The Proud Breed

I read this book many years ago. Since then, I have re-read it many times, usually once a year. This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is not only a great love story, but a great story about family and friends and the history of early California. Every time I read it, I can't put it down until I am finished. As you can see 99.9% of the people gave it 5 stars. I would give it 10. If you have not read this book, you need to. You'll never forget it.

I read this book many times along time ago... This book has always stuck out in my mind. The story is so beautiful and makes you feel good after reading. I lent this book to a friend and never got it back, I've looked for it in bookstores and still couldn't find it.. I'm happy to know other people feel the same way I do about this book it's a book that you want to read again and again and again!!!It's like the movie "GIANT" its a wonderful story about family and what makes it so wonderful that it keeps going and you don't want it to end.......

I read the other reviews of this book, and I have to agree with every wonderful thing that has been said! My mother also gave me this book to read when I was about 14 years old, and I read it once a year for a long time. My book was lost when I moved one time and I have been looking for a copy ever since. It has been at least 4 years since I have read it and I can still tell you everything in the book, most of it word for word. I tell everybody who will listen what a great book it is and that it is a must read for any woman.

Read it and cried at the end. Re-read it a few years later in paperback and cried again. The book is gone now (no idea where) and I morn it. I am surprised it never became a movie or mini-series, butI am not sure anything would do it justice. For two people, Gavin and Tess, to love so strongly, yet hurt one another, only a love such as theirs could survive to the complete and bitter end. I brag about this book to anyone I know who enjoys history and romance. If I can ever find another copy, I will bronze it..but only after I have read it again and again. But, then again....maybe I'll just find a peaceful rainy afternoon, and sit back and enjoy a love so true. Please get this book out of the archives and release it again!!!!!!

The Proud Breed by Celeste DeBlasis is a one-of-a-kind love story whose backdrop is the wild west of the 1800's. I say "wild" because it's also the time of the gold rush in California. California has not become a state yet, but it does so in the book. Gavin Ramsey is a tall, black-haired, blue-eyed yankee who falls in love with the beautiful raven-haired Tessa. Their love is the stuff of dreams. Gavin is an ambitious man who wants a better life for himself and his family, and who is willing to work long and hard to make this a reality. Tessa is a soft-hearted woman who has a backbone of steel when needed. Both of these characters are someone who I would be proud to know in any lifetime. Many people are involved in their lives including: Indian (Gavin's beloved best friend and "brother" - half Negro and half Indian), Carmelita (a woman Gavin had a brief affair with. She and Tessa come to share a deep friendship full of love and compassion.), Gavin and Tessa's two sons - Brand and Jeff (and later Paul whom Gavin and Tessa adopt), Tessa's father and grandfather, the people who work on both ranches - especially Ramon and Maria, Chong Sing, and Thia (who eventually marries Indian). Of course there are other characters including Soledad (Gavin's whore), and Luis (the man Tessa was "sold" to because of gambling debts her father accrued) - he was supposed to marry Tessa. This is a story about two people meeting, falling in love, trying to deny that love, succumbing to it, building a life together, and loving until death did part them. Gavin and Tessa build an empire that could stand the test of time. I mentioned earlier that this story takes place during California's gold rush. Gavin and Tessa takes full advantage of this by becoming merchants and selling goods to the miners. Later they move to San Francisco where they fulfill life's promise. Their journey is a long, hard, loving, hating, adulterous, and final one. So much goes into this story it's almost hard to know where to begin. Ms. DeBlasis weaves a tale of fiction peppered with accurate historical facts that is so engrossing that someone who reads this book for the first time will go back again and again to reread it, because each time you do, you fall in love with the characters all over again. It is like visiting old friends you have not seen in a while, and being welcomed with smiles of love and an honest warmth of greeting. They almost seem pleased you visited again. That's the feeling I get when I read this book. There is love, laughter, humor, sadness, anger, deceit, hate, and compassion as well as passion in this book. Romeo and Juliet's love cannot compare to the love between Gavin and Tessa. This is one of the most enjoyable books I have ever read, and I have read thousands of books. I highly recommend this book to anyone who can find it.