2009 TBR Challenge (September): Ride the Fire

This is September’s TBR Challenge review:

Ride the Fire (Blakewell/Kenleigh Family trilogy, book 3) by Pamela Clare This is one of those books that I’d heard about for ages (especially from KristieJ!) before I picked it up at the ubs, and installed in on my tbr shelf. And there it languished, passed over for more recent, shinier acquisitions. Then, KrisiteJ, Wendy and Sybil decided to hold The Great Western Drive. At the end of this week-long extravaganza celebrating the glory that is Western-themed romance, I read Kristie’s post which urged readers to make a commitment to read a Western romance. This got the wheels in my mind turning, and I figured I’d do a twofer: TBR Challenge AND The Great Western Drive’s “Read a Western.” (OK, technically, Ride the Fire does not take place in the Western United States, but it is a historical “frontier” novel which takes place during the 1760’s in what was then the western edge of Colonial America.) Here’s the book description:

There was only one rule on the frontier — survival. So when a wounded, buckskin-clad stranger appeared at the door of her isolated cabin, Elspeth Stewart felt no qualms about disarming him and then tying him to her bed. Newly widowed and expecting her first child, she had to protect herself at all costs. And Nicholas Kenleigh threatened not only her safety, but her peace of mind. The terrible scars on his body spoke of a tortured past, but his gentle touch and burning gaze awoke longings she had never expected to feel. Bethie had every reason in the world to distrust men; the cruelty she suffered at their hands had marked her soul, though her blonde beauty showed no sign of it. But little by little she found herself believing in Nicholas, in his honor, his strength. As he brought her baby into the world, then took both mother and daughter into his care, she realized this scarred survivor could heal her wounded spirit, and together they would . . . Ride the Fire

I’m so glad I listened to Kristie and picked this up, and the she, Wendy, and Sybil really pulled out all the stops for The Great Western Drive to encourage reading a Western romance! I love a tortured hero, and boy, I don’t often mean literally tortured, but Nicholas is the epitome of one, in every sense. While it was  difficult to read the details of how Nicholas suffered at the hands of the Wyandot, it was restricted to the prologue, and completely necessary to completely understand Nicholas’ frame of mind through most of the story. He’s a man who has been so badly damaged by his experiences years before that by the time he encounters Bethie, he is almost dead inside. Bethie, too, was a really interesting heroine. She was a great combination of emotional vulnerability and amazing resiliency. She, also, has a past in which she has suffered at the hands of others. And while she is still dealing with the emotional effects of her experiences, she is also doing what she can to provide a life for herself and her unborn child. One of my favorite things about this book was how Bethie and Nicholas come together while working on her farm, establishing a rhythm to their days, and slowly opening up to the other. Of course, the birth of Bethie’s daughter ties them together even more, and it’s through Nicholas’ growing attachment to Bethie and Belle that he slowly comes back to life. There was a great balance between romance and obviously well-researched history, making the story something I could really sink my teeth into. I loved how Pamela Clare seamlessly wove together Nicholas and Bethie’s story with actual historical events and figures. Now, while I was reading it, I kept picturing Daniel Day-Lewis as Nicholas (ala Last of the Mohicans.) I dropped a line to KristieJ asking if she had suggested that in the post I had read way back, and yes, her casting of DD-L must’ve stuck in my subconscious. He really does make a great Nicholas. While this is the last of a trilogy, and it was obvious who the other previous two books were about, Ride the Fire stood alone really well, and I never felt like I was missing information about the story. So thanks, ladies for holding The Great Western Drive, and reminding me that historical romance doesn’t necessarily HAVE to take place in Regency England. Now, I can move Ride the Fire from it’s former place on my tbr shelf and over to my keeper shelf. Pamela Clare’s site.