Made desperate by poverty and loss, Evelyn Starr Johnson sees a golden opportunity to win back her lost status by recovering the treasure map stolen from her murdered foster parents. And with nothing left to wager but her innocence, the beautiful card shark stares coolly at their killers across the poker table - then stacks the deck and deals the winning hand to a handsome, unsuspecting stranger.
When the exquisite temptress he won at a card game runs off with rest of his winnings, sharpshooter Matt ′Reno′ Moran vows to hunt her down-never dreaming it is his destiny to join forces with the thieving female on a dangerous search for hidden gold. But, come hell or high water, Reno is determined to reclaim everything that is rightfully his - including the tempestuous woman who calls herself ′Evening Star′, who Reno dares not love, but desires with all his soul.
Individually and with co-author/husband Evan, Ann Maxwell has written over 60 novels and one work of non-fiction. There are 30 million copies of these books in print, as well as reprints in 30 foreign languages. Her novels range from science fiction to historical fiction, from romance to mystery. After working in contemporary and historical romance, she became an innovator in the genre of romantic suspense.
In 1982, Ann began publishing as Elizabeth Lowell. Under that name she has received numerous professional awards in the romance field, including a Lifetime Achievement award from the Romance Writers of America (1994).
Since July of 1992, she has had over 30 novels on the New York Times bestseller list. In 1998 she began writing suspense with a passionate twist, capturing a new audience and generation of readers. Her new romance novel Perfect Touch will be available in July of 2015.
To get a full list of titles as well as read excerpts from her novels, visit www.elizabethlowell.com.
Elizabeth Howell's heroes tend to be a lot like Sandra Brown's or Linda Howard. They write alphas-of-the-earth: salty cowboy/rancher types who smoke Marlboros and wear Carhartt jackets, and ho around. It's not my favorite archetype of old skool hero but sometimes I am deceived into reading them anyway and sometimes, I even enjoy them.
ONLY YOU came in a bankers box of books that a friend gave me. The summary really intrigued me because it opens with the heroine using her body as stakes in a poker game. However, this didn't come into fruition the way I'd hoped it would. I thought it was going to end up being a blackmailed mistress romance (my favorite trope) but instead the game ends in a shootout and the hero catches up to the heroine and basically forces her to translate and guide him with this treasure map she has as they Indiana Jones their way across the Old West for Spanish gold.
ONLY YOU has Romancing the Stone vibes in parts, but I didn't like this book as much as I might have because about 300 pages of this book consist of the hero calling the heroine some variant of a scheming, cheating whore. He doesn't believe she's a virgin until he sleeps with her for the first time, and then he's like oop. But even then he's an asshole, because he thinks she'll want to marry him, and he's offended when he finds out otherwise because he wanted the pleasure of refusing her. This piece of work also hates women for wanting comfort and security in their relationships because his ex was a big meany-meanerson who wanted to settle down instead of following him on his adventures, never mind the fact that this dude attracts trouble and stray bullets the way New Twitter collects crypto bros.
The writing in this book was beautiful. I loved the descriptions of nature. There was a passage I quoted in a status update about the mountains being enrobed in trees, and towards the end, sunlit aspens are described as looking like "topaz sentinels." If the hero had been more attractive to me, I might have given this four or even five stars. But no, he's a sexist with a mustache. And to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure whether the unappealing descriptions of his Tom Selleck stache or the slut-shaming bothered me more. (JK, it was obviously the mustache.)*
*Double JK, slut-shaming is wrong and so is describing prostitutes as tainted watering holes
I think Matthew "Reno" Moran could fit into the asshole category quite nicely. So I have tagged this review with an asshole alert.
I was weary when I started reading this book because I read about how Evelyn was a "cheat" who tried to win a hand by cheating. But I have got this book on kindle so I thought ah heck, gotta read it at some point. Since I am in a mind for some historical western romances, why not?
Surprisingly this book drew me in like any good story would. I was happy to discover that Eve/Evelyn was a sweet creature. Her encounter with Reno happened in the beginning of the book and the story moved at a fast pace, all of which I appreciated. Reno and Eve had an explosive kind of relationship very early on. But in the middle of the book when Reno and Eve were on the trail for gold, the story dragged. I do appreciate the proses though. It is just the focus was on the gold hunt and I was skim-reading that part just a tad.
