Skip this one. Her other books are better. I wasn’t engaged. I wanted it to be over.STORY BRIEF:Ten years earlier, Della was married to Clarence a Confederate soldier. He was killed in battle. She was pregnant and living with Clarence’s parents in Atlanta. The parents didn’t like her and sent her to live on a small farm in Texas without her daughter. She receives a small amount of money each month to live on. Della still grieves for her husband and her daughter.James was a soldier in the Civil War. He was there when Clarence died. Clarence wrote a letter to Della which James has been carrying for ten years. Finally he travels to her Texas home and gives her the letter. He stays a while, fixing things like the barn roof. Now he offers to finance a trip taking her to Atlanta to visit her daughter, and they do this. After the war James became a fast-draw-gunslinger-lawman-bounty hunter. Someone wrote a book about him making him famous. Now he is always on the alert for hot shots who want to kill him and show that they’re faster.REVIEWER’S OPINION:This was not a fun romance story. The last fifty pages were kind of good, but I’d throw out the first 300 pages. It was sad, vague, too much pondering. The subject matter was a downer with Della grieving for her lost husband, daughter, and her lost life. And then James was troubled with guilt about killing soldiers during the war. I never understood why James waited ten years to give Clarence’s letter to Della. He should have visited her sooner. Finally things start happening at the end. But even then I didn’t like some of the things in that part of the story. I didn’t like the way Della got mad at James and left him. I didn’t like the way they planned for Luke to solve James’ problem. I would have done it differently. What they did was too risky. I liked James. He was giving, generous, loving. I admired his skills. He was a lawyer and a fast draw lawman. Nothing pulled me in about Della.DATA:Story length: 358 pages. Swearing language: mild, including religious swear words. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 7. Setting: Around 1875 Texas, Atlanta, and traveling between. copyright: 2002. Genre: western historical romance.OTHER BOOKS:I’ve read the following Maggie Osborne books. Dates are copyright dates.t3 ½ stars. The Wives of Bowie Stone 19944 stars. The Promise of Jenny Jones 19973 stars. A Stranger’s Wife 19994 stars. I Do, I Do, I Do 20004 stars. Silver Lining 2000 2 stars. Prairie Moon 2002
Time Frame: Late 1800'sPeriod: Post Civil War (10 years after)Place: Texas, later in the story - journey to Atlanta GeorgiaLead Characters: H - James Cameron: Lawman, Bounty Hunter, Gunslinger, "Legend" h - Della Ward: Spirited Confederate Civil War Widow presently living in a shack in Two Creeks Texas (for the past 9/10 years)Secondary Characters: Luke: Wild West Frontiersman sworn to kill James Cameron as demanded by his Indian wife for the killing of her nephew by (H). Gypsys: brief encounter on the trail out/into Santa Fe. Ward Inlaws: (h) parents of her dead husbandSecretsDeceptionTragedyMadnessMonths long journey across Texas to war ravaged SouthRealistic, Intelligent, Mature characters5+ RatingUntil I read this, was my favorite story by Osborne. This book is now running neck 'n neck. Such a GOOD book...Such a talented author.The plot focuses on the two main characters and their evolving relationship.James Cameron has come to Two Creeks Texas on a mission...a deadly secret which he intends to confront and his determination to make "right" the 'wrongs' of his secret's results in the life of Della Ward (h).For 10 years since the war ended, our (H) has become a deadly, dangerous lawman/bounty hunter well known throughout the West. Every fast draw is attracted to the 'glory' of being the ONE to kill him. For those 10 years he has carried an oil clothed packet in his duster and at last arrives to give it to it's rightful recipient - Della.The secret is always in the background, influencing the growing love and desire the (H) has for this spitfire woman.I wanted to add pics for these wonderful characters. But although I figured how to do that a couple times, I've now lost my know-how. Damn. Clint Eastwood would make the 'perfect' James Cameron. Still haven't found Della's image. Well, it's just as well because if I could add pics, it would take me forever to get my review completed. :D
What do You think about Prairie Moon (2002)?
This was the last book I picked up in 2011, as my "bedtime read". I'd heard so much about it here and on Paperbackswap that I knew I had to read it, being a fan of both Maggie Osborne and western historicals. I was not disappointed.Della and James are both wounded souls, tormented by a shared event during the Civil War: Della because she lost a husband and James because he is the one that killed him. Both are grieving losses that have affected them in profoundly different ways. Della has been transformed from a debutante with the world at her feet to a widow who is struggling to stay alive on what is basically a dirt farm in rural Texas. James is now a lawman/bounty hunter who has to watch his back at every opportunity for those wishing to "make a name" for themselves by killing him, while living with the memory of the one man he wished he hadn't had to kill.I say that I can, but who can ever really imagine the horrors of the Civil War? Neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother. So much bloodshed that our country endured. I liked that Osborne wrote this in a way where no one side or faction took the blame. This is just a story about two people profoundly affected by the choices of others and the choices they were forced to make. 4.5 stars
—SheLove2Read
I didn't really like this book. It wasn't an enjoyable read and it just wasn't that good. What really sunk this book was the pacing. It was absolutely slow and it was a story about nothing. The main conflict was so dragged out that it was really transparent that the pages were conflict was used to pad the book. I think the book might have been better if a lot of the middle was cut. This was because James' secret was so obvious in the beginning and it wasn't until the end that he finally confesse
—Zel Polev
