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Magnificent Passage
Mandy Ashton fled a stifling frontier existence for the glittering social whirl of Sacramento City, California’s state capital, trading childhood innocence for a woman’s burning desire and masquerade as her flighty cousin, Julia. Travis Langley, known by his Indian name, Hawk, is a white man raised by the Cheyenne, a man trying to make peace with his dual heritage. The last thing he needs is a job chaperoning Julia Aston, the California governor’s spoiled daughter. But Mandy—posing as Julia—is spirited, captivating, and irresistibly sensuous. By journey’s end, Mandy and Hawk have become helpless prisoners of a smoldering passion that nothing can kill—except, perhaps, the secret Mandy has guarded so carefully throughout the arduous days and passionate nights of their long, magnificent passage.
355 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1988
52 people are currently reading
290 people want to read
About the author
Kat Martin
189 books3,172 followersKathleen Kelly Martin (aka Kathy Lawrence, Kasey Mars)
Kathleen Kelly was born on 14 July 1947 in the Central Valley of California, USA. She obtained a degree in Anthropology and also studied History at the University of California in Santa Barbara. She was a real estate broker, when she met her future husband, Larry Jay Martin. A short time after the two became acquainted, Larry asked her to read an unpublished manuscript of an historical western he'd written. Kat fell in love with both the book and the author! Then, after doing some editing for him, she thought she'd try her own hand at writing. She moved on to become a full time writer.
Published since 1988, she signed her books with her married name, Kat Martin, but she also used two pseudonyms: Kathy Lawrence for a book in collaboration with her husband Larry Jay Martin, and Kasey Mars for her first contemporary romances. The New York Times bestselling writer, among her many awards, has won the prestigious RT Book Review Magazine Career Achievement Award. To date, Kat has over eleven million copies of her books in print. She has been published in seventeen foreign countries, including England, South Africa, Spain, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Greece, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Bulgaria, China, and Korea.
Currently residing with her husband, a Western-writer and photographer, in Missoula, Montana, USA. But when they are not writing, they also enjoy skiing and traveling, particularly to Europe.
"I've always loved books. I was an avid reader, with any number of my own stories rolling around in my head. Writing them down seemed a logical step."
"I love anything old," Kat says. "I love to travel and especially like to visit the places where my books are set. My husband and I often stay in out-of-the-way inns and houses built in times past. It's fun and it gives a wonderful sense of a by-gone era."
Kathleen Kelly was born on 14 July 1947 in the Central Valley of California, USA. She obtained a degree in Anthropology and also studied History at the University of California in Santa Barbara. She was a real estate broker, when she met her future husband, Larry Jay Martin. A short time after the two became acquainted, Larry asked her to read an unpublished manuscript of an historical western he'd written. Kat fell in love with both the book and the author! Then, after doing some editing for him, she thought she'd try her own hand at writing. She moved on to become a full time writer.
Published since 1988, she signed her books with her married name, Kat Martin, but she also used two pseudonyms: Kathy Lawrence for a book in collaboration with her husband Larry Jay Martin, and Kasey Mars for her first contemporary romances. The New York Times bestselling writer, among her many awards, has won the prestigious RT Book Review Magazine Career Achievement Award. To date, Kat has over eleven million copies of her books in print. She has been published in seventeen foreign countries, including England, South Africa, Spain, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Greece, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Bulgaria, China, and Korea.
Currently residing with her husband, a Western-writer and photographer, in Missoula, Montana, USA. But when they are not writing, they also enjoy skiing and traveling, particularly to Europe.
"I've always loved books. I was an avid reader, with any number of my own stories rolling around in my head. Writing them down seemed a logical step."
"I love anything old," Kat says. "I love to travel and especially like to visit the places where my books are set. My husband and I often stay in out-of-the-way inns and houses built in times past. It's fun and it gives a wonderful sense of a by-gone era."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
August 8, 2011
Um... First of all, I think the title says it all...at least to the Freudians in the group. *wink wink nudge nudge*
I appreciate Kat Martin's caveat letter that states she could never publish such a novel these days. It does strike me as odd, though, that her concern was centered around the empowerment of the heroine and not, say, all the ridiculous ethnic stereotypes. Marauding Mexicans. Sinister Spaniards. Inscrutable Injuns. And a Sassy, Southern Black woman for a mammy. Accents included in purchase.