I read that other reviewers have had difficulties with Reno's belittling Eve because he believed that she was a "saloon girl" and a cheat. A cheat, albeit an unwillingly one, she was. A saloon girl, she was not. I was a little uncomfortable about how important it was to Reno that Eve wasn't a whore. I mean, a girl got to survive. In the wild wild west, what was a woman to do when she was alone and had no other means for survival? I did not like the disparaging tone the story carried whenever it came to Eve's "whore status". Even if she was indeed "a fallen woman", so what? The liberal in me screamed. There is no shame in making an honest living, even if that means prostitution. But I suppose that is a matter of opinion. I have an easier time accepting a woman who became a prostitute because she had no other ways to survive than a woman who lied and schemed.
But enough of that. Eve was, conveniently for the readers' sensitivity, not a whore. Reno took his sweet time to come to that conclusion and that happened of course, when he realized Eve was no longer a virgin because of him. Age old story, but it is fiction, so I will work with that.
On their gold hunt Reno and Eve became lovers. Then Reno was a lost man. He however, held on to his idiotic beliefs that no woman was worthy of his trust because a childhood love had married someone else who was willing to stay, unlike Reno who suffered from wanderlust. He condemned all women after that and was rude to Eve out of his distrust.
Their gold hunt ended in success and drama, and resulted in a breach between Reno and Eve. Reno was injured and in his delusional state he said something that hurt Eve. And the book ended in Reno coming after Eve and then they lived happily ever after.
I liked the book well enough, but as explosive as the love story is, there was a distance between the story and me that I could not bridge. And the ending was anti-climatic. Reno was an ass. He wasn't cruel but he said a lot of stupid things to Eve when Eve was nothing but kind to him. He should have suffered more before Eve forgave him and granted him his happily ever after.
My fave in the series, chock full of bodice-ripper tropes. Slut-shaming, misogynist jerk hero, check! Innocent heroine whose circumstances make her seem like a double-dealing "saloon girl" (as the judgmental hero calls her for most of the book), check! Great heat, check! Lowell's wonderfully descriptive (if occasionally violet hued) writing amps up the sexual tension and the action, and does justice to the setting--post-Civil War red-rock country. Improbable virgin waif heroine, uber-alpha hero, outlaws, a search for lost Spanish gold, lots of hot seduction scenes, what's not to like? Fans of cruel heroes and misjudged heroines: this one's for us.
4,5 * La carne delle donne era dolce e morbida, ma le donne erano effimere come il vento di primavera. L'oro non cambiava mai, non si corrompeva mai, non si rivelava mai meno di quello che mostrava di essere.
Apro e chiudo questa recensione limitandomi a confermare in pieno il giudizio che una mia cara mia amica ha espresso quando ho iniziato a leggerlo: "bellerrimo". Quando bellissimo suona banale e vuoi esprimere tutto l'entusiasmo che suscita in te questa lettura. Confermo pure che questa serie sembra scritta dalla Lowell in stato di grazia. Avevo già trovato stupendi i primi due episodi, affascinata soprattutto dal giusto connubio historical/western, con avventure ambientate in luoghi favolosi (le Montagne Rocciose, i canyon, le immensità occidentali del continente nord-americano...) e stavolta mi chiedevo cosa potesse inventarsi l'autrice per non ripetere sempre gli stessi paesaggi.
Ebbene, c'è riuscita. Se negli altri volumi si era concentrata su scenari montuosi, passi, bufere di neve e gelo, stavolta la vicenda si dipana negli ambienti della corsa all'oro, sulle tracce delle miniere perdute degli spagnoli, tra canyon e valloni aridi, pianori desertici e senz'acqua, grotte e gallerie.
Ancora una volta al centro troviamo un personaggio femminile indomito e fiero, una ex-orfana, addestrata come bara, decisa a prendersi l'oro perduto e la sanguinosa vendetta. Finalmente l'uomo scelto per lei è il fratello di Willow, quel Reno-occhi azzurri già adocchiato e finito in cima alle attese. Soltanto Reno, dapprima restio e diffidente, saprà accompagnare Eve in quella che sembrava una vera pazzia, con Comanches e banditi avidi alle calcagna.
Ho già detto delle descrizioni, ma tutto il romanzo è intenso e ben narrato. C'è pure una parte corale, con la ricomparsa di Caleb, Willow, Jessica, Wolfe. Adesso manca soltanto Rafe per completare una serie meravigliosa.
