For the first time in her life she was facing a man she couldn’t handle. He knew the white man’s ways—and every woman’s secrets. . . . Boston heiress Blaze Braddock, known more for her daring than her discretion, had insisted on trying to persuade the mysterious Absarokee Indian to sell his land claim to her father. But the moment she felt the impact of his tall, rangy body, the heat of his … heat of his seductive dark eyes, and the drugging warmth that stole through her sense at his skilled touch, she knew she’d been more than reckless to put herself in his hands.
Jon Hazard Black was no savage barbarian but the Harvard-educated son of an Absarokee chief. He knew the value of his land; the gold that ran beneath it would be the salvation of his people. And not even this dangerously tempting beauty could convince him to sell. Held captive by a man who was her sworn enemy, Blaze was swept up in a storm of passions she had never imagined—possessed by a man who vowed he would keep forever what was his. . . .
“Susan Johnson’s love scenes sparkle, sizzle and burn!”—Affaire de Coeur
more
Agin she’s my favorite
Spell binding
Overall: 2.5 rounded to
Plot/Storyline:
Feels:
Emotional Depth:
Tension:
Romance:
Sensuality:
Intimate Scene Length: varied. Most were but a few were
Steam Scale (Number of Scenes): (with the note that there was quite a bit of 90s explicit going on here (lots of euphemisms)
Humor: Don’t recall much
Basic plot
Blaze is the daughter of a millionaire, whose family came out west for the gold rush. Her father gets into a land dispute with Jon Hazard Black – who kidnaps Blaze for negotiations.
Give this a try if you want:
– Western America setting – some of the book takes place in the east (Boston, Harvard) but the majority of it is during the gold rush out west.
– Mid to high steam – there’s quite a bit in this book – it’s 90’s explicit.
– The book begins in 1861 – has some talk of the American Civil War, and goes on for a number of years
– Older hero – I believe the heroine is 19 when they are together, not sure about the hero but I would guess he’s at least 15 years older?
– Captive/kidnapped trope – the hero takes the heroine hostage
– A bit of enemies to lovers feel/forbidden love trope (heroine is the daughter of a man that’s in a land dispute with the hero)
– You’re all right with a jealous hero that’s a bit of a jerk
– Soldier hero that’s an Absarokee chief, heroine is a bit of a spoiled socialite
– I think Johanna Lindsey fans would enjoy the plot line of this book – it had very similar feels to me as some of her work
My thoughts:
Sadly this book wasn’t for me. I’m not sure what exactly happened, it could just be my mood. I don’t usually read a western America setting, and while I was excited for the change, I just didn’t enjoy it.
Jon Hazard Black is the first hero that actually made me get kind of grossed out and think about STDs. It doesn’t usually bother me when the hero is a huge rake and sleeps around but there were sooo many detailed scenes of him sleeping with other men’s wives and literally going directly from one person’s bed to another immediately after (within minutes!). During this time the heroine is a little girl looking out her window thinking about horses and riding. It was just a personal turn off for me.
Blaze came off as a bit of a spoiled monster at first. I didn’t mind her overall, but I also had no connection to her. She kind of went into a sensual haze the moment Hazard touched her and I found it really annoying. It didn’t matter what was happening, how she felt about him (if she was mad, etc) as soon as he touched her she became mindless and ravenous. Like a trance she would come out of once it was done. This is really not my thing, I want the emotions really tied with the physical and I felt like with it happening this way, her emotions weren’t connected to the act. The sex to me was physical and not tied as well to emotions and feelings.
“Are you ready to earn your keep?” “Say yes, little rich girl.” “Say you’ll cook for me.” “And clean for me.”
I just never really feel in love with any of the characters in the story. I do think it was well researched. There was a touch of white women having a fetish over Hazard, but I didn’t see anything super problematic. I just felt like some of the plot just didn’t really make the most sense. Or things would be a problem and then all of a sudden they wouldn’t be.
I read this book 20 years ago and re-read it recently. Still the hottest book, her romantic adventures are inspiring.
I love this writer. Easy to read and realistic and fun.
Favorite book.
Excellent story with a historical look at Native American life and 1800’s Montana politics. Good romance story without being overly graphic. Loved this book.