Grocery store, how you shame me.
I appreciate Kat Martin's caveat letter that states she could never publish such a novel these days. It does strike me as odd, though, that her concern was centered around the empowerment of the heroine and not, say, all the ridiculous ethnic stereotypes. Marauding Mexicans. Sinister Spaniards. Inscrutable Injuns. And a Sassy, Southern Black woman for a mammy. Accents included in purchase.
Grocery store, how you shame me.
August 18, 2025
3 - 3.5 stars. Spent about $10 to obtain an original copy of this book because I liked the old cover not so sure it was worth it. I really love Kat Martin. I’ve read many of her books and have about 2 dozen of them. This was her first book and not her best, but still a good beginning and entertaining read. It took me a while to get into this one and finish it. To be fair I think that was partly me. Once I got past the first 115 pages I finished it in one afternoon. Lots of angst between the H/h and I did like both of them. Some pretty predictable situations and of course lots of BR type drama. All in all I enjoyed it just not as much as some of her other books. Same as with many authors.
February 27, 2012
classic 1980's bodice ripper. they hate each other, they missunderstand each other and they can keep your hands off each other. so much happens. they spend time making each other jealous and neither will admit any real feelings. both of them come back from the brink of death or what appears to be the brink of death several times. the villains are stereotypical and some of the characters are ridiculous. but omg it is a good read.
August 6, 2011
MAGNIFICENT PASSAGE by Kat Martin
07/11 - Vanguard Press - Mass Market Paperback, 368 pages
Will you still love me when you find out the person I really am really?
Mandy Ashton is leading a stuffy, confining life in the Wild West with her father while he serves out his military term. When her disreputable cousin devises a plan to have them switch lives Mandy does not think twice about the consequences, she agrees. The thought of getting out of that horrid place and into the big city lights is the opportunity she has been waiting for so let the adventure begin.
What Mandy never expected was Travis Langley showing up set on taking her cousin, now Mandy back to her father the governor. She also does not want to think about the long, dangerous trip ahead of them alone every night under the stars with that man. While Mandy may have the clothes and some of her cousins’ mannerisms down it is taking allot of work to be disrespectful to these men doing their job, especially Travis as he is beyond handsome and way to rugged for his good looks. But if Mandy is going to pull off being her cousin, she has to step out of her conservative, shy ways and become a brazen, flirtatious vixen and the role may not be very comfortable it is getting Travis’s attention and that can only work in her favor, right?
The trip is difficult with trouble lurking behind every tree but the real danger is behind the sly glances, sweet smiles and tender kisses she and Travis exchange. Mandy and Travis fight their attraction for each other almost as much as they do fight over who is in control of this trip. It is a huge war but both of them are losing this battle. Travis has had a rough life with allot of grieving over what he lost but he came out stronger, having been raised by Cheyenne Indians under the name of Hawk. Mandy saw this fitting as he is completely preying on her or is she perhaps letting herself be his victim or drawing him in to take advantage of her?
Travis sees her as spoiled and willful and Mandy views him as overbearing and a total heathen. What they both do see is the potential for happiness but are they too stubborn to go after it?
Readers will like this book as I did, if they go into it with the mindset that is was originally written in 1988 when romance was the name but the perspective was completely different. In reading it the one theme that was true then as it is now the push and pull between men and women. Couples are now as they were then trying to figure out how to deal with their desires and not give up control of who they really are. Kat Martin in these early books show you the greatness that was waiting to be developed in her future writing.
07/11 - Vanguard Press - Mass Market Paperback, 368 pages
Will you still love me when you find out the person I really am really?
Mandy Ashton is leading a stuffy, confining life in the Wild West with her father while he serves out his military term. When her disreputable cousin devises a plan to have them switch lives Mandy does not think twice about the consequences, she agrees. The thought of getting out of that horrid place and into the big city lights is the opportunity she has been waiting for so let the adventure begin.