So at the start she’s pretending to be a saloon girl ( a maid who usually entertains at pubs I think) and she was dealing at the table where she had pre-meditated how she was going to steal all the winning on that particular game, at this point she had no money to bet with so she bet her body. The plot involved framing one of the players to look as though he was cheating, where she purposely gave his all the winning cards, this essentially would’ve caused all the men on the table to fight the winner accuse him of cheating and try to kill him, and in the process the heroine will grab all the money and dash for it!
So essentially the ploy worked.
However the guy who was receiving all the winning card was no push over … it was our big bad heroooo 🐺. So he obviously killed up a few men who tried to kill him, and went after the snaky little heroine😭
She’s camped outside somewhere with a horse. and the following morning when she awakens she finds him rummaging though her stuff look for all his winnings😭😭😭 they then talk and agree to go on the quest to go find a gold mine.
So throughout the journey he’s slut shaming her because he thinks shes a saloon girl,when she’s actually a virgin. Like he’s still taking advantage of her, like seducing her and kissing her and all. She tells him that she a virgin but he doesn’t believe her. He takes her to his sisters house and he feels very uncomfortable that this saloon girl is interacting with his family. He obviously finds out that she’s a virgin ….well was a virgin the only way he can…by taking it. So he changes how he talks to her and treats her essentially seeming overall nice towards her 🙄 what a d*ck. There was a part after they made love and he was like ‘damn I didn’t know you were telling the truth’ and she’s like ‘yes I was, I kept telling you I weren’t no slut, but you didn’t believe me…well I guess I am now a slut aren’t I ?’ And then he gets mad at her and tell her not to call herself that …..? So I’m like huh? So when she was a virgin, she was a slut but now she’s not a virgin you don’t want her thinking she’s a slut (obviously I’m not saying she should think that way but yea). He didn’t want to make himself feel bad for taking her virginity and taking it so roughly think she’s some experienced courtesan when she wasn’t, so he started treating her nice 😭 silly man, don’t change shit, your still a d*ck
⭐️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
“Eve emise un suono che avrebbe potuto benissimo essere sia una risata che un singhiozzo. «Gentiluomo? Tu? Nessun gentiluomo avrebbe mai forzato una signora.»
«Il fatto è che tu non sei una signora», ribatté Reno. «Tu sei una cosa comprata su un treno di orfani e venduta ogni volta che un uomo si dimostrava abbastanza interessato da pagare un dollaro.»
«Nessun uomo, mai, ha pagato per avere qualcosa da me.» «Allora hai semplicemente regalato i tuoi favori, eh?», sorrise ironico Reno. «E gli uomini ti erano così grati che lasciavano un regalino sul comodino, è così?» «Nessun uomo è mai entrato sotto le mie gonne, pagando o non pagando», ribatté gelida Eve. Reno rotolò di lato, lasciando libera la ragazza. Prima che lei potesse spostarsi, le posò una mano tra le cosce, dove un boschetto color bronzo faceva la guardia al suo centro pulsante. «Non è vero, gattina. Io sono entrato sotto le tue gonne, e sono un uomo.» «Va’ al diavolo, pistolero», rispose Eve a denti stretti, la voce ferma nonostante le lacrime di rabbia e vergogna negli occhi. Reno vide solo la rabbia. Ritenne saggio non voltare le spalle a quella ragazza da saloon prima che si fosse calmata.”
. Il libro di oggi, Tua per sempre, vi porterà nel selvaggio West alla ricerca di una miniera e dell’oro che vi �� nascosto, in compagnia di una donna coraggiosa che la vita ha messo a dura prova.
Evening è intenzionata a fare qualsiasi cosa per recuperare una mappa che potrebbe cambiare la sua vita. Essa apparteneva alla coppia che, anni prima, l’aveva comprata sul treno degli orfani, e con cui lei aveva vissuto fino a quando i due non erano stati uccisi. Su quella mappa è disegnata una località in cui è celato dell’oro, ma ora è nelle mani di un uomo crudele che ha già dimostrato di essere pronto a tutto.
La sua unica possibilità di recuperarla è mettere se stessa in gioco in una partita a carte e fare in modo che gli altri partecipanti lottino fra di loro, creando così la sua occasione di fuga. Il saper barare alle carte l’aiuta in questo, e mentre gli uomini al tavolo da gioco si fronteggiano, lei scappa con il bottino.
