Best Christian Westerns
Culver Daniels spent years cultivating a peaceful, orderly existence with his blacksmith shop and livery business. He could quickly grow accustomed to staring into eyes that held such mesmerizing flecks of amber light among their glossy depths. A few more steps back and forth and Culver decided the old woman was not only a fair dancer, but also the most irritating person he’d encountered in a long while. “You, Mr. Daniels,” she said in a soft, alluring voice that melted Culver’s insides and turned his brain to mush. “You’re even more beautiful than I dreamed, Miss Mirga,” Culver said, shocked to discover his tongue joined the rebellion his heart and feet had already staged against his good sense. After spending her formative years on a farm in Eastern Oregon, hopeless romantic Shanna Hatfield turns her rural experiences into sweet historical and contemporary romances filled with sarcasm, humor, and hunky heroes.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Culver did not want a wife necessarily, but when he sees Kezia Mirga, he realizes that she is everything he never realized that he wanted and missed having in his life."
"Shanna Hatfield's whimsical style shines in this well written page turning historical romance with delightful characters (gypsy, blacksmith, baby & Cat), believable conflicts and satisfying resolution."
"Shania Hatfield continues the 12 Days of Christmas with the whirlwind romance gypsy/circus performer Kezia and Culver, the local blacksmith of Noelle."
"A woman with a wounded heart, a child, and the prospect of a new husband..... Kenzia, and Jem travel with a group of mail order brides to Noelle."
"Shanna never disappoints with her quirky sense of humor and wonderful stories."
"I enjoyed this book as much as the first."
"What a wonderful story between a blacksmith and a former circus performer."
"I always enjoy the humor that Shanna Hatfield writes into her stories and as always the hero and heroine were perfect for each other."
But then a jilted bride shows up at his door, begging for a ride out of town on the day before the town must deliver twelve married couples as part of a deal to secure Noelle's survival. The inspiration for Twelve Days of Christmas Mail-Order Brides , however, came from the brilliant mind of USA Today bestselling author Caroline Lee--after a dream! I've thoroughly enjoyed brainstorming this series and then seeing how each author took their couple's love story and blended it into the overall tale about a little town named after a baby.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A satisfying conclusion to this well written and researched historical romance series with an intriguing premise (the 12 Days of Christmas) and delightful post Civil War setting in Noelle, Colorado."
"Penny Jackson is determined to leave Noelle and take her bad luck with her."
"Burke does an incredible job wrapping up this sweet, mysterious, romantic, holiday series."
"Loved it!"
"What a 12th Book!"
"A bit slow at the start but I get that a lot of the back story was needed in case someone was reading this one as a stand alone, (I was)."
"The last book in a series of 12 brings the story of Noelle,CO to a satisfying conclusion."
"She just knows how to write with emotion and feeling ,taking us to a journey with her .I hated for this series to end ,But it ended with great promises to a small mining town with strong people to form a great town ."
The Christmas Bargain (Hardman Holidays, Book 1) When Luke Granger calls in a long overdue loan, he reluctantly accepts a bargain in lieu of payment from the shiftless farmer who barters his daughter to settle his debt. The Christmas Token (Hardman Holidays, Book 2) Determined to escape an unwelcome suitor, Ginny Granger flees to her brother’s home in Eastern Oregon for the holiday season. The Christmas Calamity (Hardman Holidays, Book 3) Arlan Guthry's uncluttered world tilts off kilter when the beautiful and enigmatic prestidigitator Alexandra Janowski arrives in town, spinning magic and trouble in her wake as the holiday season approaches. The Leisure Zone: Jacqueline Driggers Hardman Holidays Series Set in the town of Hardman, Oregon in the 1880s, this series offers a clean, romantic peek into holiday celebrations of the Victorian era.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The Christmas Bargain is such a touching story of a young woman who’d been battered and abused by her father and through one of the most horrendous things a parent could do discovers a brand new life that includes friends, family and perhaps a man she can trust. Oh, throughout the rest of this review I’m going to use the nickname that Luke gave his wife since that more easily describes the high spirited woman she slowly became. Not only was Filly a beautiful woman but an excellent homemaker, conversationalist, horsewoman and all around delight to spend time with. Yes, there are a few setback mainly brought about by a vindictive little witch, but Luke is quick to show her that only their affection for each other and their own reasons for this marriage truly matter."
"The Pastor suggested that Luke marry her in name only, give it to Christmas if it doesn't work he would help him get an annulment."
"No annoying misunderstanding, except for not saying “I love you”, but it’s not as annoying and dragged out too much. This was a clean romance too."
"What starts out to be a marriage in name only, shortly becomes a marriage of love and respect."
