Heart of the Hawk

From the back cover: He was her downfall...or her destiny... Notorious gunslinger Joshua Hawk was to hang in Gambler's Notch when the sun rose. He had but one regret. He had never found his granfather's book with his family's history--and prophecy that the Hawk line would never die. Yet Josh didn't die at daybreak because the young widow of the man he shot suddenly lied to set him free. He wanted to know why... Kate Dixon looked into the cold eyes of the Hawk and felt him steal her breath away. He had freed her from her brutal husband only to swoop down and take possession of her heart. It seemed as if some force had brought them together to complete a fate ordained long ago. But as swiftly as his passion aroused her, his reputation attracted dangerous men. To save her, the Hawk would have to leave her and move on...unless, to save him, Kate stood her ground and fought for the love of her life. And my review: My first try of Justine Dare, and I know it won't be my last. Where to begin? First off, the writing style was excellent. It was flowing and easy to read. It was descriptive without being long-winded. The characters were wonderful. Joshua was a tortured gunslinger who's grown weary of his profession. Yet there was more to him than that. I could see the heart of gold behind the rough exterior. Even though he'd made his living killing for hire, somehow there was something honorable in him that made me cheer for him. Kate was a great match for him. She was feminine, yet strong. Both characters were quick to capture my heart. I felt that I really knew them, and I genuinely wanted them to be happy. Also, don't judge this book by its cover. Though it's a steretypical "half-naked clutch" cover, this book is not just a lust-fest. The sexual tension was slow-burning and a long time before it was satisfied. That's just the way I like it. While Joshua and Kate were definitely sexually attracted to each other, I felt that there was more than just lust between them. Sure, they wanted one another, but they also truly cared about each other. And as another bonus, there was no petty bickering, stupid misunderstandings, or nonsense with the characters pretending to hate one another. I really enjoyed the paranormal aspect of this novel. The legend of the Hawks is that their bloodline will last forever. Whenever there is only one Hawk left, a magical book will appear to him, helping him to find his way and carry on the legacy. It added an interesting element to the novel without taking up too much focus. The main focus of the story was on the relationship between the hero and heroine. While very well written, the other subplots didn't steal too much time away from the romance. While I won't give anything away, I will say that the plot twist towards the end was marvelous. I never saw it coming. I was up until 3am finishing this novel. I will definitely be on the lookout for more books by this author.

The Hawk trilogy makes more sense when read in sequence. The first book (Fire Hawk) explains the origins of the book that is destined to appear to the last remaining Hawk. Heart of the Hawk is set after the Civil War; Wild Hawk is contemporary. In Heart of the Hawk, The Hawk, notorious gunfighter kills a man, and is about to hang, when he is released, due to new evidence that the man's widow helped find. The Hawk's attempts to rid himself of the mysterious book that can't be destroyed or left behind are quite endearing. Both Joshua and Kate have tragic pasts to overcome, and I could feel their anguish. There are interesting secondary characters. And some mystery (why DOES Kate feel so guity about Joshua?) Although I did see the general outlines of the ending well ahead of time, there were twists I didn't expect. All in all, this was a book I could barely put down.