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Jezebel's Blues
When the Jezebel River overflows her banks and tries to swallow the small town of Gideon in East Texas, Celia Moon is alone and frightened in the farmhouse she inherited from her grandmother. When a mesmerizing and troubled drifter washes up on her porch, she has no choice but to take him in. As the river rises, the pair retreat to the attic to ride out the storm—and discover a compelling attraction.
The daughter of two artists who were besotted with each other, Celia has always felt the odd woman out. She yearns to find a place she can call her own, a family of her own, and a life that has some stability and meaning. Her grandmother’s farmhouse in Gideon has always represented that.
Eric fled his grim childhood in Gideon to find a life as an acclaimed blues guitarist, but that life has been taken from him, too, and he’s back in Gideon with a chip on his shoulder that hides the vast hunger he, too, feels to find his place, his home, his life. Waiting out the storm with sunny, optimistic Celia, he wonders if maybe there’s a place in Gideon for him after all, in the arms of a woman who might know more than she thinks about acceptance.
A novel as rich and deep as a river, Jezebel’s Blues is both a haunting love story and a tale of finding your way to accepting yourself.
The daughter of two artists who were besotted with each other, Celia has always felt the odd woman out. She yearns to find a place she can call her own, a family of her own, and a life that has some stability and meaning. Her grandmother’s farmhouse in Gideon has always represented that.
Eric fled his grim childhood in Gideon to find a life as an acclaimed blues guitarist, but that life has been taken from him, too, and he’s back in Gideon with a chip on his shoulder that hides the vast hunger he, too, feels to find his place, his home, his life. Waiting out the storm with sunny, optimistic Celia, he wonders if maybe there’s a place in Gideon for him after all, in the arms of a woman who might know more than she thinks about acceptance.
A novel as rich and deep as a river, Jezebel’s Blues is both a haunting love story and a tale of finding your way to accepting yourself.
251 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 26, 2018
"Jezebel's Blues" is the story of Celia and Eric.
A moody river unleashing her wrath on an unsuspecting town.
Two strangers trapped together, hiding their own secrets.
This is the whimsical tale of broken souls who find each other due to nature's tantrums.
They struggle with the past, their insecurities, heartbreak, trust issues, self destruction and ultimately, their capacity to love.
With poetic flow, loads of inner monologues, and ultimately the couple finding their destiny, this was a different but interesting one time read.
As they thrashed together, lost to anything but each other, he felt suddenly awash in a perfect silvery light, as if Celia had cloaked them with her magic. Where everything had been dark, now all glowed with light—a blazing, healing light he’d never seen, had never hoped to know. In Celia’s arms he felt it in him to be all she saw in him, all the things he’d never dared dream of being.
Safe
3/5
A moody river unleashing her wrath on an unsuspecting town.
Two strangers trapped together, hiding their own secrets.
This is the whimsical tale of broken souls who find each other due to nature's tantrums.
They struggle with the past, their insecurities, heartbreak, trust issues, self destruction and ultimately, their capacity to love.
With poetic flow, loads of inner monologues, and ultimately the couple finding their destiny, this was a different but interesting one time read.
As they thrashed together, lost to anything but each other, he felt suddenly awash in a perfect silvery light, as if Celia had cloaked them with her magic. Where everything had been dark, now all glowed with light—a blazing, healing light he’d never seen, had never hoped to know. In Celia’s arms he felt it in him to be all she saw in him, all the things he’d never dared dream of being.
Safe
3/5
May 27, 2011
Jezebel's Blues was a very different book about finding your own self and accepting it.
Celia Moon has moved to Gideon to create a new life for herself, a life based on stability. Her parents were famous and adored each other but her relationship with them was complicated, she always felt she was an after thought with them and is still angry about her father's death coming so close on the heels of her mother.
Eric is someone who didn't have the best childhood, he spent his life in Gideon first as a child who was illegitimate and then with a drunk uncle. His sister and the guitar saved him and he left to make a name for himself, which he did but an accident robbed him of that and he is still dealing with that. He returns for his sister but is caught in the storm and finds shelter with Celia.
The book is slow, it is about blues. Celia is pretty strong, she is not interested in taking on all of Eric's trouble, yes she tries to help him but she also walks away.
She knows what she wants in life and doesn't force Eric to want the same. Eric was more complicated, he has a lot of guilt to work through and he knows that he cannot be what Celia needs. It was good to see Eric's journey of self-discovery and to stop taking life so seriously.
I enjoyed the book, it is not very sexy, it is slow and different.
Celia Moon has moved to Gideon to create a new life for herself, a life based on stability. Her parents were famous and adored each other but her relationship with them was complicated, she always felt she was an after thought with them and is still angry about her father's death coming so close on the heels of her mother.
Eric is someone who didn't have the best childhood, he spent his life in Gideon first as a child who was illegitimate and then with a drunk uncle. His sister and the guitar saved him and he left to make a name for himself, which he did but an accident robbed him of that and he is still dealing with that. He returns for his sister but is caught in the storm and finds shelter with Celia.
The book is slow, it is about blues. Celia is pretty strong, she is not interested in taking on all of Eric's trouble, yes she tries to help him but she also walks away.
She knows what she wants in life and doesn't force Eric to want the same. Eric was more complicated, he has a lot of guilt to work through and he knows that he cannot be what Celia needs. It was good to see Eric's journey of self-discovery and to stop taking life so seriously.
I enjoyed the book, it is not very sexy, it is slow and different.
July 3, 2010
Drifter Eric Putman gets to know Celia Moon while he is stranded at her house because of a river overflow. Sexy, wounded hero and intelligent, charming heroine in a well written story.