Inseguita sia da Raleigh e i suoi uomini, sia da Reno, l’altro giocatore, rivelatosi uno dei più bravi pistoleri del Texas, la ragazza sembra, in un primo momento, riuscire a sfuggire, persino alla guida indiana che Raleigh ha assoldato, nota per saper seguire qualsiasi pista. Ma la sua fortuna è solo apparente, Reno ha capito quale fosse la sua direzione e la raggiunge in breve tempo.
Evening è costretta a venire a patti con lui. La mappa ora gli appartiene, ma solo la ragazza è in grado di leggerla, e questo li obbliga a stringere un patto. Reno pretende di essere un socio con particolari benefici e intende riscuoterli durante il viaggio. Erroneamente infatti è convinto che la ragazza sia una prostituta da saloon e vani sono i suoi dinieghi. Lui intende averla a ogni costo, anche se è fermamente deciso a non usare la violenza.
Per Evening, che ha sempre avuto una vita dura e non ha mai potuto contare su nessuno, resistere alle continue seduzioni di Reno è difficile, anche se è cosciente che il pistolero, dopo una delusione giovanile, crede che le donne siano inaffidabili e bugiarde. Solo la moglie del suo amico Lonetree, che abbiamo conosciuto in Un amico per marito, e la sorella, ora moglie di Caleb, protagonista di un Romantico inganno, si salvano dall’essere creature senza onore.
È difficile avere simpatia per Reno in un primo momento; i suoi modi arroganti e pieni di disprezzo nei confronti di Evening risultano quasi inaccettabili.
È vero che l’ha conosciuta durante una partita a carte – in cui lei ha barato – e che lavorava in un saloon, ma l’uomo non crede a una parola di quanto la giovane dice, finché la sua verginità non proverà il contrario. Anche allora, tuttavia, il suo atteggiamento rimarrà critico: Reno è fermamente intenzionato a prendere ciò che desidera e poi lasciarla andare quando avranno trovato l’oro.
Evening è una ragazza molto dolce, si sente umiliata quando si rende conto che il pistolero la crede una donnaccia e che non la vorrebbe avere nei pressi della sorella e del nipotino. Sa bene cosa pensi di lei il pistolero, eppure, la sessualità che Reno le fa scoprire è per lei irresistibile, al punto tale che cede. Questo smorza di poco l’atteggiamento dell’uomo nei suoi confronti. Nonostante abbia avuto prova della sua innocenza, lui la crede disposta a venire a patti con chiunque per favorire se stessa, e continuerà a pensarlo anche dopo che la giovane avrà fatto qualcosa di assolutamente coraggioso per salvarlo, senza che lui se ne renda conto.
In quel momento la giovane si arrenderà, e Reno dovrà prendere coscienza del grande errore fatto.
Inseguimenti, sparatorie, il sole cocente del Texas e il buio delle miniere, tutto questo in uno storico che ci porta nel West, dove veloci pistoleri devono lottare con bande di banditi, e guide indiane sono in grado di ritrovare ogni genere di piste.
Sebbene questa storia d’amore non esalti, è indubbiamente uno storico scritto molto bene. I personaggi risultano ben caratterizzati, anche se il protagonista è lontano dall’essere il principe azzurro, e spesso proverete il desiderio di sparargli. L’ambientazione è intrigante ed è stato molto piacevole rivedere, seppur fugacemente, i protagonisti dei libri precedenti e osservare le novità delle loro vite.
Ci sono molte scene passionali e la storia tra i due protagonisti risulta molto più fisica di altre; non sapremo molto del passato di Reno, mentre apprenderemo quanto sia stata dura la vita di Evening e quanto sia grande il suo desiderio di essere amata e avere una casa. Uno storico in cui si fondono azione e storia d’amore e che si è rivelata una lettura tutto sommato piacevole, anche se non priva di pecche date, nella quasi totalità, dalla personalità di Reno. . Lucia63 - per RFS
"I showed you stone ships and a dry rain...but I'll never find a light that casts no shadow. Some things are just impossible. ' This quote from Eve broke my heart! This series is just PHENOMENAL. The scenery, the setting, the angst and spicy romance!! If you love cold but also kind heroes that end up groveling, read this series!!
How on earth does a woman fall in love with a self-righteous, arrogant, judgmental SOB like Reno Moran?!?! My god what a dick. First, his reasoning for mistrusting all women was weak. Then, every time the guy gets a hard on, he blames Eve and calls her (and EVERY woman) a tease. Then he thinks it's his due to be able to use Eve (and EVERY woman) and throw her away when he's done....and no, no thought to knocking her up.
