Emelie Svennson’s dream is to sing on stage. When a musical troupe passes through her home in Wisconsin, she believes her dream will be fulfilled when the leader invites her to be the star of his show. By the time she realizes that he is nothing more than an abusive bully and her dream is now her nightmare, she finds herself stranded in San Francisco with no money and on the run from the law. As … As she tries to make her way home to her family, she stops in Culpepper Cove and is drawn to the amazing melodies coming from the Red Petticoat Saloon. The handsome piano player is almost as remarkable as his music.
Charlie Walker adores all of the gems he works with, but from the minute he meets Emelie, he knows there is something special about her. As much as he wants her to stay in Culpepper Cove, the thought of her putting on red petticoats and entertaining men upstairs as Silver cuts him to the core.
As their pasts clash, Charlie will have to work hard to convince his new gem that he will not only love and honor her, but that he won’t hesitate to drag her across his knee for a bare-bottomed spanking that promises to warm more than just her backside. Can he convince the woman with the voice of an angel that dreams can come true?
About The Red Petticoat series:
The Red Petticoat Saloon series is a collection of books written by #1 and USA Today bestselling authors. Each book tells the unique story of a different woman, ‘a gem’, who comes to the saloon to find a safe haven and discovers they become part of a family. Recurring characters appear in each book to allow readers a continuity as they learn about the women who have learned to bend but have not broken under the harshness that life has to offer. It is a series where strong, loving men find not only entertainment at the saloon but the special women who reside under its roof.
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The Red Petticoat Saloon books are always fun to read and Melting Silver is no exception. Emelie has suffered so much and she seems to attract all the wrong men until she meets Charlie, the quintessential ladies man enjoying all the benefits of playing piano in a brothel. He sees Emelie and is struck by Cupid’s arrow. He is the only man Emelie feels safe with and singing with him playing the piano is a good as it gets. We get to see what is happening to The other jewels throughout the book as Emelie’s secrets are unraveled and the ending is not what you expect!
The start of this book made me very apprehensive; I was out of my time period comfort zone, my consent comfort zone – everything bar my author comfort zone. If you’re like me and struggle here, persevere! The kindness that the author shows to Emelie is phenomenal and really elevates the story. As you’ll see from the blurb, Emelie has run away from home and found herself in dangerous and abusive situations ever since. That is until she gets to the Red Petticoat Saloon and Charlie takes her under his wing. The interactions with the other gems of the saloon, with the other main characters, and with the dangers that lurked for single women at the time are brilliantly depicted, and the ending is all anyone could have hoped. I was gifted a copy of this, and as always the author did not disappoint.
First point in this books favor, it’s by Livia Grant! Second it’s part of the Red Petticoat series.
And then the story itself.
A Preachers daughter, running away from an arranged marriage, lands in the hands of an abusive “Impresario”. The only impression he leaves on her is welts on her back and the wish to get as far away from him as possible. After some hair raising confrontations she stumbles into the Red Petticoat Saloon. And finds herself in a place were her dreams could come true.
Will they?
This was a great story. It was a little tamer than most of Livia books. I do love reading about the old west. Emelie has had a hard and rough time since she left home and I was glad when she met Charlie, but she did have a hard time trusting men, but love does win out. So glad she and Charlie got their HEA.
This story is set in California in 1850-not a great time to be a woman, especially if you’re young, pretty, and away from your family. This is the situation Emelie finds herself in, and her story made me sad, made me smile, laugh, and I cheered her on as she stayed true to herself. Charlie’s life is a bit easier; he is established with good friends, men & women alike. Seamlessly written, I was drawn into their story, right to the fabulous ending. Brilliant!
I am voluntarily reviewing this book.
