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Mackenzie Family #1
Mackenzie's Mountain
A small Wyoming town is about to learn a few lessons from a new schoolteacher with the courage to win the heart of a man who swore he had nothing to give....
Mary Elizabeth Potter is a self-appointed spinster with no illusions about love. But she is a good teacher and she wants Wolf Mackenzie's son back in school. And after one heated confrontation with the boy's father, she knows father and son have changed her life forever.
Still paying for a crime he didn't commit, Wolf Mackenzie has a chip on his shoulder the size of Wyoming. But prim-and-proper Mary Elizabeth Potter doesn't see Wolf as the dangerous half-breed the town has branded him. Somehow she sees him as a good, decent, honest man. A man who could love...
Wolf's not sure he or the town of Ruth, Wyoming is ready for the taming of Wolf Mackenzie.
Mary Elizabeth Potter is a self-appointed spinster with no illusions about love. But she is a good teacher and she wants Wolf Mackenzie's son back in school. And after one heated confrontation with the boy's father, she knows father and son have changed her life forever.
Still paying for a crime he didn't commit, Wolf Mackenzie has a chip on his shoulder the size of Wyoming. But prim-and-proper Mary Elizabeth Potter doesn't see Wolf as the dangerous half-breed the town has branded him. Somehow she sees him as a good, decent, honest man. A man who could love...
Wolf's not sure he or the town of Ruth, Wyoming is ready for the taming of Wolf Mackenzie.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1989
About the author
Linda Howard
253 books6,983 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Linda S. Howington is an American best-selling romance author writing under the pseudonym Linda Howard. After 21 years of penning stories for her own enjoyment, she submitted a novel for publication which was very successful. Her first work was published by Silhouette in 1982. She is a charter member of Romance Writers of America and in 2005 Howard was awarded their Career Achievement Award.
Linda Howard lives in Gadsden, Alabama with her husband, Gary F. Howington, and two golden retrievers. She has three grown stepchildren and three grandchildren.
Linda S. Howington is an American best-selling romance author writing under the pseudonym Linda Howard. After 21 years of penning stories for her own enjoyment, she submitted a novel for publication which was very successful. Her first work was published by Silhouette in 1982. She is a charter member of Romance Writers of America and in 2005 Howard was awarded their Career Achievement Award.
Linda Howard lives in Gadsden, Alabama with her husband, Gary F. Howington, and two golden retrievers. She has three grown stepchildren and three grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 934 reviews
August 17, 2018
Still amazing to me, even decades later.
Re-read this old all time favorite in kindle format (still have it in beat up paperback), because it’s on sale for $1.99 right now - so snag it now if you are interested! Anyway, I forgot how much I adore this story. And my Mackenzie family in general.
It's old school romance, with an OTT alpha hero, and I adore it.
Re-read this old all time favorite in kindle format (still have it in beat up paperback), because it’s on sale for $1.99 right now - so snag it now if you are interested! Anyway, I forgot how much I adore this story. And my Mackenzie family in general.
It's old school romance, with an OTT alpha hero, and I adore it.
October 5, 2017
Warning: This is a rage review. It will be inappropriate and expletive ridden. Proceed with fucking caution
Soundtrack for this review: Gregorian Monks chanting "What the actual fuck?" over and over
This book was so backwards and ridiculous, I wish I had never wasted money on it. Because that's what it was. It was an absolute waste and completely offensive and racist. Half of this book is about discrimination against Native Americans but the author does nothing except make it worse by describing the only 2 characters that are Native Americans as having "primitive" emotions, flying into rages, being "warriors" and referring to them having sex as "mating".
So let's go back to the beginning.
Mary (somehow I feel like this is Biblical reference which would be entirely on par for this book because she saves the "savage" but I'm not going to get in too deep with that) is a schoolteacher that moves from Savannah to the mountains of Wyoming to teach in the small local school. She lives on her own, down a remote road, with her cat. She likes wool dresses, sensible shoes, and is never seen in public without pantyhose.
So of course, she is super uptight. She is 29 and has never been kissed. Mary is 100% untouched just like caveman like her. *cough* Sorry, we'll get to that later.
Anyways, she realizes that one boy has dropped out of school and has vowed to get him back into class. He was a perfect student so why would he drop out? Mary makes her way up the mountain where the boy lives with his father to find out why he was no longer going to school. But her car breaks down. Enter Wolf Mackenzie.
He literally comes and sweeps her off her feet and carries her off to his home in the mountains because it is winter and she is hypothermic. He is half Comanche and half Celt and somehow that makes him more manly and brutish than any other man she had ever met. Wolf is tall with long hair and is sinfully sexy. He is overwhelming to this perfect little virgin of a schoolteacher. Then there's his son who is 16 and a carbon copy of him (his name is Joe by the way).
Wolf is basically treated like he is only one step away from full caveman. He works with animals. He tracks like a hunter. He is sexual and constantly horny. Being around his "woman" is constantly a strain on the fly of his jeans. It's a fucking miracle he doesn't bust through the zipper every time she bends over to tie her sensible shoes.
So much of this book is focused on Wolf's sexual nature and how he wants to be all nasty with this perfect innocent woman. Who, by the way, did I mention, is a virgin. She seems surprised that a man would ever want to touch her and her pantyhose and then when she finally realizes how attracted he is to her, it's like a massive surprise.
THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN IN 2000. There is no excuse for a modern woman to be surprised by a guy getting rock steady if he is literally stripping you down in his living room (remember the hypothermia?)
Then we get into the townspeople who hate Wolf and Joe, partially because they are Native American. They basically treat these people as savages so, in turn, Joe and Wolf isolate themselves from town and make themselves even more of outsides.
But you know what bothered me more than the racism of the people in the town? The way that the author portrayed Wolf and Joe. She literally calls them "half-breeds" throughout the entire book. Primitive. Savage. Barely in control. It's offensive and whatever this author was attempting to do did not occur because I just ended up completely disgusted by her terminology rather than being remotely interested in the love story.
Let's move on to some quotes, just so you get the picture.
"Fierce pride filled Wolf's face, the warrior's pride he'd inherited from both Comanche and Celt. His eyes glittered with black fire, and exultantly, he lifted her high, his hands under her armpits, and twirled around with her. She threw back her head, shrieking with laughter, and suddenly Wolf felt his entire body clench with desire."
"He'd get Mary up on the mountain one way or another. He figured Wolf had about reached the limits of his restraint. Parading her right under his nose would be like leading a mare in heat in front of a stallion. His pretty, tart-tongued little teacher would be lucky if his dad didn't have her flat on her back before she had the hello out of her mouth."
"Someone had dared to hurt her, and whoever it was would pay. Joe felt a deep primitive anger, and knew it was only a fraction of what Wolf felt."
It's just so...terrible.
It's terrible. There's no other term for it.
This book honestly sounds like a grandmother wrote it, dreaming about some time she went out west on vacation and met a Native American man at a tourist trap and dreamed that he had fallen madly in love with her. This is her book, 40 years later while she is sitting in her rocker with her house slippers and 14 cats reminiscing about the "one that got away".
So picture that. And imagine her describing sexy times. Not so sexy is it?
The word "loins" was used constantly as well as "make me a woman" which is just awful. Let me tell you something about women.
WE DO NOT NEED A FUCKING DICK BEFORE WE ARE CONSIDERED TO BE A WOMAN.
Never in my life have I woken up and felt like less of a woman due to lack of sex. I have never wanted to be claimed as somebody's "woman" nor do I want to be. I am my own before I am anybody else's. Mary did not get that memo because she is all about Wolf and what is in his pants. This virginal schoolteacher is all about it now that she has had a taste and can't keep her mind off of it!
Holy fucking mother of pearl.
And the slut shaming in this book. Dear fucking God save me from the slut shaming. Mary literally considers herself a hussy (her words, not mine) because she wasn't wearing a slip with her cotton skirt. She considers it inappropriate to go without pantyhose. Women who flirt with men are called sluts and whores in this book. Teenage girls who ask a boy to a dance are shamed for wanting to date a "half-breed". Seriously? No really. Seriously? Wolf is so possessive of Mary and her sexuality that he stashes her off on a mountain and basically is bumping uglies with her every chance that he gets.
It takes a lot to offend me. I have incredibly thick skin. However, this book is offensive. It is demeaning towards Native Americans. It values a woman's virginity over just about everything else. Women do not protect themselves in this book. They are rescued by the menfolk. They are comforted and coddled but not respected.
So fuck this book and any of the ones that came after it. It's trash. And I'm done.
Soundtrack for this review: Gregorian Monks chanting "What the actual fuck?" over and over
This book was so backwards and ridiculous, I wish I had never wasted money on it. Because that's what it was. It was an absolute waste and completely offensive and racist. Half of this book is about discrimination against Native Americans but the author does nothing except make it worse by describing the only 2 characters that are Native Americans as having "primitive" emotions, flying into rages, being "warriors" and referring to them having sex as "mating".
So let's go back to the beginning.
Mary (somehow I feel like this is Biblical reference which would be entirely on par for this book because she saves the "savage" but I'm not going to get in too deep with that) is a schoolteacher that moves from Savannah to the mountains of Wyoming to teach in the small local school. She lives on her own, down a remote road, with her cat. She likes wool dresses, sensible shoes, and is never seen in public without pantyhose.
So of course, she is super uptight. She is 29 and has never been kissed. Mary is 100% untouched just like caveman like her. *cough* Sorry, we'll get to that later.
Anyways, she realizes that one boy has dropped out of school and has vowed to get him back into class. He was a perfect student so why would he drop out? Mary makes her way up the mountain where the boy lives with his father to find out why he was no longer going to school. But her car breaks down. Enter Wolf Mackenzie.
