Elusive Ecstasy

by Cassie Edwards

Set against the backdrop of the Nevada territory in 1875, Kendra Carpenter crosses paths once again with Lucas Hall, a man who sets her senses on fire, and together they embark on a torrid journey of passion and love. Original.

Genres: Romance

464 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1984

About the author

Edwards began writing romances in 1982 and released her 100th novel, Savage Skies, on August 28, 2007. Although her earlier books were classic historical romances, the vast majority of her novels involve Native American tribes. Edwards's grandmother was a full-blooded Cheyenne. Her first 99 books sold a combined 10 million copies as of August 2007, with her more recent novels averaging sales of 250,000–350,000 copies.

Edwards has won the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award and the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award, as well as being named one of Affaire de Coeur's top ten favorite romance writers. Edwards has a reputation for meticulously researching the proper anthropological backgrounds of each tribe she writes about.

Edwards and her husband Charles, a retired high school biology teacher, have been married for over 50 years. They have two sons, Charles and Brian, and three grandchildren. The family lived in St. Louis, Missouri for over thirty years, but now reside in Mattoon, Illinois.

Reviews

[Blue Falcon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This review is of “Elusive Ecstasy” by Cassie Edwards.

The book begins in Nevada in 1875. Among the passengers on a train headed to Reno are Kendra Carpenter, the heroine of the book, her younger brother Seth, and their sister-in-law, Holly. They are all traveling from Boston to Nevada to live near and with Aaron Carpenter, wealthy business magnate, brother to Kendra and Seth and husband to Holly. Upon disembarking from the train, Kendra matches eyes with a man and falls into insta-lust with him. That man is Lucas Hall, the hero of the book. However, they don’t meet then.

Fast forward two years. Kendra and Lucas finally meet, and become lovers. Although they are sharing bodies, there is a lot Lucas isn’t telling Kendra. Seth is working in a silver mine, trying to gain a fortune separate from his brother. Holly is having an affair with a gambler named Blackie, whose presence will have a major impact on the Carpenter family. Aaron continues to amass wealth and power, and he also has an affair.

Lots of annoyance and anger follows. Kendra is mad at Lucas, who is mad at Aaron, who is mad at Lucas, for current and past actions. Aaron is also mad at Holly.

Following the anger is tragedy and scandal. Seth dies in a mine accident (eerily, Seth dreamed about his death in exactly the way it happened). Aaron has a confrontation with Holly and Blackie, where more secrets are revealed, and Seth’s paramour, Emmanuelle, tries to blackmail her way into the Carpenter fortune by claiming to be pregnant with Seth’s child.

In the end, Aaron and Lucas come to a truce-on some things-and Kendra and Lucas marry and begin their Happily Ever After.

Upside: I finished the book.

Downside: “Elusive Ecstasy” showcases every issue I have with Mrs. Edwards as an author: shallow characters? Check. Zero character development? Check. Unfinished storylines? Check. A whole lot of unnecessary exclamation points?! Check!

Sex: As is typical in Mrs. Edwards’ books, there are a lot of love scenes. None are exciting or good, however, here.

Violence: Assault and battery, two “offscreen” killings and Kendra is nearly raped twice before her assailant is shot and killed. The violence is not graphic.

Bottom Line: For me, there’s only one thing worse than a bad book. That is: a boring book. When a book is bad AND boring, it’s called “Elusive Ecstasy”.

[Denise Koopman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love the determination of the characters in this book