The Book
#1 New York Times bestselling author Johanna Lindsey’s passionate
new tale about a gunfighter running from his past who finds his future
when he escorts a beautiful outlaw to her hanging. Featuring one of
Lindsey’s most intriguing heroes: the dangerous and mysterious Degan
Grant from One Heart to Win.
With his work in Montana completed now that the Callahan-Warren feud has ended in marriage rather than bloodshed, Degan Grant sets out for California because it is far away from the home he wants to forget—until the US Marshal who saved his life calls in a favor. All Degan has to do is apprehend three outlaws on the marshal’s list and turn them over to the law. Easy enough, he figures, for a man no one wants to tangle with.
But then a bold young woman crosses his path. Maxine grew up so pretty and attracted so much unwanted attention in her Texas hometown that events spiraled out of control. She will try anything to escape the handsome, enigmatic gunfighter who intends to turn her over to a corrupt sheriff who will hang her instead of putting her on trial.
Saddled with a sassy, spirited young woman who insists she is innocent, Degan must hunt down a vicious killer and keep an old enemy at bay. But forced into intimate proximity with his beguiling prisoner, he finds his desire sparking into a wildfire of passion, and he can no longer deny that it is time for them to risk confronting their pasts so he can have a chance at a future with her in his arms forever.
With his work in Montana completed now that the Callahan-Warren feud has ended in marriage rather than bloodshed, Degan Grant sets out for California because it is far away from the home he wants to forget—until the US Marshal who saved his life calls in a favor. All Degan has to do is apprehend three outlaws on the marshal’s list and turn them over to the law. Easy enough, he figures, for a man no one wants to tangle with.
But then a bold young woman crosses his path. Maxine grew up so pretty and attracted so much unwanted attention in her Texas hometown that events spiraled out of control. She will try anything to escape the handsome, enigmatic gunfighter who intends to turn her over to a corrupt sheriff who will hang her instead of putting her on trial.
Saddled with a sassy, spirited young woman who insists she is innocent, Degan must hunt down a vicious killer and keep an old enemy at bay. But forced into intimate proximity with his beguiling prisoner, he finds his desire sparking into a wildfire of passion, and he can no longer deny that it is time for them to risk confronting their pasts so he can have a chance at a future with her in his arms forever.
A Reader's Opinion
I'm a long-time Lindsey fan, and she never fails to disappoint when it comes to her characters. I especially enjoy her western romances. Wildfire in His Arms got off to a slow start, and overall read like the author was a little tired. However, I adored the characters and the story. Degan is the type of hero I love in any setting, but especially in a western. Patient, chivalrous, brooding, skilled, and handsome. Maxine is very much a tomboy, and where it may seem like Degan is taming her over the course of the book, she's just revealing parts of her true self as she grows more and more comfortable around Degan. She's a character with gumption, and she's sure to delight readers. I thought the chemistry was a little mismatched at first, but the author knew what she was doing; Degan and Maxine are wonderful together, and as their own people.
The settings were nicely done; we start in Montana, and then the author takes us on a fabulous journey south to Utah, Texas, up to Chicago, and back to Montana, with a couple of other stops in between. It's a great ride.
I do recommend this to readers of western romance, and if you're a Johanna Lindsey fan, give it a chance without comparing it to too many of her previous works. The characters make up for a lot, and it's an enjoyable read.
NOTE: I didn't not read One Heart to Win before reading this one, though I'm going back to read it now. At first I wondered about a few of the other characters, but I wasn't lost with having read this one first.
Edition Read: Hardcover; 400 pages
ISBN: 978-1501105418
Publisher: Gallery Books
Book Source: Purchased by Reviewer