He literally comes and sweeps her off her feet and carries her off to his home in the mountains because it is winter and she is hypothermic. He is half Comanche and half Celt and somehow that makes him more manly and brutish than any other man she had ever met. Wolf is tall with long hair and is sinfully sexy. He is overwhelming to this perfect little virgin of a schoolteacher. Then there's his son who is 16 and a carbon copy of him (his name is Joe by the way).
Wolf is basically treated like he is only one step away from full caveman. He works with animals. He tracks like a hunter. He is sexual and constantly horny. Being around his "woman" is constantly a strain on the fly of his jeans. It's a fucking miracle he doesn't bust through the zipper every time she bends over to tie her sensible shoes.
So much of this book is focused on Wolf's sexual nature and how he wants to be all nasty with this perfect innocent woman. Who, by the way, did I mention, is a virgin. She seems surprised that a man would ever want to touch her and her pantyhose and then when she finally realizes how attracted he is to her, it's like a massive surprise.
THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN IN 2000. There is no excuse for a modern woman to be surprised by a guy getting rock steady if he is literally stripping you down in his living room (remember the hypothermia?)
Then we get into the townspeople who hate Wolf and Joe, partially because they are Native American. They basically treat these people as savages so, in turn, Joe and Wolf isolate themselves from town and make themselves even more of outsides.
But you know what bothered me more than the racism of the people in the town? The way that the author portrayed Wolf and Joe. She literally calls them "half-breeds" throughout the entire book. Primitive. Savage. Barely in control. It's offensive and whatever this author was attempting to do did not occur because I just ended up completely disgusted by her terminology rather than being remotely interested in the love story.
Let's move on to some quotes, just so you get the picture.
"Fierce pride filled Wolf's face, the warrior's pride he'd inherited from both Comanche and Celt. His eyes glittered with black fire, and exultantly, he lifted her high, his hands under her armpits, and twirled around with her. She threw back her head, shrieking with laughter, and suddenly Wolf felt his entire body clench with desire."
"He'd get Mary up on the mountain one way or another. He figured Wolf had about reached the limits of his restraint. Parading her right under his nose would be like leading a mare in heat in front of a stallion. His pretty, tart-tongued little teacher would be lucky if his dad didn't have her flat on her back before she had the hello out of her mouth."
"Someone had dared to hurt her, and whoever it was would pay. Joe felt a deep primitive anger, and knew it was only a fraction of what Wolf felt."
It's just so...terrible.
It's terrible. There's no other term for it.
This book honestly sounds like a grandmother wrote it, dreaming about some time she went out west on vacation and met a Native American man at a tourist trap and dreamed that he had fallen madly in love with her. This is her book, 40 years later while she is sitting in her rocker with her house slippers and 14 cats reminiscing about the "one that got away".
So picture that. And imagine her describing sexy times. Not so sexy is it?
The word "loins" was used constantly as well as "make me a woman" which is just awful. Let me tell you something about women.
WE DO NOT NEED A FUCKING DICK BEFORE WE ARE CONSIDERED TO BE A WOMAN.
Never in my life have I woken up and felt like less of a woman due to lack of sex. I have never wanted to be claimed as somebody's "woman" nor do I want to be. I am my own before I am anybody else's. Mary did not get that memo because she is all about Wolf and what is in his pants. This virginal schoolteacher is all about it now that she has had a taste and can't keep her mind off of it!
Holy fucking mother of pearl.
And the slut shaming in this book. Dear fucking God save me from the slut shaming. Mary literally considers herself a hussy (her words, not mine) because she wasn't wearing a slip with her cotton skirt. She considers it inappropriate to go without pantyhose. Women who flirt with men are called sluts and whores in this book. Teenage girls who ask a boy to a dance are shamed for wanting to date a "half-breed". Seriously? No really. Seriously? Wolf is so possessive of Mary and her sexuality that he stashes her off on a mountain and basically is bumping uglies with her every chance that he gets.
It takes a lot to offend me. I have incredibly thick skin. However, this book is offensive. It is demeaning towards Native Americans. It values a woman's virginity over just about everything else. Women do not protect themselves in this book. They are rescued by the menfolk. They are comforted and coddled but not respected.
So fuck this book and any of the ones that came after it. It's trash. And I'm done.
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November 12, 2019
Mackenzie’s Mountain is book one in the Mackenzie Family series by Linda Howard. This is my first Linda Howard book.
Don’t judge a book by it’s cover! I think that should be the theme for this review. I never would have chosen this book for myself. Two of my book buddies insisted that this is a book I NEEDED to read! The same phrase also applies to the hero of this book. That he was judged by his cover, his heritage. Not by the man he was inside. But all it took was one particular woman to come to town and turn things upside down. She became a champion for the Mackenzie men who in turn changed her life forever.
Wolf Mackenzie is half Indian, a half breed, as is his sixteen year old son, Joe. Wrongfully accused of a crime years before, Wolf served two years in prison until the correct culprit admitted to the crime. But, the town of Ruth, Wyoming never forgot. They still judged Wolf both for his heritage and also for the crime, even though he was exonerated. Wolf and his son live on his ranch. He is a gifted horse trainer. It seems this is the only time people ignore the fact that he is a half breed, when they want him to work with their horses.
Mary Elizabeth Potter is twenty nine years old and has accepted that fact that she is going to be an old maid. She’s not the kind of woman men are attracted to. She knows this. So, she decided to accept a teaching job in the small town of Ruth. Of one thing she is confident, she is a good teacher. It didn’t take long to realize that one of the star students, Joe Mackenzie, had dropped out of school. So it became a mission to her that she would travel up Mackenzie’s Mountain to their home and convince the boy to return to school. Only Mary was ill prepared for Wyoming weather. Then, along came her rescuer, the beautiful and oh so grumpy cowboy that seemed to render her speechless!
“Are you one of those women’s libbers?”
These two were both so much fun to read. Wolf was my favorite kind of hero, all growly and moody. He struggled with the pull he felt to Mary. The town would be unforgiving if she associated with him. She would lose her job. But he couldn’t seem to stay away. Then, when an unknown man begins threatening the safety of the women of Ruth, Wolf becomes Mary’s protector, whether she feels like she needs it or not.
“I’ll always be a half breed. There will always be people who look down on me because of it. Think long and hard before you agree to be my woman, because there’s no going back.”
“I don’t want to go back.”
I really did love this so much. It was surprisingly suspenseful. The sexy times were perfectly written. Wolf was such an alpha but there were also plenty of sweet moments! All it took was the right woman to bring them out of him. If you enjoy sexy, grumpy cowboys and heroines with nerves of steel who have the ability to turn a town upside down, then this book is a must read. Thank you to my friends for insisting that I meet Wolf and Mary. I’m so glad I did!
For more about this book and so many more, come and visit me at Carol's Crazy Bookish World.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Carol...
Don’t judge a book by it’s cover! I think that should be the theme for this review. I never would have chosen this book for myself. Two of my book buddies insisted that this is a book I NEEDED to read! The same phrase also applies to the hero of this book. That he was judged by his cover, his heritage. Not by the man he was inside. But all it took was one particular woman to come to town and turn things upside down. She became a champion for the Mackenzie men who in turn changed her life forever.
Wolf Mackenzie is half Indian, a half breed, as is his sixteen year old son, Joe. Wrongfully accused of a crime years before, Wolf served two years in prison until the correct culprit admitted to the crime. But, the town of Ruth, Wyoming never forgot. They still judged Wolf both for his heritage and also for the crime, even though he was exonerated. Wolf and his son live on his ranch. He is a gifted horse trainer. It seems this is the only time people ignore the fact that he is a half breed, when they want him to work with their horses.
Mary Elizabeth Potter is twenty nine years old and has accepted that fact that she is going to be an old maid. She’s not the kind of woman men are attracted to. She knows this. So, she decided to accept a teaching job in the small town of Ruth. Of one thing she is confident, she is a good teacher. It didn’t take long to realize that one of the star students, Joe Mackenzie, had dropped out of school. So it became a mission to her that she would travel up Mackenzie’s Mountain to their home and convince the boy to return to school. Only Mary was ill prepared for Wyoming weather. Then, along came her rescuer, the beautiful and oh so grumpy cowboy that seemed to render her speechless!
“Are you one of those women’s libbers?”
These two were both so much fun to read. Wolf was my favorite kind of hero, all growly and moody. He struggled with the pull he felt to Mary. The town would be unforgiving if she associated with him. She would lose her job. But he couldn’t seem to stay away. Then, when an unknown man begins threatening the safety of the women of Ruth, Wolf becomes Mary’s protector, whether she feels like she needs it or not.
“I’ll always be a half breed. There will always be people who look down on me because of it. Think long and hard before you agree to be my woman, because there’s no going back.”
“I don’t want to go back.”
I really did love this so much. It was surprisingly suspenseful. The sexy times were perfectly written. Wolf was such an alpha but there were also plenty of sweet moments! All it took was the right woman to bring them out of him. If you enjoy sexy, grumpy cowboys and heroines with nerves of steel who have the ability to turn a town upside down, then this book is a must read. Thank you to my friends for insisting that I meet Wolf and Mary. I’m so glad I did!
For more about this book and so many more, come and visit me at Carol's Crazy Bookish World.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Carol...
March 25, 2015
This book has a very "Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman" feel to it.
Except of course, she isn't a doctor but a teacher :D
For the most part of the book, I kept forgetting it's actually a contemporary. I can't explain it, it's just the feel of it. How they all behave, the story, Indian in the mountain and spinster teacher in small town fall in love, while the town hates him, plus being his cottage in the mountains, training horses and just everything :D
I saw cars being mentioned and that made me remember it's set in present day, even after 50% of the book ahahahhahahahahha
I have to say I loved Wolf. Amazing strong character, stubborn too, but uber, uber protective of Mary *sigh*
He's a great father, I loved how he raised Joe and their close relationship.