What Mandy never expected was Travis Langley showing up set on taking her cousin, now Mandy back to her father the governor. She also does not want to think about the long, dangerous trip ahead of them alone every night under the stars with that man. While Mandy may have the clothes and some of her cousins’ mannerisms down it is taking allot of work to be disrespectful to these men doing their job, especially Travis as he is beyond handsome and way to rugged for his good looks. But if Mandy is going to pull off being her cousin, she has to step out of her conservative, shy ways and become a brazen, flirtatious vixen and the role may not be very comfortable it is getting Travis’s attention and that can only work in her favor, right?
The trip is difficult with trouble lurking behind every tree but the real danger is behind the sly glances, sweet smiles and tender kisses she and Travis exchange. Mandy and Travis fight their attraction for each other almost as much as they do fight over who is in control of this trip. It is a huge war but both of them are losing this battle. Travis has had a rough life with allot of grieving over what he lost but he came out stronger, having been raised by Cheyenne Indians under the name of Hawk. Mandy saw this fitting as he is completely preying on her or is she perhaps letting herself be his victim or drawing him in to take advantage of her?
Travis sees her as spoiled and willful and Mandy views him as overbearing and a total heathen. What they both do see is the potential for happiness but are they too stubborn to go after it?
Readers will like this book as I did, if they go into it with the mindset that is was originally written in 1988 when romance was the name but the perspective was completely different. In reading it the one theme that was true then as it is now the push and pull between men and women. Couples are now as they were then trying to figure out how to deal with their desires and not give up control of who they really are. Kat Martin in these early books show you the greatness that was waiting to be developed in her future writing.
February 12, 2012
this book wasn't really good at all.there really wasn't any humor, which to me makes a book fall incredibly short of the mark.
at the very beginning of the book the author wrote that when she wrote this book back in the '80s it was a whole different style of romance and that it isn't like modernday historical romances. i was interested and somewhat excited to read this book because i'm sick of modernday books because the guys are all the same.i expected more and i didn't get very far into this book when i realized that it was just like modernday books.
i don't like characters like hawk at all.
Hawk says that "he'd already formed a dislike for the girl, just from the stories he'd heard." that she's spoiled and a tease. Why didn't he like julia when earlier in the book he gave all indications that he was gunna do it with a saloon girl? i mean it seems to me that thats just the type of girl he likes. &then james said that the cheyenne have a strong sense of morals. shouldn't that mean that travis has morals,because it didn't seem like he had any morals.
i mean if he's supposed to be a 'moral person' then why is he visiting saloon girls?!?
samantha constantly referred to travis as "the big man" or the "sandy haired man." and travis always referred to her as the "chestnut haired girl." it got to be pretty repetitive.
the way they had to talk out everything towards the end of the book was highly annoying.
i didn't like the main character. the book was draggy. there was next to no humor in there and without it the book fell flat.
the main character kept saying she wouldn't let travis kiss her again or have his way with her and yet every time he started she wouldn't protest.
everytime sam was in a sticky situation hawk would suddenly come to the rescue.that was repetitive and completely impossible.
i wouldn't read it again.
at the very beginning of the book the author wrote that when she wrote this book back in the '80s it was a whole different style of romance and that it isn't like modernday historical romances. i was interested and somewhat excited to read this book because i'm sick of modernday books because the guys are all the same.i expected more and i didn't get very far into this book when i realized that it was just like modernday books.
i don't like characters like hawk at all.
Hawk says that "he'd already formed a dislike for the girl, just from the stories he'd heard." that she's spoiled and a tease. Why didn't he like julia when earlier in the book he gave all indications that he was gunna do it with a saloon girl? i mean it seems to me that thats just the type of girl he likes. &then james said that the cheyenne have a strong sense of morals. shouldn't that mean that travis has morals,because it didn't seem like he had any morals.
i mean if he's supposed to be a 'moral person' then why is he visiting saloon girls?!?
samantha constantly referred to travis as "the big man" or the "sandy haired man." and travis always referred to her as the "chestnut haired girl." it got to be pretty repetitive.
the way they had to talk out everything towards the end of the book was highly annoying.
i didn't like the main character. the book was draggy. there was next to no humor in there and without it the book fell flat.
the main character kept saying she wouldn't let travis kiss her again or have his way with her and yet every time he started she wouldn't protest.
everytime sam was in a sticky situation hawk would suddenly come to the rescue.that was repetitive and completely impossible.
i wouldn't read it again.
