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Mackinnon #2
La carta de la discordia
Katherine y Karin son hermanas pero sólo tienen una cosa en común: su amor por Alex MacKinnon. Por lo demás, Katherine es una muchacha sencilla, entregada a las labores de su rancho de Texas; Karin, en cambio, ambiciona una vida de lujo y ostentación. Alex, más atraído por Karin, descubre con decepción que ella no está dispuesta a casarse por amor; busca un marido rico. Años más tarde, tras amasar fortuna en California, vuelve a intentarlo, pero una fatídica carta da un giro inesperado a su destino.
523 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
24 people are currently reading
353 people want to read
About the author
Elaine Coffman
63 books116 followersBarbara Elaine Gunter was born in San Diego, California, to William Samuel Gunter, Jr., a naval officer and Edna Marie (née Davidson) Gunter, a homemaker. From the age of three she lived in Midland, Texas and graduated from Midland High School. After she received a degree in elementary education from North Texas State University, she taught elementary school in Midland, Texas, while working on her Master’s Degree and certification for Language and Learning Disabilities at Texas Tech in Lubbock.
Elaine currently resides in Austin, Texas, where her son, Chuck, also lives. She has two daughters, Lesley who resides in Raleigh, N.C. and Ashley, who lives in San Diego, California.
Elaine Coffman is a New York Times bestselling author with a large international following. She has penned novels in both the historical romance genre and suspense. A lover of history, she has penned several novels set in Scotland, Regency England, Italy and the American West. To date, she is the author of nineteen novels and five novellas.
While writing her first novel, My Enemy, My Love, she found herself inspired by a letter her great-great grandmother, Susannah Jane Dowell Shacklett wrote in 1920, telling about her journey from Brandeburg, Kentucky to San Antonio, Texas, and then going with an army escort to El Paso, Texas, where her brother, Ben Dowell, a veteran of the Mexican War, was El Paso's first mayor.
Elaine continued to write best-selling, award-winning books until the publication of her eleventh novel, If You Loved Me, which was the last book of her beloved Mackinnon series and her first book to hit the New York Times bestseller list.
Her first suspense novel, Alone in the Dark, was published by Pocket books in 2006.
Elaine currently resides in Austin, Texas, where her son, Chuck, also lives. She has two daughters, Lesley who resides in Raleigh, N.C. and Ashley, who lives in San Diego, California.
Elaine Coffman is a New York Times bestselling author with a large international following. She has penned novels in both the historical romance genre and suspense. A lover of history, she has penned several novels set in Scotland, Regency England, Italy and the American West. To date, she is the author of nineteen novels and five novellas.
While writing her first novel, My Enemy, My Love, she found herself inspired by a letter her great-great grandmother, Susannah Jane Dowell Shacklett wrote in 1920, telling about her journey from Brandeburg, Kentucky to San Antonio, Texas, and then going with an army escort to El Paso, Texas, where her brother, Ben Dowell, a veteran of the Mexican War, was El Paso's first mayor.
Elaine continued to write best-selling, award-winning books until the publication of her eleventh novel, If You Loved Me, which was the last book of her beloved Mackinnon series and her first book to hit the New York Times bestseller list.
Her first suspense novel, Alone in the Dark, was published by Pocket books in 2006.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 20, 2025
Two sisters, Karin who was two years older than her sister Catherine and two brothers, twins, Alex and Adrian. Texas 1848.
The two sets of siblings lived in neighbouring farms and knew each other all their lives.
When Karin was 17, Alex accidentally saw her bathing in the river in the nude.
It was the first time in his life that he'd seen a woman's body and he thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world.
After that he developed an infatuation and an obsession with Karin which he called love.
They would spend time together and even had secret make out sessions.
Katherine, her sister, was in love with Alex and was jealous of the couple's closeness.
She was fifteen at the time and she used to follow and spy on them.
Alex and Katherine were friends and he felt like he was one side of a coin and Katherine was the other side but it was Karin he loved.
His brother Adrian was fond of Katherine but he knew she was interested in Alex.
Katherine was hard-working, loyal, sensible and down to earth.
Karin hated her poor state, was ambitious and always dreamed of riches.
The sisters were poor but Karin was still able to dress fashionable.
Karin claimed to love Alex but how can she marry him, he was poor.
Alex and Adrian went to war. Four years had pass. The war was over and the two brothers were coming back.
Alex was still in love with Karin and couldn't wait to see her again.
Once back, he rode to the sister's homestead. He saw a woman on the porch he did not recognise at first. It was Katherine.
She was not a girl any more she was a woman. An exceptionally beautiful woman. He was fascinated and couldn't keep himself from staring.
Enchanted he felt awkward, shy and confused.
Katherine offered to go with him to his farmhouse to help him clean up. So they did.
They were teasing each other and laughed and it was wonderful. That's until Karin showed up followed by Adrian.
As soon as Karin stepped in Alex forgot about Katherine and took off with her sister.
Some time passed. Alex and Karin were spending time together proclaiming their love.
The brothers had no money so they decided to go to the Gold rush.
Karin warned him not to go or he would lose her.
Alex did not listen, he went.
He send a letter to the sisters but Karin did not want to write back, so Katherine replied.
They began a correspondence that lasted for several years. They weren't personal letters, just news from home and his from the Gold rush.
The brothers became rich and decided to start a lumbering business in California. The business were successful and they employed numerous people.
That's when Alex decided to send Karin a letter proposing and asking her to come to him. He had missed her and was pining for her.
He was drunk and instead of writing Karin's name he wrote Katherine's.
The letter was sent.
When Katherine read the letter, she was shocked.
Karin was livid. She had gotten over Alex but now she was angry and jealous that Katherine had managed to do what she was unable to do: Have Alex. Alex who was now rich.