Mary is such a sweet character, I imagine her as delicate and nice and just plain lovely. She's a perfect balance for Wolf who isn't any of those things ahahhahahah
She does have a backbone and I just love how she defended Wolf to the entire town <3
Why three stars? I can't put my finger on it exactly.
I enjoyed the book, I really did, Wolf was swoony and Mary was a nice female lead, I guess it was the story. I skimmed a bit in the second half and wasn't really interested in the whole thing, and this is going to sound weird but I could've done with a couple of less sex scenes :D Yes, call me crazy right now but I don't know, they were going at it like rabbits :D
Anyway, I'm definitely reading Joe's story <3
August 9, 2020
Look up the words white saviour complex and a picture of whatshername would accompany it. What a load of racist bullshit crap.
In all fairness, had this story occurred at the turn of the 20th century then I might have given it a pass, however, this was written during AND situated in the 1980s. 1980s!! My god.
January 19, 2021
Opening Line: He needed a woman. Bad."
I had a ton of problems with this book and I’m finding it really difficult to review because as much as this story confused me, annoyed me and downright offended me, in the end as much as I wanted to I just didn’t hate it. I did however breathe a sigh of relief when I finished.
Written in 1989 Mackenzie’s Mountain is a contemporary romance however it reads, and for the first 100 pages I thought it was a historical, taking place around 1890-1910. It takes place in small town Wyoming and has a Little House On the Prairie feel to it along with lots of prejudice and small minded gossip.
The heroine is a schoolteacher who has just moved to teach in their school house. She is plain in appearance with her hair in a bun, horn rimmed glasses, a shapeless dress, sensible shoes and zero life experience having been raised by her old fashioned Aunt (presumably in a cave). Mary in fact has never worn a pair of jeans and has definitely never been kissed. She is however clichéd with thoughts like this one;
"Only shameless hussies would wear a skirt without a proper petticoat underneath"
Yes she also speaks like she’s from the 1900’s and her character seemed stranger to me still when I realized it was meant to be 1989 (don’t know many people that wore petticoats then)
Anyways Mary is concerned that one of her better students has quit school and goes to his home to find out why where she meets Wolf Mackenzie and this is when I started to get offended and these are the authors words Not mine. Wolf is an Indian and an angry Indian because he spent time in jail for a crime he didn’t commit and everyone in town hates and distrusts him. To make matters worse (in the authors mind) Wolf is also a half breed and Howard drills this into the readers head every couple of pages in case we forget our hero’s heritage. Now honestly… its 1989, do people really use words like half-breed anymore? Could the average person tell the difference? Have I just been living in happy land my entire life? This is uncomfortable.
Wolf feels his son doesn’t need schooling because he’s an Indian (cringe) Now after all the racist remarks which I somewhat forgave because I thought it was a historical this is when Joe, the heroes son suddenly declares that he wants to join the Air Force academy and fly jets. What?! Damn this really is a contemporary.
Mary then decides to tutor Joe and feels that even though (cringe) he’s a half breed he still has a pretty good chance of getting into the Air Force. Remember its 1989 in this backwards little town. For some weird reason Wolf is attracted to the mousy Mary and the meat of this story revolves around their growing relationship, him giving her savage looks and bedding her and the hunt for the man responsible for attacking women in town which Wolf is initially blamed for.
Now I could go on and on about all my issues with this silly/strange/offensive story but because its also such a reader favourite (I’m assuming with historical romance fans) I will also say that Wolf is a fantastic, sexy alpha hero and as annoying and clichéd as Mary is they still manage to share some steamy love scenes together. I also really liked Joe the wanna-be pilot son and it’s my understanding that his story is up next in Mackenzie's Mission.
As this was my first Linda Howard book I don’t know if writing historical characters in modern times is a trait of hers and as offensive as some of her writing was I did still enjoy her love scenes and easy flowing writing style. Howard just needs to pick one time genre and stick with it.
I had a ton of problems with this book and I’m finding it really difficult to review because as much as this story confused me, annoyed me and downright offended me, in the end as much as I wanted to I just didn’t hate it. I did however breathe a sigh of relief when I finished.
Written in 1989 Mackenzie’s Mountain is a contemporary romance however it reads, and for the first 100 pages I thought it was a historical, taking place around 1890-1910. It takes place in small town Wyoming and has a Little House On the Prairie feel to it along with lots of prejudice and small minded gossip.
The heroine is a schoolteacher who has just moved to teach in their school house. She is plain in appearance with her hair in a bun, horn rimmed glasses, a shapeless dress, sensible shoes and zero life experience having been raised by her old fashioned Aunt (presumably in a cave). Mary in fact has never worn a pair of jeans and has definitely never been kissed. She is however clichéd with thoughts like this one;
"Only shameless hussies would wear a skirt without a proper petticoat underneath"
Yes she also speaks like she’s from the 1900’s and her character seemed stranger to me still when I realized it was meant to be 1989 (don’t know many people that wore petticoats then)
Anyways Mary is concerned that one of her better students has quit school and goes to his home to find out why where she meets Wolf Mackenzie and this is when I started to get offended and these are the authors words Not mine. Wolf is an Indian and an angry Indian because he spent time in jail for a crime he didn’t commit and everyone in town hates and distrusts him. To make matters worse (in the authors mind) Wolf is also a half breed and Howard drills this into the readers head every couple of pages in case we forget our hero’s heritage. Now honestly… its 1989, do people really use words like half-breed anymore? Could the average person tell the difference? Have I just been living in happy land my entire life? This is uncomfortable.
Wolf feels his son doesn’t need schooling because he’s an Indian (cringe) Now after all the racist remarks which I somewhat forgave because I thought it was a historical this is when Joe, the heroes son suddenly declares that he wants to join the Air Force academy and fly jets. What?! Damn this really is a contemporary.
Mary then decides to tutor Joe and feels that even though (cringe) he’s a half breed he still has a pretty good chance of getting into the Air Force. Remember its 1989 in this backwards little town. For some weird reason Wolf is attracted to the mousy Mary and the meat of this story revolves around their growing relationship, him giving her savage looks and bedding her and the hunt for the man responsible for attacking women in town which Wolf is initially blamed for.
Now I could go on and on about all my issues with this silly/strange/offensive story but because its also such a reader favourite (I’m assuming with historical romance fans) I will also say that Wolf is a fantastic, sexy alpha hero and as annoying and clichéd as Mary is they still manage to share some steamy love scenes together. I also really liked Joe the wanna-be pilot son and it’s my understanding that his story is up next in Mackenzie's Mission.
As this was my first Linda Howard book I don’t know if writing historical characters in modern times is a trait of hers and as offensive as some of her writing was I did still enjoy her love scenes and easy flowing writing style. Howard just needs to pick one time genre and stick with it.
June 15, 2009
This is in my top ten books of all time. I love Wolf and Mary. They are one of my romance supercouples. This is a book to read when you are feeling jaded about romance novels. When I read it the first time, I immediately turned around and reread it. I still have my first copy but I bought another copy since the first one is a little worn.
September 1, 2022
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I've said this before, but if Sandra Brown and Linda Howard aren't friends, they should be, because they write like they're the same people. The parallels between AFTER THE NIGHT and SLOW HEAT IN HEAVEN are numerous, as are the parallels between this book and HAWK O' TOOLE'S HOSTAGE and HONOR BOUND. If you've read one author and haven't read the other, do it. You'll become an instant fan.
That said, I have to say that I am not really a fan of these ladies' Native American romances. One of my friends said this book comes across as a bit fetishistic and, uh, yeah, it kind of does. The heroine imagines Wolf in a loincloth at some point, and he's described as warrior-like and primitive several times. Actually, the way this hero is described with his bronzed warrior-like mien and incredibly luscious dark hair really reminded me of how Rhysand is described in ACOTAR, which I found hilarious.
I don't think that Howard was trying to be offensive with these descriptions, however. As with HAWK O' TOOLE, the author seems to be trying to debunk a lot of the negative stereotypes around Native people, although I didn't like Wolf as much as I liked his son, Joe. Kudos to making a teen boy responsible and communicative about sex, btw. That's a nice change of pace to see.
The plot is pretty basic. The heroine, Mary, is a petite little woobie muffin of a character who you will be reminded is teeny-tiny fit-her-in-your-pocket-and-carry-her-home sized several times. The hero is a foot taller than her, and one hundred pounds heavier (yes, we're told this explicitly), and she can wear his son's clothes from when he was a preteen (also). When she's not moonlighting as Polly Pocket, she's the local elementary school teacher, and she's extremely concerned that Joe has dropped out of school. So concerned that she marches out in inclement weather in seasonally inappropriate attire.
As Mary gets involved in the Mackenzies' lives, she becomes aware of the animosity they face from the townsfolk. Wolf is an ex-con (unjustly accused) and Joe is treated as a bad influence. Mary advocating for both these men ends up changing the way the townsfolk view them, however, and her saviorism seems like it might just lead to acceptance-- until bad things start happening to the women in town, and the police naturally turn to Wolf, because, you know, plausible deniability and all that.
I started getting annoyed with this book about halfway through and skimmed to the end because I wanted to see whodunnit. Whodunnit was disappointing, I must say. I also really didn't feel the chemistry between Wolf and Mary, although they seemed to like each other, so yay, I guess. The ending was sweet-- it's always nice to see a positive spin on blended families-- but lord, was Mary naive. She's a full-grown woman and she's never heard anyone say the F-word in real life? Is this Wyoming she's living in, or a LDS space station? HOW DO YOU NOT HEAR THE F-WORD EVER?
I don't think I'll be reading the rest of the books in this series...
