Conor's Way

by Laura Lee Guhrke

Determined to save her post-Civil War plantation, stubborn Olivia Maitland reluctantly enlists the help of ex-boxer Conor Branigan, whose bitterness over the destruction of his Irish home has made him swear to remain independent forever. Original.

Genres: Historical Romance, Historical, Romance, Westerns, Historical Fiction, Marriage Of Convenience, Civil War

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1996

About the author

From the publication of her very first historical romance, Laura Lee Guhrke has received numerous honors and critical acclaim for her novels and her writing style. She has been honored with the most prestigious award of romance fiction, the Romance Writers of America Rita Award, and she has received additional awards from Romantic Times and All About Romance. Romantic Times has proclaimed her, “One of the most natural voices in historical romance to be found today”. Her books routinely hit the USA Today Bestseller List, and Guilty Pleasures has been honored with the Romantic Times Award for Best European Historical Romance of 2004. Among her publishing credits are twelve historical romances, including her latest, And Then He Kissed Her, now available from Avon Books.

Laura is currently hard at work on her thirteenth historical romance for Avon Books. She has also written articles for various publications, including the Romance Writers Report, The British Weekly , and the Irish-American Press.

Reviews

[Floripiquita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maravilloso libro -el número 16 del #RetoRita- que recomiendo encarecidamente. Una historia aparentemente sencilla que encierra un sincero y emotivo alegato contra la opresión, ya sea por culpa de la religión, el sexo, la clase social o las convenciones establecidas. Una historia que narra de forma magistral cómo el amor, en cualquiera de sus formas, puede redimir y salvar a un personaje masculino tan complejo y endurecido como Conor, cuya desgraciada existencia en su país de origen, Irlanda, estruja el corazón del lector más insensible. Un gran aplauso para la autora y su Olivia, magnífico ejemplo de cómo la bondad puede cambiar el mundo que nos rodea.

[Grecia Robles · Rating 4 out of 5]

#RetoRita3
#RitaLaura

Qué bonito
Este es un libro PRECIOSO.

Amo a Laura Lee Guhrke y su manera de escribir tan amena, entretenida y sobre todo por sus personajes tan entrañables.

Un Lugar para Conor es sin duda uno de sus mejores libros y yo que he leído varios libros de Laura es un tanto diferente a los demás, este libro es tierno y dulce, con ese angst que te apachurra el corazón.

La historia transcurre en Louisiana después de la guerra civil en USA.
Por azares del destino Olivia que es una mujer soltera que se ha hecho cargo de tres niñas y las está criando como sus hijas se cruza en el camino de Conor un boxeador irlandés que tiene un pasado turbio y atormentado. Olivia necesita a un trabajador y sólo puede ofrecer comida un techo para dormir por lo que nadie está interesado hasta que encuentra a Conor malherid o y cree que sus súplicas han sido escuchadas ella lo acoge lo cura y lo alimenta.

Conor sólo quiere libertad y paz y sabe que no puede arraigarse a nadie por lo que en un principio rechaza la oferta de Olivia pero la ve desesperada y decide ayudarla sólo hasta la cosecha de melocotones.
Pero mientras tanto va surgiendo la pasión la ternura y el amor entre Olivia y Conor y se va cociendo a fuego lento. Ella sabe que lo ama y quiere que se quede con ella y sus hijas pero no quiere retenerlo y él tiene miedo de querer y luego perderlas.

Conor es de esos protagonistas que me gustan torturados reacios a amar pero que en el fondo tiene tanto amor para dar.
Olivia es de esas protagonistas que son valientes y luchan por lo que quieren y por las personas que aman. Es muy raro que suceda pero Olivia de los dos protagonistas es la que más me gustó y eso que a Conor lo amé.

Y lo que más me gustó del libro fueron las niñas y sus interacciones con Conor eran demasiado dulces sus escenas. Ellas fueron fundamentales para el cambio de él.

Siempre me hace falta un epílogo y esta no es la excepción aunque ya lo estoy aceptando ya que.

[Mo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am usually very wary and skeptical about reading "Irish" characters in novels - sometimes we are portrayed like Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in Far and Away with dreadful Irish accents and sayings (Hollywood portrayal of the Irish like leprechauns in Darby O'Gill and the Little People - cringeworthy) and the fact that this book was only 99 cents had me between two minds whether to buy it or not - but I did and I am very glad I did. The story is very well written and like another reviewer said, I am not a big fan of flashback stories either but we had to have these in order to understand Conor. The history was very well researched and brought back to me my history lessons during my school years. Made me want to revisit the history books again and catch up on bits I had forgotten. Yes, Conor uses bad language but I think most Irish people do - I know it comes automatically to me sometimes whether I like it or not. My only gripe was that some of the Gaelic/Gaeilge was incorrect - wrong accents on letters etc. but that is only because I know the language - could have been a problem scanning the book for KINDLE or something like that - apart from that I would highly recommend this book even if you want to find about a bit of Irish history also. She had all the Irish expressions correct, even the "cup of tay" (think I will have one now actually) Must check out some more of this author's work.

Originally reviewed on Amazon

[Lau ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I’m not asking for tomorrow. All I’m asking for is tonight”.


After the death of her only employee and friend, Olivia desperately needs a couple of extra hands to help her on the farm or she will have to give up and sell it. But she loves the land; it's the only thing left of her family, the place her daughters call home, so she prays to God to send a man to help them.


Olivia stared down at the unconscious stranger, and she wondered if he knew how to patch a roof and pick peaches. Right now, he didn’t look capable of much at all. She sighed and pushed back her hat, glancing at the dark skies above, blinking at the rain that hit her face. “Lord,” she said heavily, “this isn’t exactly what I had in mind.” 😂


Connor knows a prizefighter needs to lose if they tell him to, but he doesn’t want to. So he wins the fight, and they beat him and leave him in the street to die. But surviving seems to be his special talent for the next time he wakes up he’s in a bed. Even if he owes Olivia his life, he can’t stay to help her and the girls. He can’t stand loving and losing another person in his life. But while he gets better, he really should do whatever is in his hand to help them, even if that makes staying a little longer, right?


Lately I've been trying to read something that it’s not by Laura Lee, but I’m so tired of dnfing books I always end up giving in. I don’t know what I love more about her books: the coherent plot, the writing style that gives me all the feelings or the heroines that are responsible and clever, but also daring when it’s needed. I’m still not thrilled about the lack of epilogue but you have to choose your wins.