I can’t believe it took me so long to find this Gem, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. I’m not usually a fan of historical romance set in America, but this story has made me second guess that opinion. Maybe it’s because Livia Grant is an amazing storyteller. Maybe it’s because he characters are so charming and loveable. Maybe it’s because she pulls at the heartstrings one moment and heats things up the next. I can’t really say. So I know it’s that I loved everything about this one. I loved Em and Charlie. I loved the other Gems. I loved the saloon and the town and the lovely ending. I highly recommend this one to anyone who is a sucker for happy endings, like me.
This is a difficult book for me to put my reactions in to words. Watching Charlie and Emelie’s romance blossom is kind of adorable, but the first part of the story makes for some very difficult emotional reading. I found it very easy to empathize with Emelie; I felt like I could feel her panic and terror in those moments. I loved seeing how carefully Charlie nurtured her trust so that her traumatic experiences wouldn’t continue to hold her back. I also loved the sense of family and community that surrounds The Red Petticoat Saloon, and I think I’m going to be one-clicking the rest of the series in my near future.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author.
This book was difficult for me to get through.
**Warning** If rape, sexual assault, and beatings are a trigger for you, take a pass on this book.
Those thing are not a trigger for me, but I chose not to read books that include those particular aspects whether they be romance, erotica, police procedurals, or murder mysteries.
It was a good 25% into the book before Emelie stopped being abused. After that, she wasn’t treated very nicely until after she needed up at the Red Petticoat Saloon.
There was subsequently romance, spankings, sex, and the inevitable HEA. I would strongly suggest you read this yourself and make your own determination.
The review is my honest opinion, but I am not 100% sure I can be as objective as I would normally be when writing a review. The way Emelie was treated at the beginning of the book kind of tainted the entire story for me. I have read this type of book before (historical, western, spanking, DD, erotica, etc.) with no problem. This book just wasn’t for me.
I voluntarily read and reviewed this book received from the author.
I liked this book. The story was quite emotional and had plenty of steam. Emelie and Charlie made a cute couple. To me both these characters had a combination of worldliness and naivety. Charlie for all his knowledge of women was very clueless about a woman’s feelings. Emelie had suffered so much and yet seemed blind in so many ways. This book does contain scenes of domestic discipline so if that is something you are not a fan of then this book might not be for you. Also, this book does contain content that could be triggers for some ( physical abuse, sexual assault and prior instances of rape). I have not read any of the other books in this series and I felt it was perfectly fine to read this as a standalone book.
Ive not read any of the Red petticoat saloon before and i thoroughly enjoyed this one so I will be reading more!!
I love Livia Grants writing and this one is no exception.
Well rounded characters, love, lust and innocence alll combine in this book to keep you gripped from the start to the finish.
A steaming hot historical romance with a dark underbelly
Melting Silver is set in the Wild West of America in 1850, and whilst it is part of a series of books I found it easy to read as a stand alone. In fact I liked the book that much that I now have a hankering to read the other Red Petticoat Saloon books. This is a very steamy read, with several spanking scenes and some dark themes involving the heroine (though not with the Hero).
I’ve never been an historical romance fan, but recently I have read a few by authors whose work I enjoy. The blurb for this book along with knowing I love this writer’s contemporary work, was enough to encourage me to give this book a try. I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would, though you do need to enjoy domestic discipline stories as this contains quite a fair amount of it.
Emelie has foolishly left her family to chase fame on the stage with a travelling group of entertainers. Too late she discovers that Albert is an abusive bully who thinks nothing of beating her, or forcing her into degrading sexual acts. Emilie ends up in Culpepper Cove, where she meets Charlie, the pianist at The Red Petticoat Saloon. With no way to return home, and very few funds, Emilie accepts a job as a server and singer at the saloon.
Emelie is a fragile and somewhat naive character, though a lot of her innocence has been beaten out of her. However given the time period and her upbringing it felt a very natural disposition for her to have. Charlie is a little bit of a jack-the-lad and when we first meet him he is enjoying the company of two of the working girls of The Red Petticoat. Whilst this might initially put some readers off, he hadn’t met the heroine at this point. I also felt it was necessary to make later parts of the story work, as well as demonstrating Charlie’s usual decision NOT to show favour or form an attachment to any of the girls.