2 stars
February 20, 2017
This is my favorite contemporary romance! I love the Wolf and Mary's story, they are two great characters. Mary Elizabeth Potter is a transplanted southern teacher who is trying to find a more exciting life in Wyoming. Mary meets half-breed rancher Wolf when she goes to his house to find out why his son Joe quit school. Sparks fly between Wolf and Mary right away but Wolf pushes her away because he is resented in town after going to jail for a rape he didn't commit, so he does not want to risk her reputation and job. Mary goes after him anyway but Wolf can no longer resist his feelings after something traumatic happens. Wolf protects Mary while they spend a summer together while falling in love. This is a beautiful and wonderful love story, I highly recommend this book and the rest of the Mackenzie books which tell the stories of Wolf and Mary's children.
September 12, 2018
Lo he devorado. Escrito hace la friolera de casi 30 años, en 1989, se trata de una historia que ha envejecido muy bien. Cierto que la trama de suspense es bastante predecible, pero lo que de verdad importa es la historia de amor de Wolf MacKenzie, un mestizo mitad escocés, mitad indio (la mezcla te prende fuego a los bajos desde el minuto uno) y ese maravilloso personaje que es Mary Elizabeth Potter, con su dedo de profesora, su carácter combativo y sus ocurrencias, que me han divertido un montón. Cierto que hay instalust (con ese hombre, otra cosa no es posible) e instalove, pero eso no desmerece una historia la mar de entretenida. Punto y aparte merece la relación de Wolf con su hijo Joe, maravilloso personaje cuyo libro voy a leer en 3,2,1
#RetoRita2 #RitaHoward
#Campañaromantica: el protagonista es ranchero
#RetoRita2 #RitaHoward
#Campañaromantica: el protagonista es ranchero
November 19, 2019
5 STARS
I debated about what to rate this one. It is dated, yes, but I really loved it. Loved the characters, loved Wolf, loved Joe, and Mary. And the story had me intrigued until the end. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Armpits . . . well, everyone had them, but she certainly wasn’t accustomed to touching them. She had never before been this surrounded by anyone, least of all a man.
I debated about what to rate this one. It is dated, yes, but I really loved it. Loved the characters, loved Wolf, loved Joe, and Mary. And the story had me intrigued until the end. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
November 7, 2019
I am re-reading all my 5 star rated romance novels. There are 60 on my shelf. This is book 18
(Tropes: Modern Spinster, Class/Culture Divide, Wrongly Accused)
This is how my 18th re-read held up.
But also another problematic favorite ☹
*****
Quick plot:
Mary Potter has moved to a small (small minded!) town in Wyoming to teach high school. When she notices that a top performing student left school 2 month earlier she goes to investigate and meets his father Wolf McKenzie. Wolf has been in prison for a crime he did not commit but that the townspeople still “blame” him for. The fact that he is half native American certainly doesn’t help, and Wolf and his son has learned to stay away to avoid trouble. Until Mary comes along.
This book was released in 1989. That makes it problematic:
- He simply bent down and passed one arm behind her knees and the other behind her back, and lifted her as he would a child, ignoring her gasp. As he carried her to the truck, he reflected that she didn't weigh much more than a child.
- Mackenzie isn't an Indian name."
He frowned back at her. "Scottish."
"Oh. Are you a half-breed?"
- She had read in books that a man took a woman's nipples into his mouth and sucked them as a nursing infant would, and she had always wondered why.
- You should at least have tried to keep him in school!
Wolf leaned very close, so close that his nose was almost touching hers. She stared into his black eyes, her own eyes widening.
"He's Indian, lady. Maybe you don't know what that means. Hell, how could you? You're an Anglo. Indians aren't welcome. What education he has, he got on his own, without any help from the Anglo teachers. When he wasn't being ignored, he was being insulted. Why would he want to go back?"
Heroine being compared to a child, the infant boob sucking, use of words like half-breed, Indian and Anglo?
Like I have mentioned before, I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to takes things from the past and hold them to our new and MUCH approved standards. But still, ugh.
Ok, so let’s not dwell too much on that.
Icky issues aside, this is a very lovely story.
How can you not love it when someone stands up for outcasts of society? And who doesn’t love a warm father/son relationship who so desperately wants to include a lonely, sweet woman in their lives? And the relationship between Wolf and Mary was waaaaaay better than how Linda Howard usually writes men. He was respectful, kind, (ok grumpy), and didn’t push, lift, manhandle or treat her like crap because he could not handle his emotions. And while Mary comes off as a bit weak in the beginning, she really shows awesome character.
- "It's an honour to be accepted into the Academy, and that's our goal. If you'll agree to being tutored, I'll write to your congressman immediately. I think this time your heritage will work in your favour."
It was amazing how proud that strong young face could be.
"I don't want it if they give it to me just because I'm Indian."
"Don't be ridiculous," she scoffed. "Of course you won't be accepted into the Academy just because you're half Indian. But if that fact catches the congressman's interest, I say, good. It would only make him remember your name. It'll be up to you to make the grade."
- "Excuse me," Mary said. "Mr. Mackenzie was here first."
She heard Wolf mutter a curse under his breath, or at least she thought it was a curse. Mr. Hearst turned red.
"I don't mind waiting," Wolf said tightly.
"I wouldn't dream of cutting in front of you." She folded her hands at her waist and pursed her lips. "I couldn't be that rude."
"Ladies first," Mr. Hearst said, trying for a smile.
Mary gave him a stern look. "Ladies shouldn't take advantage of their gender, Mr. Hearst. This is an age of equal treatment and fairness. Mr. Mackenzie was here first, and he should be waited on first."
- "No, damn it, we can't be friends! Do you want to know why? Because I can't be around you without thinking of stripping you naked and taking you, wherever we happen to be. Hell, I don't know if I'd take the time to strip you! I want your breasts in my hands, your nipples in my mouth. I want your legs around my waist, or your ankles on my shoulders, or any position at all if I can just get inside you."
He'd pulled her so close that his warm breath brushed her cheeks as he rasped the low, harsh words at her.
"So, sweetheart, there's no way we can befriends."
- "I'm the one thing you can't have. They'd tear you apart." Very gently he pulled her arms down and turned to leave.
Her voice came behind him, low and strained as she fought against tears. "I'll risk it."
He stopped, his hand on the doorknob. "I won't."
- The two of them pounded each other's backs, laughing and yelling, then finally just hugging each other in a way two weaker men couldn't have done. Mary folded her hands and watched them, smiling, so happy her heart swelled to the point of pain. Then suddenly an arm reached out and snagged her, and she found herself sandwiched between the two Mackenzies, almost smashed flat by their celebration.
**********
I tried to review this book, by just looking at it as a man wrongly accused and how he’s treated in a small town. So in a way pretend the whole race issue/language was not part of the story. Basis that I will only downgrade it from a 5 to a 4.
See? Problematic favorite.
(Tropes: Modern Spinster, Class/Culture Divide, Wrongly Accused)
This is how my 18th re-read held up.
But also another problematic favorite ☹
*****
Quick plot:
Mary Potter has moved to a small (small minded!) town in Wyoming to teach high school. When she notices that a top performing student left school 2 month earlier she goes to investigate and meets his father Wolf McKenzie. Wolf has been in prison for a crime he did not commit but that the townspeople still “blame” him for. The fact that he is half native American certainly doesn’t help, and Wolf and his son has learned to stay away to avoid trouble. Until Mary comes along.
This book was released in 1989. That makes it problematic:
- He simply bent down and passed one arm behind her knees and the other behind her back, and lifted her as he would a child, ignoring her gasp. As he carried her to the truck, he reflected that she didn't weigh much more than a child.
- Mackenzie isn't an Indian name."
He frowned back at her. "Scottish."
"Oh. Are you a half-breed?"
- She had read in books that a man took a woman's nipples into his mouth and sucked them as a nursing infant would, and she had always wondered why.
- You should at least have tried to keep him in school!
Wolf leaned very close, so close that his nose was almost touching hers. She stared into his black eyes, her own eyes widening.
"He's Indian, lady. Maybe you don't know what that means. Hell, how could you? You're an Anglo. Indians aren't welcome. What education he has, he got on his own, without any help from the Anglo teachers. When he wasn't being ignored, he was being insulted. Why would he want to go back?"
Heroine being compared to a child, the infant boob sucking, use of words like half-breed, Indian and Anglo?
Like I have mentioned before, I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to takes things from the past and hold them to our new and MUCH approved standards. But still, ugh.
Ok, so let’s not dwell too much on that.
Icky issues aside, this is a very lovely story.
How can you not love it when someone stands up for outcasts of society? And who doesn’t love a warm father/son relationship who so desperately wants to include a lonely, sweet woman in their lives? And the relationship between Wolf and Mary was waaaaaay better than how Linda Howard usually writes men. He was respectful, kind, (ok grumpy), and didn’t push, lift, manhandle or treat her like crap because he could not handle his emotions. And while Mary comes off as a bit weak in the beginning, she really shows awesome character.
- "It's an honour to be accepted into the Academy, and that's our goal. If you'll agree to being tutored, I'll write to your congressman immediately. I think this time your heritage will work in your favour."
It was amazing how proud that strong young face could be.
"I don't want it if they give it to me just because I'm Indian."
"Don't be ridiculous," she scoffed. "Of course you won't be accepted into the Academy just because you're half Indian. But if that fact catches the congressman's interest, I say, good. It would only make him remember your name. It'll be up to you to make the grade."
- "Excuse me," Mary said. "Mr. Mackenzie was here first."
She heard Wolf mutter a curse under his breath, or at least she thought it was a curse. Mr. Hearst turned red.
"I don't mind waiting," Wolf said tightly.
"I wouldn't dream of cutting in front of you." She folded her hands at her waist and pursed her lips. "I couldn't be that rude."
"Ladies first," Mr. Hearst said, trying for a smile.