I was a bit weary of picking this up because this book is older than me but the promise of cute children convinced me to give it a try-and I’m happy to say it stood the test of time. It takes place in Louisiana around 1850, which was very refreshing after reading so many regency romances. The heroine came from what used to be a very rich family before the war and now all she had left were the lands and three orphans to take care of. As for the hero, Connor, his family died during The Great Famine in Ireland, so he joined the Irish rebels and ended up in prison. Sometimes I feel his character suffered way more than his share but, taking into account the historical period, I can imagine it happening in real life.


The book goes back and forth between past and present. While my favorite part was the present, which is where the romance was taking place, the mystery of what happened to Connor and how he ended up in Louisiana creates the kind of suspense that made me unable to stop reading.


I usually hate tortured heroes because the authors tend to use their trauma to excuse their poor behavior. In Connor’s case, it was only used to explain why he didn’t want to stay in Olivia’s house-and not wanting to have a family after you have seen yours die of hunger, sickness and beatings seems pretty understable for me. Don’t get me wrong, he was a hot head at times and that got him beaten, but he wasn’t too much of a hot head. In fact, I would say the heroine was much more stubborn than he was and drove me a bit crazy sometimes. She’s lucky this was a romance novel, that’s all I’m going to say.


I was really surprised that I ended up loving Connor as much as I did. After everything he had suffered, he still had a huge heart he wasn’t able to hide, and I adored how he ended up using his wit to save the day. As for the heroine, despite being a bit naive and very stubborn, I admired her selflessness. It didn’t matter if she was in love with Connor, if she and her daughters needed him, she always let him be.


She was filled with desolation at the idea of spending all the days of her life loving him, knowing he did not love her, knowing he might even hate her for what he had been forced to do, knowing that one day she could wake up and find him gone.


Overall, Connor’s Way has a rich argument that keeps you on your toes but also the homey vibes that make you want to live in it. I would highly recommend it if you are in the mood for a single mom romance with kids you are going to adore and don’t mind a caring but tortured hero who needs to realize he cannot keep running from love forever.

[Ridley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This re-issue is available in ebook for a whopping $.99. I'm not going to review it, I'm gonna tell your cheap ass to just go and freaking buy it already. Spinster heroine raising three orphan girls in Reconstruction Louisiana + Irish prizefighter hero who's an epic tortured soul = WHY HAVEN'T YOU BOUGHT THE DAMN THING YET?

[Yolanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

#RetoRita
Maravilloso.
Es una de esas historias en los que los protagonistas vienen de unos mundos tan diferentes, una niñez tan distinta los dos y una manera de ver las cosas tan tan diferente...
El desarraigo, el pasado tan tremendo de Conor, el no querer pertenecer a nada ni a nadie, el odio que lleva dentro.
Olivia, dueña de una plantación en ruinas tras la guerra civil. Una vida acomodada hasta que terminó la guerra, con tres niñas adoptadas y el coraje de sacarlas adelante y mantener su tierra que en un tiempo fue el orgullo de su familia.
El pasado de Conor se va conociendo poco a poco y son partes duras, de esas que cuando las lees se te rompe el corazón. Entiendes su sentimiento de pérdida, de derrota, de negarse a querer a nadie, su odio. Ves como poco a poco se envuelve del cariño de las niñas, de la generosidad de Olivia, de su coraje, de su amor y su coraje por sacar adelante sus tierras. Es un personaje maravilloso.
Olivia no se queda atrás, es de una dulzura y una generosidad tremendas.
Es una historia de amor bonita,dulce y emotiva, de esas que no olvidas. Te enamoras de Conor, adoras a Olivia y amas sin remedio a las tres niñas.
Para mi una maravilla.

[Simply_ego · Rating 5 out of 5]

#RetoRita

RELECTURA

Siempre es una buena escusa para volver a leer éste maravillo libro (aunque yo lo leo aún sin escusa). Y más gratificante es, que siempre que lo leo ( es la tercera vez que lo leo) siento cada momento igual de intensamente que la primera vez. Como digo, mis 5 estrellas son, mayoritariamente, para libros que según los termino los quiero volver a leer (y que termino por volver a leer)

Los personajes principales están maravillosamente construidos, con un hombre torturado, que ha sufrido demasiado y lo ha transformado en un cínico y ha perdido su creencia en el amor. Una mujer que lucha por salvar a su familia, que las circunstancias le hacen enfrentarse sola a muchas dificultades y lo hace con valentía y una sobriedad de carácter, que es de admirar. Aquí nos narra, cómo se puede formar una familia de la manera más extraña posible, como va creciendo la admiración, el amor y la necesidad del otro poco a poco (a fuego lento, como los buenos pucheros) y sobre todo, la redención de un hombre. Pero no una redención del exterior, sino la peor, la más difícil de todas, que te perdones a ti mismo y te permitas vivir, amar y creer que mereces que te amen.

Es un libro de momentos, miradas, caricias, que te van minando, vas apretando un puño en tu pecho, suspiras, lloras y amas a Connor, en cada momento. Porque este libro es de él de Connor. Ver como la dulzura de Liv va derribando ese "muro" emocional. Que paciencia, cuanto amor tiene esta mujer para dar. No hubiera habido otra para ayudar a Connor. Como lucha él contra lo que le pasa.

Aquí los personajes secundario, son pocos y bien puesto. Pero sobre, otra parte importante de este libro y para Connor, son las hijas de Liv. Ellas son parte muyyy importante. El pobre Connor estaba vendido con respecto a ellas.

Leerlo, porque estoy segura que no os vais arrepentir.

PD. Gracias Yolanda por darme esta oportunidad de leer un libro y poder compartir nuestra impresiones y sentimientos con otra persona. Gracias..

[Vero Rinconin · Rating 5 out of 5]

#RitaLaura #RetoRita3
♥.♥ Me ha gustado mucho, hubo momentos en que se me encogió el corazoncito. Es una historia muy bonita ^^

[Sam I AMNreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conor is a traveling prizefighter with a tortured past. Olivia is a woman tending to a farm and fighting off the locals on her own, in need of a farmhand. When she finds a broken Conor in the road in Louisiana in the years post-civil war, she wonders if her prayers are answered and thinks probably not, but does the good Christian thing and takes him in.

I mean, that's kind of the set up anyway. But this book is about two people's journey to together. And it's not an easy one. There's no miraculous personality change due to realizing one or the other is in love. It's hard work. And neither lead wants to compromise on their ideas of their future.

So.

Conor clearly initially falls for the kindred spirit he sees in a 9 year old girl. So much of the book centers around family, and the culture of family, that you know the end is going to reach it's inevitable conclusion not just because he's fallen in love with the heroine, maybe more becauss he's also in love with her daughters.

Conor never stops being hard or tortured. He doesn't become a fountain of emotion. He continually shows the heroine how he cares. And it convinced him too.

I've left Olivia out of this, although she's a wonderful heroine who is uncompromising,strong, and together.