"I really liked seeing how in the beginning Filly was timid and scared and seeing her came out of her shell and Luke was the such a gentlemen and understanding, helping her thrive in her new life."
"He offered to sell his daughter to the banker, & if he didn't accept the offer, he would sell her to the local saloon to be a soiled dove."
"I gave this book 5 stars because of the storyline and cast of characters, Filly and Luke."
"Two stars for being pretty clean, but otherwise it was sickeningly sweet with perfect people."
Best Louis L'Amour Westerns
When his experimental aircraft is forced down in Russia and he escapes a Soviet prison camp, he must call upon the ancient skills of his Indian forebears to survive the vast Siberian wilderness. Proving that he is above all a great raconteur, the prolific L'Amour sets his latest in Siberia where a downed American test pilot, Joseph "Joe Mack" Makatozi, has been taken after his capture by the Russians. Joe Mack is a classic American hero, thrown back into the wilderness and forced to rely on his wits and his ancestral skills to survive the deadly cold and elude his Soviet pursuers, including his nemesis, a Siberian tracker.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"First, there were a lot of characters with Russian names that I had a hard time keeping up with. It is what it is, but I wish that L'Amour had spent just a little more time and developed the ending a little."
"I agree with many of the commentators that this book was too repetitious and that it has an abrupt ending."
"It remains a classic tale of a man coming to grips with himself in dangerous situations."
"Way too much left unresolved in this book."
"This story could have been a stem winder story, but the reader was left leaking enthusiasm across the wilderness of repetition."
"I got a good idea about life in Siberia during the Stalin period and the struggle of the cultured Russians to flee the oppressive regime and seek freedom away from Russia."
"The late Mr Louis L'Amour lives up to his reputation as a brilliant author with, "Last Of The Breed"."
"This is a gripping story... such a great historical depiction of the Cold War that renders the reader riveted, looking forward to a classic Louis ending, only to be denied."
Best Western Short Stories
This volume kicks off a series that will, when complete, anthologize all of L'Amour’ s short fiction, volume by handsome volume. The spate of previously uncollected L'Amour short stories that have surfaced recently reveal L'Amour's broad talent and ability to master every genre from mystery to sports to mainstream fiction. L'Amour wrote about the big themes--love, courage, loyalty, honor--but he grounded them firmly in the context of daily struggles in an unforgiving land.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"No surprises in a L’Amour story."
"Maybe I've outgrown Mr. L'Amour or maybe I just like longer tales."
"I think I have read all of his work."
"I've never been much for reading novels or lengthy stories and books."
"My father read Louis L'Amour when I was a kid."
"I have only read some of the stories and, so far, I've found many of the characters to be one-dimensional."
"Large print is nice, but book is HEAVY."
"While he doesn't shy away from portraying the violence that was common in those days, he utilizes it to emphasize the eternal conflict of good and evil."
Best Western Science Fiction
Little Britches was the literary debut of Ralph Moody, who wrote about the adventures of his family in eight glorious books, all available as Bison Books. -- Kirkus "1950". Ralph Moody's books should be read aloud in every family circle in America.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Even if you've never been to Colorado, I would list this book as a must read."
"So Father, Mother, Grace, Muriel, Philip, Hal, and Ralph rent a ranch on the Fort Logan-Morrison road, near Littleton, CO, not far from Denver. This autobiographical book chronicles their first year which involves settling on the ranch, planting crops, raising animals, meeting neighbors, going to school, experiencing a huge wind storm, and fighting over irrigation rights. Also, several who have read the entire series have noted that the later books, especially after Ralph goes to live with his grandfather in The Fields of Home, are not as good as the earlier ones which detail his childhood because they are more "dark" with lots of bad attitudes which are displayed over and over. Ralph gets in several predicaments and doesn't always make the right choice, but he learns to do better by heeding his father's wise advice, who said, "Any man who says the world owes him a living is dishonest."
"I enjoyed every word of this book and couldn't wait to read the next one in this series."
"What a living, exciting record of life in America a hundred years ago... such a treasure of honesty, , and resourcefulness,, and what a role model for relationships between fathers and sons,."
"I loved that the book teaches such good moral characteristics that inspire people to make good choices and work hard."
"(The farm was near what is now W. Hampden Ave. and S. Harlan St.) Those whose ancestors were homesteaders or sharecroppers will appreciate knowing what sorts of things their kin encountered. The book is classified as autobiographical history; by contrast, Ivan Doig's work (I'm particularly thinking "The Whistling Season" here) is much more literary in its character and plot development, and is proper fiction."
"Great look into early 1900's American History on the frontier."