May 13, 2016
Mas allá de la típica historia de romance llena de idas y vueltas entre los protagonistas, Kat Martin ha logrado construir en este libro unos personajes magníficos que logran hacerte pertenecer a su mundo.
Mandy es ese tipo de chica tímida y seguidora de las normas que lleva dentro una pequeña salvaje revolucionaria que quiere vivir la vida. Y Halcón es un hombre con un pasado dramático que ha logrado abrirse camino en la vida aceptándose a sí mismo.
La idea de que todo comience en base a una mentira y aún así nazca el amor demuestra ampliamente el poder de este último. Creo que esta es una historia que se debe descubrir a medida que se pasan sus páginas, pero es inebitable decir que aquí, la acción, el romance y la pasión se aunan espectacularmente. Recomendable.
Mandy es ese tipo de chica tímida y seguidora de las normas que lleva dentro una pequeña salvaje revolucionaria que quiere vivir la vida. Y Halcón es un hombre con un pasado dramático que ha logrado abrirse camino en la vida aceptándose a sí mismo.
La idea de que todo comience en base a una mentira y aún así nazca el amor demuestra ampliamente el poder de este último. Creo que esta es una historia que se debe descubrir a medida que se pasan sus páginas, pero es inebitable decir que aquí, la acción, el romance y la pasión se aunan espectacularmente. Recomendable.
December 5, 2024
I had this book on my TBR pile for quite some time, so I finally read it & I have to say I'm glad I did. In rating this book, you can't rely on the same criteria that are used for books published two years ago. First, because this book was published in 1988, and, second, because it was the first novel by Kat Martin. The book clearly shows the enormous potential & I am not surprised that she became a New York Times bestselling author.
January 20, 2012
I could tell this was written a while ago, and in the beginning there was a note from the author stating such. I still found it entertaining, it's a true bodice ripper to its core. I think her dress gets ripped from her body like 8 times...
May 14, 2017
Kat Martin's Magnificent Passage was fast paced drama. I really enjoyed the half-breed Hawk and his companion James as they set out to deliver the governors spoiled daughter back to Sacramento City, CA.
Mandy was tired of the seclusion her father guarded her with at Fort Laramie after her mom's death.
Julia, Mandy's cousin, who was the governor's daughter had fallen in love with an army man at Fort Laramie. Her father's demand for her return back to Sacramento City was not what she desired, she had already given her promise to the man she loved, Jason. Julia was going to stay with him at Fort Laramie and be wed, and be damned her father's wishes.
Mandy and Julia devised a plan and as usual, things were not what they seemed.
Hawk, James, and Mandy took off to Sacramento City with Hawk and James thinking they had Julia. Hawk and James were about to get a lesson in transporting Mandy to California. They just didn't know this might be their toughest job, ever. This was a wonderful book with some hair-raising, edge of your seat adventures about to unwind.
Mandy was tired of the seclusion her father guarded her with at Fort Laramie after her mom's death.
Julia, Mandy's cousin, who was the governor's daughter had fallen in love with an army man at Fort Laramie. Her father's demand for her return back to Sacramento City was not what she desired, she had already given her promise to the man she loved, Jason. Julia was going to stay with him at Fort Laramie and be wed, and be damned her father's wishes.
Mandy and Julia devised a plan and as usual, things were not what they seemed.
Hawk, James, and Mandy took off to Sacramento City with Hawk and James thinking they had Julia. Hawk and James were about to get a lesson in transporting Mandy to California. They just didn't know this might be their toughest job, ever. This was a wonderful book with some hair-raising, edge of your seat adventures about to unwind.
September 1, 2022
Okay i read the re-released within a letter from Martin saying that this book could never be published today which i appreciate. However it made it seem like it was only about the woman just taking anything a man does to her which it did have, but she forget about the terrible stereotypes to many poc. Especially the native Americans which is never used for them it is either Indians or the slur of that word. Again I know the 80s were very different but man it was a lot to read. The other thing is how many incidents happened to these people it was never ending and Travis or Hawk, would have his way and I wanted Mandy to punch him again. Also the uncle was a bit too accepting after realizing the scheme of the two girls. The book is dated so I don’t recommend but it is not the worst I’ve read I am sad to say ha!