This is a really great, character-driven read with compelling leads and just enough external tension. It's straightforward, and includes a setting that is different. It's on KU, and completely worth checking out.

[Océano de libros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conor Branigan es un boxeador que se gana la vida de esa manera, sin ningún tipo de ataduras pero por lazos del destino conocerá a la joven madre de tres niñas Olivia Maitland y de una manera inexorable tendrá que pasar algún tiempo con ellas y su modo de vida se irá desmontando.
Creo que puedo afirmar que leer un libro de esta autora es una apuesta segura. La atmósfera que crea es estupenda, no solo la historia es interesante también lo son todos y cada uno de los personajes que aparecen en el libro, muy bien caracterizados y que hacen que pases volando cada una de las páginas que componen la obra. Y es que es difícil no enamorarse de esas niñas que dan también mucho juego y son importante también en esa relación que se establece entre el “duro” y distante Conor, que poco a poco va siendo conquistado no solo por Olivia y se convierte en el hombre ideal por esa dualidad entre dureza y dulzura que conquista.
Olivia me ha gustado también, porque es una mujer también dulce y fuerte en las ocasiones que lo requieren, entre ellos forman una pareja que se complementa y logran darnos una historia enternecedora, dura en ocasiones pero que engancha y que conquista.
Tengo que darle cinco estrellas porque me ha robado el corazón, novelas tan bien escritas y contadas merecen la pena.

[Alejandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡Qué libro más bonito! Ha sido una delicia conocer a Conor y a Olivia.
La historia transcurre en el estado de Luisiana, tras la guerra civil americana. Él es un boxeador irlandés que carga con un pasado durísimo a sus espaldas, y ella es una joven soltera que tiene a cargo a tres niñas adorables. Se conocerán gracias al destino, que pone a cada uno en el camino del otro.
La relación entre ellos va poco a poco, se atraen muchísimo y está llena de tensión sexual y de momentos muy tiernos. A pesar de la dureza que Conor pueda transmitir con su carácter arisco, solo es un hombre muy atormentado que lo único que desea es un poco de paz en su vida. Cree que no es merecedor del amor de nadie y, qué queréis que os diga, esto se ha ganado mi corazón.
Olivia es una mujer fuerte, que no se amedrenta ante nada ni ante nadie. Es la típica chica sureña, muy arraigada a su tierra, que antes de la guerra tenía todo y que ahora trabaja duramente para sobrevivir.
Y bueno, el amor va fluyendo entre los dos a medida que crece nuestra alegría lectora, XD. También sufren lo suyo, eh, que no todo es "happy flower", pero merece la pena todo el dolorcito porque es un libro precioso.

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Escritura 5⭐
Personajes 5⭐
Argumento 5⭐
Coherencia 5⭐
Originalidad 4⭐
Disfrute 5⭐

[Crista · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite kind of love story. It's the story of a tortured man who's lost his belief in love, a woman who's fighting to save her family, and a turbulent time in history. It is about the making a of family, the making of a couple, and the redemption of a man. It was a truly remarkable book.

Set after the Civil War, this book tells the story of a woman trying to hold onto her land from opportunistic carpetbaggers while raising 3 adopted daughters. She comes across a wounded man on the road and takes him home to nurse him back to health.

Conor Branigan is an immigrant from Ireland. He has survived watching his family starve to death, horrific torture in prison, and innumerable other atrocities. He is afraid of love and commitment, choosing traveling the circuit as a boxer in order to survive. Gradually his body begins to heal, but it's the healing of his heart that is the true magic of this book.

This book won the prestigious RITA award. It was well deserved. The writing in this book is amazing. The author uses the technique of flashbacks to help us understand Conor and his behavior. I loved the pacing and felt the author did an incredible job at switching between past and present. I usually prefer books without children, but the children in this book were absolutely necessary for the healing that Conor needed to experience. They were a delight and excellent secondary characters who added depth to the story line.

I recommend this book with no hesitation other than it's out of print, hard to find, and expensive to buy. If you can find it....it's definitely a keeper!

[Xoaniña · Rating 4 out of 5]

#RetoRita

Que preciosidad de historia, dos personas de mundos tan distinto con objetivos completamente opuestos y que se acaban necesitando tanto.
Conor me tocó el corazoncito, su dura infancia, su pasado de supervivencia y ese futuro escapando de los fantasmas...... se merecía un final así, cargado de amor y familia!
Lectura muy recomendable!!!!

[Nuria Llop · Rating 5 out of 5]

(13ª lectura del #RetoRita)

Una de las mejores lecturas de este reto y una gran novela. El cuidado estilo de la autora, aparentemente simple, nos engancha a sus páginas tanto como la historia que nos cuenta. Dos protagonistas inolvidables, tan humanos como bien construidos, se rodean de una serie de secundarios igualmente creíbles en los que nada falta ni sobra. Aunque el título del libro sugiere una historia centrada en el protagonista masculino, Conor, lo cierto es que los dos tienen la misma fuerza para atrapar al lector y lo consiguen, lo que no es fácil en una novela. Las conversaciones entre ellos, en las que se van descubriendo el uno al otro, son geniales y nunca vacías de contenido.
Uno de los aciertos de esta novela, en mi opinión, es la estructura: incluir escenas flash-back que nos van contando el pasado de Conor desde niño para que podamos comprender su actitud, por qué está donde está y su forma de ser a medida que avanza paralelamente la historia del presente, en lugar de esperar a las típicas y extensas confesiones de los traumas casi al final del libro (y es que el chico tiene mucho que contar). Un recurso que no solo ayuda a enamorarnos de Conor y aporta interesante información sobre el conflicto entre la Irlanda católica y la Inglaterra protestante, sino que nos ahorra lo que podrían ser momentos demasiado lacrimógemos si él se lo contara a ella durante sus conversaciones, ya que su pasado es muy, muy duro. Un pasado que lo ha llevado a optar por una vida “sin ataduras, ni familia, ni compromiso” (cito a la autora). Poco a poco, a lo largo de las más de 400 páginas que enganchan sin remedio, Conor va aceptando sin quererlo esos tres lazos que se empeña en negarse a sí mismo y que implican directamente al corazón y a los sentimientos. Curiosamente, no es la protagonista femenina, Olivia, la primera en tocar el corazón de Conor, sino una de las hijas adoptivas de ella. Un detalle que me encanta y que considero también muy acertado. Él se convierte en un héroe para las niñas antes de que Olivia lo vea como tal. Aprovecho para destacar esos 3 personajes de 14, 9 y 6 años, que dan el toque de humor a una historia dura y complicada, la suavizan con su dulce ingenuidad y contribuyen a su avance con su infantil sinceridad en algunos momentos. Tres niñas que se comportan y hablan como corresponde a su edad, algo que no siempre sucede en las novelas.
“Un lugar para Conor” es un canto a la supervivencia, a la fortaleza interior del ser humano. Nos habla sobre todo de orgullo y altruismo, pero también de egoísmo (¿quién no lo es, en realidad?): exacerbado en el antagonista y moderado en la protagonista femenina, que hace todo lo posible para que Conor se quede en la casa con ella y así, poder conservarla y no tener que venderla. Ese es el conflicto principal, el que hace arrancar la historia, y a él se unen el personal de cada uno de los protagonistas y el de pareja, que deriva de los anteriores. Es un entramado perfecto y complejo que la autora consigue que parezca simple por la forma de contarlo y logra encontrar el punto de unión entre lo que se nos presenta como opuesto. Ella, cristiana devota, frente a él, católico excomulgado que ha perdido la fe; ella, aferrada a su hogar, a su tierra y a su familia frente a él, que ya no tiene nada de eso ni quiere tenerlo; una mujer bondadosa ante un hombre lleno de odio y amargura que se siente un traidor a su patria y a los que un día fueron su gente. Olivia también tiene dramas en su pasado (no tan graves como los de Conor, es cierto), pero los ha superado y sigue luchando día a día y enfrentándose con valentía y fe a los golpes que le da la vida. La lucha de Conor es literal: boxea para mantener el odio bajo control liberándolo en el ring. La fortaleza de Olivia, unida a su bondad, a su amor y al cariño de esas tres niñas que adoptan a Conor como su héroe serán las que de verdad consigan arrinconar ese odio y dejar espacio a la esperanza de futuro en el corazón de un hombre que se limita a sobrevivir en el presente. Una novela que recomiendo a cualquier lector y que considero imprescindible para las adictas a la romántica.