Mary gave him a stern look. "Ladies shouldn't take advantage of their gender, Mr. Hearst. This is an age of equal treatment and fairness. Mr. Mackenzie was here first, and he should be waited on first."
- "No, damn it, we can't be friends! Do you want to know why? Because I can't be around you without thinking of stripping you naked and taking you, wherever we happen to be. Hell, I don't know if I'd take the time to strip you! I want your breasts in my hands, your nipples in my mouth. I want your legs around my waist, or your ankles on my shoulders, or any position at all if I can just get inside you."
He'd pulled her so close that his warm breath brushed her cheeks as he rasped the low, harsh words at her.
"So, sweetheart, there's no way we can befriends."
- "I'm the one thing you can't have. They'd tear you apart." Very gently he pulled her arms down and turned to leave.
Her voice came behind him, low and strained as she fought against tears. "I'll risk it."
He stopped, his hand on the doorknob. "I won't."
- The two of them pounded each other's backs, laughing and yelling, then finally just hugging each other in a way two weaker men couldn't have done. Mary folded her hands and watched them, smiling, so happy her heart swelled to the point of pain. Then suddenly an arm reached out and snagged her, and she found herself sandwiched between the two Mackenzies, almost smashed flat by their celebration.
**********
I tried to review this book, by just looking at it as a man wrongly accused and how he’s treated in a small town. So in a way pretend the whole race issue/language was not part of the story. Basis that I will only downgrade it from a 5 to a 4.
See? Problematic favorite.
October 25, 2015
3.5 stars
I wish I had read this about 10-20yrs ago, I think then I would have loved it as much as others do. There are a couple older books (hello, purple prose!) that are very close to my heart that others read for the first time in this day and age and they don't find it as great as me. I think this may be the case with this book and me, I liked it but cringed at some parts. One person's sentimentalism is another person's expiration date.
Our main couple, Mary and Wolf, had an incredibly sweet relationship and I definitely see what all the fuss was about with them. I would recommend this book solely on the emotions between the two.
The writing is good because, Linda Howard obviously, and I will certainly be checking out Wolf's son Joe's book, I have a feeling he is going to be one hell of a leading man.
I wish I had read this about 10-20yrs ago, I think then I would have loved it as much as others do. There are a couple older books (hello, purple prose!) that are very close to my heart that others read for the first time in this day and age and they don't find it as great as me. I think this may be the case with this book and me, I liked it but cringed at some parts. One person's sentimentalism is another person's expiration date.
Our main couple, Mary and Wolf, had an incredibly sweet relationship and I definitely see what all the fuss was about with them. I would recommend this book solely on the emotions between the two.
The writing is good because, Linda Howard obviously, and I will certainly be checking out Wolf's son Joe's book, I have a feeling he is going to be one hell of a leading man.
August 6, 2018
4 stars
In a word: All
Linda Howard is one of my favorite romance authors, but I had not yet read this book, so I was excited to finally have the chance to do so. I was not disappointed! This one pretty much had it ALL --- action, adventure, mystery, suspense, steamy goodness, and solid character development.
What I liked:
--- Howard's main characters are always layered, which I appreciate as I get to unwrap little by little to get the whole picture; the female MC (Mary) was pretty straightforward in this book, but the male MC (Wolf) had more depth to explore
--- The pace was good - it didn't move too quickly but was never stagnant
--- The plot lines drew the reader in from the very start
--- The steamy scenes delivered some yummy goodness
What I didn't like as much:
--- When I read the description, I (incorrectly) believed it was a historical romance because of the extreme bias against Wolf as a Native American... This story takes place in Wyoming, which is home to numerous tribes; I realize that the book was originally released in 1990, but the blatant (and socially accepted in the town in was set in!) level of bigotry was much more pronounced
Overall, another very enjoyable read by one of my favorite authors. I recommend to all the romantic suspense fans out there!
Plot --- 4.5/5
Main Characters --- 4.5/5
Supporting Cast ---3/5
Steam Level --- 3/5
Language --- not egregious
Violence --- some but not graphic
POV --- 3rd throughout (slanted at times from each of the MC's perspectives)
In a word: All
Linda Howard is one of my favorite romance authors, but I had not yet read this book, so I was excited to finally have the chance to do so. I was not disappointed! This one pretty much had it ALL --- action, adventure, mystery, suspense, steamy goodness, and solid character development.
What I liked:
--- Howard's main characters are always layered, which I appreciate as I get to unwrap little by little to get the whole picture; the female MC (Mary) was pretty straightforward in this book, but the male MC (Wolf) had more depth to explore
--- The pace was good - it didn't move too quickly but was never stagnant
--- The plot lines drew the reader in from the very start
--- The steamy scenes delivered some yummy goodness
What I didn't like as much:
--- When I read the description, I (incorrectly) believed it was a historical romance because of the extreme bias against Wolf as a Native American... This story takes place in Wyoming, which is home to numerous tribes; I realize that the book was originally released in 1990, but the blatant (and socially accepted in the town in was set in!) level of bigotry was much more pronounced
Overall, another very enjoyable read by one of my favorite authors. I recommend to all the romantic suspense fans out there!
Plot --- 4.5/5
Main Characters --- 4.5/5
Supporting Cast ---3/5
Steam Level --- 3/5
Language --- not egregious
Violence --- some but not graphic
POV --- 3rd throughout (slanted at times from each of the MC's perspectives)
July 27, 2015
Audio update: I recently bought the abridged audio version, narrated by Nanette Savard. Didn't like her voice. Sharp, angry, and biting too much of the time. The abridged version leaves out far too many important scenes, including the epilogue. Half the book is missing. Not recommended. Wish they would produce an unabridged version.
But the story and the series is good! See original book review below.
-----------------------------
Content: Several explicit sex scenes, assorted violence, some cussing -- but schoolmarm Mary soon puts a stop to that. ;)
This is the first book in a family-centered semi-erotic series -- if that makes any sense at all -- set in the mountains of Wyoming, in a small, insular ranching community called Ruth.
Wolf Mackenzie, a tough half-Anglo Native American horse breeder, meets Mary Elizabeth Potter, a maiden schoolteacher with a soft Southern drawl, from Savannah, Georgia.
She's prim. He's bold.
She's never been on a mountain, never seen so much snow. He's never been at a school board meeting, never seen so many hypocrites.
She's served in the church. He's served in the military.
She's spent years with a repressive aunt in Georgia. He's spent years in prison.
She's never had sex. He's never gone so long without sex.
The sparks fly ;-)
Plot: Mary encourages Wolf's 16-year old son Joe to finish his last few years of high school and follow his dream to become a fighter pilot. She does everything possible to help him, rejecting the biased townsfolk. Then, when Wolf's past comes back for another bite out of his hide, Mary takes his side.
Meanwhile, Wolf tries to resist, but Mary burrows right under his rawhide skin, cuz this sweet little lady is a steel magnolia of the first degree. Stubborn and fierce enough to face a wolf.
A delightful epilogue, leading to some great sequels. Sequels focus on Joe, Zane, Maris, Chance. I hope someday we get a sequel for granddaughter, Nick (Mary Nicole), and more of Chance and Zane.
Ps. This book is almost 25 years out-of-date, so it's not a PC world, and Wolf acts like it, so maybe only 4 stars for him, but I have no trouble believing the townsfolk would be so biased against a half-breed ex-con. Prejudice is alive and well -- even in these "enlightened" days. Some reviewers contest the setting, saying so much ignorance would fit better in a historical romance.
Pss. I bought the entire series in one e-book bundle, via Amazon. Best deal. My favorites in the series are Mackenzie's Pleasure and A Game Of Chance.
But the story and the series is good! See original book review below.
-----------------------------
Content: Several explicit sex scenes, assorted violence, some cussing -- but schoolmarm Mary soon puts a stop to that. ;)
This is the first book in a family-centered semi-erotic series -- if that makes any sense at all -- set in the mountains of Wyoming, in a small, insular ranching community called Ruth.
Wolf Mackenzie, a tough half-Anglo Native American horse breeder, meets Mary Elizabeth Potter, a maiden schoolteacher with a soft Southern drawl, from Savannah, Georgia.
She's prim. He's bold.
She's never been on a mountain, never seen so much snow. He's never been at a school board meeting, never seen so many hypocrites.
She's served in the church. He's served in the military.
She's spent years with a repressive aunt in Georgia. He's spent years in prison.
She's never had sex. He's never gone so long without sex.
The sparks fly ;-)
Plot: Mary encourages Wolf's 16-year old son Joe to finish his last few years of high school and follow his dream to become a fighter pilot. She does everything possible to help him, rejecting the biased townsfolk. Then, when Wolf's past comes back for another bite out of his hide, Mary takes his side.
Meanwhile, Wolf tries to resist, but Mary burrows right under his rawhide skin, cuz this sweet little lady is a steel magnolia of the first degree. Stubborn and fierce enough to face a wolf.
A delightful epilogue, leading to some great sequels. Sequels focus on Joe, Zane, Maris, Chance. I hope someday we get a sequel for granddaughter, Nick (Mary Nicole), and more of Chance and Zane.
Ps. This book is almost 25 years out-of-date, so it's not a PC world, and Wolf acts like it, so maybe only 4 stars for him, but I have no trouble believing the townsfolk would be so biased against a half-breed ex-con. Prejudice is alive and well -- even in these "enlightened" days. Some reviewers contest the setting, saying so much ignorance would fit better in a historical romance.
Pss. I bought the entire series in one e-book bundle, via Amazon. Best deal. My favorites in the series are Mackenzie's Pleasure and A Game Of Chance.
August 21, 2024
5+ stars
Looooooved it!!!
Loved the heroine.
Loved the hero.
Hated the people in town, but hey, who likes racists?
