Caress

by Rosanne Bittner

Romance author extraordinaire Rosanne Bittner’s bestselling novels leave readers spellbound. In this gorgeous tale, she weaves a mesmerizing tale of revenge and passion.

Luke McQuade travels to Kansas with revenge on his mind. He plans to bring the pro-slavery killer who murdered his father to brutal justice. But his mission is sidetracked when he meets a beautiful woman whose fiery nature matches his own. Valeria Walters is not one to be trifled with, and the simmering passion she feels for Luke, and that he feels for her, makes him question his bloody mission, and whether salvation and peace can exist instead in her arms.

"Bittner's characters spring to life...extraordinary for the depth of emotion with which they are portrayed."—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"Time after time, Rosanne Bittner brings a full-blown portrait of the untamed West to readers. Her tapestry is woven with authenticity, colorful characters, intense emotions and love's power over every conceivable obstacle."—RT

Genres: Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Romance, Fiction, Westerns

361 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 1992

About the author

I am a USA-TODAY best-selling author with 41 years, 76 books, and numerous writing awards behind me. My major genre is historical romance. I have always written for standard publishers but am now writing strictly for Amazon so I have more freedom to write real history. My most recent publication is SHADOW TRAIL, the 6th book in my Outlaw Hearts series. I also wrote and published my first full-length contemporary story, DANCING BENEATH YOU, in September 2022, a romance involving mystery and a depiction of reservation life in the Badlands of South Dakota. My best sellers are my SAVAGE DESTINY series (7 books) and my OUTLAW HEARTS series. See my website (www.rosannebittner.com) for details on all my books - most available for Kindle and in print. I am known for great love stories filled with real history and high emotion. I have also written many Native American stories, all based on real history.

I love American history. For those of you who have not yet read my books, my stories are generally set in the American West of the 1800s and feature vividly described, historically accurate settings that span the US from Missouri to California, from Canada to Mexico. Many of my books portray the poignant history of our Native Americans, and though the characters are my own, I use real historical locations and events in all my novels. I have also written about the French & Indian wars, American Revolution, the War of 1812, the war with Mexico (the Alamo), and the Civil War.

National magazine ROMANTIC TIMES has called me the "Queen of Western Romance" and an "emotional powerhouse." My husband and I have traveled the west for nearly 40 years and I have visited just about every location mentioned in my books.

Visit my website at www.rosannebittner.com and my Facebook Author page. And be sure to join Rosanne Bittner's Heart of the West Street Team! Happy reading!

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caress is a classic Rosanne Bittner book filled with a beautiful love story entwined with true history. Blake and Samantha take you on a love story set in the beginning stages of the Civil War, set in Kansas. Reading and feeling like you're living through the danger and fear and trials makes this story a hard one at times, but also a great one, because you have to experience it and realize what all those impersonal history accounts represented. I loved getting to experience George and Jesse's HEA along with Blake and Samantha. Seeing the male friendship between Blake and George, overcoming their current circumstances (let's just say, it's not popular to be a white man with a black man for a best friend). Watching the prejudice first hand hurt along with happy tears seeing love concur all.

One of my favorite moments was when Blake was telling Samantha and her family, yeah, peace is great and all, until someone needs punched. (well, Rosanne Bittner said it much more ellegantly, but the thought is the same! and how true it is at times!)

[Tonya Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caress has left me speechless. Rosanne Bittner is one remarkable author. This book is about the history of "Bleeding Kansas", Ms. Bittner is stellar in her writing of this historic time period of our American history. This is one book that needs to be read in high school American history classes.
Pre-civil wars days were anything but peaceful for Kansan's trying to keep pro-slavery out of their state, while Missourians were crossing over the border and getting temporary residency so they could cast votes for proslavery. Between the two states, the proslavery and abolitionist border wars broke out creating a time of unsettled peace and an all out civil war between these two states. The term "bleeding Kansas" came to be during this time.
Blake and Sam, George and Jessie's love endured the trials and tribulations they faced during this turbulent time.
This is a gut wrenching, heartbreaking beautiful love story that needed to be told and Ms. Bittner absolutely and phenomenally delivered it.

[Veda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit it took me a while to get into this book. That being said, once I got into it, I had to keep reading until I was done. This book puts a major light on a piece of history that I hope we never repeat. Slavery was a hot button issue before the Civil War, and tore many families apart. This is a must read for history buffs and for those that would like to know more. Race was a huge part of this book, and what part it all plays in today's world.
This book puts you in the middle of those wanting slavery and those that didn't. In reading this book, I felt the pain, agony of those trying to end slavery. You can feel the pain of the slaves. You will see the vindictive na ture of the slave owners that never wanted it to end.
Now I would love to read an update on Jesse and George. Would love to see more of Blake and Samantha's family and how all of them handled the Civil War. Would even like to know what happened to Ted Wilson.

[thered_hairedreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very intense. I usually shy away from books that deal with slavery, but Rosanne Bittner has always been one of my favorite authors. This book deals with the mess of Kansas trying to enter the Union as an anti-slavery state, and the lengths that so many people went through to keep it from happening. It's not pretty, and some of the book made me cringe. I highly recommend it if you would like to know more information about some of what led to the Civil War.

[Yuana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bagus. Jd kepengen nonton telenovela jaman jadul isaura. Good book. Remind me to old movie isaura

[Richard Guerrero · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my least favorites. Good history lesson and good characters but ridiculous story. Have people such as bleacher following these people everywhere but nobody ever knew he was a spy. The author try to do a little too much. I only say this because she wants to bring a lot of truth to the history but sometimes it gets a little ridiculous and goes too far.

[unknown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Read

This book has a good story, did not grab me from the beginning. I got though the first chapter, then it got more interesting. Had good characters, the plot got better as I continued.

[Jennifer Nickels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this author but.....I think she needs a better editor. How many times did the lead female, Samantha, say "Oh, Blake!"? So, so, so many times. It was too much. Also, I'm all for men showing and expressing all emotions, but just about every male in this story shed tears. Often. It simply wasn't believable. That said, I DID enjoy the story and history lesson. A dark period in time prior to an even darker period in our history. Thank you, Ms. Bittner.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hardship, bitterness and rewarding love...

Amazing storyline of slavery at its worst in our history; family and faith at its best; and, excellent writing. This author always makes the reader feel a part of her books which are filled with emotion. I highly recommend this book for those who love a great story that is filled with intensity. Enjoyed every minute of the book.

[eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read.

[Blanca Wheeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and story of love, vengeance and fight against slavery. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

[Linda Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written story of love combined with the history of the beginning of the Civil War. When one is able to tell a story and combine it with history, what can be better, and Rosanne Bittner has done just that. Without going into detail about the characters, just let me say that you need to read it for your self, if you like Historical Fiction stories. Please read it and decide for yourself. You won't be sorry!

[Priyanka]

suprb book

[Sharon Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book that takes place in Kansas just before the Civil War. Not only is it an interesting romance, but Rosanne Bittner tells us about the politics in a territory about to become a state.

[J]

I couldn’t finish, such a sad book.