[Kristiej · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a rough top 10 all time favourite books in my head. While I don’t think have really slipped under that, I do have quite a few ties over the years. Ever since I first read Conor’s Way it’s had a spot on that list, if not in the top 5. The book started haunting me to read it again a few weeks ago and when a book starts doing that I’ve no choice but to give in. I was rather surprised to see it’s been almost five years since I read it. I finished it last night and knew that it still is that high. This was, is and always will be a 5+ book for me. It’s not an easy read but it’s it’s so worth it in its richness. It’s currently on KU so anyone who is even the slightest bit curious needs to read it. It will break your heart and then heal it.

*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/

While I’ve read this book a number of times and recommend it every chance I get, it seems I haven’t posted a review on GoodReads, something I must remedy immediately.
Giving a very short one, I love everything about this book and is one of the first books I looked for when I switched from print books to ebooks.

While I got it for a Very Good Price back in the day, at $5 it’s still a very good deal.
Connor Branigan is probably one of the most tortured hero’s I’ve ever read. It hurts reading everything he has been through in his relatively young life. Of course that makes his HEA even sweeter when he finally gets it. But until then? Wow does he suffer. He grew up in Ireland, the poor tenants of a very nasty English Lord. He and his family were thrown off their land and that was only the beginning. His family starved to death during the Potato Famine.

He later joins the early version of the IRA in retaliation against the English. He was captured and unspeakably tortured into giving up his comrades. Despite holding out against the most horrific treatment imaginable, he finally gives in, only to be told by the sadistic torturer that another member had already given the information, his friends all killed and his torture was not even necessary..

He immigrates to America and things aren’t much better. There is a hatred in the country for all Irish immigrants and he’s finally reduced to trying to make a living as a prizefighter. But when he disobeys orders to ‘throw’ a fight, he’s beaten and then ends up under the roof of Olivia Maitland and her adopted daughters. The book takes place sometime after the civil way and Olivia is struggling. She is being hounded to sell her farm by a former rejected overseer. So when she notices a badly beaten man on her way home, she thinks maybe God is answering her prayers and once she helps him heal, he will help her with chores around her farm leading up to the harvest of her peach crop. But once he regains conscious, it turns out he’s her worst nightmare. He swears, he drinks, he smokes and he’s a bitter and resentful man.

But she slowly gets to know the man underneath his mask of hostility and she begins to fall in love. Connor has never known real kindness in his life and he is befuddled by it and resists falling in love with Oliva and her daughters with all of his might. But that proves impossible so he finally embraces his new role and as he does, he lets go of his self-loathing and finally reaches out for happiness.

This book is such a great example of the romance genre and why I love it so much. It’s beautifully written and we weep and celebrate with Connor and Olivia. They are both such lonely people yet so deserving of being loved. As I said, I’ve read this numerous times over the years, first in print and then on my ereader and every single time I do, I fall in love with it all over again. This book is easily in my top ten of every romance book I’ve read and if you haven’t read it yourself, you simply must give it a read.

[Kimberly Carrington-Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una delicia de libro
Una historia de amor rodeada de dolor y miedo que nos da esperanzas y que nos transmite el mensaje de que hasta el corazón más dañado puede volver a latir.
Ya sabéis que siento especial debilidad por las historias situadas en el Oeste y tras la Guerra de Secesión Americana y, si bien Laura Lee no es capaz de retorcerte el corazón como mi adorada Lorraine Heath, sí logra componer una historia sencilla pero de intensidad emocional, de tenerte con la lagrimilla al borde de la pestaña postiza gran parte de la lectura. Los protagonistas son adorables y sufres con ellos (también disfutas pero momentos de esta clase hay muchos menos) y la historia está contada de un modo muy sencillo y efectivo. El final es un poco simplón, eso sí, y se resuelve todo más rápidamente de lo que a mí hubiera gustado pero eso no me quita el disfrute previo ni la sensación de haber tenido entre mis manos un libro que merece mucho la pena.

[Sonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una historia preciosa.
Conor es un amor.
Olivia es un amor.
Becky, Carrie y Miranda son un amor.
Hasta Chester es un amor.
Solo tengo un pero: me ha faltado un epílogo.

[Sombra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 estrellas

Esta autora fue un descubrimiento hace poco con su serie "Las chicas de Little Russel" y unas amigas me recomendaron este libro diciendo que era de lo mejorcito de ella...Y no se equivocaron!!
A pesar de que mis expectativas eran muy altas, no decayeron según iba leyendo sino todo lo contrario.

