Christy J. (southernsassygirl) reviewed No Place for a Lady (Heart of the West, Bk 1) on + 180 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Overall, I really enjoyed Maggie Brendan's debut novel. It had a fresh quality about it that just pulled me in. I loved the descriptive language of the west, although there were a few times I wondered whether some words were even used during that time. Having nothing to go by for the time period, I just chalked it up to "I need to use my imagination." :o)
The romance in the book was dead on, so much that I got a little flutter in my chest when a kiss or the touch of a hand happened a little unexpectedly. I loved that the author told both sides of the romance story between Crystal and Luke, which is not the norm since most romances only tell the female's side of the story. Poor Luke had himself in a pretty good pickle for awhile there, and I was a little worried that he might handle things all wrong. He came through in just the right way, though, thanks a little bit to Crystal's discovery at the end of the book.
There was one thing that bothered me in the book, and I feel it's only fair to include the good with the bad in this review. This might even be considered a *SPOILER*, so you may want to stop reading here.
What bothered me was all the loss of family and friends that Crystal had to go through. In all likelihood, that probably could and has happened in real life, but I didn't enjoy reading about the deaths of several loved ones. The book starts with death--it's the reason Crystal moved from Georgia to Colorado to live with her aunt--and then about every 100 pages, another death happens. While the first one really propels the rest of the story, the other two that occur almost seemed unnecessary.
In spite of that one issue, this really was a delightful read. Western romances seem to be gaining a little bit of popularity in the Christian fiction genre, and this one is a great addition. I very much want to read Maggie's next book in the series, The Jewel of His Heart.
The romance in the book was dead on, so much that I got a little flutter in my chest when a kiss or the touch of a hand happened a little unexpectedly. I loved that the author told both sides of the romance story between Crystal and Luke, which is not the norm since most romances only tell the female's side of the story. Poor Luke had himself in a pretty good pickle for awhile there, and I was a little worried that he might handle things all wrong. He came through in just the right way, though, thanks a little bit to Crystal's discovery at the end of the book.
There was one thing that bothered me in the book, and I feel it's only fair to include the good with the bad in this review. This might even be considered a *SPOILER*, so you may want to stop reading here.
What bothered me was all the loss of family and friends that Crystal had to go through. In all likelihood, that probably could and has happened in real life, but I didn't enjoy reading about the deaths of several loved ones. The book starts with death--it's the reason Crystal moved from Georgia to Colorado to live with her aunt--and then about every 100 pages, another death happens. While the first one really propels the rest of the story, the other two that occur almost seemed unnecessary.
In spite of that one issue, this really was a delightful read. Western romances seem to be gaining a little bit of popularity in the Christian fiction genre, and this one is a great addition. I very much want to read Maggie's next book in the series, The Jewel of His Heart.
Margaret C. (cherryblossommj) reviewed No Place for a Lady (Heart of the West, Bk 1) on + 157 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Having a plot line that starts and grows with tragedy, this is a novel that grabs your heart and makes you silently or even sometimes verbally cheer on the heroine to succeed at her current goal. Maggie Brendan has done well with her first novel and I definitely look forward to more. This is easily one of those stories where you are screaming for the characters to see what you as a reader are seeing. There are times where I thought something would come out differently, but with the story coming to a close I could not have imagined anything better than the way it was itself. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!!
