Firefly

by Linda Hilton

Del Morgan was once a talented frontier doctor, until tragedy struck. Julie's wicked father's unrelenting brutality poisoned her family and robbed her of pride and self-respect. In each other's arms, Julie and Del discover the healing balm of love, mending their lives in tender harmony.

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

463 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Lizz · Rating 1 out of 5]

My Review of Linda Hilton's Firefly

Where should I begin?

I read Firefly's first page on Amazon, and couldn't read any further. It was terrible.

First of all, Firefly begins with cliched descriptions of setting and weather. Quite wordy, and with a needless comma between "Plato" and the phrase "in the Arizona Territory". One comma in this first heavily verbose sentence would've been sufficient.

Shorter sentences would've made the writing stronger in my opinion.
Book starts out with entirely too much needless description. I don't care about stray dogs under a wooden sidewalk, their coats being "too dry and dusty" *YAWN*. I don't care about how often it rains in Plato. I don't care about the subsequent mud from said rain. I don't care that summer had just begun. *snoooooore*

Hilton took her setting descriptions to the absolute extreme. *eyes tear up from utter boredom*

No wonder this book wasn't very popular! None of her others seem to be either.

What the hell's a "ponderous" frame? From the book "Simon McCrory lowered his PONDEROUS frame to an unpainted wooden chair and blah blah blah blah-too verbose-blah blah blah who the fuck cares blah blah."

This author was published by Random House or some shit? Oh the horror! Random House, you should be ashamed! Did you know this woman Linda Hilton? Fess up to your nepotism!

I've read self-published books better than this shit. I'd rather watch paint dry on the wall of a hundred-year-old house than to read the rest of this horrible, boring book!

Did I mention how horrible it was?

At least three times in few paragraphs the awful heat was mentioned. First mentioned at the start, then the characters mention the heat, and then their lethargy was blamed on the heat. And then they discussed the heat some more! Then they mentioned that some girl was going to get a heat stroke eventually.

All this mention of "heat, hot, too damn hot, heat-induced lethargy," mentioned 5 times on the first half of the page! We get it already, it's fucking HOT!!

And then we have the confusing head-hopping. First we're inside Simon's head, next thing you know we're inside Julie's head and she's feeling perspiration.... because it's HOT!! Oh, and her eyes burned excruciatingly! Never even heard of that word before. It was excruciating to read such a clunky, distracting adverb.

But at least Julie remembered "to feel properly penitent as she opened the door." Huh? How about remorseful, apologetic or regretful? What's with the weird word usage? It's distracting. Who uses that word?
Next paragraph reads "her father's still inexpert hand." Inexpert hand? Really?

How about an inexpert writer who's full of herself?

Terrible, awful writing. I'm literally shaking my head as I read this first page. It's terrible with the unusual word usage, verbosity, repetition, head-hopping, too much boring description and just boring in general!

And this: "he asked in heavily accented English." Wow what a long, clunky dialog tag! Would've been better like this: "How is your mama today?" He spoke in a thick English accent. Or even leave out the word "thick" altogether. Less is more, Linda Hilton! Or didn't you know that?

More needless mention of the damn heat when Julie walks down the street and wipes away her sweat. Then "heat" was mentioned again in the very same paragraph!!

IT'S HOT!! IT'S HOT!! WE GET THE FUCKING IDEA!!

And then we head-hop into some random dude called Del Morgan. After that I couldn't stand to read any more of this shit.

This is no exaggeration: my six-year-old child writes better, more interesting stories than this.

Horrible, awful, terrible writing. If I were an editor at Random House, I'd be embarrassed. Less than zero stars for this trash. Just doing this review makes me feel like falling asleep!

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Hilton, do you really think you're better than self-published authors? Well I have news for you. Guess what it is?

It's sad how some authors think they're great writers and filled with self-importance due to their publishing credits, when in reality they're terrible writers. Nepotism abounds! Uncle Fred doesn't care about losing thousands in profits as long as precious niece gets to see what it feels like to be an "arrrthur". Piss poor one at that.

This book is awful. No wonder more and more self-published authors are becoming successful.

Editors at the big houses have thrown away their red pens!