La historia romántica ha sido tranquila, pausada y muy a fuego lento, lo cual agradezco, porque después de tantos insta - love, hay veces que me apetece creerme ese romance un poco más.
Conor es un personaje muy complejo, su historia ha sido tan dura que es la base de todo el libro y me ha gustado mucho ver ese pasado que ha hecho que sea como es ahora y por qué hace lo que hace cuando encuentra a la protagonista.
Sobre Olivia, solo puedo decir que es una protagonista de las que me gustan; fuerte, independiente pero que no tiene miedo a admitir sus debilidades cuando es necesario, que se deja aconsejar. Sus hijas, otros personajes clave en la historia, a diferencia de otros niños de libros que he leído, me han parecido eso, niñas normales que solo buscan tener una familia y van a hacer todo lo posible porque eso ocurra.

Hay pocos secundarios, pero todos y cada uno de ellos cumplen su papel y no parecen estar metidos con calzador. Si algún pero tengo que poner, es que el antagonista acaba demasiado bien para todo lo que hizo sufrir a Conor y Olivia.
En definitiva, un libro que habla del dolor de un hombre que tuvo que alejarse de todo lo que amaba por la guerra y de la importancia de las segundas oportunidades y el amor para curar viejas heridas.

[Esca Tusser · Rating 3 out of 5]

He llegit aquest llibre motivada pel #RetoRita3 #RetoLaura. És el primer que llegeixo de l'autora. No està mal. El personatge masculí és força complex, torturadet, com a mi m'agraden (als llibres, eh...). Ella, i la història, una mica previsible. No hi ha gaire sorpreses, però la lectura és fàcil i amena. Me'l vaig acabar en dues tardes. Molt romàntic, i amb aquests toquets d'Irlanda i de gaèlic, que ens arriben al cor...

He leído este libro motivada por el #RetoRita3 #RetoLaura. Es el primero que leo de esta autora. No está mal. El personaje masculino es bastante complejo, torturadito, como a mí me gustan (en los libros, eh..). Ella, y la historia, un poco previsibles. No hay muchas sorpresas, pero la lectura es fácil y amena. Me lo terminé en dos tardes. Muy romántico, y con esos toquecillos de Irlanda y de gaélico, que nos llegan al corazón...

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Estoy in love con Conor, me ha gustado mucho. Yo que esperaba un nadismo. Pero no. Al principio ya me estaba montando la película "El seductor" (1971) o "La seducción" (2017), si es que soy una malpensada. Conor, este maromazo irlandés arrastra un pasado digno de la Gabaldon, es imposible que no te enamores de él (ʃƪ♡₃♡). Olivia, es una mujer echá pa'lante después de los estragos que dejó la Guerra de Secesión, pero necesita que le recojan los melocotones (literal, viciosillas, y no tan literal ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)) y se lo pide al cielo y nuestro maromazo cae de él. Entre ellos surge un amor a fuego lento con un final redondo como dice Cassie. Altamente recomendable

[Mon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es esa historia de amor por lo que siento debilidad, una trama aparentemente sencilla pero que tiene más miga de lo que parece en un principio, dos personajes que vienen de mundos completamente opuestos y con una gran mochila acuesta, en el caso del protagonista. Todo ello con el trasfondo de fin de la guerra de Secesión en un Sur derrotado con los nuevos ricos yanquis haciéndose con el poder de todo. Y por otro lado la lucha de Irlanda contra la opresión inglesa. Esa parte me ha encantado, tengo debilidad por ese país y todo lo que le rodea, pozi no lo niego.

El escenario, una casa sureña ruinosa con una protagonista solterona (WOW con 29 y ya estabas para vestir santos), 3 niñas adoptadas y un boxeador. Conor es malhumorado, cinico, torturado y de vuelta de todo, que es recogido con Olivia en un estado lamentable despues de una paliza, un cocktel perfecto para una historia de amor que se va cociendo poco a poco. Vamos conociendo a Conor y lo que le paso a través de flash-back que nos ayudan a conocerlo mejor, un personaje muy complejo y muy bien construido, y Olivia no se queda atrás, ella también perdió mucho pero tienes a sus hijas con ella y eso hace que no se sienta sola y sea más valiente con sus sentimientos. Y las 3 niñas dan el contrapunto a la historia sin ser empalagosas.

Eche de menos un epílogo y un poco más de “saseo”, pero no siempre se puede tener todo

[Myself · Rating 4 out of 5]

#RetoRita 4/5
Un libro que merece mucho la pena. Una bonita historia de amor llena de esperanza, que nos toca el corazón.
Tanto Conor como Olivia me parecen unos personajes muy bien construidos, tan diferentes pero tan parecidos a la vez. A las niñas las terminas amando.
Me ha gustado mucho, ya era hora en un libro del #RetoRita
Totalmente recomendable

[Mariloli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decir que me ha encantado, la historia, los personajes, si tuviera que poner una pega seria lo rapido que se resuelve todo. Muy bonito.

[Jane Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 estrellas.

Una delicia

[Kim H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Often prohibitively expensive to purchase from any of the usual online used book sources, Conor's Way is an early effort by Laura Lee Guhrke (her 3rd book) that stands head & shoulders above the rest. This book is a western/frontier historical reminiscent of a good Maggie Osborne story (The Wives of Bowie Stone).

Olivia Maitland is a woman struggling to care for her adopted daughters in the aftermath of the Civil War. Her hired man has recently passed away, and she is in desperate need of a helping hand with the overwhelming responsibilities of caring for her family and her nearly bankrupt & dilapidated plantation. She prays for help and soon finds it in the form of one Conor Branigan, a prizefighter & aimless drifter, who Olivia finds beaten and unconscious on the side of the road. Olivia drags Conor home and tends to his injuries, but quickly discovers that he's not the sort of man she feels comfortable with having under her roof. He's prone to swearing, has violent nightmares, and when Olivia discovers that he's a prizefighter and a gambler, it's the final straw.
Being a Christian do-gooder, however, Olivia is reluctant to toss Conor out on his ear before his injuries are fully healed, and thus the stage is set for a sweet and touching cabin romance that has earned a well-deserved spot on my keeper shelf.
Conor is a very tortured hero with an intriguing past, and Olivia a reluctant spinster (her father's possessiveness following the death of Olivia's mother being the root cause of her spinsterhood), who packed away her dreams of love & marriage along with her party dresses, following the war and the brutal hardships of life. They are strongly attracted to each other for reasons that seem to baffle them both, but Olivia is afraid to ask Conor to stay, and Conor is blatantly terrified of becoming attached to anyone or allowing himself to even want a wife & family.