And Eve. She is so desperate for someone to touch/like/love her, that she allows Reno to treat her like dirt and she still gets excited by him. Huh. I'm sorry, this just wasn't congruent with how strong and intelligent she was.
I almost didn't finish this book. Reno made me so mad. Then he's kind of nice for a while but he still had all of his ridiculous expectations and I didn't see enough contrition. At this point I was ready to give it 1 star.
The very last scene, which was very short, (and I still wanted to see him grovel and he didn't) bumped it up one more star.
I'm hoping book 4 has a hero I can tolerate. #'s 2 and 3 left me unsatisfied.
Loved the first book in this series, but oh how the chips have fallen. A sanctimonious jerk as hero and a heroine who I kept asking, "why did you want such a prick.?
2020 Okay, so again we have a stubborn, stupid male determined to not fall for a feisty woman. It's basically the same book as the last one. Except this time there is more of an emphasis on the whole "slut" vs "pure" for the lady. Because Reno met Eve in a saloon he immediately and fully sees her as a slut and is not ashamed to call her that to her face or to anyone else's. Honestly, it was exhausting because it pissed me off so much. For one, she was an orphan, so she didn't exactly have a lot of other options (she wasn't a saloon girl, I'm just saying that if she was...). It was the wild, wild west and back then places weren't taking resumes from women. So she would have had to take what she could get. I hate the whole "slut" vs "virgin" thing anyway. It was always ok for men to sleep around, but not women which never made a lot of sense. Anyway, Reno goes around slut-shaming and other shaming Eve for basically the entire book. And then, after they find gold together, he decides to insult her one last time to her face. So, she finally wises up and runs away from that toxic situation. Only, he comes crawling back, "oh I'm so sorry, I didn't know what I was saying. It wasn't that I didn't trust you. I didn't trust myself." whiny garbage. Honestly, she let him come back way with way less crawling than he should have done. She forgave him way too easily, in my opinion.
Okay, despite being majorly annoyed by the hero's opinions about women and thinking he was a jerk, I ended up quite liking this book.
The hero, rather unfortunately, fell into that category of romance heroes can never trust any woman ever again (except to have sex with, and also sisters and friends' wives are fine) because he was betrayed in the past!!!111!!ONE!! And so all women must be untrustworthy (except for sisters and friends' wives)!!! And so the heroine must be a whore, because no way could she be telling the truth, and also, if she's a whore, it's totally her fault, even if her masters were the ones pimping her out! But, *gasp*, she's (was) a virgin! OMG, he was partly wrong! But she's still a woman, and therefore untrustworthy! Up until the very last chapter!
(All those exclamation points are hurting my head.)
Also, he had facial hair. And this is the second book I've read this week where the hero had facial hair. Gross.
And his name was Reno, meaning I had difficulties imagining him as looking like anything but this guy: Except with a mustache. ಠ_ಠ
Ugh. This really didn't work for me. It's very dated, and I don't like the approach the author seems to be taking with this series.
Matt "Reno" Moran 'wins' Eve in a hard game that she was hustling, before she absconds with the loot and leaves him in a gunfight with Jericho Slater and his henchmen. None too happy about this when he catches up with her, he decides to hold her to the bet she made and drags her along on a quest to find a hidden goldmine.
Sure, Eve didn't really make a good initial impression on Reno, but he is immovable on his opinion that she is a worthless 'Saloon girl' (aka whore), refusing to listen to her explanations or the evidence to the contrary.
Reno proceeds to treat Eve appallingly, insulting her and demeaning her at every opportunity, and refusing to listen to or heed the word 'no'. He won her after all, and means to have her whether she wants him or not.
Naturally, Eve can't help but fall in love with him. Uh huh. It must be the 'silken mustache' that does it. That and the fact that he starts calling her "Sugar girl" throughout (with a couple of reciprocal "Sugar man"'s thrown in). *shudders*
And the love scenes. Ugh. It's all velvet heat, night-blooming flowers, warm or sleek petals, sensual lightening and sultry, scented rain. I could keep going, but I'll spare you.
I really need to get help with my series OCD, because I can't believe I am seriously considering reading the next book so that I don't leave the series unfinished. Yes, I have issues.