Self-published authors are able to use their freedom to write books with unique plots and characters, not the cookie-cutter shit that pub houses want. Readers do not want cookie cutter. Readers want different. They don't want to constantly read the same boring shit. They want authors to push the envelope and write extraordinary books. Big pubbies can't take such chances. They can't afford to. That's why they wait until a self-published book hits the #1 spot before offering the big bucks, and a contract.

The irony! It kills!

Did I mention that this book was an "excruciatingly" painful read?

AND IT'S HOT, I SAY! HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT! But not in a good way.

[Misfit · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Hollstrom family are new to the small town of Plato in the Arizona territory (they have a history of relocating often, but that's part of the big ta-dah at the end). Daughter Julie seems relegated to a life as a spinster and waiting hand and foot on her self-centered parents and spoiled younger brother. Del Morgan was the town doctor until his wife and unborn son were shot down by accident, and he now spends his time drowning his sorrows in a haze of alcohol. Julie's downtrodden existence piques Del's interest and he's soon on the path of sobriety and doctoring for the town folk again. He's also starting to have serious feelings for Julie, but there's still those *issues* with her parents and her supposed fiancé. You know the path to true love is never easy in a romance novel, don't you?

This was a quick easy read, and while not the greatest romance ever, it was fun to read. I have to admit having a hard time warming up to downtrodden Julie, but it was just days after struggling with perennial victim Ana in that awful Fifty Shades of Grey book - so that was my problem and not the author's. There isn't a lot of sex in this book, only one *big* sex scene and that was about 75% in, so if you're looking for a sexed up romance this isn't the book for you. My only real quibble is the formatting, starting with the font - Courier? Aiyee! Plus some odd sentences here and there that didn't quite make sense.

"Willy B she had no idea when he had come home B thrashed in his sleep and mumbled something from a dream."

"if you hadn't B if we hadn't done what we"

I picked it up as a Kindle freebie, but if I had paid full price I might be a bit ticked. This was originally published in 1988 (love the older cover), and as the author freely admits in her notes at the end of the new edition well before the days of instant info at the click of a mouse. Like another reviewer I was wondering about ice-cream and strawberries in a small Arizona town, but I'm more forgiving in these older books. A good read and I do recommend it, but for reasons stated above (especially the formatting) I just can't rate it higher than three.

[Anna Kļaviņa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed this book. It was well written and interesting.
For once a romance book with a sensible main female character and a decent male lead.

[Ceilidh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read a lot of straight up romance, it tends to be an element in the books I read, but not the main focus. However, I really wanted to check out one of Linda's books since I like her style here on GR and she recommended that I start with this one. I really enjoyed it. It's a fun read with strong characters and is set in a time period and setting (Arizona territory 188idontremember's) that I haven't read much about, so that was fun. There were several moments where I laughed out loud and certainly felt engaged with the characters. What I really appreciated was there wasn't too much of the "I love him! Does he love me? I can't tell him... blergh, that you get so much in the bad parts of this genre. There was some of that, of course, because we do need to keep the characters apart for a while, you need that conflict, but it wasn't beaten to death, which I appreciated. It felt like a romance novel that featured actual, adult characters, rather than simpering teenagers that always makes me want to hurl the book across the room. I'd certainly recommend this book, especially if you're a fan of the genre.

[Faye · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pleasant surprise! A lovely heroine who is a servant in her home, is rescued by the town drunk who is/was promising doctor.

[Dannie *migraine in 5..4..3..* · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading the part available as a sample on Amazon, I cannot read this book. "Historical" bits are so far from what truly existed that it can't pull me into it. Unnecessary descriptions overpower any attempts to get any flow. Dialogue drug on giving a poor attempt at show rather than tell only to fail miserably. Pages were wasted on the concept of it's a 1884 small town that practically never rains.

Other historical things that bothered me in the first chapter alone: Julie's not allowed to wear a bonnet when it was what proper ladies were doing yet it was her mother that forbid her to wear it. The lunch Julie took to her father was rather extravagant for the time and financial status mentioned. The hygiene issues with Morgan by Julie. She must have come from a very well to-do area if she has such issue with a missing bath for maybe a month.

Needed a lot of historical research instead of movies.