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October 20, 2019I guess I'm a sucker for emotionally damaged men. This isn't quite as good as In the Midnight Rain (my favorite by this author), but I see a lot of the same themes.
April 3, 2020
Wonderful
Another great book by this author.
Beginning to be one of my favorite authors.
Can’t seem to get enough!
Whatever name she takes.
Another great book by this author.
Beginning to be one of my favorite authors.
Can’t seem to get enough!
Whatever name she takes.
May 11, 2021
Guilt and Secrets...
Loved this beautiful story. I didn't want it to end, wonderful characters and so touching. I'll be reading more from this author.
Loved this beautiful story. I didn't want it to end, wonderful characters and so touching. I'll be reading more from this author.
March 12, 2017
I read the Kindle version of this book, not realising it is a Silhouette Romance. I was so mesmerised by the name of the book and was eager to read it because it was about a river.
Of course, there is the angsty love story between Celia and Eric. Celia was strong. Surprisingly so, because the second paragraph of the blurb made me think she was a needy, clingy woman. Eric's character was almost a cliché, with guilt colouring all his actions and standing in the way of happiness and love.
But for me, the highlight was the river, Jezebel. It reminded me of the gutsy rivers of my homeland. No pristine waters or round pebbles or beautiful banks there. Swollen with water, they flow roaring between muddy banks, full of tadpoles and earthworms, in the rainy season. With banks all dry and cracked, they fight for survival in large, dirty puddles, in the heat of the summer.
Jezebel, too, is one such river. All sassy and temperamental, who she is and what she does is as important as Celia and Eric's story in this book.
Overall, I liked the book. There's one point that irritated me, though. There is no explanation of what happened to Eric's sister Laura and her ex-husband during the time she went missing. Maybe that is the subject for another book? I have no clue.
Of course, there is the angsty love story between Celia and Eric. Celia was strong. Surprisingly so, because the second paragraph of the blurb made me think she was a needy, clingy woman. Eric's character was almost a cliché, with guilt colouring all his actions and standing in the way of happiness and love.
But for me, the highlight was the river, Jezebel. It reminded me of the gutsy rivers of my homeland. No pristine waters or round pebbles or beautiful banks there. Swollen with water, they flow roaring between muddy banks, full of tadpoles and earthworms, in the rainy season. With banks all dry and cracked, they fight for survival in large, dirty puddles, in the heat of the summer.
Jezebel, too, is one such river. All sassy and temperamental, who she is and what she does is as important as Celia and Eric's story in this book.
Overall, I liked the book. There's one point that irritated me, though. There is no explanation of what happened to Eric's sister Laura and her ex-husband during the time she went missing. Maybe that is the subject for another book? I have no clue.
January 28, 2013
This was a most enjoyable little romance. It wasn't exactly "contemporary" since some things in there were rather dated, so it is apparently an older book re-published without re-editing. It lacked the danger, intrigue, and adventure that I have come to associate with Samuel novels (technically, it was a Wind novel), but did not lack the fine writing, rich character development, and heart and soul that I have come to associate with Samuel novels. It did, however, not drag or get boring because she had the good sense to compensate for the lack of mystery and peril by making the romance short and sweet. I don't think this is a spoiler because this is a romance and we do expect an HEA, but I judge a romance by how much the decisions and dialogue sound like real people would respond in such circumstances and whether the obstacles keeping the lovers apart "work" for me or not. In this case, it works, because the author didn't try to drag it on for months and even years, as often happens. The protagonists in spite of both having troubled childhoods and emotional hang-ups, actually talked (!) and communicated (!) and TRIED! Imagine, talking and communicating like adult human beings in love--wow, if only other romance writers used the same unusual gimmick (sarc), I wouldn't throw so many of them against the wall, which is not a smart thing to do with a kindle book.
May 6, 2013
Did I miss something? I don't believe I discovered why Laura washed up in the next town during the flood, and how did Celia know what Laura looked like to give a description of her over the phone while trying to find her since Laura had been missing for days? And why couldn't Eric make these calls since he was looking for his sister in the first place? Why was Jake in the rowboat in a storm? Otherwise this is a sweet book. The sexual situations were unnecessary, but this was written in the 90s when such scenes were expected. Celia is a strong character and doesn't swoon into despair when Eric follows his demons instead of his heart. It's a good thing he finally stopped feeling sorry for himself and discovered he had more to give and gain.
August 21, 2016
Celia is the adult daughter of two famous parents that wee so caught up in each other they had no time for their daughter. Now a math high school teacher in her deceased fathers home town of Gideon, Texas living in her grandmothers home she inherited she is enjoying small town life. Eric is a famous Blues musician that also grew up in Gideon. As a child of a poor unwed mother in a small town he could not get out fast enough. Now he is headed back after a tragic accident scarred his hands ending his guitar playing career he wants to help protect his sister from her abusive ex husband. Before get gets to his sister's house he is stranded in a storm that causes the Jezebel's river banks to flood and he ends up getting refuge with Celia in her attic for two days and nights.
April 9, 2012
Good reading
May 31, 2012
3.5 stars
November 13, 2012
Another beautiful, lyrical love story by Barbara Samuel. Every word is redolent of the deep south. I loved it.
kindle-i-own-to-read
November 17, 2012Amazon Freebie 11/16/2012
September 12, 2016
Another happy ending love story
Light reading. Well written, but predictable plot and characters. Girl meets bad boy, falls in love, redeems him and they live happily ever after.
Light reading. Well written, but predictable plot and characters. Girl meets bad boy, falls in love, redeems him and they live happily ever after.
January 6, 2023
not comparable with her "In the Midnight Rain"
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July 30, 2012Loved it!!!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews