Dangerous Ties **Debra Parmley**

Publication Date: February 13, 2012
Genre: Western/ Historical/Novella
Series: N/A
List Price: $3.99
Sensuality Rating: G
Stars: 4/5

Synopsis:

Lillian's fiance convinces the townsfolk to exchange their gold for his worthless bank notes. When he disappears, every eye turns to Lillian. Even her cousin Carl insists she knows where the gold is. Carl is deeply indebted to Kingston, owner of the saloon and small town criminal. When Nick discovers Lillian she's strung up over a mine shaft and the rope is breaking. He saves her, tends to her wounds and teaches her to shoot. When his horse trading deal with Kingston goes bad, Lillian races to save Nick.

 



My Opinion:

The moment I read the first paragraph I knew this was going to be a great read. Any time you deal with such a difficult subject you run the chance of crossing a line not many are comfortable with. Ms. Parmley did a phenomenal job of creating a heroine who had been victimized but who refused to be a victim. Enter our hero who is everything we love in western romances... Big, strong cowboy who can handle a weapon like an expert one minute and say just the right things to make you melt the next. Although they were only together for such a short period of time, just a couple of days really, it's obvious to the reader that these two are meant to be together from the moment Nick first lays eyes on Lillian.  

As much as I enjoyed reading this book, I did have a couple of issues with it. Aside from less than a handful of typographical errors such as Nick's horse being a female in chapter two yet he refers to her as a "him" on more than one occasion (I realize review copies aren't always final drafts, so not to worry), my main issue was with the pace. Now, this is just a personal preference, by no means an indication of how all stories should be told. This was such an enjoyable story, but the pace was so fast that I don't feel the reader really gets to know the characters very well. I would have enjoyed hearing more about Nick and who he is. We understand Lillian and what brought her out west. But in the end we still know next to nothing about Nick other than he's a rancher and horse trader. The word gunslinger was tossed out on a couple of occasions, but that thread went nowhere in the story. No clue as to why he's so good with a gun. He takes out 5 men... By himself! And still no indication of his past, which to me, personally, was a little frustrating.

  

Recommendations??

I would love to end this on a good note, so I will be completely honest and say that I would recommend this to just about anyone. Not too heavy on the "western" front, it would even appeal to romance readers who aren't necessarily fans of westerns. Definitely worth the time!

REVIEW BY IRIS

purple975@msn.com