Later on as the anger simmered down she told Katherine to follow her heart so Katherine embarked on a ship for California feeling joyful, hopeful and fulfilled at last. Little did she know that the proposal was not meant for her and that her path was not to be covered with roses.
In the meantime Alex in California was impatiently waiting for Karin's arrival...
The two sets of siblings lived in neighbouring farms and knew each other all their lives.
When Karin was 17, Alex accidentally saw her bathing in the river in the nude.
It was the first time in his life that he'd seen a woman's body and he thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world.
After that he developed an infatuation and an obsession with Karin which he called love.
They would spend time together and even had secret make out sessions.
Katherine, her sister, was in love with Alex and was jealous of the couple's closeness.
She was fifteen at the time and she used to follow and spy on them.
Alex and Katherine were friends and he felt like he was one side of a coin and Katherine was the other side but it was Karin he loved.
His brother Adrian was fond of Katherine but he knew she was interested in Alex.
Katherine was hard-working, loyal, sensible and down to earth.
Karin hated her poor state, was ambitious and always dreamed of riches.
The sisters were poor but Karin was still able to dress fashionable.
Karin claimed to love Alex but how can she marry him, he was poor.
Alex and Adrian went to war. Four years had pass. The war was over and the two brothers were coming back.
Alex was still in love with Karin and couldn't wait to see her again.
Once back, he rode to the sister's homestead. He saw a woman on the porch he did not recognise at first. It was Katherine.
She was not a girl any more she was a woman. An exceptionally beautiful woman. He was fascinated and couldn't keep himself from staring.
Enchanted he felt awkward, shy and confused.
Katherine offered to go with him to his farmhouse to help him clean up. So they did.
They were teasing each other and laughed and it was wonderful. That's until Karin showed up followed by Adrian.
As soon as Karin stepped in Alex forgot about Katherine and took off with her sister.
Some time passed. Alex and Karin were spending time together proclaiming their love.
The brothers had no money so they decided to go to the Gold rush.
Karin warned him not to go or he would lose her.
Alex did not listen, he went.
He send a letter to the sisters but Karin did not want to write back, so Katherine replied.
They began a correspondence that lasted for several years. They weren't personal letters, just news from home and his from the Gold rush.
The brothers became rich and decided to start a lumbering business in California. The business were successful and they employed numerous people.
That's when Alex decided to send Karin a letter proposing and asking her to come to him. He had missed her and was pining for her.
He was drunk and instead of writing Karin's name he wrote Katherine's.
The letter was sent.
When Katherine read the letter, she was shocked.
Karin was livid. She had gotten over Alex but now she was angry and jealous that Katherine had managed to do what she was unable to do: Have Alex. Alex who was now rich.
Later on as the anger simmered down she told Katherine to follow her heart so Katherine embarked on a ship for California feeling joyful, hopeful and fulfilled at last. Little did she know that the proposal was not meant for her and that her path was not to be covered with roses.
In the meantime Alex in California was impatiently waiting for Karin's arrival...
February 12, 2023
3.5 Sister-Lovin’ Stars
To have loved but been rejected is like being sent to bed with no supper; it’s nothing more than a bee bite to one’s spirit. But to love and be overlooked is to die slowly by starvation, like soap that wastes away, giving up a little of itself with each washing.”
I struggled with how to rate this because I was all over the place. Certain parts were angsty AF, other parts were frustrating AF, sometimes I was glued, other times I wanted to skim, but I couldn’t put it down. I was up until 3am, and then finished the next morning. I’m going to round up because I think I liked it more than I disliked it, but this won’t be for everyone.
For All the Right Reasons is a tale of MESSY unrequited love. It follows a weird love-quadrilateral between two sets of siblings. In a nutshell, our h, Katherine has been in love with her neighbor Alex (H) her whole life. Unfortunately, Alex has been in love with her sister Karin for years. To make matters more confusing, Alex’s twin brother, Adrian, has been in love with Katherine all his life.
Potential Issues- The H is pining for/dating the sister for much of the book. The h isn’t portrayed as a doormat, she’s actually quite resilient, and hardworking, but her stubborn refusal to accept that Alex doesn’t love her, and failure to switch to Adrian will be frustrating.
Alex isn’t a bad guy, he’s not cruel or mean to Katherine, (they’re actually good friends) but his blind devotion to shallow Karin will be frustrating.
The round-and-round of the love-quadrilateral goes on-and-on for quite a long time. This makes for loads of emotional drama, but it starts to get old. I’m an impatient reader, and struggled to not skim parts.
Alex takes quite a while to pull his head out, and when he does there’s really no hardcore groveling. I know his only real sin was not seeing her/loving the sis, (and keeping a secret) but I felt like she deserved some groveling/ass kissing.
The book starts in 1848, and some “setting” parts felt authentic, (clothes, transportation, homes, occupations) but I didn’t feel that their personality/actions felt authentic. Like, all the time they spent unsupervised without a chaperone. They went in buggies alone, went for walks, swam in ponds alone, made-out, kissed openly, held hands in public. I’m not a historical expert, but I don’t think this is how courting would’ve worked.