November 30, 2018
In the author's note at the start of the book Martin freely admits that roles and expectations have changed since this book was first written and that she would never write this book today.
Speaking as a 2018 Romance Reader, this story has some content that I object to--particularly the actions of the hero in several specific scenes and the way certain events are handled. Specifically,
I also found the villain's actions unbelievable and unrealistic.
Speaking as a 2018 Romance Reader, this story has some content that I object to--particularly the actions of the hero in several specific scenes and the way certain events are handled. Specifically,
I also found the villain's actions unbelievable and unrealistic.
May 22, 2025
While this wasn't the best book I've read, it wasn't as bad as other reviewers are making it out to be. There were things I didn't like (the ethnic stereotypes), and the rape I could have done without, it's still far less controversial than some HR novels from the 80's. Since this was late 80's, the days of the h getting attacked by a bunch of guys or kidnapped by a villain and forced into his bed and having orgasms galore was over by then (THANK GOD!!) and while the H had his flaws, he didn't seem half as bad as some of the others.
How come so many readers who complain about the "terrible" Hs in 80's/90's romances will get all hot over 2010's Christian Grey and wish they were Anastasia? Makes no sense to me!
How come so many readers who complain about the "terrible" Hs in 80's/90's romances will get all hot over 2010's Christian Grey and wish they were Anastasia? Makes no sense to me!
November 30, 2020
So at first I was hesitant to read this because it is way off of the type of story I usually read, and admittedly it took a little bit for me to get into it. However, once I got used to the characters, the story line and the timeframe of the story (it takes place over 100 years ago), I was able to really get into it. Eventually, I couldn't even put it down because I was so captivated by the story and just couldn't get enough. I think I may read more books by this author because all in all I enjoyed it and it was very well written.
December 23, 2021
Estoy casi segura que este fue el primer libro de románce con escenas +18 que leí, tenía 14 años y me lo prestó la bibliotecaria de la escuela... cosa rara ya que la escuela tenía de 1er grado hasta 9no, (sería masomenos hasta los 15 años)... bueno, por ser el primero tengo un recuerdo tan Wow del libro, que seguro no sería tan bueno si lo leyera hoy después de haber leido tantas románticas... pero lo recomiéndo, me enamoró cuando lo leí, recién después de 10 años lo pude conseguir, y espero volver a releerlo en algún momento...
April 16, 2018
Well done western
Having been a fan of Kat Martin for many years i was happy to read her very first book in not really a fan of American western romances but I'm glad to was it was an enjoyable read
Having been a fan of Kat Martin for many years i was happy to read her very first book in not really a fan of American western romances but I'm glad to was it was an enjoyable read
June 27, 2019
Such a treat to read a book that wasn't politically correct! Thank you Kat, I'm going to find more of your early works.
January 11, 2020
Fantastic story! I loved this book!!!
September 27, 2020
Very slow read, but i still liked it.
January 23, 2016
Samantha, or Mandy, longs to get away from her current situation. When the chance comes to go to California (under some slight duress) acting as her cousin, she takes it, promising her cousin she won't give up the secret. She is escorted by James Long and Travis Langley, or Hawk, both of whom sort of fall in love with her. Hawk however is not about to admit it, especially when the reputation of the woman he's escorting indicates that she's a flirt and tears through men at an alarming pace. They antagonize each other for a lengthy journey across the country and when he finds out she's not the cousin, he's livid. More separation, angst and so on.
This is prefaced as a 1988, first work for this author - definitely a Bodice Ripper, almost classically done. This definitely reads as a first work - it's a well-written story, but something in the way it reads is not quite polished. Not like this author's more current work. There are also a significant number of BR cliches... like the love/hate attraction, drunken forced seduction, mistress proposition and the lengthy separation because of assumed death. Actually, if you go into this story with wide eyes open, expecting a BR, the story isn't so bad.