The storyline is bonkers and I loved it. It isn't overly complicated and it's rather short, true, but bonkers nonetheless.
The epilogue is delicious, same as the mystery element.
U can't stop reading.
U just can't.
I don't remember the last time I gave so many 5-star reviews in a row, especially to the same author. I reckon my new mission in life is to read Linda's entire backlist and I truly hope I'll love all the books as much as I loved this one.
I freaking loved everything here and I can't wait to read book 2 in the series.
Highly recommend.
Looooooved it!!!
Loved the heroine.
Loved the hero.
Hated the people in town, but hey, who likes racists?
The storyline is bonkers and I loved it. It isn't overly complicated and it's rather short, true, but bonkers nonetheless.
The epilogue is delicious, same as the mystery element.
U can't stop reading.
U just can't.
I don't remember the last time I gave so many 5-star reviews in a row, especially to the same author. I reckon my new mission in life is to read Linda's entire backlist and I truly hope I'll love all the books as much as I loved this one.
I freaking loved everything here and I can't wait to read book 2 in the series.
Highly recommend.
April 29, 2019
I got about two thirds of the way through and just didn't care any more. This one was a bit too 1980s for me. It does have a funny first line, though:
"He needed a woman. Bad" Ha ha ha. Yeah, no.
"He needed a woman. Bad" Ha ha ha. Yeah, no.
August 22, 2022
⭐️⭐️ two stars -
Two stars for this dated, uncomfortably racist, easy-to-guess whodunnit.
Since I’m new to Linda Howard (this novel was originally published in 1989), I’m just getting to her books now, and these stories sometimes don’t hold up with present day culturally accepted norms. This story suffers from a modern day perspective due to its attitude toward race and gender. I almost put it down at several points as it became extremely uncomfortable for me as a reader.
The only reason I persevered to the end is due to the fact that I have prior experience with Howard’s stories, and have mostly enjoyed myself and have previously enjoyed the immersive storytelling experience. Not so much for this one. I was mostly turned off with the repetitiveness of the racial slurs (slurs that even came out of the mouths of mc’s 🙄), and the fact that I was bored with the suspense due to the fact that I surmised the rapist attacker from the get-go.
This story is not up to par with her other stellar, on-point romantic suspense stories, and I’m reminded by this story of the fact that these covers used to grace the checkout line of my local supermarket back in the day 💁♀️. There’s a reason I have a “type found in the supermarket” shelf, and this book is it. This one is headed for that shelf straightaway. #sorrynotsorry
One main reason this story is getting two stars instead of the one it probably deserves is due to the heroine. I really enjoyed Mary as the heroine here. She’s intelligent, strong-willed, knows the value of self, and is intrepid; a true Howard heroine. I was pleased with her character development, and enjoyed her inner monologue that related to her starchily old fashioned Aunt Ardith. I’m only disappointed that Aunt Ardith never made an appearance on page, that would have been highly entertaining. A sure missed opportunity for humor, in my book 📚. *pun intended 😂
This story is part of Howard’s “MacKenzie’s Mountain” series, and is the first installment. This series spans an original publication date of 1989 (for this first volume) through the1990s. Given the fact that this book is so dated, and I didn’t enjoy myself due to reasons mentioned above (too much focus on race for me), I’m not going to read any of the subsequent books in this series. I may, however, give Book V, “A Game Of Chance”, a try since it was published in 2000, but I haven’t decided yet. I don’t know if I’ll be in the mood to be a cultural meter test dummy any time soon 💁♀️
Two do not recommend stars. I barely finished this one myself. Pick up another Linda Howard for well-written romantic suspense, cause this one ain’t it.
Two stars for this dated, uncomfortably racist, easy-to-guess whodunnit.
Since I’m new to Linda Howard (this novel was originally published in 1989), I’m just getting to her books now, and these stories sometimes don’t hold up with present day culturally accepted norms. This story suffers from a modern day perspective due to its attitude toward race and gender. I almost put it down at several points as it became extremely uncomfortable for me as a reader.
The only reason I persevered to the end is due to the fact that I have prior experience with Howard’s stories, and have mostly enjoyed myself and have previously enjoyed the immersive storytelling experience. Not so much for this one. I was mostly turned off with the repetitiveness of the racial slurs (slurs that even came out of the mouths of mc’s 🙄), and the fact that I was bored with the suspense due to the fact that I surmised the rapist attacker from the get-go.
This story is not up to par with her other stellar, on-point romantic suspense stories, and I’m reminded by this story of the fact that these covers used to grace the checkout line of my local supermarket back in the day 💁♀️. There’s a reason I have a “type found in the supermarket” shelf, and this book is it. This one is headed for that shelf straightaway. #sorrynotsorry
One main reason this story is getting two stars instead of the one it probably deserves is due to the heroine. I really enjoyed Mary as the heroine here. She’s intelligent, strong-willed, knows the value of self, and is intrepid; a true Howard heroine. I was pleased with her character development, and enjoyed her inner monologue that related to her starchily old fashioned Aunt Ardith. I’m only disappointed that Aunt Ardith never made an appearance on page, that would have been highly entertaining. A sure missed opportunity for humor, in my book 📚. *pun intended 😂
This story is part of Howard’s “MacKenzie’s Mountain” series, and is the first installment. This series spans an original publication date of 1989 (for this first volume) through the1990s. Given the fact that this book is so dated, and I didn’t enjoy myself due to reasons mentioned above (too much focus on race for me), I’m not going to read any of the subsequent books in this series. I may, however, give Book V, “A Game Of Chance”, a try since it was published in 2000, but I haven’t decided yet. I don’t know if I’ll be in the mood to be a cultural meter test dummy any time soon 💁♀️
Two do not recommend stars. I barely finished this one myself. Pick up another Linda Howard for well-written romantic suspense, cause this one ain’t it.
September 8, 2016
Does anyone else find it hard to assess a book when the thing is completely out of date?
I felt like I'd stepped back in time a few decades, when most small towns were suspicious of anyone who looked "different" from whatever they were used to in their small little bubble. Of course, there are still remote places of small town Americana that are like this, but not on the same saturated level that there was back then. And by that level - I mean OMG, LOCK THE DOORS, theNative American Indian man is coming!!!
Sheesh.
But hey, some of the moments did make me laugh for how antiquated they were.
*hold on one second, while I actually drop to the ground so I can roll on the floor with laughter*
While taking into account how old the book was, and trying to squint past some of the worst of it, I liked Mackenzie's Mountain okay. It's not one of the better books from Howard that I've read, but it was a sweet romance light on the suspense.
I kind of liked how the woman in this story was the pursuer. She really didn't act like the old maid that she portrayed herself to be. I also kind of liked how the story started with the woman getting stranded in the snow, making it so she needed to be rescued. Maybe that intro gave me enough of the "strong male" fix, without completely choking out the woman as her own entity. It was a nice balance. They sort of rescued each other.
The small town and ranch settings were nice. Truth be told, the idea of reading about a rancher and a schoolteacher holds more appeal to me than reading about a CEO and a secretary. It makes me want to escape the suburbs and go live on a ranch. Well, for at least a week or two. ;)
I felt like I'd stepped back in time a few decades, when most small towns were suspicious of anyone who looked "different" from whatever they were used to in their small little bubble. Of course, there are still remote places of small town Americana that are like this, but not on the same saturated level that there was back then. And by that level - I mean OMG, LOCK THE DOORS, the
Sheesh.
But hey, some of the moments did make me laugh for how antiquated they were.
Wolf shook his head and gave her a disbelieving look. "Are you one of those women's libbers?"
*hold on one second, while I actually drop to the ground so I can roll on the floor with laughter*
While taking into account how old the book was, and trying to squint past some of the worst of it, I liked Mackenzie's Mountain okay. It's not one of the better books from Howard that I've read, but it was a sweet romance light on the suspense.
I kind of liked how the woman in this story was the pursuer. She really didn't act like the old maid that she portrayed herself to be. I also kind of liked how the story started with the woman getting stranded in the snow, making it so she needed to be rescued. Maybe that intro gave me enough of the "strong male" fix, without completely choking out the woman as her own entity. It was a nice balance. They sort of rescued each other.
The small town and ranch settings were nice. Truth be told, the idea of reading about a rancher and a schoolteacher holds more appeal to me than reading about a CEO and a secretary. It makes me want to escape the suburbs and go live on a ranch. Well, for at least a week or two. ;)
November 7, 2017
3,5 estrellitas.
Que un libro me tenga enganchada de tal manera que en apenas unas horas y sin darme cuenta me le haya acabado no suele ser algo que me ocurra todos los días, pero esta historia ha tenido todo lo que a mí me gusta en una novela de este tipo: Unos protagonistas con carácter, una trama de misterio bastante buena y unos secundarios de apoyo que han hecho que la lectura sea más fácil.
La historia de Wolf y Mary tiene muchos obstáculos; desde el mestizaje indio de él, hasta un caso de violaciones que acechan al pueblo y en el que Wolf es el principal culpable. Ambos son pura chispa y pasión desde el primer momento y tal vez a mí me ha faltado ver más claramente ese paso del deseo al amor. El carácter de Wolf puede parecer borde e incuso a veces un poquito machista, pero la autora nos muestra muy bien el por qué de ese comportamiento y hace que empatices más con él. Mary es valiente, decidida y no se avergüenza de lo que siente, por lo que una protagonista con las ideas claras en este tipo de novelas es un plus añadido.
Sobre la trama de misterio, ha estado muy bien llevada y, aunque a mitad del lío ya más o menos sabes por dónde van los tiros, el desenlace ha sido bastante bueno, al igual que las tramas de los secundarios (Joe, el hijo de Wolf y Penny) espero que haya un libro de ellos dos.