Bottom Line- To enjoy this you really need to be open to un-requited love, second-best scenarios, and the H fawning all over an OW for much of the book. There’s some angst, although the only part that made me actually tear-up was when she left Clovis, but I’ve got a thing for animals, and am not super compassionate in Pretend-Land. :) By the end, I did feel like I understood his “Karin infatuation”, and felt comfortable with their HEA. There’s a nice epilogue 30ish years in the future. Safety- Technically there’s no cheating, unless you count a goodbye kiss when he’s leaving town, but I didn’t count it because Karin pretty much broke up with him. There’s a scene at the beginning with him and a prostitute, but it picks up after the deed. There’s also a scene, with him sitting at an OW’s table at a saloon (after the marriage) that some readers thought could’ve ended in him cheating, but all we’re told is that he was invited to a married woman’s table, and Alex looking at her enticing, lush bosom, and that she had numerous endowments. It’s literally a couple sentences then Katherine walks in. She is peeved that he “flaunted his obvious attraction in public” but it’s really brushed away because they have bigger issues. (finally fed up with the unrequited love) He never has sex with the sister, only kissing and touching her boobies.
To have loved but been rejected is like being sent to bed with no supper; it’s nothing more than a bee bite to one’s spirit. But to love and be overlooked is to die slowly by starvation, like soap that wastes away, giving up a little of itself with each washing.”
I struggled with how to rate this because I was all over the place. Certain parts were angsty AF, other parts were frustrating AF, sometimes I was glued, other times I wanted to skim, but I couldn’t put it down. I was up until 3am, and then finished the next morning. I’m going to round up because I think I liked it more than I disliked it, but this won’t be for everyone.
For All the Right Reasons is a tale of MESSY unrequited love. It follows a weird love-quadrilateral between two sets of siblings. In a nutshell, our h, Katherine has been in love with her neighbor Alex (H) her whole life. Unfortunately, Alex has been in love with her sister Karin for years. To make matters more confusing, Alex’s twin brother, Adrian, has been in love with Katherine all his life.
Potential Issues- The H is pining for/dating the sister for much of the book. The h isn’t portrayed as a doormat, she’s actually quite resilient, and hardworking, but her stubborn refusal to accept that Alex doesn’t love her, and failure to switch to Adrian will be frustrating.
Alex isn’t a bad guy, he’s not cruel or mean to Katherine, (they’re actually good friends) but his blind devotion to shallow Karin will be frustrating.
The round-and-round of the love-quadrilateral goes on-and-on for quite a long time. This makes for loads of emotional drama, but it starts to get old. I’m an impatient reader, and struggled to not skim parts.
Alex takes quite a while to pull his head out, and when he does there’s really no hardcore groveling. I know his only real sin was not seeing her/loving the sis, (and keeping a secret) but I felt like she deserved some groveling/ass kissing.
The book starts in 1848, and some “setting” parts felt authentic, (clothes, transportation, homes, occupations) but I didn’t feel that their personality/actions felt authentic. Like, all the time they spent unsupervised without a chaperone. They went in buggies alone, went for walks, swam in ponds alone, made-out, kissed openly, held hands in public. I’m not a historical expert, but I don’t think this is how courting would’ve worked.
Bottom Line- To enjoy this you really need to be open to un-requited love, second-best scenarios, and the H fawning all over an OW for much of the book. There’s some angst, although the only part that made me actually tear-up was when she left Clovis, but I’ve got a thing for animals, and am not super compassionate in Pretend-Land. :) By the end, I did feel like I understood his “Karin infatuation”, and felt comfortable with their HEA. There’s a nice epilogue 30ish years in the future. Safety- Technically there’s no cheating, unless you count a goodbye kiss when he’s leaving town, but I didn’t count it because Karin pretty much broke up with him. There’s a scene at the beginning with him and a prostitute, but it picks up after the deed. There’s also a scene, with him sitting at an OW’s table at a saloon (after the marriage) that some readers thought could’ve ended in him cheating, but all we’re told is that he was invited to a married woman’s table, and Alex looking at her enticing, lush bosom, and that she had numerous endowments. It’s literally a couple sentences then Katherine walks in. She is peeved that he “flaunted his obvious attraction in public” but it’s really brushed away because they have bigger issues. (finally fed up with the unrequited love) He never has sex with the sister, only kissing and touching her boobies.
November 3, 2021
Hard to rate because I read it but....
The hero was in love with another woman, her sister, 94% of the book. Plus there is a scene with a saloon gal he paid, who is described as ugly, in the book and while not graphic it is icky. He just wasn't a good person. And at the end, I think he was contemplating sleeping with another woman, she found them together in a restaurant and it was the final straw for me. Very angsty read and I couldn't stop reading it. He loves the sister, leaves for the gold rush because she wants to be rich and one night in a drunken stupor he writes telling her to come marry him, but he puts the heroines name on mistake. And she goes and he is a total jerk to her. His twin brother, who loves the heroine, makes him marry her and not tell the truth that it was a mistake. When she finds out, that scene was so sad, she runs away and gets attacked by a Grizzly and almost dies. While she is recovering is when she finds him ogling another woman's assets and having dinner with her. He's just a jerk the entire book. There is a lot more going on too throughout the story. The two brothers are hard workers. They get rich finding gold, then they create a lumber business and they are wealthy which is what the selfish sister had to have in order to love someone. I think she and the hero deserved one another because they were both so obsessed with themselves and I wish Katherine, the h, would have ended up with Adrian. I did a sneak peak at that book and it sounds like he turns out to be awful. I guess there are five books about the McKinnon brothers and the little sister who was stolen by the Comanche. I may have to read them all and just bite the bullet. This is more of a bodice ripper without the graphic intimate scenes. They are pretty much fade to black. Free in KU, thank heavens! Not really my genre but it found its way to my recommendations.
