After inheriting the ranch from her abusive dead husband, Pearl transforms
the place from a house of ill-repute to a haven for the women trapped into
service there, as well as other women who need a refuge.
But the so-called ‘good’ townspeople want Pearl and her girls out of town,
and they’ll stop at nothing to make it happen, including illegally selling
the property out from under her.
When the handsome gentleman from Boston shows up on her doorstep claiming to
own the ranch, Pearl’s world changes for good. Unfortunately for her, she
doesn’t believe Mr. Davidson Smythe is lying.
Even worse, this man gets to the lonely widow in ways her husband never
could…
I will be frank here – I do not usually gravitate towards the historical
western genre. I don’t dislike them, they are just not normally my first
choice. C.H. Admirand, however, is an author who is always among my first
choices in reading material, so it was a no-brainer for me when the new book
in her Irish Western series was offered to CK2S Kwips and Kritiques for
review. I knew I wanted it and I had every expectation of enjoying it.
Once again, Ms. Admirand did not disappoint this reviewer!
Pearl’s Redemption is the kind of story that makes you forget
all about what genre it is and focus on the story itself – the plot, the
characters… Everything worked. I could almost feel as if I were living in
the Old West watching these people live their lives.
Pearl may have her flaws, but she is most certainly the kind of heroine a
woman could hope to emulate. Her issues are borne of a hard life, married
to an abusive husband who did his utmost to turn his wife into a harlot for
hire as he did with the women who worked for him. While Pearl maintained
her virtue in this respect, it doesn’t stop the majority of the townspeople
from believing the worst of her. Still, this courageous woman keeps her
head held high and trudges on, doing good where she can with no thought of
recompense for herself. Of course, those who mess with the people under her
care are very likely to see the barrel end of her shotgun. Pearl is no
one’s victim, that is for sure.
In true hero form, Davidson Smythe is a man of indisputable honor. When he
realizes his claim to Pearl’s ranch may not exactly be on the up and up, he
is unwilling to pursue that claim, no matter that all of his assets are tied
up in this purchase. Instead, he works diligently to ferret out the
culprits responsible for the shady land deal, helping to save Pearl and her
girls from being cast out into the streets – or worse. And, of course,
working side by side with the lovely Pearl, it is only natural that he comes
to care passionately for this strong, devoted woman…
Although I have not yet read the two books that precede Pearl’s
Redemption, I had no trouble at all following the storyline. At no
time did I feel lost or that there was a missing back-story necessary for me
to enjoy this book. This story worked very well as a standalone. Of
course, the operative phrase here is that I haven’t read them YET. Meeting
the good folks of this western town made me very curious about their stories
and I will be picking up copies of both The Rancher’s Heart
and The Marshal’s Destiny very soon!
If you are looking for a good romance novel with a great deal of action and
suspense, you will not want to miss this book. Grab your copy of
Pearl’s Redemption and settle in for the evening, because you will
not want to stop reading this captivating historical western romance until
you have turned the very last page!
Reviewed by Jennifer
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Irish Western Series, Book 3:
Pearl's Redemption
C.H. Admirand
ISBN: 9781594147005
Five Star (ME)
June 18, 2008
Historical Romance/Western
Hardcover
Rating:
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