Outlaw Hearts

After surviving a truly horrific attack in her home after the Civil War, Miss Jenny Colter takes a teaching position in the small yet closeknit town of Tumbling Creek, Missouri. She's with her two servants, Moses and Delcine, when the train she is on is held up by the infamous Morgan gang. Two of the brothers, Raiford and Luke are going through the passengers, stealing their belongings, when Jenny is overcome by the violence that Luke and Raiford use in order to subdue the conductor, and she takes off into the woods with Luke hot on her trail. After a brief tussle and a few gropes, he reluctantly lets her go, instantly smitten by her brave defiance of him, but afterwards he realizes to his horror that his bandana had slipped from his face during their brief skirmish and Jenny had gotten a good look at his face. Luckily for him, her destination of Tumbling Creek happens to be the Morgan brother's hometown and surrounded by his kin, he knows she will be unable to bring him to justice, but just in case, he devises a bunch of ways to keep her quiet, least of which, stealing into her hotel room to impart a friendly warning. He tells himself he is just keeping an eye on her while he is ruthlessly surrounding her within the friendly embrace of his family but Jenny has touched the deepest recesses of his lonely heart and for her, he is willing to give up his life of crime. He hopes to turn over a new leaf and go into politics and while on the campaign trail, Jenny sees a horrible ghost from her past and it's up to Luke and his two children to help save his beloved outlaw heart. This book starts off with us, the reader, being chosen to bear witness to the undying love that our hero and heroine hold for each other that still resonates within the Ozark Mountains. It's a very private moment that we are intruding upon, but if I had stumbled upon two spirits getting it on before me, I would have stared, too. Our guide in this book, known as the Old-Timer, gifts us with this story through his eyes. My first impression: Not as inflammatory as Huck Finn, but I still felt uncomfortable reading Moses and Delcine talk to each other. Not only that, I had to slow down my reading to try and figure out what the heck they were saying to each other. The "N" word is sprinkled about as well. Jenny is a plain, freckled young woman who lost all her family during the war and after it. She's crippled and thinks noone could want her, which is just as well because after what she witnessed, she doesn't particularly want to be with a man. Enter Luke. No bodice of hers is safe from his demanding lust and though he starts off as a typical bodice ripping alpha male, complete with the obligatory scene of the bodice ripping male slapping his heroine in the face, (done to calm down her hysterics) he soon becomes a very sweet, gallant and caring hero, notwithstanding the whole threatening her life at knifepoint bit. I really liked him. True, he starts off a little grabby and a littl

This romance pleasantly surprised me. I found myself enjoying it much more than I expected. What I enjoyed the most were the different from typical romance hero and heroine. Jenny was not the usual beautiful innocent girl that you generally find in most romances. She was plain, disabled, emotionally and physically scared by her past. I felt this made her a deeper character; I felt a connection with her I don't normally feel towards romance heroines. You will really root for her on her path to happiness. Luke was not traditional either in the sense that he actually started the novel as a "bad guy". He and his brothers rob for the fun of it and keep the money for themselves; he wasn't the typical good guy in a bad guy disguise. It was interesting to watch his progress from somewhat bad guy to mostly good guy. The supporting characters are great as well. This is just a great overall romance with strong plot and a strong cast of characters. Highly Recommended!

I really liked this particular heroine after reading so many books where the women are so beautiful, men are driven to insanity for them. This heroine also had to work for a living (she was a teacher), and had a very giving heart. She is shadowed by a horrific past and her youthful innocence was shattered by war atrocities. The hero is conflicted by his own past as well, and develops a sympathy for this not-so-beautiful- on-the-outside young woman. You just want to cheer them and hope they can live happily ever after, but you know they can't until they learn to confide in one another. Their love for each other develops with patience and compassion. I read this book while sick with the flu and really enjoyed it. I would recommend it for someone who wants something a little different.

I am not much of a romance reader, preferring instead works by Stephen King, Dean Koontz, etc. However, I truly enjoyed this book. It was good, fun, fast reading and if you can find a copy I encourage you to read it. There are interesting historical facts sprinkled throughout, as well.