The hero was in love with another woman, her sister, 94% of the book. Plus there is a scene with a saloon gal he paid, who is described as ugly, in the book and while not graphic it is icky. He just wasn't a good person. And at the end, I think he was contemplating sleeping with another woman, she found them together in a restaurant and it was the final straw for me. Very angsty read and I couldn't stop reading it. He loves the sister, leaves for the gold rush because she wants to be rich and one night in a drunken stupor he writes telling her to come marry him, but he puts the heroines name on mistake. And she goes and he is a total jerk to her. His twin brother, who loves the heroine, makes him marry her and not tell the truth that it was a mistake. When she finds out, that scene was so sad, she runs away and gets attacked by a Grizzly and almost dies. While she is recovering is when she finds him ogling another woman's assets and having dinner with her. He's just a jerk the entire book. There is a lot more going on too throughout the story. The two brothers are hard workers. They get rich finding gold, then they create a lumber business and they are wealthy which is what the selfish sister had to have in order to love someone. I think she and the hero deserved one another because they were both so obsessed with themselves and I wish Katherine, the h, would have ended up with Adrian. I did a sneak peak at that book and it sounds like he turns out to be awful. I guess there are five books about the McKinnon brothers and the little sister who was stolen by the Comanche. I may have to read them all and just bite the bullet. This is more of a bodice ripper without the graphic intimate scenes. They are pretty much fade to black. Free in KU, thank heavens! Not really my genre but it found its way to my recommendations.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
avoid
March 26, 2023Self note:
H is in love with h’s sister 95% of the book, and the h pining for him the whole time.
Not for me.
H is in love with h’s sister 95% of the book, and the h pining for him the whole time.
Not for me.
Read
July 28, 2024Skim-read; No rating
I was hoping it would get me hooked, but I didn’t find it interesting enough to fully read it. Seems terribly drawn out. When the heroine finally discovers that he never meant to marry her and leaves him towards the end of the book (not so much of a doormat), she can’t get over him and isn’t happy (which is just as bad as being a doormat, in my opinion). She even questions her decision to leave him and takes some of the blame for his deception. 🙄 This always annoys me. When he shows up like a year later, he basically had her at hello. Another one with no grovel 😭. Yeah, I believe he truly loved her and that she wasn’t a consolation prize (based on the little I read), but it just didn’t feel like an exciting read. I must say, the moment she discovered he never wanted her…that scene was quite angsty and dramatic. Gotta give it credit for that, but the rest fell flat. Instead of having the hero held to account, the author had the heroine attacked by a bear. *LOL* So the rest was about her recovery and then eventually running away. At this point, he still hasn’t realized he loves her. I think it took him too long to go to her and when he does, he still hasn’t had the grand epiphany that he loves the heroine and feels absolutely nothing for her sister. It’s while he’s back and in front of her again, that he really knows. And of course, he didn’t have to work at it for her to take him back. The end.
Sigh
(Kindle Unlimited download)
I was hoping it would get me hooked, but I didn’t find it interesting enough to fully read it. Seems terribly drawn out. When the heroine finally discovers that he never meant to marry her and leaves him towards the end of the book (not so much of a doormat), she can’t get over him and isn’t happy (which is just as bad as being a doormat, in my opinion). She even questions her decision to leave him and takes some of the blame for his deception. 🙄 This always annoys me. When he shows up like a year later, he basically had her at hello. Another one with no grovel 😭. Yeah, I believe he truly loved her and that she wasn’t a consolation prize (based on the little I read), but it just didn’t feel like an exciting read. I must say, the moment she discovered he never wanted her…that scene was quite angsty and dramatic. Gotta give it credit for that, but the rest fell flat. Instead of having the hero held to account, the author had the heroine attacked by a bear. *LOL* So the rest was about her recovery and then eventually running away. At this point, he still hasn’t realized he loves her. I think it took him too long to go to her and when he does, he still hasn’t had the grand epiphany that he loves the heroine and feels absolutely nothing for her sister. It’s while he’s back and in front of her again, that he really knows. And of course, he didn’t have to work at it for her to take him back. The end.
Sigh
(Kindle Unlimited download)
September 30, 2013
This was one of my fave back in college. Picked it up after Ellora's Cave re-issued it in digital format. Still very good but boy, did I get annoyed with the hero waxing poetic about his first love (the sister of the heroine) throughout the book. Argh! I wanted to hit him in the head for his indecisiveness and his cruelty.
Gah! The heroine isn't any better. She just took whatever the hero dished out because she just lurves him. *roll eyes* I didn't think she was a doormat because she really wasn't, she was just too in love with him and too willing to take whatever scrap of attention the hero throws her way. Ugh! They did get her HEA though and it was a convincing one. I was convinced that the hero did fall in love with Katherine in the end. I just wished he realized it sooner instead of putting her all through that angst.
But I did like the angst though. Plus I do love me some unrequited love trope. And I loved the epilogue, so I'm still giving this 4 stars.
Gah! The heroine isn't any better. She just took whatever the hero dished out because she just lurves him. *roll eyes* I didn't think she was a doormat because she really wasn't, she was just too in love with him and too willing to take whatever scrap of attention the hero throws her way. Ugh! They did get her HEA though and it was a convincing one. I was convinced that the hero did fall in love with Katherine in the end. I just wished he realized it sooner instead of putting her all through that angst.
But I did like the angst though. Plus I do love me some unrequited love trope. And I loved the epilogue, so I'm still giving this 4 stars.
September 5, 2012
Unrequited romances are some of my favorite themes, however, For All the Right Reasons was far from satisfying. This painfully slow, drawn out tale made me want to knock Alex's and Katherine's heads together; Alex because he was so blinded by his infatuation with the sister, and Katherine, for waiting for Alex so long when she could have had Adrian, Alex's gem of a brother. The story was just frustrating and was spread over too many years. Disappointing at two stars.
June 8, 2015
Reviewed by Julie
Book provided by the publisher
Originally posted at Romancing the Book
This story is set in Texas where Alex and Adrian, twin brothers and a pair of sisters, Karin and Katherine all grew up together and were friends until they reached their teen years when Alex accidentally came across Karin bathing in the nude. From that moment on Karin was all Alex could think about. Karin doesn’t mind the attention she gets from Alex, but she has a different plan for herself that includes wealth, which is something Alex will most likely never have.