"Recommend this to anyone who who would be a better parent the example of his father is kind and gentle way of doing things how to teach children is awesome."
Best Western Horror Fiction
"The fulfilled renown of Moby-Dick and of As I Lay Dying is augmented by Blood Meridian, since Cormac McCarthy is the worthy disciple both of Melville and Faulkner," writes esteemed literary scholar Harold Bloom in his Introduction to the Modern Library edition. "The men as they rode turned black in the sun from the blood on their clothes and their faces and then paled slowly in the rising dust until they assumed once more the color of the land through which they passed." It's a perverse, picaresque Western about bounty hunters for Indian scalps near the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s--a ragged caravan of indiscriminate killers led by an unforgettable human monster called "The Judge."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The people who scoff at McCarthy, this book specifically, don't seem to understand his style. It is not an easy to read piece, a normal article of literature that follows a smooth plot curve with complex, developing characters. In the few interviews, and instances where he has been directly quoted, he explains it -- he's a naturalistic writer. Almost all literature distorts reality in some way for the sake of the "story" and what is supposed to be included in it. But sometimes I want to, and I have to applaud McCarthy on being one of the only people who can open that door in the world of literature."
"I liked this book a lot more than the Road."
"Second time through it, I know I still did not get it all - and I doubt that anyone will, really, regardless of all the talking and writing and thinking literary people may do forever after. Things happen in combat zones that are unexplainable, fantastic, not bounded by what people think of as reality in any way."
"I'm hard pressed to find another book I like as much as this one."
"This is not a Western, although it takes place in the Old West, and it is the kind of book whose story goes beyond its pages and reminds you of what you are--even if you don't like what you see: At the core of this tale is the nature of man, it is cruel and violent and poised to create conflict(some have called it war-like). It is an intense experience to read a sentence with a brutal subject (like the gory killing of Native American babies) that continues on and on, with no diminishing. You can read this in many ways, as a metaphor of the violent growth of the United States of America, or as the descent of man from the innocence of childhood to his end as a fully grown, and very sinful, creature of war. Violence: The situations described while following the Glanton Gang give you a greater appreciation for the type of violecne that existed during this period of time, so we can say that it is part of the novel's setting."
Best Frontier & Pioneer Western Fiction
TEXAS LONESOME - The McCutcheon Family Series, Book 8. Rio Wells, Texas 1886. Dustin McCutcheon gets the surprise of his life when he comes face-to-face with Sidney Calhoun, the spitfire offspring of his father's worst adversary. Texas Lonesome, book eight of the McCutcheon Family Saga, continues the story of the brave and passionate men and women of Y Knot, Montana, and Rio Wells, Texas, by USA TODAY Best-selling Author Caroline Fyffe. "When it come to western romance, there are only a handful of authors that I completely trust, and Caroline Fyffe is right at the top of that list...She manages to create stories that easily capture my imagination from that proverbial first page, all the way to the last."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It has the two families, the McCutcheon’s and the Calhoun’s who used to be best friends and ranchers in Rio Wells, TX for a long time until something happened to the head of the Calhoun family Jock and he blamed Winston McCutcheon. When the judge orders Dustin to be guardian to Sidney’s brother Noah and take him to the Rim Rock Ranch until he earns enough to pay off his debt, Dustin sees only trouble and problems for the family as well as the town. Caroline Fyffe is one of my most beloved and favorite authors and I have read almost all her books and loved everyone of them and couldn't put any of them down until they I finished reading the whole story."
"Ms. Fyffe brings us another exciting read filled with baiting, angry, sorrow and love. Dustin has spent many years fighting the Calhoun’s at every turn they seem to always be in his way at all cattle sales causing trouble. This is not happening when the youngest Calhoun’s gets into trouble and the judge decides he must stay at the McCutcheon ranch. Sidney is still thinking about the hunk of a cowboy that she saw earlier when she walks in the court room and sees him. He really brought this audio to life for me with his smooth deep rich voice that you could listen to all day. There was no background noise or any places where the audio was louder or lower just a very smooth wonderful listen. Snow brings so much too this audio as he puts emotions to the story and paints a picture of Texas and the areas around it. She writes stories that will stay in your mind giving you a smile why you long to be part of the towns she creates. There is no doubt when you pick up one of her books you are in for a roller-coaster ride full of emotions as they bait each other fighting to the finish line. Dustin and Sidney are sure in a pickle as they fight their love trying to stay true to their family. This is one author who gives her heart to her characters with a wonderful rich clean story that pulls you in."
"I’ll not spoil it for you but this book is one of a kind and written with heart that makes you smile and then get tense when something happens. Yes, I really loved this book."