This is another of my reviews in my marathon run through Elizabeth Lowell's "Only" quartet of Old West romances. "Only You" is actually Book 3, which I didn't realize until I'd started it, but what the hell. In this episode we have card sharp Evelyn Starr Johnson, a.k.a. "Evening Star", trying to gamble her way out of a jam--and pissing off the aforementioned Reno Moran, who's convinced she's set him up to get killed while she escapes scot-free. She talks him into teaming up with her to find a gold mine (not the one Willow and Caleb were after; there's a lot of mine-hunting in these books though), and ol' Reno's fit to be tied since he can't for the life of him figure out why he's so hot for a "saloon girl".
Villains Du Jour: Jericho Slater and assorted henchmen.
Big Misunderstanding Du Jour: The whole "saloon girl" thing, complete with Holy Crap! She's a Virgin! angst after Reno and Eve get down with the hot and heavy. Complete with side helpings of Reno mouthing off about Eve being selfish even after she drags his ungrateful ass out of a collapsed mine. Being hit on the head is no excuse. Really, of all the heros in this quartet, I wanted to smack Reno the most.
Hotness Du Jour: Actually, little stands out to me in particular in this installment, mostly because I spent more time being annoyed at Reno and his "saloon girl" stupidity than I did at the attempted chemistry between him and Eve.
I enjoyed it for what it is: a romance set in the West with a sort-of prescribed plot. The antagonism and banter between the MCs is spunky and fun, but it lacks that Lowell “umami,” if you catch my meaning. Still, Lowell is one of my favorites—a less than superb Lowell is still easily more consumable than a majority of others.
4/5 No he parado hasta que lo he terminado. Creo que es el que más me ha gustado de los tres. Reno es jgxdkfkyddktdkty! Con lo mal que empecé con esta autora y lo que me están gustando los del Oeste.
J'ai lu ce livre il y a 15 ans, et je me souviens que j'avais adoré cette histoire. Aujourd'hui, je mets un bémol: j'ai aimé, mais... Forcément, la première fois, j'avais 19 ans et les hormones qui me démangeaient. Rien de tel qu'une sympathique histoire d'amour entre un cow-boy aventurier et une fausse fille de saloon - gardons le suspense entier - qu’une grande ballade dans les plateaux arides du Colorado avec des méchants vilains aux trousses.
Bouh, que d’émotions !
Bref, me voici 15 ans plus tard avec ce même livre, espérant retrouver les émois de mon adolescence (oui, j’étais à la traîne). Hors, vous vous en doutez bien, le miracle n’a pas eu lieu. J’ai aimé cette histoire, je l’ai trouvé sympathique… mais j’ai sauté plein de passages.
Pourquoi ?
Parce que les descriptions tirent en longueurs, à défaut de nourrir l’œuvre. Parce que les scènes de sexe m’ont fait sourire. Parce que l’héroïne est un peu cruche (même s’il y a pire) et du genre à dire « oh non , Reno, il ne faut pas ! » à chaque fois qu’il la touche. La 1° fois, je veux bien, c’est le style, on fait avec. Mais la cinquième...
Bref, j’ai survolé.
Mais sinon, ça se lit. Il n'y a pas besoin de chercher midi à quatorze heure.
Ce que j'ai aimé dans ce livre: - une histoire simple qui permet de s'évader vite et aisément; - un héros comme je les aime (sauf à partir du moment où il tombe amoureux ; c’est bien connu, l’amour rend bête) : un beau mâle un peu ironique, un dur à la gâchette rapide (chacun ses fantasmes, désolée, moi c’est le genre cow-boy froid et mal rasé, entre autre…); - le prénom du héros… ben oui, Matt Moran, ça pète, je trouve. Mais ne me demandez pas pourquoi il est surnommé Reno, ça n’est pas expliqué dans le livre... - une aventure à cheval à travers les Rocheuses...
Bref, pas mal de choses quand même.
Je le conseille à toutes celles qui aiment le genre Et moi, je vous quitte, parce que Reno, il a un frère, une sœur et un copain du même auteur…
Omg, it's good that Lowell is such a good writer, because the men in this series are tough to take in at least the first 50 pages of every book so far. Reno is no exception, once again assuming Eve is a whore and treating her as such. "Saloon Girl" is slightly better than Caleb Black's "Fancy Lady", and Reno puts a sock in it fairly quickly (as opposed to Caleb calling Willow a whore for over half the freaking book, and at this point in the series they're the shining example of True Lurve). But still - major asshole alert, turned my stomach. But she writes the period, the landscape, and the action well, and even if once again she seemed to take the stock cue of having the man cry on the last page to prove his love, it was better than the first book, and decent in its own right.