Adrian loves Karin’s sister, Katherine, but Katherine loves Alex with all her heart and soul. Katherine could be with Adrian but she wants a real love match, not just a comfortable companionship. So, she suffers for years as she watches her sister lead Alex on and Alex follow Karin around like a puppy dog. Alex just can’t seem to get past Karin’s beauty to see the shallow personality she really has. When Alex and Adrian return to Texas after the war, Alex has every intention of picking things back up with Karin. When he sees Katherine he finds himself feeling confused for a brief time, but his mind is so obsessed and focused on Karin he shrugs off any errant thoughts he might have about Katherine. Once more Katherine looks on as Alex makes a fool of himself over Karin and then leaves to again to try and find a way to make a comfortable living that would satisfy Karin enough that she would consider marriage.
Finally, Alex reaches a point where he must find peace and writes home with a marriage proposal. However, he makes a slip up when writing the letter and finds he is in an unbelievable situation where he may lose the woman he has loved all his life and hurt another woman and damage her future in the process. Even Adrian gets involved to make sure Alex does what is right. Sadly, it appears that love may not conquer all.
The classic love triangle that will cause nothing but pain and heartache with no magical solution plays out this historical romance. A part of me hoped and hoped that Katherine would stop wasting her time pining over Alex and would perhaps open her heart to Adrian who was a man I really liked a lot more than Alex. Alex was SO stubborn. He caused so much pain to a sweet, innocent girl that was genuine. I wanted to shake him. While often there were references made that Katherine was stubborn it was really Alex that was so stubborn he wouldn’t admit to his feelings just because of the circumstances. Katherine was not at fault in any of the happenings and finally, after coming to the conclusion that she had done what she could, she decided to be happy with the life she had and vowed to move forward and be the best person she could be and actually experienced some peace for the first time in her life. Will Alex ever wake up and smell the coffee or will he remain frustrated at how things ended up for him? Naturally, Alex had to have a wake up call make him realize what an idiot he was. But, is it too little, too late?
This is the second book the Mackinnon brothers series, but it can be read as a stand alone. I love these older titles being reissued in digital format. While at times older titles can be dated, even the historical ones, this one did not have that problem. Love triangles are always hard to watch and this one was no exception. Often we can’t help but chose sides and I admit I wasn’t all that impressed with Alex and thought that he deserved Karin because Katherine was too good for him. It is apparent to the reader that Alex has idealized Karin based on her physical beauty and what he felt for her was more lust and obsession than love. Katherine was no plain Jane, really, but she didn’t flaunt herself the way her sister did. As they say, the heart wants what it wants but Katherine refused to settle for anything less than a full marriage and true love, even though Alex was the man she loved her entire life and would continue to love forever. All the reader can do is sit back and watch as one disaster after another unfolds hurting the one character you will want the best for. Finally, Alex does manage to grow up and face what is really in his heart and is ready to voice those feelings and act on them. But, he fought against those feelings for so long, he drove Katherine away and now he will have to win her back and this time it will be for all the right reasons.
Book provided by the publisher
Originally posted at Romancing the Book
This story is set in Texas where Alex and Adrian, twin brothers and a pair of sisters, Karin and Katherine all grew up together and were friends until they reached their teen years when Alex accidentally came across Karin bathing in the nude. From that moment on Karin was all Alex could think about. Karin doesn’t mind the attention she gets from Alex, but she has a different plan for herself that includes wealth, which is something Alex will most likely never have.
Adrian loves Karin’s sister, Katherine, but Katherine loves Alex with all her heart and soul. Katherine could be with Adrian but she wants a real love match, not just a comfortable companionship. So, she suffers for years as she watches her sister lead Alex on and Alex follow Karin around like a puppy dog. Alex just can’t seem to get past Karin’s beauty to see the shallow personality she really has. When Alex and Adrian return to Texas after the war, Alex has every intention of picking things back up with Karin. When he sees Katherine he finds himself feeling confused for a brief time, but his mind is so obsessed and focused on Karin he shrugs off any errant thoughts he might have about Katherine. Once more Katherine looks on as Alex makes a fool of himself over Karin and then leaves to again to try and find a way to make a comfortable living that would satisfy Karin enough that she would consider marriage.
Finally, Alex reaches a point where he must find peace and writes home with a marriage proposal. However, he makes a slip up when writing the letter and finds he is in an unbelievable situation where he may lose the woman he has loved all his life and hurt another woman and damage her future in the process. Even Adrian gets involved to make sure Alex does what is right. Sadly, it appears that love may not conquer all.
The classic love triangle that will cause nothing but pain and heartache with no magical solution plays out this historical romance. A part of me hoped and hoped that Katherine would stop wasting her time pining over Alex and would perhaps open her heart to Adrian who was a man I really liked a lot more than Alex. Alex was SO stubborn. He caused so much pain to a sweet, innocent girl that was genuine. I wanted to shake him. While often there were references made that Katherine was stubborn it was really Alex that was so stubborn he wouldn’t admit to his feelings just because of the circumstances. Katherine was not at fault in any of the happenings and finally, after coming to the conclusion that she had done what she could, she decided to be happy with the life she had and vowed to move forward and be the best person she could be and actually experienced some peace for the first time in her life. Will Alex ever wake up and smell the coffee or will he remain frustrated at how things ended up for him? Naturally, Alex had to have a wake up call make him realize what an idiot he was. But, is it too little, too late?