[Lily (No Book Haters Here) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well. What can I say? It's close to 2 stars, definitely. I do prefer the new cover to the old, it modernizes it a lot. Del really wasn't my favorite character, he was quite suicidal after the loss of his family. I didn't quite believe Julie could pull him out of the funk but she sure gave it a go. I found myself skimming the rest of the story because it just didn't capture my attention like I thought it would. Sadly, I had to return my copy since I DNF. I found only one good hot scene in it, which was okay but not brilliant. I really feel bad when I DNF a book, but I really did try to read it especially since it took place in Arizona, a place I've done a lot of hiking in. I did not take into account any grammar issues in this review. As with any review, this is my opinion and mine alone. Please read the book before making your own opinion.

[OddCloud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4/5

It's a fantastic book, to be honest. It's a slow burn. And even when the love gets kindled, it is less sizzling and sparks, and more like... that warmth spreading through your bones when enjoying a cup of hot tea. Wholesome.

There are a few formatting errors. And here and there you may find some odd descriptions or words thrown in the mix. But you really get to soak in the setting of the scorching territory. You get to witness a community of people, the redemption of the hero, the way two people that overcome low self esteem and rise above the hand that life dealt them.

There are also a healthy dose of drama and some... let's say bizarre behaviors. But everything comes together in a way that makes sense and you get this little story. Sure, I would've loved for there to be a little bit more romance, but this book gave me emotions aplenty. I'm really glad I gave it a chance.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come...

[Bianca Blast · Rating 2 out of 5]

I came across Linda Hilton while perusing the internet. She's a ferocious and unforgiving reviewer, which isn't altogether a bad thing, given the trash that gets published on a daily basis. I thought for sure, given her attitude toward poorly-written books, that her own would be pearls among swine.

I was wrong.

I downloaded a sample of Firefly from Amazon and began to read. In the very first chapter, we are treated to relentless head hopping. We are first in the head of Simon McCrory, then we are treated to Ms. Hallstrom's thoughts, and finally, Del Morgan gets his two cents in. No scene breaks at all. We just hop from head to head in this chapter. I found it jarring.

Ms. Hilton also seems quite enamored of adverbs. In the first chapter alone, we are treated to the following gems:

quickly recognized
looked longingly
burned excruciatingly (wouldn't burns, by their very definition, be excruciating?)
pounded furiously (because pounding on a door isn't furious enough)
turned uncertainly
edging instantly
apologized sincerely
asked cautiously

Right in the middle of chapter one, is this beaut of a sentence: "She felt his eyes on her and bitterly supposed he was just another busybody wondering why Wilhelm Hollstrom forced his daughter to B no, those were ungrateful thoughts considering all her father had done for her." B no? What the hell does that even mean?

*sigh* I won't be reading any more of her books.

[Diane Madison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this partly because of the title. Unfortunately I thought the plot was a bit slow.

[Nenia Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't be fooled by that cover. Even though this book and everything about it screams "bodice-ripper!" this is a tender, angsty romance between two broken people and their ultimate triumph over those who are determined to keep them apart. Set in 19th century Arizona, back when it was a "Territory" and not a state, we're treated to the hellish heat and hard-grit lives of those who live on the frontier.

Julie, our heroine, is a tall, gangly bespectacled woman who lives with her parents and young brother while they work her literally down to the bone. They eat all the food she cooks while she's waiting on them, so there's scarcely enough left for her after all that back-breaking labor. Her mother is confined to her bed and has Julie wait on her all the time like a spoiled cat. And her father hates her for reasons we don't know, and seems eager to revel in her suffering.

Del, our hero, is a man who hasn't gotten over the death of his beloved wife. He used to be a doctor but alcoholism took that away, as it also took away his ability to be with women or even function normally. When the heroine meets him, he's unshaven, wearing old clothes, and has a bad case of BO. Not really the makings of a romantic hero, I think you'll agree.

Julie ends up having to seek his help when her mother breaks an arm because the real doctor is out, and then another injury-- her brother gets a fishhook caught above his eye-- results in another Del encounter when the doctor turns out to be a major, child-hating ass. Nobody is really all that sorry when the doctor dies, leaving Del the only capable man in town. Particularly Julie, who is angered by his squandering of his talent and agrees to help him get back on his feet again.