Sweet little western romance. Finding gold, finding love, yada, yada.
The ONLY series is a fine series, especially because it was written by Elizabeth Lowell. She writes in the most deliciously scrumptious way.
I've said before that she writes the bold words. Bold words that turn you inside out and melt you at the thought of a real life man ever saying such things to you...
Otherwise, these books follow a very similar pattern. Virgins with presumed bad reputations that the heroes lust after and feel entitled to take. Then they learn the truth as soon as a maidenhead is breached. "LOL. My bad. Though I'm too manly to apologize. But since we've done it, let's keep on doing it. I'm a MAN. Hear me roar."
Honestly the reason that caused Reno to have an everlasting contempt for women is way too dumb. Like do you really expect Savannah to wait around for you everytime you leave her there? Who knows when you'll even come back or if ever! And this was another time, when women had kids early on and married early on.You can't possibly be so selfish as to ask her to come back to you everytime you leave. It was only necessity that she moved on.
I also dislike how he degrades our heroine until a little past 50% mark when they have sex and gasp! he realizes she's a virgin but then denies it to himself repeatedly.
Why do I keep reading this series? This one's hero was the most misogynistic of them all! Reno was an asshole. He treated Eve like garbage most of the time. This series is kind of a guilty pleasure, though. One more to go and I'm sure I'll be reading it.
Western style romance and treasure hunt. It was a quick read, sexy, and fun. No wow factor. The characters were good, although I had trouble understanding the hero's bitterness.
J'avoue que je suis conquise par cette saga. Je passe toujours un très bon moment de lecture et l'Ouest sauvage me parait tellement intense que j'ai par moment l'impression de partir et de sentir la rudesse du climat et de l'époque.
Ce troisième et dernier tome de la saga "A lui seul" se concentre sur Reno ( le frère de Willow que l'on a rencontré dans le tome 1 avec Caleb) et Evelyn, une jeune femme pleine de ressources.
A la suite d'une dette de jeu (un peu truqué) ils vont devoir faire équipe pour retrouver une ancienne concession d'or. Cette romance est vraiment portée sur l'historique de la région et j'avoue que ce n'est pas pour me déplaire. Bien sûr Reno est un personnage dur, très masculin qu'on pourrait croire inflexible comme le désert ou les montagnes du récit. Mais il est bien plus que ça et tout comme Caleb le héros du tome 1 c'est un homme de valeur, qui lorsqu'il donne sa parole ne la reprend pas. Pour vous la faire courte, vous allez l'adorer. Evelyne est une héroine attachante, son passé la rend particulièrement débrouillarde et on sent qu'elle fait partie des survivantes.
Même si le voyage qu'ils entreprennent commence sur des malentendus et des suppositions erronées, nos deux personnages vont apprendre à se découvrir, se faire confiance et se séduire.
J'aime énormément le fait que l'auteure dépeigne la rudesse des ces lieux et tous les sacrifices que les hommes qui s'y installent font pour rester car portés par un rêve de vie meilleure et de joie.
Vous l'aurez compris j'apprécie grandement ce récit et je vous encourage à découvrir la plume d'Elizabeth Lowell. Elle arrive réellement à vous embarquer dans ces territoires sauvages et à retranscrire les habitudes de vie. Elle allie à tout ça une romance enivrante et par moment épicée.
L'été approche et une chevauchée essoufflée dans les Rocheuses serait parfaite pour attaquer la saison estivale. Laissez vous tenter.
Tenía muchas ganas de releerme el libro de Reno. Apenas tenía recuerdos de este libro, salvo por dos escenas (que no comento por no hacer spoiler).
Este libro me ha gustado muchísimo. Creo que Eve es adorable y me resulta muy natural en todos sus diálogos. Reno, por otro lado, está a la altura en la mayoría de ocasiones.
Cosas buenas: me encantan las descripciones de los paisajes y me entran unas ganas increíbles de visitar esos escenarios en la vida real. La acción tiene buen ritmo, la relación entre ellos fluye de forma bastante “natural” a pesar de las circunstancias. Hay pequeñas escenas donde reaparecen personajes de los libros anteriores (ains Rafaela, qué ganas de leer tu libro...). Los 2 últimos capítulos en la mina me encantaron, intensos y llenos de emoción. La escena final me parece muy intensa y emotiva, aunque cortita.