Without revealing too much of the plot, suffice it to say that Conor has some of the most valid reasons I've ever seen in a romance to fear commitment, so his persistent avoidance of anything resembling settling down came across in a very genuine way. Olivia wants Conor but is unwilling to press the issue, but when they are caught in a compromising position by self-righteous and nosy townspeople, Conor reluctantly agrees to marry Olivia, rather than walk away knowing that she faces losing custody of her adopted daughters. This comes across as just a tad contrived but is still credible enough to keep a reader engaged. Olivia feels terrible about it, but she's willing to do literally anything to keep her children, and while Conor is initially angry, he doesn't go to unforgivable extremes in his resentment over being trapped into marriage. And as Olivia's friend Sarah so aptly phrases it: "If a man can't afford to pay for the dinner, he shouldn't even be looking at the menu." - which neatly sums up Conor's predicament. In short, Conor may be a reluctant hero (& husband) but he's a standout at delivering when it really counts.

I gave Conor's Way an A+ and highly recommend it... if you're among the fortunate few who can manage to lay hands on a copy. I'm keeping mine - forever and I will definitely read it again.

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 5 out of 5]

CONOR'S WAY is like a chocolate caramel candy bar. It is rich, gooey and messy at times. And like good chocolate, it can be addictive.

Set in Louisiana six years after the Civil War, it is a story that is steeped in history. Conor Branigan moved to America from Ireland trying to forget a tragic past. Olivia Maitland survived the war between the states but lost two brothers at Gettysburg. Her father died a short time later after he had an accident. She eventually became mother to three orphaned daughters of her closest friend when she passed away. The Civil War took a deep toll and her home is all the memories she has left of her family.

They meet each other for the first time when Conor is beaten and left for dead after a skirmish with a devious business owner. Olivia was heading to town to see if anyone had replied to her ad for a worker to assist her with her property. She spots Conor and takes him home to care for him. All along hoping he might be someone that will help her.

Both people came from damaged backgrounds but it is what they have learned from their pasts that formed their personalities. Conor had been content with his superficial life. Or so he thought. Olivia worried deeply on how she was going to put food on the table and pay the bills until the peaches could be harvested. That same business owner that hurt Conor wants to buy Olivia's land so he can build a railroad; it is the only piece of property he needs for his plans to go forth. And he will do anything to get it.

Over the next few weeks, Olivia and her daughters become attached to Conor. Each in their own way. Conor does his darnedest in giving Olivia a hard time. And those same secondary characters give depth and flavor to the storyline without overwhelming the time spent between the hero and heroine.

Full of trust issues and emotion with dark moments, this historical romance is for the reader who enjoys imperfect characters and plenty of angst. The plot will push and pull at your soul. If anything else, you will never take for granted what war does to a person. I finished the book within two days but I am exhausted. In a good way.

[Aou · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was slow burn and not enough angsty for me but nice and well written.

[Renae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay okay okay. Suspiciously green 90’s book cover aside, Conor’s Way is not a book to be missed. Trust me, you need this book in your life. This novel takes on everything I love about the romance genre, and Laura Lee Guhrke executes everything to perfection. This, right here, is why I read romance novels and why I love them so damn much.

So let’s lay the scene. In the postbellum south, Olivia Maitland is struggling to keep up her ancestral plantation and raise her three adoptive daughters. She was raised in privilege and comfort, but now she’s struggling just to keep food on the table and mostly-leaky roof over her family’s heads. What would really be helpful would be a farmhand, so she prays that God sends her a man. Then she finds a beaten and half-dead man in the middle of the road. So she brings him home.

Enter Conor, a tough Irish prizefighter who’s also got a certified Epically Tragic Backstory and is a Tortured Soul. The Potato Famine wiped out his whole family; he watched his brother beaten to death with sticks and mother die in a ditch and his sisters starve in his arms. He joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and became a hero, but eventually the English caught him and imprisoned him. Now he’s in America fighting and drinking through his PTSD. He doesn’t want a home, and he knows he doesn’t deserve love.

Buuuuut Conor wasn’t counting on prim and proper Olivia and her kind heart and her three attention-starved daughters. Or a grouchy sheepdog.

Romance novels with cute kids are the best and anyone who says differently can fight me. And Conor’s Way features not one but three cute kids. Imagine a scarred and foul-mouthed prizefighter snuggled up with a little girl who’s scared of thunderstorms and wants to hear a bedtime story. Imagine a tomboy finally finding a father to build her a treehouse and take her fishing. Imagine a proven womanizer suddenly finding a protective streak as he watches a teenager dance “too closely” with a fresh, pimply-faced boy. It’s fucking adorable. My heart. Cannot.

And then Conor and Olivia together? They are fire. Olivia’s 29 and, due to family circumstance, never got a chance to be appreciated as a woman. It’s like that never-been-kissed, doesn’t know how beautiful she is trope, but better, because Olivia is also a supremely strong, self-sufficient, determined woman. She loves Conor, but she isn’t going to do what he says or bend her principles for him. Even if he’s super good in bed and makes her feel things she didn’t know she could feel.

Additionally, Guhrke handles Conor’s PTSD very well. Of course, nobody knows that’s what it is in the 19th century, but yeah. The book doesn’t pretend that True Love heals mental wounds or that you can just “get over” being tortured and systematically degraded all your life. Rather, this novel sees Conor come to a realization and acceptance of his past, and a choice to allow himself happiness in spite of it all. So beautiful.

So, basically: Conor’s Way is a emotional, genuine, and wonderful romance between a take-no-bullshit single mother and the tortured soul she invites into her home. Add a dash of greedy carpetbaggers and gossipy old spinsters, and you’ve got the recipe for a A+ historical romance. This book is not to be missed. For real. Don’t let the suspicious cover mislead you.

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[ᑭᑌᑎƳᗩ [Punya Reviews...] · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review contains spoilers and they're mostly my thoughts as I went with the book...

Currently I’m going through this odd crush on the names Connor and Daniel which is actually why I picked up this book by Laura Lee Guhrke. I heard her name of course but somehow, never got around reading one before. I would say I was dumb. After reading a few reviews of Conor's Way, I HAD to read this book and now I’m SO glad that I did. I loved LLG’s writing along with the background (as flashbacks) of Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) around the time of American Civil War and their failed revolution. It was a painful read, the torture of the British army on them which had me thinking over and over again, yes, things such as this happened before and happening even today. After reading this book, I ended up reconsidering my concept of a ‘tortured hero’ because I wouldn’t wish what Conor went through on anyone! :(

