Posts
Caine's Reckoning by Sarah McCarty
Book description:
Caine Allen is a hardened Texas Ranger, definitely not the marrying kind. But when he rescues a kidnapped woman and returns her to town, the preacher calls in a favor. One Caine's honor won't let him refuse.
From the moment he beds Desi, Caine knows turmoil will follow. Desi might have the face of a temptress, but she also has a will of iron and while she needs his protection, she's determined that no man will control her again. They establish an uneasy bond, but it still isn't enough for Caine. He wants all Desi has to offer. He wants her screams, her moans, her demands…everything. Yet there's still a bounty on Desi's head and keeping her satisfied is proving easier than keeping her alive.
I liked this book before I even opened it. Why? Because of the cover. After the cover atrociousness that was The Others: Conception, I was highly impressed by the cover of Caine's Reckoning. Also, Ms. McCarty, my husband would like to know where you got the picture of him. *snort*
Sarah McCarty is a relatively new-to-me author. Though I've read almost all her books, I've only been reading her since June. There are two books of hers that I wouldn't have read, had I known about her publisher issues. Even though I liked the books, when I start a series, I would expect to be able to continue said series.
Caine's Reckoning is a story about eight men who have come together from the worst possible circumstances imaginable. A Texas Ranger, Caine is one bad-ass hombre. When he agrees to find a group of kidnapped woman as a favor for a local priest, Caine has no idea that he'll be married before the end of the day. Yup, marriage definitely sneaks up on a guy.
Caine is immediately impressed by Desi. Fighting off a group of outlaws intent on rape, Caine realizes right away that this is a woman who doesn't cower. Stepping in before she actually get hurts, Caine is intrigued. He soon learns how desperate she really is. If I could, I would have let Desi know that offering fellatio to a stranger will give you away every time. Alas, Caine is a man and men think with their winkies. I have to hand it to him, for a man Caine figured it out rather quickly. Desi would do anything to avoid returning to town. After promising her that he would protect her from those who would harm her, Desi agrees to go with him. She only tries to escape a few times after that.
Upon their return, Caine sees first hand how terrified Desi is of returning to her "guardian". A survivor of an Indian attack that killed both her parents, Desi was kidnapped and turned into a whore against her will. Existing solely for the pleasure of men she despises, Desi will do virtually anything to get away. Including marrying Caine Allen. Though at the time Caine was the lesser of two evils, it isn't long before Desi finds what an honorable man her new husband is.
I love Sarah McCarty. She writes awesome westerns. There's a great plot, hot sex, intriguing secondary characters. What more can you ask for? She also leaves it wide open to continue the series (hopefully there are no publisher clusters in the future).
It isn't long before Caine and the remaining Hell's Eight realize exactly how far the men in town are willing to go to get Desi back. Caine definitely has his work cut out for him. Between trying to figure out who is trying to kill his wife, overcoming her trust issues in bed, finding her twin sister, and killing the men who are responsible for her being turned into a whore against her will, Caine barely has any free time.
I really liked Desi. She was a strong woman who had been through unthinkable tragedies. Raised back east as a lady, Desi had no idea what kind of evil was in the world until coming out west. Though she did get annoying at times, her plight really pulled me in and I was rooting for her throughout the whole book. I cried at the end fo the book when I read her letter to her twin, Ari.
Of course now I can't wait to read what happens to Ari, who has presumably been an Indian sex slave for the last year. Will she end up with Tracker? I'm sure we won't find out for years.
4 out of 5.
Here are the links for my other two Sarah McCarty reviews:
The Others: Conception
Promises Keep
15 comments:
I like the cover too. YUMMY!
This sounds like a good one too. I get in the mood for western romances every-so-often.
Ooh! I think I saw this reviewed by Rosie too. I think it's enough to convince me to go get it now. Thanks for the review BB!
I don't know..that cover is kind of creepy what with the guy having no head and all...
I have her on my wishlist because I keep hearing great things about her, but so far...meh. I haven't been in the mood. Maybe soon.
I think she's probably my favorite western author.
This cover is a HUGE improvement over her others. I'd rather see a nice body w/ no face than a nice body w/ un-swoon worthy face.
OMG Casee, I'm reading Conception now and I howl with laughter every time I see the cover art. That woman looks like someone dropped a toaster in her tub while she bathed that or she was the victim of a horrible fire!!!!!!! LOL
There's a part in the book where the hero grows her hair back. He should have left her bald!
I read one of those promise books. It has a hiddeous cover. There's like a sex doll mounted on a bed and a dude with a hat by a window. Rather Cringe worthy too. I think Mrs. McCarthy was hated by the cover fairy. Glad to see things have changed! *g*
Trollop
I have been waiting and waiting for this book to show up at my local borders and with all of the reviews coming online, the wait is getting harder. I loved the Promises books, so this looks to be right up my alley. hurry up borders!!!
Oh, C'mon people. *G* How can you not love POD people? They have a certain …uniqueness that's guaranteed to bring a smile to your lips.
Sarah, laughing and waving
LOL! Uniqueness? Is that what you're calling it?
I'm still not convinced about the Headless dude. Hello Sleepy Hallow!
Yup, Holly. Unique. *G* That's my story and I'm sticking with it. *G* Actually, when I was writing for Ellora's it was during their period of POD only covers so I didn't have a choice. My covers were very good comparatively. The covers they do today though are muchly more impressive.;)
Ohhh, it does sound good, and that cover is uber yummy!
Good review.
Is this print or ebook? Who is the publisher?
I'm SO GLAD to see your review of this one. I haven't read McCarty yet but I was just considering purchasing it (it's available at audible.com) to listen to while I run errands today. I decided to check out a few of my "favorite haunts" for reviews and.... here it is! It sounds good - I'll have to give it a try!
The cover... TOTALLY HOT! I love the mid-thigh to neck shots. I'm with Casee on this one... the un-drool-worthy face on a kickin' body can just ruin the whole thing for me. Sometimes they photoshop (or whatever program) a different head on a buff body but it usually looks strange and that bothers me just as much. One of Sherrilyn Kenyon's older bookcovers has that... it freaks me out because the head is like 1/3 of the size it should be with the width of the body. ROTF!
Chantal- Caine's Reckoning is published through Harlequin Spice. It's available as print, e book and audible.
Ange- I saw that cover. At least it held your attention!! *G*
Great review Casee! I haven't read this author before and despite the cover (yeah I'm a snob, so what?) I think it's not bad enough that I wouldn't read it...I'm adding this to my list, thanks sweetie!
Thanks Sarah, I ordered it today from eharlequin.com
I listened to the audiobook yesterday and I just COULDN'T unplug from the audiobook until the end! There were some issues with consistency that I noticed but I was really gripped by the story. This author is going on my "list" for future reading.
I had to laugh several times though because the narrator said P*ssy with an accent that gave me the giggles. LOL
Post a Comment