There are several ‘sub-plots’ that weave together in this short novel/novella. We have the discipline that is used with the girls at the saloon, Emelie’s fragile psyche from the traumas she has experienced, her worry over what happened before she reached Culpepper Cove and finally the burgeoning romance between Charlie and Emilie. What follows is a well paced read, with plenty of action both in and out of the sheets, a few unexpected twists and a very believable love story.
I read the book in pretty much one sitting, it really held my attention and I totally fell in love with Emelie and Charlie. There were some supporting characters who I am sure have stories of their own and my interest was definitely piqued enough that I want to find out more about them. This is NOT a tame bodice-ripper with fade-to-grey scenes. This is a very steamy, NSFW book and only suited to those who love the types of situations already described in this review. However it IS a book I’m more than happy to recommend.
I really enjoyed Melting Silver.
I love historicals and throw in some kink and I’ve got one fantastic read!
Emelie is a sweet naive young lady.
She’s from a very conservative family,her father is a preacher,so she always been sheltered
and much is expected of her.
She’s always been the good girl but her dream is being on stage singing.
Charlie is the piano player at The Red Petticoat Salon.
He’s kind and appreciates the women that work there.
He’s into kink and respectful when a woman says no.
Emelie’s (aka Silver) journey is hard and rough and she’s been through hell.
I really felt for her. She just wasn’t in the path of good people. It was always the evil ones.
I appreciated how the author showed that people can find comfort and good in the most unlikely of places.
The writing is fantastic!
The flow is fast and kept me engaged throughout the book.
The characters are well written. The good ones and the vile ones.
The story was very good. The blended of the old west with a kinky sexy twist with done very well!
This is my second Petticoat Saloon story and I have to confess that I’m getting an absolute kick out of them. In this story, I loved how well Livia Grant portrayed Silver who is as feisty as she is naïve and all fun things in between. If you’re new to the PS series, or Livia Grant, this is as good a place as any to start. So pull up a chair, order yourself a drink, and enjoy the music. The ladies will be out shortly.
The Red Petticoat Saloon series is a series that is written by several authors. The books are all set in the same place, but feature a different main couple, even if there are overlapping secondary characters. That’s nice because you get to meet the characters and learn more about them from book to book.
Emelie always wanted to be a singer. When the chance came, she left her home in Wisconsin so that she could run away to San Francisco and appear on the stage. The problem is, the man who lured her away was a liar and abusive. When she wouldn’t go along with what he wanted, he beat her and then planned to sell her. All she knew was that she had to get away. Eventually, she made it to Culpepper Cove.
Charlie is the piano player at the Red Petticoat. He enjoys all the gems and they all enjoy them. He isn’t planning on ever getting close to any of the women there, and then Emelie shows up in town and all of a sudden, all his plans have changed.
I felt so sorry for Emelie for a lot of the beginning. She was going through h3ll and there wasn’t really anyone who could help her and when she thought that she was going to be safe, it only got worse. She was a lot stronger than anyone thought that she was though. She was able to stand up to a lot more than people thought that she would and she managed to get through it.
I love Livia Grant’s heroines because they are all strong, even if they are submissive. They all try to live to what they believe in. Awesome story.
I love the Red Petticoat Saloon series and this addition is no exception. In this story we follow the story Emelie aka Silver and Charlie. We also meet up with the other characters for the previous books.
Poor Emelie has been through hell before arriving at the Red Petticoat and feeling in love with Charlie’s music. Emelie was such a vulnerable character trying to deal with this strange and terrifying world and i loved how protective Charlie was of her. They connected so well on so many levels. It made for tender, funny and sexy scenes.
With the love and support of Charlie and the others Emelie found a new family. Who doesn’t love a happy ending.