Que un libro me tenga enganchada de tal manera que en apenas unas horas y sin darme cuenta me le haya acabado no suele ser algo que me ocurra todos los días, pero esta historia ha tenido todo lo que a mí me gusta en una novela de este tipo: Unos protagonistas con carácter, una trama de misterio bastante buena y unos secundarios de apoyo que han hecho que la lectura sea más fácil.
La historia de Wolf y Mary tiene muchos obstáculos; desde el mestizaje indio de él, hasta un caso de violaciones que acechan al pueblo y en el que Wolf es el principal culpable. Ambos son pura chispa y pasión desde el primer momento y tal vez a mí me ha faltado ver más claramente ese paso del deseo al amor. El carácter de Wolf puede parecer borde e incuso a veces un poquito machista, pero la autora nos muestra muy bien el por qué de ese comportamiento y hace que empatices más con él. Mary es valiente, decidida y no se avergüenza de lo que siente, por lo que una protagonista con las ideas claras en este tipo de novelas es un plus añadido.
Sobre la trama de misterio, ha estado muy bien llevada y, aunque a mitad del lío ya más o menos sabes por dónde van los tiros, el desenlace ha sido bastante bueno, al igual que las tramas de los secundarios (Joe, el hijo de Wolf y Penny) espero que haya un libro de ellos dos.
April 27, 2022
Ok I think this hero spoiled me forever for every other hero in hp.
I still have my fetish historical heroes, the Sebastians (that is Lord of Scoundrels and Devil in Winter), and some fantasy hero (Dark Lover, the Darkest night) but as for present heroes there was still room for one. No more.
There can't possibly be a better and more perfect one than Wolf, and I must admit that the heroine Mary is his perfect match.
This one is one of the best couple in my experience of romance, ever, especially hp.
When you read this book you can't forget that it was written in the 80s and it's settled in a small town in the middle of the mountains where people still had prejudices as in the 19th century, so:
-the heroine, who's almost 30 and single is viewed as an aging spinster, but for the same reason people's opinion of her is very high (spinster, sexless, teacher = with high moral standards, almost an archetipical figure of woman)
-the hero who's half indian and half celt and an ex con is viewed as a highly dangerous and unreliable person.
I know that some readers can find the continuous reference to the racist thoughts of the town people about the hero intolerable but I think the writer did it intentionally, to point out how narrow, stupid and very wrong are those people's point of view and how in fact the very people who are outraged by the very presence of a "half breed" man in their community are the one who are rotten and devious.
The hero was convicted for rape wrongly and even if he was afterward discharged when the real culprit was found he brings the stigma of his conviction + the "guilt" of his mixed race.
He lives alone on a mountain with his teenage son, a boy who's bullied and excluded from his peers' company.
The boy left school, even if he's one of the brightest students and the heroine goes to the hero's house to try to persuade him to go back to school.
The hero and the heroine have a very strong chemistry and even if he doesn't want her there they eventually become lovers.
The heroine is a strong character, very ethical and fearless, and has a very strong sense of justice that prevents her from joining the prejudiced minds of her fellows citizens.
She is also pure and fair, and she will fight against every discriminations against the boy and his father.
I loved the boy too, he has his own book later, because he loves the heroine immediately and does everything in his power to match her with his father.
And the hero, oh the hero!
I loved everything about him.
How he almost at once was struck with desire for the frumpy and petite heroine, how he cared for her, how he was ready to sacrifice himself and his love for her wellbeing, how he saved her life in the end.
I even loved his grumpy declaration of love in the end, it was all him and I found it more romantic than many others with long and useless speeches because in all his actions and for all the time they were together he showed his love and his commitment to her, mind and body.
And I loved the end, with the boy fulfilling his dreams of being a pilot and being happy because his parents were having another child.
There's also some mystery part in it, which didn't bother me because it was all part of the story and LH is very good at it, the town is shattered when a man rapes and attacks some young women, and of course the first thought was for the hero, but he, who was also an ex special op soldier in Vietnam, so basically a real hero, will help them to catch the real culprit who is of course from one of the most valued "purebreed" families in town and one of the most opposed to the hero's presence in the community. The heroine has a part in it too, realizing that the man who tried to rape her is not the hero, and describing his "pale and freckled hands" to the police (so we have the opposite dichotomy good white man/evil indian and dark man reversed)
There's a good policeman too, who will help to restore the hero's good name in town.
How much good in only one book.
One of the best I've read lately.
I still have my fetish historical heroes, the Sebastians (that is Lord of Scoundrels and Devil in Winter), and some fantasy hero (Dark Lover, the Darkest night) but as for present heroes there was still room for one. No more.
There can't possibly be a better and more perfect one than Wolf, and I must admit that the heroine Mary is his perfect match.
This one is one of the best couple in my experience of romance, ever, especially hp.
When you read this book you can't forget that it was written in the 80s and it's settled in a small town in the middle of the mountains where people still had prejudices as in the 19th century, so:
-the heroine, who's almost 30 and single is viewed as an aging spinster, but for the same reason people's opinion of her is very high (spinster, sexless, teacher = with high moral standards, almost an archetipical figure of woman)
-the hero who's half indian and half celt and an ex con is viewed as a highly dangerous and unreliable person.
I know that some readers can find the continuous reference to the racist thoughts of the town people about the hero intolerable but I think the writer did it intentionally, to point out how narrow, stupid and very wrong are those people's point of view and how in fact the very people who are outraged by the very presence of a "half breed" man in their community are the one who are rotten and devious.
The hero was convicted for rape wrongly and even if he was afterward discharged when the real culprit was found he brings the stigma of his conviction + the "guilt" of his mixed race.
He lives alone on a mountain with his teenage son, a boy who's bullied and excluded from his peers' company.
The boy left school, even if he's one of the brightest students and the heroine goes to the hero's house to try to persuade him to go back to school.
The hero and the heroine have a very strong chemistry and even if he doesn't want her there they eventually become lovers.
The heroine is a strong character, very ethical and fearless, and has a very strong sense of justice that prevents her from joining the prejudiced minds of her fellows citizens.
She is also pure and fair, and she will fight against every discriminations against the boy and his father.
I loved the boy too, he has his own book later, because he loves the heroine immediately and does everything in his power to match her with his father.
And the hero, oh the hero!
I loved everything about him.
How he almost at once was struck with desire for the frumpy and petite heroine, how he cared for her, how he was ready to sacrifice himself and his love for her wellbeing, how he saved her life in the end.
I even loved his grumpy declaration of love in the end, it was all him and I found it more romantic than many others with long and useless speeches because in all his actions and for all the time they were together he showed his love and his commitment to her, mind and body.
And I loved the end, with the boy fulfilling his dreams of being a pilot and being happy because his parents were having another child.
There's also some mystery part in it, which didn't bother me because it was all part of the story and LH is very good at it, the town is shattered when a man rapes and attacks some young women, and of course the first thought was for the hero, but he, who was also an ex special op soldier in Vietnam, so basically a real hero, will help them to catch the real culprit who is of course from one of the most valued "purebreed" families in town and one of the most opposed to the hero's presence in the community. The heroine has a part in it too, realizing that the man who tried to rape her is not the hero, and describing his "pale and freckled hands" to the police (so we have the opposite dichotomy good white man/evil indian and dark man reversed)
There's a good policeman too, who will help to restore the hero's good name in town.
How much good in only one book.
One of the best I've read lately.
September 16, 2019
Obsessions were funny things; unhealthy ones could ruin lives, but some obsessions lifted people to higher planes of life, made them shine with a brighter light, burn with a hotter fire, and if those obsessions weren't fed, then the person withered, a life blighted by starvation of the soul.
Classic Linda Howard at her best!!
He had learned to use iron control when dealing with Anglos, but something about this prim little woman got under his skin.
Wolf Mackenzie is an Indian and an ex-con who went to prison for a crime he didn’t commit, he’s an outcast who is always judged by the town’s people and he doesn’t have time for the prim-and-proper new schoolteacher who wants to interfere in his and his son’s lives. He knows just what the town’s people would do to her if word got out that she befriended them and if he gave into his desire for her she would be ruined.
What was it about the man that the mere sight of him triggered erotic fantasies? She had certainly never had any fantasies before, erotic or otherwise. She had never before looked at a man and wondered what he looked like nude, but the thought of Wolf nude made her ache inside, made her hands itch to touch him.
Mary might be a spinster who has never gotten any man hot, but teaching is her passion and she won’t allow Joe Mackenzie to throw away his future. Even if it means standing up to the gruff Wolf who makes her feel emotions she’s never felt before and who tries to push her away for her own good.
With Wolf Mackenzie she was a woman, not a dowdy, old maid schoolteacher who even owned a cat, for heaven's sake. She didn't feel dowdy when she was with Wolf; she felt warm, wanted.
I love Mary and the fact that she’s not this gorgeous heroine who men are always falling over their feet for. She felt real and normal and I loved that about her. I also loved her spunk, how feisty and brave she was and how she fought for Wolf and Joe, not caring what being associated with them would do to her reputation.
It was all he could do to keep from taking her, and only the knowledge of how the good townspeople of Ruth would turn on her if he made her his woman kept him from grabbing her.
I adore Wolf, he’s probably my first book boyfriend and he’s still one of my favorite heroes ever. I loved how grouchy he was and how strong his attraction to Mary was, that once he saw her no one else would do for him. And how awesome he was with Joe, his son, just made me love him even more.
He'd never thought he would love any woman, least of all an Anglo, but that was before this slight, delicate creature had bulldozed her way into his life and completely changed it. He could no more live without her now than he could live without air.
The romance was AMAZING!! I just love these two together, how intense their chemistry was and the fact that Wolf made Mary feel like a woman, that she was desired and wanted. And that Mary saw what a good man Wolf was, that she wasn’t prejudice against him like the other town’s people because he was half Indian. And I loved the closeness that developed between Joe (who was the perfect replica of his dad) and Mary, how she became a part of their family.