This is the second book the Mackinnon brothers series, but it can be read as a stand alone. I love these older titles being reissued in digital format. While at times older titles can be dated, even the historical ones, this one did not have that problem. Love triangles are always hard to watch and this one was no exception. Often we can’t help but chose sides and I admit I wasn’t all that impressed with Alex and thought that he deserved Karin because Katherine was too good for him. It is apparent to the reader that Alex has idealized Karin based on her physical beauty and what he felt for her was more lust and obsession than love. Katherine was no plain Jane, really, but she didn’t flaunt herself the way her sister did. As they say, the heart wants what it wants but Katherine refused to settle for anything less than a full marriage and true love, even though Alex was the man she loved her entire life and would continue to love forever. All the reader can do is sit back and watch as one disaster after another unfolds hurting the one character you will want the best for. Finally, Alex does manage to grow up and face what is really in his heart and is ready to voice those feelings and act on them. But, he fought against those feelings for so long, he drove Katherine away and now he will have to win her back and this time it will be for all the right reasons.
October 14, 2020
I read this story before and I think I liked it enough to keep it but after this re-read, I changed my mind. Maybe I have changed but I really did not like it. Somethings that really bothered me:
1) I question why Katherine loves Alex so much? What did she see in him that she couldn't see in Adrian when throughout the book, he was definitely the better twin? This would have been a better love story if it took a turn and had became Katherine and Adrian's love story.
2) I feel like the author took the easy way out like many does when they explain the hero's fixation on the other woman and how it's actually not love. Sometimes, I'm like okay, it's possible so I let it slide. Here, I can't. She made him be 'in love' with the sister, Karin, for years while the heroine was there the whole time too. He forgets her whenever Karin is in his radar. He went to army & came back still 'loving' her too. Then he left again, still believing it. If it's just an infatuation, he didn't grow out of it fast enough especially when distance is there to help him...His infatuation spanned for like at least 6-7 years.
3) I think this is somewhat of a spoiler since I am talking about some specific scenes This scene totally made me dislike this book and question Alex and wondered why Adrian wasn't the hero...
4) He barely had to grovel and that was so unsatisfying. Even at the end, he was so easygoing and cheery when he went to the Katherine. I wanted to smack his face so he will take it more seriously or understood how much he hurt her & overlooked her.
To end this, Katherine actually isn't a doormat and delicate but it definitely feels like it sometimes because she was so blinded and in love with the hero - and as I mentioned before - why? Also, the hero actually isn't as unlikable as my review sounds but his stupidity is frustrating.
1) I question why Katherine loves Alex so much? What did she see in him that she couldn't see in Adrian when throughout the book, he was definitely the better twin? This would have been a better love story if it took a turn and had became Katherine and Adrian's love story.
2) I feel like the author took the easy way out like many does when they explain the hero's fixation on the other woman and how it's actually not love. Sometimes, I'm like okay, it's possible so I let it slide. Here, I can't. She made him be 'in love' with the sister, Karin, for years while the heroine was there the whole time too. He forgets her whenever Karin is in his radar. He went to army & came back still 'loving' her too. Then he left again, still believing it. If it's just an infatuation, he didn't grow out of it fast enough especially when distance is there to help him...His infatuation spanned for like at least 6-7 years.
3) I think this is somewhat of a spoiler since I am talking about some specific scenes This scene totally made me dislike this book and question Alex and wondered why Adrian wasn't the hero...
4) He barely had to grovel and that was so unsatisfying. Even at the end, he was so easygoing and cheery when he went to the Katherine. I wanted to smack his face so he will take it more seriously or understood how much he hurt her & overlooked her.
To end this, Katherine actually isn't a doormat and delicate but it definitely feels like it sometimes because she was so blinded and in love with the hero - and as I mentioned before - why? Also, the hero actually isn't as unlikable as my review sounds but his stupidity is frustrating.
November 1, 2023
4. stars. (for now)
This book had really frustrating characters, and quite a few "we could have skipped this" moments. And some major🙄 was happening throughout the story.
That being said, I still truly enjoyed it, could not put it down.
This book had really frustrating characters, and quite a few "we could have skipped this" moments. And some major🙄 was happening throughout the story.
That being said, I still truly enjoyed it, could not put it down.
May 30, 2019
A gut wrenching, emotional read. This book had depth and emotional intensity in spades. It evoked so many emotions in me and at times filled me with sorrow and anger. Our hero, while not intrinsically a bad person, was maddening and extremely insensitive, to say the least. I found myself wishing through most of the book that the heroine would forget the hero and go for his brother, who was in love with her. But then of course we wouldn’t have had all the angst and pain.
This book covers many years, beginning when the MCs are children. I liked the heroine; she was intelligent and a nice person. What annoyed me about her, however, was her refusal to stop pining over the hero and realize that he didn’t deserve her. The last quarter of the book was excellent: everything finally comes to a head and the heroine finally learns the truth and is able to move on. Our dumb hero finally realizes that he’s in love with her and at last wakes up and works to get her back. Too little, too late? That will depend on you and how convincing you find their HEA to be.
Ms. Coffman is a very talented writer and extremely adept at evoking deep emotion. This book in turn broke my heart, made me angry, made me sad, and made me content. One particular scene toward the end of the book is one of the most raw and intensely emotional things I’ve ever read. I was deeply affected by it and felt it to the very marrow of my bones.
An emotional, angsty, and well-written book, this will stay with me for a very long time to come.
This book covers many years, beginning when the MCs are children. I liked the heroine; she was intelligent and a nice person. What annoyed me about her, however, was her refusal to stop pining over the hero and realize that he didn’t deserve her. The last quarter of the book was excellent: everything finally comes to a head and the heroine finally learns the truth and is able to move on. Our dumb hero finally realizes that he’s in love with her and at last wakes up and works to get her back. Too little, too late? That will depend on you and how convincing you find their HEA to be.
