy it a little toward the end.
I wanted to retch reading that.
And to make it EVEN WORSE (that would have been enough, but this is the piece that just makes it even more incomprehensible to me), Jesse ISN’T EVEN THE VILLAIN train robber he’s accused of being. He is a photographer. Just a regular guy. Who?? Thinks this is okay?? And then LAUGHS after she leaves the room, his own private joke because only he knows that the gun has been empty the whole time.
Spencer can do a million times better. That saying, “I’m not mad; I’m just disappointed,” comes to mind, but it wouldn’t be true. I am extremely disappointed, as evidenced by how many times I’ve used that word in this review, but I’m mad, too.
If you like the premise of this book, read The Outsider by Penelope Williamson.
If you want quality Spencer, read Morning Glory.
Whatever you are looking for in a romance, I sincerely doubt you’ll find it in this book.