Mandy/Sam/Samantha/Winasha/pretending to be Julia (why does she have so many names?) isn't really all that annoying, but she does have a nasty habit of provoking the hero. This borders on TSTL, especially after he shows he has no control over his temper and spanks her bare ass in the middle of the woods. She is praised constantly for her spirit and fire and her willingness to stand up to bullies. She stands up to Hawk to save a bobcat cub, she stands up to Indians to save herself and her coat, but she stands and watches as those same Indians rape and kill a woman she was traveling with. Not a peep out of her. Hawk or Travis is like an adolescent caught in a man's body - he lusts for the heroine and completely loses control and then gets angry with her and is unable to understand why. He's pretty rotten to her and there's no real reason for it...it's just who he is. So him I wasn't so much a fan of. And he rapes the heroine (completely non-con at least once), the other times we could say it's forced seduction. Although, the hero's friend thinks to himself, "He couldn't have forced his attentions on her a second time, could he?" If we think "forced attentions on" means rape, then even the friend knows the hero has raped the heroine repeatedly and is seemingly okay with it. Still, the scenes read as forced seduction, so perhaps a little less disturbing...
This ends up being an average read for me. I prefer this author's more current work, but it was nice to see how she got her beginnings. Even in the category of BR it doesn't really stand out from the pack.
This is prefaced as a 1988, first work for this author - definitely a Bodice Ripper, almost classically done. This definitely reads as a first work - it's a well-written story, but something in the way it reads is not quite polished. Not like this author's more current work. There are also a significant number of BR cliches... like the love/hate attraction, drunken forced seduction, mistress proposition and the lengthy separation because of assumed death. Actually, if you go into this story with wide eyes open, expecting a BR, the story isn't so bad.
Mandy/Sam/Samantha/Winasha/pretending to be Julia (why does she have so many names?) isn't really all that annoying, but she does have a nasty habit of provoking the hero. This borders on TSTL, especially after he shows he has no control over his temper and spanks her bare ass in the middle of the woods. She is praised constantly for her spirit and fire and her willingness to stand up to bullies. She stands up to Hawk to save a bobcat cub, she stands up to Indians to save herself and her coat, but she stands and watches as those same Indians rape and kill a woman she was traveling with. Not a peep out of her. Hawk or Travis is like an adolescent caught in a man's body - he lusts for the heroine and completely loses control and then gets angry with her and is unable to understand why. He's pretty rotten to her and there's no real reason for it...it's just who he is. So him I wasn't so much a fan of. And he rapes the heroine (completely non-con at least once), the other times we could say it's forced seduction. Although, the hero's friend thinks to himself, "He couldn't have forced his attentions on her a second time, could he?" If we think "forced attentions on" means rape, then even the friend knows the hero has raped the heroine repeatedly and is seemingly okay with it. Still, the scenes read as forced seduction, so perhaps a little less disturbing...
This ends up being an average read for me. I prefer this author's more current work, but it was nice to see how she got her beginnings. Even in the category of BR it doesn't really stand out from the pack.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2013
Yeah... this book was pretty shitty. I read a lot of high-falutin' stuff, but I'm not one to dismiss a novel out of hand just because it's a romance novel, but this... really wasn't good. I got it because it was called "Magnificent Passage" and that made me giggle. But... meh. The sex scenes weren't all that titillating, the story-line was weak, and the hero was an asshole. He was all "RAR! I WILL JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS." Also there was a bit where he literally raped the heroine, and I don't mean "No! I mean yes, but no! What WILL society say?" that goes on in romance novels but all-out she's-fighting-back-yelling-no rape (which she ends up enjoying, which is NOT the message I want to see in a book written primarily for women, or anybody. Ew) And then she marries him later.
In the author's defense, she prefaces this edition with a disclaimer that this was her first novel and she wrote it decades ago before she knew any better and would NEVER write that sort of a novel now. She says she felt a bit nervous about re-releasing it but her fans wanted to see what her first novel was like. (I guess the romance novel equivalent of Tintin in the Congo? (Which is an even better analogy than I was looking for, because Magnificent Passage was also chock full of racial stereotypes. Double Ew.)
I just... I really wanted the heroine to call the guy on it, to be like "You know what? That other guy DOESN'T arouse me the way you do, but he also isn't a raging asshole, or abusive, or manipulative like you. WHEN I TELL HIM I'M NOT READY, HE BACKS OFF. I don't see why you expect me to fall at your feet when you're being a dick."
Also the guy kept feeling things "in the area of his heart", which was hilarious when it was something like a "painful throbbing" (because in romance novels, if you're experience a painful throbbing in your HEART, we need you to specify) but kind of bewildering when it was something like "deep sorrow" (where ELSE would you be feeling that?).