Ms. Coffman is a very talented writer and extremely adept at evoking deep emotion. This book in turn broke my heart, made me angry, made me sad, and made me content. One particular scene toward the end of the book is one of the most raw and intensely emotional things I’ve ever read. I was deeply affected by it and felt it to the very marrow of my bones.
An emotional, angsty, and well-written book, this will stay with me for a very long time to come.
December 29, 2014
One word that can describe this book perfectly is tiresome.
I got tired of pages and pages of nothing but poor people's lives in where Judas lost his boots. I got tired of Katherine stupidly pining for Alex, when all he ever saw was her 'oh-so beautiful and perfect' sister, Karin. I got tired of Adrian, Alex's brother, pining for Katherine, with her desperately loving his brother, but wanting to love him instead. I got tired of Karin's shallow, childish, gold digging ways.
I got tired. Nothing excited ever happened and it dragged on and on.
The writing was good, but the rest was a no-go for me.
May 10, 2019
The story continues
I didn't read these books in the series order and they are just as exciting. Stories you cannot put down as the characters stay with you within your thoughts until you pick it up again. The author is amazing how she makes her characters so real to you as you read their story. Great continuation of the MacKinnon boys.
I didn't read these books in the series order and they are just as exciting. Stories you cannot put down as the characters stay with you within your thoughts until you pick it up again. The author is amazing how she makes her characters so real to you as you read their story. Great continuation of the MacKinnon boys.
August 17, 2011
Desire, heartbreak, real love all in one great story.
April 7, 2022
The Angst, oh! Unrequited at its best!
Read
March 1, 2025DNF’d.
Did not like both characters.
He keeps switching weirdly between the sisters. Who writes one letter to two sisters?
I found him a very shitty man. Sorry.
The heroine acts as if he is in the wrong because she loves him and he loves her sister .. such a stupid woman. Felt like slapping her.
I really really tried.
I have no idea what to rate it.
Did not like both characters.
He keeps switching weirdly between the sisters. Who writes one letter to two sisters?
I found him a very shitty man. Sorry.
The heroine acts as if he is in the wrong because she loves him and he loves her sister .. such a stupid woman. Felt like slapping her.
I really really tried.
I have no idea what to rate it.
October 1, 2021
SPOILERS
Not a glamours story, set in 1848 American, the story is hero has been in love with the heroine's sister since they were children. OW is a nice yet selfish and money hungry woman. She is not mean. In fact she loves her sister and loves hero too but she wants to marry a rich person because she is tired of being poor. She is ambitious and eventually does land up with a rich guy.
The hero wants to become rich for her so he leaves the town and after hard work of many years he and his twin brother manage to get to comfortable living. They even join in a lumber job. In a drunken state he proposes to heroine instead of OW while sending her the missive (proposal through letter). Heroine has been in love with him since childhood too. Seeing the content of the letter in which he says something like that he has come to his senses she agrees to marry him. Anyhoo they marry, had bumpy start, eventually they end up consummating the marriage and then she finds out that he never intended to propose to her but rather her sister. She leaves him. He comes after her after realizing that he truly loved her. There is a cute epilogue.
There is a lot of inner dialogue which can be boring but I liked it because it showed the change in hero's feeling for the heroine and her sister. It also shows glimpses of their past which shows to reader that perhaps he always loved her but never realized it. I like that the author prologued his love for the OW because when he fell for the heroine eventually by that time he had really explored and sifted through the jumble of his feelings for her and OW. And I bought that he truly loved the heroine when he came after her.
OH hero has a twin who loved heroine too but she never loved him back so he never crossed the line. He played a great role in hero's realization of his feelings for heroine.
Not a glamours story, set in 1848 American, the story is hero has been in love with the heroine's sister since they were children. OW is a nice yet selfish and money hungry woman. She is not mean. In fact she loves her sister and loves hero too but she wants to marry a rich person because she is tired of being poor. She is ambitious and eventually does land up with a rich guy.
The hero wants to become rich for her so he leaves the town and after hard work of many years he and his twin brother manage to get to comfortable living. They even join in a lumber job. In a drunken state he proposes to heroine instead of OW while sending her the missive (proposal through letter). Heroine has been in love with him since childhood too. Seeing the content of the letter in which he says something like that he has come to his senses she agrees to marry him. Anyhoo they marry, had bumpy start, eventually they end up consummating the marriage and then she finds out that he never intended to propose to her but rather her sister. She leaves him. He comes after her after realizing that he truly loved her. There is a cute epilogue.
There is a lot of inner dialogue which can be boring but I liked it because it showed the change in hero's feeling for the heroine and her sister. It also shows glimpses of their past which shows to reader that perhaps he always loved her but never realized it. I like that the author prologued his love for the OW because when he fell for the heroine eventually by that time he had really explored and sifted through the jumble of his feelings for her and OW. And I bought that he truly loved the heroine when he came after her.
OH hero has a twin who loved heroine too but she never loved him back so he never crossed the line. He played a great role in hero's realization of his feelings for heroine.
June 13, 2013
This book could have been good, but it totally sucked. Katherine was so disgustingly pathetic in her desperation to make her sisters boyfriend love her it was sickening.
How can you respect a woman like this? There was nothing admirable about her character. And then after she gets what she wanted and marries the man that she KNOWS loves her sister, she demands more and starts acting even more stupid. I could keep going on, complaining about but you get the point.
Big disappointment.
How can you respect a woman like this? There was nothing admirable about her character. And then after she gets what she wanted and marries the man that she KNOWS loves her sister, she demands more and starts acting even more stupid. I could keep going on, complaining about but you get the point.
Big disappointment.
