Mississippi Madness

by Eugenia Riley

Jasmine Dubroc--orphaned and penniless--receives a marriage offer from her rescuer Jared Hampton but refuses out of pride, and it is only when his life is in danger that she realizes her love

Genres: Historical Romance, Romance

340 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1989

About the author

Eugenia Riley is the award-winning, bestselling author of dozens of historical, contemporary and time-travel romances, including A TRYST IN TIME, TEMPEST IN TIME, and TIMESWEPT BRIDE. She is a #1 Bestselling Author of Time Travel Romance at Amazon and Kindle. She has written for publishers including Avon, Bantam, Warner, Harlequin and Dorchester.

Eugenia is delighted to announce the launching of Eugenia Riley Classics, a new imprint featuring all of your favorite Eugenia Riley historical, contemporary, and time-travel romances, finally available again in Kindle, NOOK, Kobo and at iBooks! Eugenia's currently available e-book list includes: WANTED ACROSS TIME; BUSHWHACKED BRIDE; BUSHWHACKED GROOM; PHANTOM IN TIME; EMBERS OF TIME; A CHRISTMAS IN TIME; LOVERS AND OTHER LUNATICS; TIMESWEPT BRIDE; TIMESWEPT BABY; THE PHANTOM OF THE BATHTUB ; TEMPEST IN TIME; and TWO HEARTS IN TIME.

Eugenia's latest release, WANTED ACROSS TIME, is an April 2013 release in Kindle, NOOK, Kobo, and at iBooks. WANTED ACROSS TIME is a wild and sexy romp back in time to the Wild West, in the tradition of BUSHWHACKED BRIDE and BUSHWHACKED GROOM.

Eugenia is especially acclaimed for her nine time travel romance novels. Her first two, A TRYST IN TIME and TEMPEST IN TIME, were Waldenbooks romance bestsellers in mass-market paperback; both titles sold out of print three times. Three of her time-travels placed on the Ingram's romance list; and EMBERS OF TIME was a top ten bestseller in time-travel at Borders. Eight of Eugenia's time-travels have earned 5 star ratings or better at Heartland Critiques, and all have won numerous high ratings and rave reviews in publications such as Romantic Times, Rendezvous, and The Literary Times. Reviewer Harriet Klausner calls Eugenia "the empress of time-travel romance." She has received thousands of fan letters on her novels, from locations all over the world.

Eugenia is the winner of the HOLT Medallion for WALTZ IN TIME. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas, a former English teacher and editor of TOUCHSTONE Literary Quarterly. She lives in Texas with her husband; they have two grown daughters and two grandchildren.

Reviews

[Seon Ji (Dawn) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

Meh at best.

This one is a bit difficult to summarize for me for some reason, and I think it's because there is just so much going on that there is no real clear way of explaining it.

Therefore I am going to skip a summary and just note things that some readers may wish to consider before purchasing.

1. Insta love.. There is insta love for the hero only, the heroine does not fall instantly in love with the hero, and is constantly questioning the hero's love because of it. (among other reasons)

2. There is a rape scene ( not by hero but by the antagonist).

3. There is a twist I did not expect (perhaps I am too gulliable). The twist is right at the beginning and is made known at about 10%

4. A bit too cliched in the dialogue. Too many "oh Jared's" "oh darling's" and "oh Jasmine's" it was borderline sickning.

5. There is a scene where Jared's ex fiancee comes into play trying to push Jasmine away, but it is resolved immediatley when Jared blows her off and announces his engagement with Jasmine to all at a party. Nothing is heard about her again.

6. Aside from the one "twist" I mentioned earlier, the rest is predictable.

7. The story becomes repettitve and boring in many parts.

8. Secondary characters come in and are suddenly forgotten later on, and only scantly mentioned thereafter. Too bad because they were pretty lovable.

9. There are multiple loving scenes. This is not a clean read.

10. There is a HEA and ILY's

11. The heroine can be at times TSTL and the hero a bit of a blockhead but they are for the most part likable.

As a whole is was just okay. It could have been much shorter. I will admit the beginning was far more enticing and interesting and peetered off about 45% then just went along at a plodding pace.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite an intriguing read, it had many twists and turns , some quite surprising. There were some passionate scenes between Jared and Jasmine. Jared did seem to be a bit of an enigma at times and Jasmine did have difficulty in making up her mind about her feelings. The action did slow down in the middle but ended on a high. Eugenia really sets the scene with her descriptive passages. I received a copy and I voluntarily reviewed it. This is my honest review.

[Rosamaria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great storyline. Love the characters. You totally get immersed in the story and feel as if you are there. I am not someone who gives the story away, so I won't. I will just say that this book is a must read. In my book you can never go wrong when reading Eugenia Riley's novels, her writing is amazing.