First, I’d start with the adorable heroine Olivia. She was from quite a well off family before the American civil war. There were/are many tragedies plaguing Olivia’s life. Before the war she lost her beloved mother when she was a teenager. Her father’s, who was already an alcoholic, went on to be constant drunkard because he missed his wife. Olivia’s two older brothers died in the war, leaving her all alone to take care of this mess. The flourishing plantation went down, all but one slave leaving it behind. She couldn’t even marry because of her father’s overwhelming possessiveness, which was quite selfish IMO. When 6 yrs ago, Olivia’s best friend Sarah, a war widow, died leaving her three little daughters alone, Olivia thought it was only fitting that she took them into her big, ol’ house. The girls’ uncle didn’t care for them and Olivia couldn’t think of Sarah’s daughters going into any orphanage. So she unofficially adopted them. They have been living with Olivia ever since through all her ups and downs in life, calling her ‘mama’. And I never felt the difference because Olivia herself never let them feel any difference in her affection. The girls are now from the age 6 to 14. Olivia’s father got badly hurt and died from a drunken misadventure. Olivia took care of him in his last days almost all by herself. Of course old Nate, the only helping hand around was there for her too, however grouchy he was about everything. Nate was of big help to her even in his own fragile state. He did a lot of work around the farmhouse, biggest of all was the crop that brings Olivia money; the peach orchard. Other than the orchard and a few livestock, Olivia has nothing of value left. The house needs repair, she wants to sow cotton in some of the spare lands but it’s quite impossible. Then, old Nate also died last summer. And now, she’s in a fix. The girls help her as best as they could, especially the older Becky but they can’t possibly do the farmhouse work. Not certainly all the plucking, processing and packing of peaches when those ripe in a few months. Olivia can’t afford to lose her peaches so she needs a helping hand, badly and ASAP! But God doesn’t listen to her pleas; neither does anyone else by answering her ad in the newspaper that she put there by ignoring the condescending eyes of old gossips and busybodies of her little town. Her offerings of a lodging and meal 3 times a day weren’t working. But she can’t pay a wage. Moreover, Vernon Tyler, the so-called ‘town owner’ with loads of money has been pushing her to sell her lands to him for setting of railroads. She kept denying his offer no matter what and the man is not happy about it after 4 yrs. He’s making trouble for her here and there since he controls the most of the town. What would Olivia do now? One day, her prayers were answered it seems in the form of a wounded man down by the road Olivia was going to get her grocery. She didn’t know him but the man was tall, big and so badly beaten that she couldn’t just leave him there. Olivia took Conor in without knowing who he is or what he’s been. I honestly loved Olivia for her compassionate nature. Life certainly hasn’t been kind to her in many ways but if you read her consequences and how she fought through the obstacles, you’ll only end up respecting her. Yes, she impressed me the way she weathered it all. Yet, I sympathized not only with the tragedies she endured but also the fact that how lonely she was at her advanced, spinsterish age. She, who definitely wanted a family of her own. More than once in the story, I felt really sad for her, maybe because I could understand her situation even if a little.

It would be so much harder for me to talk about Conor. Although born as the son of an Irish farmer, Conor’s life was anything but mundane. He lost his father very young and all hell broke loose when some British lord took hold of his village and started burning down the houses of the villagers to throw them out and take control of their lands. I could feel that this was the larger scenario all over Ireland. There is a scene that includes a young Conor, that had such profound impression me which happened just after their house was burned and the landlord was passing by the scene like he hasn’t just destroyed another family for his greed. Conor’s mother died soon after of grief over his father’s death, lost of their lands, possessions and in utter poverty. The same landlord beat Conor’s elder brother Micheal to death when he stole something from his land. At the tender age of 11, Conor was the sole provider for his two younger sisters. God, I couldn’t even imagine such a childhood. They used to live in the streets and Conor did whatever he could to feed them. Needless to say, he just couldn’t provide for the young girls and after much suffering with poverty and hunger, they both died in front of his eyes. But to Conor’s utter despair, he survived all these; the poverty, the hunger, the numerous diseases and the list never seemed to end. He was still alive, still suffering through it all. He used his anger and hatred to survive. Conor grew up and worked as a carpenter. Soon, he joined prizefighting because it brought more money and was a way to vent off his frustration and anger. He even had a fiancée of sort, someone more than just a lover and dreamed of a life with her. But by then, Conor was involved in the secret brotherhood that went on to become the IRB and already was attending underground meetings and so on. The girl knew she can’t live a life like that so although she was pregnant with his child, she married one of Conor’s friends who was also sweet on her. But she didn’t survive and died soon after. Conor’s one way to heaven, which she was in the face of so much suffering was thus closed and so he became a rebel and put all his heart and soul into it. After some easy quests, he and a friend of him got caught because of someone’s betrayal while retrieving some weapons. He was carted off to Mountjoy Prison and there started the torture that broke my heart. It was pretty graphic and LLG did a really good job of portraying what Conor had to suffer in the hands of British army because he was a Fenian. What those prison guards made him do to make him talk, how he lived a life of living dead, how his friends were brutally murdered in front of his eyes (something he could still see) and what they finally did to Conor to break him, as they put it. This whole experience did break Conor in the gravest way imaginable. He had no hopes or dreams, just a shell of a man living his life who has nothing in the world to live for. His dreams were shattered as were his ideals stomped and disgraced. Although he was regarded as a hero because he suffered in Mountjoy, Conor could NEVER forgive himself. He felt like a cheater, a betrayer. A man who doesn’t deserve the nicer things in life. Conor also suffered from PTSD and quite bad ones. It tore at my heart to know how he lived his life alone, never letting anyone close enough to get attached to him, never any woman he’d ever known or slept with. He suffered through his dreams alone. He fought his demons alone. And he woke alone. Three years ago, because he couldn’t live in Ireland anymore, Conor came to America and has been working as a prizefighter. His life as prizefighter pays off well. He works 5 months; travelling road to road, town to town, living a day to day life. He never stays anywhere too long. He wins most of the times, celebrates that with Irish whiskey and willing women and he leaves them before the night is out. Everything was going fine as this lifestyle gave him the cover he needed. It distracted him, sort of, from his past. Conor wore a charming, rougish smile to ignore the peoples’ gasps of surprise when they saw the torture marks on his body. Well, Conor is a very handsome man but his body is a sharp contrast to his beautiful face. People think of various things about those marks and Conor pretends that he doesn’t care... Anyway, in this part of Louisiana, Conor came for another prizefighting match. His manager asks him to lose to the local champion because of the bets. Conor has never been good at taking orders and abide by them so he does the opposite. While leaving, he gets an awful beating by the hired crooks of the town owner, Vernon. Vernon threatens him never to show his face here again and snatches away his money. The crooks leave Conor, bleeding and unconscious, somewhere on the road. Which is how Olivia finds him.