October 31, 2014
I hate the heroine. She didn't have any pride at all. Can you imagine pining for her sister's boyfriend's affection?
February 28, 2025
None of these characters were strong. Katherine is our most developed character. As for the side characters, I didn’t necessarily dislike them, but they were a bit one-dimensional. Even though Katherine is the most developed character, I wouldn’t say she’s strong—strong in terms of her character.
Something I did find a little confusing was that we are following two sets of siblings here: Katherine and Karin, and Alex and Adrian. Diving into the book was very confusing at first, as they have their first names starting with the same letter and the same last names. However, as the story progresses, you get a better understanding of who they are. Adrian definitely got the short end of the stick, and I felt bad for him.
As this is a romance, I didn’t feel a strong connection between the main couple, and I honestly think all the characters needed to have different stories. But alas, I was not the writer of the book.
For a romance book, this is rare, but believe it or not, the atmosphere was my favorite part. If you’re a fan of "The Four Winds" by Kristin Hannah, then I think you might like the setting here, as we are exploring California and Texas history. This book starts in 1848, after a war in Texas—something I know absolutely nothing about. I always love getting to read about something I’m not familiar with and learning something new.
The book then progresses to a story taking place during the Gold Rush in northern California. We get to see why these men headed there and what they did after they gained their riches. That was all very intriguing for me because, of course, I’ve learned about that part of history, but not a lot in detail and not on a human level.
The writing was good and atmospheric. As I said before, I never felt a strong chemistry between the couple in the book, but their spicy scenes - you could definitely feel the tension. Those scenes were so good to read about. However, we kept going in circles with the same thing happening over and over again - the women being on their own, and the men going away for years at a time. That got boring to read about. I do think this book could have been shorter than the 400 pages it was.
The story felt very surface-level. There was a lot of telling us about things and not showing. Now, I do know this is a romance, and I'm probably wanting it to be more of a historical novel, but I was wanting a little bit more depth and development.
This plot doesn’t bring a whole lot of new elements to the table, and ultimately, I do think it will be forgettable. However, it did take unpredictable turns that I didn’t expect the book to take. Still, I felt like the vast majority of the middle chunk of the book wasn’t really that important. We almost ended up right back where we started. This book didn’t do a whole lot for me, and I wouldn’t recommend it.
February 3, 2023
Unrequited Love and the wrong sister
This is about two sisters and two brothers and a love quadrangle.
Katherine Simon has always loved Alexander Mackinnon but he's in love with her older sister. Never fear though, because his brother Adrian has always been in love with Katherine.
Unfortunately I didn't much care for a character that tries to go after her sisters boyfriend, regardless of whether the sister loved him as much as the h. Also the h was as blind as the H to the brother that truly loved her so it was doubly hard to sympathize with her.
I also understood and sympathized more with Karin and didn't see her as badly as every other character seemed to think of her.
There was a bit of angst and a bit of grovel towards the end which was a point of favor, however getting to that scene was slow going and filled with long winding descriptions of absolutely everything possible.
It was just an ok read for me.
This is about two sisters and two brothers and a love quadrangle.
Katherine Simon has always loved Alexander Mackinnon but he's in love with her older sister. Never fear though, because his brother Adrian has always been in love with Katherine.
Unfortunately I didn't much care for a character that tries to go after her sisters boyfriend, regardless of whether the sister loved him as much as the h. Also the h was as blind as the H to the brother that truly loved her so it was doubly hard to sympathize with her.
I also understood and sympathized more with Karin and didn't see her as badly as every other character seemed to think of her.
There was a bit of angst and a bit of grovel towards the end which was a point of favor, however getting to that scene was slow going and filled with long winding descriptions of absolutely everything possible.
It was just an ok read for me.
January 29, 2024
This would have been a 5 and maybe I will upgrade if I ever reread it because the first half was slow, yet somehow very endearing and setting the unsettling stage of unrequited love and all the turmoil that went with it. The humor and wit was surprising for a western. The characters were captivating and well written. The second half was spell binding not wanting to take one breather to finish it. That poor, poor girl who went through so much, not as a doormat but as an intelligent, humorous, optimistic woman who your heart just bled for. Amazing story.
August 10, 2023
Period story
I'm hesitant to leave a rating because I skipped almost half of the book (a few chapters in the neginning and another few chapters in the middle). But I'm settling on 3 stars because from what I read it delivered the hurt and angst I was in the mood for and Alex did try to win Katherine back.
I'm hesitant to leave a rating because I skipped almost half of the book (a few chapters in the neginning and another few chapters in the middle). But I'm settling on 3 stars because from what I read it delivered the hurt and angst I was in the mood for and Alex did try to win Katherine back.
January 22, 2024
Adrian would have been a sooo much better option.
August 24, 2024
It felt like the OW was the h of the story. His love for the real h wasn’t convincing at all considering he spent 95% of the book mooning over the OW. Not enough groveling as well.
February 24, 2025
adrian's plot just dropped after katherine went back to new orleans? and by god the mmc (alex) was in love with ow 90% of the book.
October 24, 2023
Me gustó mucho el ambiente en que transcurre el libro, la forma en que está narrado y como se expresan los personajes. Lo he leído varias veces por lo mismo. Pocos libros románticos actuales se preocupan por generarte un ambiente detallado para la historia y lo agradecí.
Sobre la trama: me encantó. Me gustan mucho las historias con mucho drama y este cumplió a la perfección.
Sobre la trama: me encantó. Me gustan mucho las historias con mucho drama y este cumplió a la perfección.
October 20, 2012
Another Elaine Coffman. I really liked her books when I read them back in the 90's. Would have given them a 4 or 5 at the time. Maturity tells me they'd probably be a 3 if I re-read them.
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