What do You think about Silver Lining (2000)?
I love Maggie Osborne's romances because her heroines are tough and strong and prove why they're worthy of love. The love between hero and heroine evolves while they learn about eachother rather than being a product of lust. Her stories are always humorous and touching with secondary characters that add to the story rather than take away.Silver Lining is no exception. We start with a heroine called "Low Down" - a woman prospecting for gold in the mountains who is so filthy you can't even tell what her hair color is. But she saves a lot of lives when smallpox comes through the small town, and the men get together to give her anything she wants. She tells them she wants a baby.The man who draws the scratched marble and is chosen for the task had already had a woman in mind to marry. A sweet, delicate, society woman - pretty much the stark opposite of Low Down. He returns home with his unexpected wife to some more unexpected news, and the whole family is thrown into turmoil. But the author handles it nicely, shows us that the family is a strong one and how they make it through all this mess and forge interesting relationships with one another makes it quite an interesting read. If you're tired of cheesy, formulaic romance and would like to read something a little different Maggie Osborne's Silver Lining is a great book to choose.
—Sarah
I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK!Where do I start? "Low Down" nurses her fellow miners through a smallpox outbreak when no one else would. As a token of their gratitude they offer her "anything her heart desires", little knowing what was to come. After goading for her several moments she finally says she'd like to have a baby. She doesn't want marriage or a commitment, just a baby. Suddenly the miners and the local preacher take to this like duck to a water and the next thing Low Down knows, she's the prize for a husband lottery. Max McCord draws the fated marble and marries Low Down, even though he is engaged to someone else and slated to marry in 2 weeks. He tries to tell the preacher that but they hold him to it. So Max, being an honorable man, marries Low Down and they set off for his hometown (close to Denver) to stay with his family. He and Low Down agree to get her pregnant and then quietly divorce, since neither of them wanted a marriage in the first place.Low Down starts the book as a scruffy, dirty, hasn't taken a bath in several months woman miner. In fact, her own husband realized he doesn't know her real name until after they are married! "Louise Downe" she replies upon being asked. She goes on to explain she is an orphan and was adopted on the orphan train from NYC by a Missouri Couple. They were cruel to her and the mother called her a "Low Down good for nothing *&^%" most of her life. So at 13 she ran away and has been called Low Down ever since. After a good bath and some new clothing, Louise is while not a ravishing beauty, still a very "handsome" woman of 28.Back in Max's hometown we discover that his fiancee is pregnant! This only makes the scandal of Max's marriage that much worse and his fiancee is forced to marry Max's brother Wally in order to deflect some of the scrutiny and shame. Its a tense situation for everyone, but mostly Louise, who in a gesture of trying to fit in and not cause her new "family" any more trauma, takes horrible remarks made about her in silence. That is not to say it doesn't affect her, but she tries to brush it off saying that her past has prepared her for it and "it doesn't matter". Max, while not being outright mean to Louise, does have some moments where he blames her for all his troubles.Louise is what I'd call a tortured heroine. Having grown up an orphan in an abusive foster home, she has never known love. Having her own baby she believes will be all she will ever need in life - someone to love unconditionally that will love her back the same way. She puts everyone else ahead of herself, including those who are spiteful and mean to her and never seeks retribution. Some might say that's being a doormat but if you read the book, you'll see that Louise just doesn't expect anything less - its what she's used to.Alot happens at the end of the book and there most definitely is a happily ever after, which in my opinion makes this a desert island keeper. A western Cinderella story!
—SheLove2Read
dah lama baca ni ibuk tapi baru inget buat nulis ripiunya pas nemu ni buku di GR..ceritanya tentang MOC...heroine nya bernama Louise Downe atau biasa dipanggil Low Down...Low Down yatim piatu dan tinggal bareng pendeta sebagai sukarelawan di suatu desa kecil (lupa namanya)...suatu hari ada sekelompok pendaki gunung yang terkena wabah cacar dan dirawat oleh Low Down...sampai akhirnya kelima orang ini sembuh dan mereka amat berterima kasih ama si Lou Down...mereka iseng nanya gimana nih caranya buat ngebales rasa terima kasih mereka ke si Low Down...awalnya sih sambil bercanda nanyanya sampe si Low Down tiba2 nyeletuk "gw pengen bayiiiii !!!!!! " langsung aja semua pada bengong...terus pada lirik-lirikan dan akhirnya pada jorok2in temen2nya...semua pada ga mau,ada yang alasannya udah punya istri,tunangan,dll sampe akhirnya si Low Down bilang "gw cuman pengen bayi bukan pengen kawin ! "jelas aja si pendeta ga setuju,katanya "dosa lho kalo punya bayi ga pake merit.." semua pada manggut-manggut...ampe Low Down kesel sendiri dan bilang "kagak jadi!!gw kan cuman bercanda...anggep aja gw ga pernah bilang gw pengen punya bayi..."tu cowo2 pada ga mau karena mereka nganggep si Low Down itu bagian dari mereka alias ga dianggep sebagai wanita...sampe akhirnya ada yang nyeletuk "udah deh,lo pada ribut aje...gini aje deh kite undi aje gimane???sapa yang dapet undian yang paling panjang ntu yang ntar bakal ngawinin Low Down...pegimane sodare sodare???adil kan??? " nah dimulailah undian itu sambil harap-harap cemas....sampe akhirnyaaa....tralaaaaalaaaa trilili...yang berhasil dapet adalah Max McCord....semua langsung lega dan sumringah begitu tau Max yang dapet dan bukannya mereka...jelas aja Max syok berat dan langsung bilang "tapi gw dah punya tunangan nih...dua minggu lagi gw kawin dan tunangan gw tuh lagi nungguin gw balik...."temen2nya langsung bilang "tapi kan lo utang nyawa ama Low Down...coba itu kalo lo ga ditolong ama Low Down,kita semua bisa metong kemaren ituh...."akhirnya dengan berat hati Max dengan Louise merit dan kemudian Max ngebawa Louise ke rumahnya di Denver...dimulailah pernikahan mereka...perjanjiannya sih,kalo tu bayi dah lahir yah mereka cerai...bagus sih ceritanya,MOC dan gw suka....empat bintang dari gw...hehehehheee*maap gw paling ga jago bikin ripiu jadi kalo ada bahasa yang aneh harap dimaklumi...hmpfh*
—Veeta