Olivia didn’t know of course about Conor’s profession. But she was attracted to him nonetheless. I really loved those opening chapters of their rocky relationship. Ironically, their relationship could be termed as rocky at best almost throughout the story, which frustrated me to no end. I wanted to shake and slap Conor to look at Olivia and really see her. Then there would be another chapter of his heartbreaking past and I just couldn’t hate him or blame him for anything. I couldn’t even think of what he went through. Back to the story. Olivia was enraged at first after she understood what Conor did. Prizefighting is gambling, not to mention it hurts people so it’s akin to sinning. Olivia comes from a rigid religious background so she starts disliking Conor a lot. Then, when he was delusional with fever, Conor cursed and spoke of his past which made Olivia a bit more than scared of him. She was also thinking of her daughters. Carrie, the middle girl, is the most curious of them all and prone to mischief of all sort. She’s the one who approaches Conor first. Miranda, the younger one does too. Becky would help Olivia but she wouldn’t let Becky near Conor always. Conor and Olivia would exchange heated words over their different views of life and beliefs and Conor would vow to leave whenever he’s well enough to do so. But as time passed, he begins to fall into a routine. Conor started to admire Olivia too for her strong yet compassionate nature. And yes, he was very attracted to her. Olivia wasn’t beautiful in the conventional sense but there was something about her he couldn’t deny. At first, he tries to reason that it was the forced celibacy that did this to him but he knew deep inside that was not all.

There were scenes I did love as I did the story. I think I began to enjoy it more when their relationship blossomed into something deeper, even though Conor fought it in every step of the way. He’d convinced himself that married life, settled with a family isn’t for him. He thought this not only because of his self-hatred but also because of his PTSD. He knew any woman who sees him like that would be disgusted and afraid of him. But Olivia has already seen that. Yes she was afraid at first but she also wanted to know what happened to this tormented man. As more days passed, Olivia found it difficult to not to care for him. Even though Conor wanted to leave, he promised to help Olivia for as long as it takes for the peach harvest because he saw that she really needed the help. But he tried to stay aloof. And the girls weren’t helping. Carrie and Miranda viewed him as a hero of sort and worshipped him. He’d do a little this or that for them and they would awash him with their attentions. Conor would feel smothered by their affection, again because he thought he’s undeserving of it all. He never made promises, tried never to keep any but here, things started to change. His lifestyle was changing drastically. So even though he tried to stay away, he couldn’t say ‘no’ to anything the girls would ask of him. He started to do smaller tasks around the farm and gradually went on doing the bigger ones as well, like working on the roof of the house. He also started on a swing, secretly and tentatively, to surprise Olivia.

Olivia was grateful for Conor’s help but she wanted to help him too. But Conor just won’t let her in. In between, knowing he can’t read or write, Olivia took in the task of teaching him. Conor was talented and very dedicated, which paid off soon enough. With this, their attraction to each-other grew. Olivia, so far, has fought with Vernon’s petty threats. She’d also hidden Conor away so that the townspeople wouldn’t know that a strange man, an Irish lowlife at that, was living in her house. Only her neighbor Oren and his family did. Oren was a genuine friend to Olivia, so was his wife Kate till the end. As mentioned earlier, Conor fought his attraction to Olivia but ended up kissing her in an incident that involved Becky kissing one of her friends, a boy from the town. That kiss changed a lot of Olivia’s perspectives about love and passion. Since she’d never even kissed a man, Conor shook her world badly. It was believable, trust me. So she begins to see things differently. At first, Olivia’s relationship with her daughters bugged me because she wasn’t yet 30 and Becky was already 14 or so. But as I got deeper into the story, somehow the feeling was lost and I was glad for it. At times, as I discovered more about Olivia and the fighter that she was, I saw little bit of myself in her. I understood her loneliness as well. I understood that falling for a troubled man like Conor can’t ever be an easy task, certainly not so when he was trying his best of push her away. He hurt her and I was hurt in the process. Though Olivia remained steadfast in her unrequited love for Conor, she began to resign in it. She knew Conor would never love her back and that he’d leave soon enough. In the meantime, Vernon cooked up more troubles to drive Olivia out of her lands and Conor helped her weather those. We learn that Vernon actually worked in Olivia’s plantation under her father. He wanted to marry her but Olvia’s father rejected the idea. It kinda explained why Vernon was so hostile towards her.

Then they harvest the peaches. I really loved reading the details but I also was dreading some bigger change because in between, Conor tried leaving them once just to prove that he’s the kind of man he thinks he is. But he comes back back, not being able to forget about his promises to her. He also taught Olivia shoot for self-defense and safety once he really leaves. After the harvesting, Conor and Olivia left for the town to sell her crop. They stay at a hotel and spend an evening together. Olivia was feeling insecure because of Conor’s imminent departure so she goes to his room and asks him to make love to her. Conor tries to deny her but he couldn’t. It’s been just too long that he’s been fighting this insane longing for her. Afterwards, Conor still won’t let her in and Olivia knew now her heart would break like nothing else. Meanwhile, the girls were staying with Oren’s family when Miranda blurts out about Conor to a gathering, where the towns busybodies were present. When Conor and Olivia come back, things have worsened. The busybodies demand that the right thing be done. They take the girls away because they deemed Olivia as an immoral woman. Conor was very confused about what to do. He wanted to help Olivia but he certainly didn’t want to marry. And again, he hurts her with his words. He marries her but wasn’t very happy about it. God, this turmoil and all the hurt Olivia suffered; it was so sad and so unfair. She only wanted to have a family of her own. How ironic; now that she’d finally married, to the man she loved no less, she had to resign into a cold and distant relationship with him. It was just too depressing for me. Conor wouldn’t even touch her, not because he didn’t want to but those unavoidable and accursed feelings about himself returned every time he thought of a future with Olivia, the girls and any future children they’ll have. What would Olivia do when he doesn’t even want her near? I felt so much for her, can’t explain.

It all started to change when Conor began feeling safer in his new life as a husband and father. He saw that life can be beautiful, if only he gave it a chance and took what was offered to him. So he started taking it all in, one step at a time. The girls, especially Carrie and Miranda, started calling him ‘daddy’ already and he loved it. He loved spending time with them and envisioning a future in the farm. Gradually, he also lets Olivia in, suddenly again making love to her one day. But when she expressed her true feelings, Conor couldn’t believe that someone would love him like she did. So he tries again to prove her feelings wrong by giving his admhaim or confession to her. But Olivia gently handled his insecurities, never losing patience even though learning of his gruesome past pained her no less than it did him while recounting. The ending was marvelous IMO, kinda proved why I loved Conor so much. He can be a contradiction at times but an amazing man nonetheless. He was so protective of his family when the need aroused and did his best. For the first time in years, he let himself believe that he deserved a beautiful life and Olivia was there waiting for him. What I really missed was a glimpse into their future together. I wanted see him holding his children with Olivia. Maybe I just didn’t want the book to end. *sigh* So, with a lot of love for Conor and Olivia, I give this book a 5 star.