I adore this book. It’s part of my comfort reads, those books that you need to read to get away from real life problems or after reading an awful book to remind you how wonderful a great book can make you feel. And Wolf and Mary always makes me feel better. A must read for all romance fans!!
May 14, 2010
I read this book in one sitting - which means I stayed up all night - so I'm a little delirious right now. I won't write a review (you can thank me for that) but I would like to say a few things while I am still "living in the moment" of Mackenzie's Mountain.
First of all, if you haven't read this book, you really need to get that taken care of. Within 10 years it will be proclaimed a "classic" (you'll be shelving it right up there with Catcher In the Rye & The Grapes of Wrath) and you will want to be "in the know" when discussing the classics with your grandkids.
The plot/premise of MM is unbelievably simple - half breed & son shunned by the white folk in Smalltown, USA until little white spinster schoolteacher shows up wagging her finger at the lot of them and sets out to right all the wrongs. There are school "board meetings" (think Harper Valley PTA), heated confrontations, and a serial rapist running loose...providing plenty of action for this little 250-page read. Then there is the love story. It is just so sweet! The hero makes a feeble attempt at resistance for propriety's sake, but the heroine with her damn-the-torpedoes attitude makes it happen. And W.O.W. "it" happens often! (okay, so maybe it won't become a classic). Regardless, your appreciation (or as in my case "jaw-dropping, drool-inducing awe") of the Native American Indian as a hero will increase ten-fold!
I'm glad that I didn't toss Linda Howard overboard after reading "Sarah's Child" (hero sucked) and "Cry No More"(way too depressing), but it was at least 5 years until I tried her again. Now, having read "After the Night", The Touch of Fire" and "Mackenzie's Mountain", I'm clamoring for more, more, more. What's next, MelissaB?
5**** at least
First of all, if you haven't read this book, you really need to get that taken care of. Within 10 years it will be proclaimed a "classic" (you'll be shelving it right up there with Catcher In the Rye & The Grapes of Wrath) and you will want to be "in the know" when discussing the classics with your grandkids.
The plot/premise of MM is unbelievably simple - half breed & son shunned by the white folk in Smalltown, USA until little white spinster schoolteacher shows up wagging her finger at the lot of them and sets out to right all the wrongs. There are school "board meetings" (think Harper Valley PTA), heated confrontations, and a serial rapist running loose...providing plenty of action for this little 250-page read. Then there is the love story. It is just so sweet! The hero makes a feeble attempt at resistance for propriety's sake, but the heroine with her damn-the-torpedoes attitude makes it happen. And W.O.W. "it" happens often! (okay, so maybe it won't become a classic). Regardless, your appreciation (or as in my case "jaw-dropping, drool-inducing awe") of the Native American Indian as a hero will increase ten-fold!
I'm glad that I didn't toss Linda Howard overboard after reading "Sarah's Child" (hero sucked) and "Cry No More"(way too depressing), but it was at least 5 years until I tried her again. Now, having read "After the Night", The Touch of Fire" and "Mackenzie's Mountain", I'm clamoring for more, more, more. What's next, MelissaB?
5**** at least
February 9, 2020
3.5 re-read stars.
Maybe it is not a good idea to re-read some books. I did enjoy it but it would not be five stars from me this time around. Seemed very repetitive ... too much sex! It was as if they were in heat, Wolf and Mary! For such an innocent, she sure got the hang of it fairly quickly!
Sort of skimmed to the end ... but then again, I had read it before ...
Maybe it is not a good idea to re-read some books. I did enjoy it but it would not be five stars from me this time around. Seemed very repetitive ... too much sex! It was as if they were in heat, Wolf and Mary! For such an innocent, she sure got the hang of it fairly quickly!
Sort of skimmed to the end ... but then again, I had read it before ...
April 1, 2023
The heroine and hero read very much like caricatures of the humans they supposedly portrayed.
The whole story felt icky but mostly the parts which described the hero. I felt like his descriptions were only based on the fact that he was Native American.. everything came down to that. Everything. His character? His looks? His dangerous, mysterious air? His “wildness”!? His awe and fear inspiring actions? It was too much and too icky. I felt as if it was reducing him to a stereotype for entertainment value.
It felt like fetishisation.
The whole story felt icky but mostly the parts which described the hero. I felt like his descriptions were only based on the fact that he was Native American.. everything came down to that. Everything. His character? His looks? His dangerous, mysterious air? His “wildness”!? His awe and fear inspiring actions? It was too much and too icky. I felt as if it was reducing him to a stereotype for entertainment value.
It felt like fetishisation.
March 3, 2018
Mackenzie's Mountain is a charming love story between two unlikely characters. Written almost 30 years ago, it seemed a little outdated in theme to me at first, but proved to be a very satisfying, well-written romance that I enjoyed. Mary is a stranger in a small Wyoming town - a prim and proper school teacher who's never been kissed. Wolf is a half-breed with a undeserved reputation that he can't live down and so he no longer tries. Shunned and feared by most of the town's people, Wolf keeps to himself on his mountain, raising his boy Joe and training horses. Mary and Wolf cross paths when she ventures out in a snowstorm to find out why Joe quit school and then gets stuck in a snow bank. Wolf rescues her and oh my! The sparks and bantering and denial begins. Mary doesn't know enough about sex to realize she's winding Wolf up, but it doesn't take him long to educate her. The theme may be old-fashioned, but the way it's delivered is not.
Small town prejudice rears its ugly head, accusing Wolf when some women in town are attacked and raped. Wolf is a magnificent alpha male who will do anything to protect Mary, even give her up. Mary has a mind of her own and refuses to cower or deny her growing relationship with Wolf and his son. While I guessed the identity of the real villain early on, it in no way deterred from my enjoyment of this well-written romance. Mackenzie's Mountain is Wolf and Mary's story - a story of love, trust, values, and acceptance in adversity. Don't let the "old theme" deter you . . . it's a story that stands the test of time. A Must Read!
Small town prejudice rears its ugly head, accusing Wolf when some women in town are attacked and raped. Wolf is a magnificent alpha male who will do anything to protect Mary, even give her up. Mary has a mind of her own and refuses to cower or deny her growing relationship with Wolf and his son. While I guessed the identity of the real villain early on, it in no way deterred from my enjoyment of this well-written romance. Mackenzie's Mountain is Wolf and Mary's story - a story of love, trust, values, and acceptance in adversity. Don't let the "old theme" deter you . . . it's a story that stands the test of time. A Must Read!
February 2, 2019
I liked it. I may not always like Linda Howard books because of my issues with her heroes but this one nailed it for me.
I liked the main characters. The side characters are definitely mean and disgusting but who cares about that if the main characters are ok. I didn't like the fact that there is nothing about the heroine's background where we get a clear idea about the hero's background.
The suspense building is good but I know who is the culprit from the very first. It was easy. As always, the writing was good. And most importantly the book is perfectly safe.
I liked the main characters. The side characters are definitely mean and disgusting but who cares about that if the main characters are ok. I didn't like the fact that there is nothing about the heroine's background where we get a clear idea about the hero's background.
The suspense building is good but I know who is the culprit from the very first. It was easy. As always, the writing was good. And most importantly the book is perfectly safe.
August 23, 2018
Yes, I am the last person to ever read this. Well, I listened to it. Audible has an exclusive and it's part of their Romance package (Like KU for audible).
I absolutely loved this. It's NOT dated! It's Over 25 y/o so it's now historical romance. 3rd person POV.
OMG. I loved Wolf. Damn. The narrator, Nanette Savard did a great job of doing all the voices.
I do have to say, Mary sounds like an OLD biddy-especially at the beginning. She eventually sounds younger & her voice gets a little softer. I want to read the ebook even more.
There's insta-lust. There's prejudice, sexism, etc. Wolf is major alpha. Mary is prim but has a rebellious side to her as well.
I loved Wolf's relationship with his son Joe. Joe is only 16 y/o but he's been given a lot of adult responsibilities and handles them well.
There's some sexy times, described very differently from what I usually read in Contemporary Romance.
There's a suspense element.
The time span is about 6 months. This is not much longer than a novella. I want to read the next book in the series. 4.5 stars.
I absolutely loved this. It's NOT dated! It's Over 25 y/o so it's now historical romance. 3rd person POV.
OMG. I loved Wolf. Damn. The narrator, Nanette Savard did a great job of doing all the voices.
I do have to say, Mary sounds like an OLD biddy-especially at the beginning. She eventually sounds younger & her voice gets a little softer. I want to read the ebook even more.
There's insta-lust. There's prejudice, sexism, etc. Wolf is major alpha. Mary is prim but has a rebellious side to her as well.
I loved Wolf's relationship with his son Joe. Joe is only 16 y/o but he's been given a lot of adult responsibilities and handles them well.
There's some sexy times, described very differently from what I usually read in Contemporary Romance.
There's a suspense element.
The time span is about 6 months. This is not much longer than a novella. I want to read the next book in the series. 4.5 stars.
May 3, 2015
Audible
Oh, the bullshit.
The old-school, overly-dramatic, racist bullshit.
How many times was the word "savage" used, for starters?
The narration was exaggerated as well.
Ugh...
Everyone loves but me.
Oh, the bullshit.
The old-school, overly-dramatic, racist bullshit.
How many times was the word "savage" used, for starters?
The narration was exaggerated as well.
Ugh...
Everyone loves but me.
April 24, 2018
Loved it!! I stayed up till the wee hours reading this book. I couldn’t turn away from it. One of the best romance books I’ve ever read. Lol. I’m slowly working my way through a “best romance list” I found on the internet and this was on there and I was very happy with it!!
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