Cosas malas: no hay demasiadas escenas en las que Reno se pueda lucir por su fama (el más rápido y veloz pistolero 😉). A Reno le sucede lo mismo que a Wolfe... es un poco estúpido a veces y un mal pensado en lo que respecta a Eve.
Cosas interesantes: el protagonista no es el que acaba con los malos. Me ha gustado este detalle por hacerlo diferente a como suele funcionar en este tipo de historias donde el protagonista además es casi superhéroe.
Diría que no llega al nivel del primer libro, pero está casi casi en ese punto. Muy bueno
J'ai eu le même problème avec l'écriture de l'autrice : je n'accroche pas. Après je ne sais pas si ça vient d'elle seulement ou aussi de la traduction, mais parfois il y a même des phrases qui me faisaient perdre le fil. Mon cerveau fatigué n'a pas dû aider ;)
Une fois de plus les personnages sont intéressants et bien menés. Même si je suis un peu agacée que la fille soit toujours une pucelle que le héros prend pour autre chose (ici, une putain, disons le clairement). Reno est brut de décoffrage mais dans un autre genre que Caleb. Il fait moins mystérieux mais il reste attirant par son côté sauvage. Eve n'a pas froid aux yeux, comme Willow, mais là aussi de manière différente.
Oui vous l'aurez compris, le schéma reste le même. Là dessus, ça manque de surprise. Mais l'intrigue est différente, bien qu'elle suive le fil de la première. On retrouve les anciens personnages ce qui est toujours appréciable.
Si vous avez aimé le premier tome, celui-ci vous ravira tout autant. Si comme moi vous avez eu du mal, je crois que ça ne changera pas. Malgré les scènes torrides et pour le moins original dans ce tome XD
Bisous
Désolée pas de casting, on pourrait limite reprendre celui du tome 1 :/
AVISO ⚠ Si os gusta Reno en los libros anteriores, NO LEÁIS ÉSTE. Empezamos con "Sólo tú". Lowell va dejando claro cómo escribe y sus "prototipos" de maromos me están cansando. ¿Por qué T-O-D-O-S los maromos son bordes y desconfían de la chica que les gusta de primeras? ¿Por qué, Reno? Habías empezado muy bien en los otros libros. (Aún tengo la esperanza de que mi rubiales Rafe no sea así ( > 3<)ノ♡). La actitud de Reno es altamente irritante y encima el motivo de tanta desconfianza es nimio y es aún más molesto que meta a todas las mujeres en el mismo saco. No consigo conciliar al Reno de los libros anteriores con éste, es arrogante, de pocas luces, exuda antipatía y saca más veces mi vena feminista que una sonrisa. Reno va perdiendo puntos, yo que esperaba encontrarme a un Colin Bridgerton Cowboy ಥ_ಥ. En cambio los personajes femeninos me gustan cada vez más. Eve es fuerte, curtida, tenaz y sobre todo la aplaudo por ser capaz de devolverle las pullas hirientes al maromo de turno. (A ver chicas, sí, estoy beligerante, así que puede que esta opinión esté sesgada) [alerta spoiler: odio que la prueba de sinceridad de una mujer se encuentre en su himen, Reno no me caes bien ( ̄ε(# ̄)]. Si "Sólo suya" os parecía lento, aquí va muy rápido. Aunque es un viaje, no hay tantas descripciones, es amena y rápida de leer. Me gusta cómo escribe E. Lowell, pero no sus maromos protagonistas. Miedo me da coger el siguiente.
Aqui temos a história do Reno, irmão da Willow protagonista do primeiro livro da série, e segue exatamente o mesmo plot dos livros anteriores: mocinho se apaixona perdidamente pela mocinha mas têm um mal julgamento dela e por isso a trata mal, mesmo desejando a muito. O livro até que começou bem e a química do casal é ótima, porém, achei que a trama paralela da caça ao ouro no fim sobrepôs o romance de tão bem detalhada que foi, o que fez perder pontos comigo pois por mais que eu admire o quanto é bem escrito essas partes, eu preferiria que focasse mais no romance. No fim, o momento mais marcante foi nas cenas finais onde (finalmente) vi uma mocinha dessa autora sendo um pouco mais dura com o mocinho (nem metade do que deveria mas melhor que nada rs), pois nessa série elas ficam o livro inteiro só ouvindo e sofrendo pra no final perdoá-los em 2 segundos e eu fico muito indignada, acho um desaforo, queria ver eles se rastejando. Não foi meu preferido mas curti a leitura e leria de novo pra seguir o cronograma da sére.