Cloudcastle

by Nan Ryan

In this sizzling historical romance set in the majestic Colorado Rockies, USA Today–bestselling author Nan Ryan brings to life the tempestuous passions of a beautiful, strong-willed ranch owner who can’t help loving a mysterious drifter she is not sure she can trustOne minute, Natalie Vallance is safely ensconced in the stagecoach taking her from Santa Fe to her ranch in the Rockies. The next, a shot rings out, and the coach is surrounded by marauding Apaches. Facing certain death, Natalie is stunned when a blue-eyed stranger comes to her rescue. She ends up sharing a night of forbidden passion with him. When the virile drifter, Kane Covington, reappears at her ranch, Cloudcastle, Natalie wonders what he is after and who he really is—an outlaw, a swindler, or a charming rogue? Natalie has reason to be suspicious, for she is the protector of sacred Indian ground and the guardian of a treasure in buried gold that unscrupulous men will kill to claim . . . 

Genres: Historical Romance, Westerns, Historical, Audiobook, Western Romance

415 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Nancy Henderson is the middle daughter of a Texas rancher and postmaster. She's been married for many years to Joe Ryan, a television executive. Hisoccupation has taken them from border to border and coast to coast. Fortunately, writing is something that can be done anywhere - and Nan shouldknow. The Ryans have lived in Washington, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and their own home state of Texas. Nan says it was fun to move around the country and honestly believes that it has helped her writing. The library and the Internet offer a great deal of information on any given place, but there is nothing quite likeactually living in a locale where a book is set.

She began her writing career in 1981. She flirted with writing mysteries, but never finished any. Then, as fate would have it, she saw an article in Newsweek magazine entitled "From Bedroom to Boardroom." It was an interesting story on the women who were writing romance novels. Nan was intrigued. She had never read a romance. She bought a couple, read them, and knew she'd found her calling. She sat down at the Smith Corona typewriter and began her own romance. The first one never left her house. It is burieddeep in a trunk and Nan says it will never be shown to anyone. Her second book sold and she's been writing since. Twenty-two romance novels later, shestill enjoys writing and realizes she's been blessed to have found what she loves to do.

The winner of numerous awards, Nan Ryan says one of the nicest things ever written about her was printed in the St. Petersburg Times. Correspondent AnnV. Hull wrote: "Romance novelist Nan Ryan could step right into the pages of one of her paperbacks. Tall and slender, with smokey eyes and pearly skin,Nan Ryan looks like movie star Jessica Lange's older sister. Ryan writes the most imaginative and bold love scenes, some of which would surely shock herformer teachers at Abilene Christian University."

Reviews

[Misfit · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish the author had written an afterwards clarifying some things that in my mind are things that don't make sense so they usually aren't true. A female judge I might buy, but in a remote mountain town in 1870? And while I appreciate the author bringing in the Anasazi cliff dwellings with a plot twist centered around Mesa Verde's Cliff Palace, I don't recall from my visit to the park years ago that there were big tall 14,000' mountains close enough to drop an avalanche of snow on, let along that those dwellings in the caves were very easy to access from below.

Oh well, easy plot, bad baddie needing killing (still, nobody learned about one evil deed he should have suffered for horribly and was never addressed), too much TMI sex for my tastes. Ho hum.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually, I would give this a 3.5