Oh my GOD, the feels this book gave me. First, as much as I enjoy the backwards, heteronormative romance novels of yore (and even of today, in some cases), it is SO refreshing to see a hero who struggles with his masculinity and has real vulnerabilities (impotence and alcoholism and PTSD). I mean, the man literally saw his wife shot before his eyes. That would fuck anyone up. And Julie-- God, how I hated her family for treating her the way they did. When you find out her backstory, you just want to take the poor girl in your arms and hug her forever while promising her everything. (Luckily she has Del to do that for her-- or does she?? Hehehe...)

The medical scenes were gnarly. The villains were truly villainous. The romance is slow burn. The heroine is scrappy and competent but also vulnerable and broken-- and so is the hero. There are SO MANY moments in this book where I just wanted to slap them over the heads because of all the misunderstandings but in this book, it actually works. Both of them have self-esteem that's lower than dirt because of what happened to them, so whereas 99% of books have me rolling my eyes over the misunderstandings in question, here, though frustrating, it actually made sense.

I'm honestly surprised this book isn't more popular than it is. The ratings for it are pretty abysmal and I'm shocked by that because it is smartly written, and completely unique. I don't think I've ever read another romance quite like this one-- I could see it playing out like a movie in my head, the scenes are so vivid. Mandatory disclaimer is that I was friends with this author back when she was still on GR and I just happened to think of her while looking up old books on Kindle Unlimited and seeing the name.

I honestly can't wait to read more from this author since I loved this one so much. Even the title, once you realize the reason behind it, is probably going to make you cry.

4.5 stars

[Alex Wayne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only use one star, because I can't give this bore, a negative two. The meandering plot is ridiculous. The prose are even worse. Not sure why Hilton feels the need to employ an irritating, adverbial adjective on every third noun. Hilton's command of historical knowledge is equal to that of a dead chimpanzee, and the characters are as deep as a contact lens being stepped on by an elephant. The "romance" is as romantic as three cats in a blender, and the story itself is less interesting, than the back of a box of unfrosted cornflakes. I give this horrid attempt at literature, two thumbs down, because I only have two thumbs. I wish i had more thumbs - MANY more thumbs.

[Lisbeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was all right. Sadly enough this was (again) a book that made me lose interest after the first half. So much assumptions made, so much heartache could have been prevented. Perhaps it’s realistic but it’s annoying as hell.

Anyhow, I want to know how Willy turns out, if the father ever will get what he deserves, and Hans too. And the mum, what is her excuse? It is all hinted at the end, but it shows I care more about them than the true hero and heroine. Still I made it to the end, without skipping (too much).

[Harisa- EsquiredToRead · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so interesting! Has such a terrible rating on goodreads but I really thoroughly enjoyed it! It was DEFINITELY more historical than romance but I really enjoyed these characters. This is dark, has a lot of depressing content, but overall was a good story.

[Ali. S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a well written slow burn but I personally started to loose intrest in it.

I persevered until the end, I should have just stopped at 50% when I knew it wasn't holding my interest. The author answers all the questions so everything is neatly tied up at the end, I just wasn't particularly happy with the answers.

Not for me but I could see others enjoying it.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

KINDLE UNLIMITED.
Picked due to seeing it on a reviewer's list of top romances. I've seen a couple of strangely scathing 1 star reviews of this novel. Honestly I don't know how it doesn't have a higher rating. 🤷‍♀️ Although when I read the comments; one reviewer complains about 'head hopping' because the narrator gives insight into the thoughts of more than one character. Tell me you only read 2000's offerings from new young writers without telling me... 😂 etc. It's like they don't know what to make of any book that's not told in first person POV.

The complaints about vocabulary made me laugh. If you don't know the meaning of ponderous or penitent, just look them up. Don't expect a writer to cater to your limited vocabulary. So much more I could say on this topic, but that's not a book review. TBH, the worst negative review came from a private profile with 2 followers and no other reviews. Seemed pretty personal. 🤔

But, for an excellent review, see what's been written by Nenia. Honestly, she nails it and there's nothing better I can add. It was her list that lead me to this book, and I have zero regrets about picking it up. 😍

[Makhda]

A long time ago, I'm obsessed with harlequin book. Maybe I should revisited some time..

There's a simultaneous campaign to one star this author. Hmm..it just piqued my interest to read the book. Great campaign, btw. ;)

[Joann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read