In the author's defense, she prefaces this edition with a disclaimer that this was her first novel and she wrote it decades ago before she knew any better and would NEVER write that sort of a novel now. She says she felt a bit nervous about re-releasing it but her fans wanted to see what her first novel was like. (I guess the romance novel equivalent of Tintin in the Congo? (Which is an even better analogy than I was looking for, because Magnificent Passage was also chock full of racial stereotypes. Double Ew.)
I just... I really wanted the heroine to call the guy on it, to be like "You know what? That other guy DOESN'T arouse me the way you do, but he also isn't a raging asshole, or abusive, or manipulative like you. WHEN I TELL HIM I'M NOT READY, HE BACKS OFF. I don't see why you expect me to fall at your feet when you're being a dick."
Also the guy kept feeling things "in the area of his heart", which was hilarious when it was something like a "painful throbbing" (because in romance novels, if you're experience a painful throbbing in your HEART, we need you to specify) but kind of bewildering when it was something like "deep sorrow" (where ELSE would you be feeling that?).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 30, 2016
I could definitely tell that this was Martin's first book considering its reads like it is an author's first. In this case the books is still a win as far as I am concerned. I enjoyed the characters and their relationship as it grows throughout the story and their journey. It gets tiring reading characters that get along too well or too fast and fall in love the same way. That can not be said for Sam and Hawk at all as most of the time they can't stand each other even if they like each other-- that too me is love. I love the strength of Sam's character especially during the time as she wants to go out and explore the growing world around her as well as her willingness to find a way to do so. I find her relationship with Hawk highly entertaining with their constant disagreements which more often then not come from denied admiration on both ends. James I find an interesting character and would've loved to have seen more of him but him playing ref to Hawk and Sam was entertaining. Another great point of the novel was the journey itself. I love a book when there is always something happening such as an event or going ons between the characters. Martin kept either one if not both going almost constantly.
All in all I have two actual points that bothered me while reading. The reading of the novel was not one as I can get passed it being the first for Martin and it wasn't that bad that once you got into the story you barely notice it.
My issue was the nickname Mandy for Samantha...where does that come from? and in all honestly it confused me for the first few chapters. Considering that mandy is no form of sam it could've been left out to avoid confusion. Secondly I felt that when the book was getting really good it just seemed to wrap up really quick. The happenings in the end were some of the best parts but they ended up being short.
All in all I have two actual points that bothered me while reading. The reading of the novel was not one as I can get passed it being the first for Martin and it wasn't that bad that once you got into the story you barely notice it.
My issue was the nickname Mandy for Samantha...where does that come from? and in all honestly it confused me for the first few chapters. Considering that mandy is no form of sam it could've been left out to avoid confusion. Secondly I felt that when the book was getting really good it just seemed to wrap up really quick. The happenings in the end were some of the best parts but they ended up being short.
July 30, 2011
Kat never disapoints me, she keeps me turning the pages and not wanting the story to end!!! Lot's of love, sensual scenes, American Indians vs the White man, (Hawk who grew up with the Cheyene Indians and Amanda or is her name Julia fall for each other hard, love so strong, no one could keep them apart or can they? Read this book, great read! Action, murders, sensual scenes, a bit of history, a must read!
April 18, 2012
I've always enjoyed books by Kat Martin, so I was excited when I came across Magnificent Passage. It's an enjoyable read, though a bit melodramatic with a Perils of Pauline type of heroine and a touch of violence here and there. But don't let that stop you from reading this book as you'll be sure to enjoy the romantic adventure. This is the kind of book where the good guys are really good and the bad guys really bad. You'll root for the lovers until the very end.
September 25, 2009
Western
September 1, 2011
For her first book it was so good. Love all her books.
December 16, 2011
3.5 stars. An enjoyable read. A throw back to the classic bodice ripper.
June 25, 2013
Loved it.
July 10, 2013
Whew. I have never read a romance before this one and man it did not fail me. I could not put this book down. I will pay for staying up late reading this book. Worth the lack of sleep.
November 5, 2013
Not bad for a first book but not Ms. Martins' best work either. Things got a bit mushy at the end.
February 3, 2016
I like it....not the best in these time but I simply and breathing.
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