[Cindy C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspenseful, Twisted, and Intriguing! As an evil web is spun Jasmine and Jared find themselves being pulled into a vortex of darkness aa a despicable and sadistic villain will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Mississippi Madness will hold you spellbound from the moment you begin the journey with Jasmine and Jared until the very end! It's a rollercoaster ride full of twist and turns that will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat. Eugenia Riley has outdone herself with this novel, she's filled this story with characters that are well thought out and each one comes across clearly, as their individual personalities become more than just part of the tale, the plot brims with tension-building twist, great dialogue and sizzling passion which brings this read together perfectly. The scenes are so strikingly detailed it paints an incredible backdrop that makes you feel like you are one with the story.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mississippi Madness by Eugenia Riley is full of twists and surprises. You think you know where the story will go next but Eugenia throws in several curves so you are kept guessing until the end. The characters are developed and the story line is good. The female lead transforms during the story and you learn bits and pieces here and there about both lead characters. At times I wished some of the information was given sooner, but it keeps the story going. I did receive an ARC but voluntarily read and gave my honest, fair review.

[Kassey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story sucked me in immediately and it flowed well. It was easy to imagine the scenery described in the book. My only hang up was that there were lots of interactions, conversations, arguments etc between the main two characters and some of the minor characters that just didn't seem realistic in this world and the 1800s in this fictional romance.

I get it's fiction and there needs to be drama but it needs to be at the very least believable! As the new generation would say, the characters in this book would be walking "Red Flags" in the real world haha!

[Grey · Rating 1 out of 5]

If Jasmine and Jared weren’t so so so so unbelievably dumb and hotheaded, they could have avoided at least 90% of the dickery in this book. Which would be 90% of this book. The other 10% of dickery was just them as people. I hate books like this. One of these days I’ll find a story that doesn’t rely on the main characters being too goddamn stupid and horrible to be realistic in any way, whatsoever, to further the plot. Sure, characters can make mistakes, but Jesus Christ,,,, seriously ???

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free book and voluntarily chose to review it. Jasmine becomes stronger as the story unfolds. She thought her father never loved her and made her believe that she was worthless. Just as I think I’m getting to the end of the story, something else happens. Loved the love story. The suspense kept wondering how much more bad stuff was going to happen.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heroine who feels she is unlovable, and that all men are abusive ad not to be trusted. A hero who vows to show her that neither is true. But both have their dark secrets. A ruthless villain who vows to kill both. I enjoyed the story, though I felt that the hero was a little too perfect. I received a copy from the author. This is my honest review.

[Barbara "Cookie" Serfaty Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mississippi Madness

The love story of Jasmine and Jared . After the death of her father , Jasmine met and merry Claude. O on their honeymoon, Claude thought Jasmine overboard tho k to kill het. Jared rescue her. Can Jasmine and Jared find love and happiness and free Jasmine from Claude? Great story.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mississippi Madness

How would you feel if indeed you married and on your honeymoon and still a virgin you were dumped into the river to drown. It happened to Jasmine but was saved by Jered Hampton. Jasmine got her revenge with a gun made the man stripe and jump into the river in snow.

[DIANE CORBIN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strong characters who had to overcome the fear of not being loveable. The villain is truly mad and makes several efforts to get the money. The characters who are not normally "good" people become good people - after a twisting of events. Lesson learned - you are worthy of being loved and tell the whole truth.

[Liberty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jasmine's story will keep you turning the pages as she battles to find true love after being deeply hurt by the first man in her life. Eugenia Riley keeps you guessing until the end and you don't want to miss a moment!

[EvilAntie Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love prevails

I took my time with this book because it is so layered and intertwined it needed to be savored. I loved the characters and I can well understand how often the two main characters misunderstood each other- what a whirlwind love affair.

[Chrisangel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite entertaining, if a bit over the top: so many links between villains, wronged women, aunts, uncles, fathers, cousins, lawmen, prostitutes, all forming quite an unbelievable chain! So don't read it for believability, just for fun!

[LaGina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun and exciting read. I was able to predict how it was going to end but the read was worth the journey and I liked it.

[Mum · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor writing. Lousy, convoluted plot. Horrible heroine. Hero seemed acceptable in the beginning, but his behaviors also deteriorated.

[Sandy Barecki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the setting along the Mississippi. Good mix of suspense and romance.

[Pam]

Loved it. A few times I was telling Jasmine in my mind not to do it or calling her stupid when she took some ill advised risks. Once I was past those parts I see why they were written.

[Sherry Westendorf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked it. A fun, exciting and interesting read. It is easy to see how it is going to end. But the journey there is the best part. I recommend it. I loved relaxing and reading this. I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.