Wild Sweet Wilderness

Missouri #1

by Dorothy Garlock

Berry Warfield is only 18 when she leaves the wagon train to find her father's claim in Missouri, vowing to let no one stop her from earning her fortune.

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

400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

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 Garlock donated many of her manuscripts and other unpublished writings to the University of Iowa libraries.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

[Mary23nm · Rating 3 out of 5]

The romance between Rachael and Fain was more interesting and sweeter than Berry (h) and Simon (H). This cover features a blonde heroine (she had black hair) and a very scary looking hero!

[Autumncandy]

"The man’s face was so black that when he spoke, Berry could see only the whites of his eyes and the gleam of his teeth and none of his facial expression."

There ain't no way-

"She was a woman, yet she was a girl, too."

Dorothy, honey, that sounds like something some guy would write about a 15 year old girl. Oh wait, that actually did happen

"There was absolutely nothing pretty about Biedy Cornick. Her features were sharp, her lips thin, and the hair that framed her face was a fine, brown fuzz. She wore a black apron over a faded butternut dyed homespun dress. She carried herself like a young girl, head up, shoulders back, her feet moving lightly across the ground. It was impossible to tell her age"

And why is she not pretty? The way Biedy is described makes her seem prettier than how Berry is

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Berry Warfield along with her creep of a father and Rachel, (who is pregnant and supposed to be her young stepmother but the father never married her) head from Ohio to Missouri for a land claim.
Berry is a beauty but has a short fuse and is at times TSTL. My favorite character in this story is Fain who is best friends with the H, Simon. Fain falls in love with Rachel and he is just so sweet.
There is tons of action and suspense in this story and its a real page turner. There is also some good steam in the romance. It seems historically accurate and the descriptions of the territory make you feel as if you are right there with the characters.

[Vivian Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

I read Dorothy Garlock years ago and she is even better than I remembered.
Her characters reveal themselves in vivid colors. I look forward to reading more of her books.

[Terri's Dangerous When Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know what I was getting into when I began reading this. I've never read anything by Dorothy Garlock before and I didn't know I was in for a wild ride. What a story! There is a lot of action and danger. The year is 1805 near St Louis Missouri, population 800. The beginning of the story takes place on a wagon train. I liked the writing style, the historical details, and the dialects. This book was first published in 1985 and the author used head hopping, which editors find unacceptable these days. I liked that the story was a double love story. I really liked the characters Rachel and Fain, but Berry annoyed me when she made impulsive and rather silly decisions, and Witcher annoyed me when he often threatened to spank Berry (she was 18 years old and his love interest.) I didn't like the graphic violence. I didn't like that characters used the N word frequently. The indigenous Americans were portrayed both good and bad, as were the white men. The black slaves were heroes. This book is definitely five stars if a wild story is what you are looking for, but I have to give it four stars because the violence was just too much for me.

[Lilian80 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the first chapters of this book. Unfortunately, very soon I lost interest. The heroine was extremely annoying. She was stubborn, illogical, annoying and quick to judge. The hero was also a single-minded character who only had one thought in his head; sex, so be ready to read page after page about kisses and sex. The only nice aspect of the book were the secondary characters; Rachel and Fain. Their love was much sweeter and they were both very likable characters.

[Sally Mander · Rating 5 out of 5]

WILD SWEET WILDERNESS
by Dorothy Garlock

#historicalfiction #wagontrainromance #favoritebooks #wildsweetwilderness #dorothygarlock

[Jerry Jares · Rating 4 out of 5]

Berry Warfield, her father and her pregnant stepmother are traveling to Missouri. Not long after the story opens, Berry's father is killed. I breathed a sigh of relief - he was evil and had awful plans for his daughter and wife.

However, this leaves two women stranded in the middle of a wilderness, with only themselves for protection. The very pregnant stepmother, Rachel, is shy and retiring, but she has a strong backbone.

Berry is the problem! The only thing I can say about her is that "she's dumber than dirt." She's hostile, argumentative and an unlikely heroine. I simply couldn't see what Simon Witcher (the male lead character) saw in her!

She also seems to hate men; I can't fault her on this - her dad and the men he associated with were despicable characters and poor husband material.

Garlock did an excellent job of using Fain to show how lonely the farmers that "proved the land" were. In 1805, there were few women in the wilderness and unattached ones were soon married.

After killing 3 men and injuring a 4th attacker, Rachel and Berry set out to find the land her father had chosen to homestead. It didn't take long for the women to see that they were in a precarious position. Rachel (the stepmother) is about to have her baby - in a wagon - in the wilderness! Simon and Fain rescue them again.

The last portion of the book was a surprise! In many ways, it redeemed the whole story.

[Fay Risner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great frontier story with characters rugged enough to meet the challenges of every day life. Berry Warfield is a spitfire that attracts all the trappers and river men that come near her. She is a match for them all and soon sends the men packing or shoots them. Simon, a trader/farmer, that is slightly interested in Berry isn't sure he wants to have anything to do with her temperamental disposition. Plenty of action, suspense, danger and adventure in this story to go along with the romance.

[Soul-jurney]

I just found when I started reading this one that I had to force myself to really get into the story...I like books that consume my every waking thoughts even when I have to actually live beyond the pages....I'm saving this one for a winter read when I can curl up and savor this wonderful writers' style...

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Dorothy garlock must read! I know I have read this book several times already.