The Searching Hearts

by Dorothy Garlock

Penniless, nineteen-year-old Tucker Houston was fiercely independent, determined to find a better life for herself and her blind fellow orphan in the rich new lands of the West. She brazenly told a few fibs to land a job as a schoolteacher and soon found herself in a wagon train of mail-order brides bound for California.

Leading them all was wagon master Lucas Steele, black-haired, hard-muscled, and drawn to Tucker's fire. Soon, in spite of herself, proud Tucker surrendered to the wild abandon, the raging hungers she found in Lucas's powerful arms.

But then another man joined the wagon train—a ruthless, savage man who would stop at nothing to satisfy his lust for Tucker. And she discovered what price she would have to pay to keep her tender love with Lucas alive.

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance, Westerns, Fiction, Historical, Western Historical Romance

366 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1982

About the author

Dorothy Garlock was a best-selling American author of over 60 historical romance novels, most of them set in the American West. More than 20 million copies of her books are in print, in 18 languages. Her books have been on the New York Times best seller list seven times. She was named one of the 10 most popular writers of women's fiction four years in a row, from 1985-1988. In 1997, she was awarded the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award. Garlock is also a member of the Romance Writers Hall of Fame.

Garlock worked as an editor, agent and publicist for most of her writing career. She was a native of Texas who grew up in Oklahoma then married and moved to Iowa. Garlock donated many of her manuscripts and other unpublished writings to the University of Iowa libraries.


Pen names include:
Johanna Phillips
Dorothy Phillips
Dorothy Glenn

Reviews

[Naksed · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was so good up to the half-point then the author could not figure out how to move the plot along anymore so she inserted a moustache-twirling villain out of nowhere, then turned the strong, smart heroine into a simpering idiot :(

[Sally Lindsay-briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tucker is traveling with her adopted friend in a covered wagon train towards California in the 1800’s. This journey was well written and absorbing. There are deaths, Indian attacks, and endearing romances between Tucker and Lucas and Laura and Buck. Evil men and an unsettling woman make prairie life quite an adventure.

[Paula Myatt]

Very Good !!!!

[Sharon. Irvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked good read.

[Christiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so amazing..

[Laura Aase · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a great wagon train story. Taylor and Laura, her blind friend, left the orphanage they were in to join a group of women heading west through Texas to California in a wagon train of brides that a town pitched together money to send for. Of course both women find love! I liked the adventure of the trail, a woman doctor, etc., however, the " you need to be tamed" arguing romance wasn't my style. An interesting sequel would be to follow the othe brides to their destination and follow their romances!

[Стоянка · Rating 1 out of 5]

Глупава фабула, наивни герои, пресилени случки... не знам защо си причинявам това.
Години наред живеех с идеята, че няма слаб роман от издателската поредица "Пламъкът на розата", но явно съм грешала.
Дано този да е единственото изключение.
Давам му една звезда само заради червенокосата героиня, иначе на всяка втора страница ми се искаше да й забия поне по един прав ляв заради неадекватното й държание.
Мъжките персонажи дори не искам да ги коментирам. Това даже и мачизъм не може да се нарече, защото си е чиста глупост.

[Athena C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dorothy Garlock does it again!

The journey taken along the bride train was so compelling I felt as if I traveled with them. MS Garlock has the gift of creating characters & situations so real you feel you can touch them. I love historical romances & this author is one of the best. I don't want to give anything away, but Tucker, Laura, Lucas, Buck, okay, all the people brought to life here is a treat not to be missed. I particularly enjoyed Tucker's last journal entry, what insight she brought us about the tremendous courage it took the women making that journey.

[Gina Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good storyline but.......

Two different love stories in one here on a wagon train to California, started out ok until the main heroine "Red" was so very stubborn and snotty, and Lucas, the hero, too me, they didn't have any chemistry, all they did was argue! Buck and Laura now they were a sweet couple, wished there was more reading time with them. I would rate this 3.5 stars if I could. The lowest ever for a DG book!

[Austin Erwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it on the beach was excellent very predictable but would recommend!

[Brandy Knous · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very slow start but very good ending

[Melody Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the story.

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about a wagon train of mail-order women and a teacher traveling from Fort Worth, Texas to Cooperstown, California. Tucker Houston accepts a job of teacher in the California town and is accompanied by her best friend, a blind girl named Laura. They met each other years before in an orphanage.

Tucker has done a wonderful service to her friend by helping Laura to be successful in spite of her blindness. I was surprised to see how much Laura could do as soon as she became comfortable in any locale.

Although this is the mid-1800’s, one of the women turns out to have been trained in Scotland as a physician. Because no one would accept her as a competent physician in the East, she did not admit her skills until a disaster occurred on the wagon train.

This is quite an adventure the women face; there are several deaths, spousal abuse, Indians and other challenges along the way. It was great to see that the women formed a cohesive whole before they arrived in California.

Why didn't I rate it a 5 like so many others? I thought the miscommunication between the wagon master and Tucker lasted too long. Another problem I had -- something happens to Laura just before the end of the book; it just seemed too pat. I felt that she would have been a much more interesting character if that hadn't happened.

This book is very well-written and hard to put aside. I'm sure some won’t agree with my 2 problems with the story, but that is why we read reviews of differing opinions.

[Rebeca Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great story that portrayed an accurate tale about pioneering across America. My main issue with the this particular story was that there was so much build up but the ending was very anticlimactic. I literally spent the whole day reading this book, unable to put it down because I wanted to know what was going to transpire between Tucker and Frank. I was really disappointed in the ending which is a first for me while reading a Dorothy Garlock book.

[Dawn Warnock-thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent story of the pioneers heading west with the all the trails and tribulations of doing so. I have read other books written by Garlock and could definitely tell this was one of her first books written. Her books get better and better as her writing matures.
It is a lovely historical western romance I really enjoyed reading.

[Natasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love stories of wagon trains and romance. I really enjoy spirited relationships and thought from the jacket that this would be a fun plot. Unfortunately, there is a truly unsavory villain who commits several atrocities, not a lot of 'wagon train life' and the main heroine and sidekicks characters weaken and become dependent....

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Searching Hearts" was an interesting premise, but the delivery.was rather weak. The plot was predictable and I didn't like the characters very much. The writing was quite weak. I wasn't impressed enough to want to read more by this author.

[Heather Manning · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. the plot was somewhat predictable but the characters were believable and somewhat comforting in their normality. Garlock has the ability to speak through words like the best verbal story teller. Her combination of description, emotions and action has always flowed like poetry to me.