California Caress

by Rebecca Sinclair

( 99¢ for a limited time only!)

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

416 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1989

About the author

Reb published her first book in 1989. She is the bestselling author of CALIFORNIA CARESS, PERFECT STRANGERS, MONTANA WILDFIRE ... & a bunch of other historical romance novels.

She lives on the southeast coast of New England in a big house built in 1865—haunted, of course (this is New England, aren't they're ALL haunted?—and only a five minute walk from the ocean, with a husband she loves almost as much as he loves football, fishing & firearms.

Roaming the internet is only one of her obsessions.

Reviews

[katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review.


Hope Bennett was determined right or wrong to find Drake Frazier, the gunslinger that was well known for his bad ass trait and gun slinging abilities, but what she didn't expect was his payment option.


Having no other way out, Hope agrees to Drakes requests, with no intention of paying up. If it means saving her brother she will agree now and work out the consequences later.


Drake has other ideas, he not only helps Hope out, to save her brother but finds that even though Hope is hot headed and full of fire , he is besotted by her. The stolen kisses have him curious .....


Hope finds that Drake infuriates her, his advances not only make her toes curl, but she tries to tell herself that she loathes him, but really her blood and body tell her differently.


After a string of events, Hope finds herself, on the trail with Drake, headed for payback. She has agreed to help him ruin the ones who has betrayed him but where will it leave Hope ?


Heartbroken ? In love ? Or still alone...




My thoughts.


Well this is my first country western romance, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was filled with passion, betrayal, twists and turns and heart felt moments.


I completely enjoyed the characters that Rebecca created, Hope and Drake both being tortured souls with a past that may haunt them forever. No room, they thought to love again or to be loved. Rebecca showed us the meaning of *Beauty is in the eye of the beholder *. Hope thought her past would stay with her forever and make her unlovable and Drake thought his past would not allow him to love again. But rest assured, Rebecca has shown us in this story love will always find a way. ! So yes, I'm a true romantic at heart, and love a lovey dovey romance, the conflict between them , the intense passion they shared. I loved every moment of it !! Characters with depth and understanding and of course both with attitudes - ying and yang but fit together perfectly.


A smooth flowing storyline, that will keep your interest piqued throughout, chapters that run smoothly and dialogue that runs fluently from beginning to end.


A few spelling errors, but nothing that will affect the way in which you read the story, I just breezed by and continued on to enjoy this wonderful tantalizing romance.


All casting characters well placed, and necessary for the story, a villain we all hate and of course love to see him get his just deserts ! Pay backs a bitch even if it is by the hoof of mighty blow.


Most importantly with a romance is the definition of emotions, and the well placed descriptions. Rebecca has wonderfully spun both elements in this read, great depth into emotions, and descriptions, giving us crisp visions in which to see and feel. I really enjoy a read that I can relate to, both emotionally and physically. I'm a soppy reader, so if I can feel these whilst reading then then author has done her job. The descriptions were real enough I could envisage throughout !!


My first story of Rebecca's and it wont be my last. A captivating romance set in the outback, showing us the hard times and what was involved just to put food on your table. I can remember hearing stories of this from grandparents, very realistic in life situations, and makes you appreciate all that we have today.


A story filled with Passion and romance - tantalizing and titillating moments, to keep your inner romantic sated - and equal amounts of action and suspense throughout .


Lastly but not least :


A hotty who is heroic, adventurous and mysterious whom I'm sure will have your hairs standing on end and sheepishly grinning at his cheeky moments. !!


Hope : Kick arse Heroine who thinks she needs no one, self sufficient, sexy and knows how to get what she wants !! with an attitude to boot !!

Grab a copy you wont be disappointed !!

[Babs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hope has gotten in over her head when he father sends her and her brother Luke to find a certain gunslinger. How she finds him is one of the most hilarious parts of the book. Hope is trying to help save her brother from a situation he doesn’t need to be in. When she finally talks to Drake Frazier she can not stand what he has to say, but goes a long with his demands, little does he know she does not plan to fulfill her debt to him or does she?
The writing was good there were some errors, but nothing you can’t over look. The setting was so good I could picture the scenes along with the characters. one scene was described in such detail I actually thought I was riding along the trail seeing some gravesides along the way.
The characters is what I liked the most. Hope and Drake have a unique banter between them. They are both too scared to tell the other how they feel. Hope has a hard time with her own feelings and emotions. Jealousy creeps its ugly head a few times on both sides.
The story moves along pretty fast and keeps one engaged wanting more. I am adding this author to my TBR pile to read more.

[Meaghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

*STEAMY**HOT**ROMANTIC**HEARTWARMIN**FANTASTIC** !!

This was a really great book! I'll admit, there were times when I found myself drifting from the story, getting the feeling that it was a little bit of a run around. But the complexity of Drake and the Stubborn headedness of Hope kept me hanging on. Which was all worth it in the end. The excitement and adventure really never did end!

It was a gripping tale of two people with much to discover and learn not only about themselves but about life and all it has to offer.

[Anne OK · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun to read western historical with two very stubborn but delightful characters. From California to Boston, a gunslinger seeks revenge on his brother and a scarred but beautiful young woman hides her secrets. Together they find something neither ever expected. (Kindle freebie)

[Anna Kay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hope Bennett has been taking care of her brother ever since an accident when they were children left him with the mental capacity of an eight year old. That's why she'll do anything to get him out of a fight with a vicious man who's trying to jump their family's mining claim; even if it means promising her virginity to gunslinger Drake Frazier in exchange for him taking her brother's place. Of course Hope will do anything to try and get out of it, even though their chemistry is smoking hot. When tragedy strikes and Hope is forced to leave town with Drake, will she find out there's more to him than she ever could have imagined? I'm sorry but this book made me extremely angry. I wanted to like Hope and Drake - they had their moments I will admit. But most of the time she was a simpering idiot being led around by her lust and he was an uncaring lout who came really close to raping her to get what he wanted. They were basically the friends with benefits of the 1800s, but without the friend part really being a factor. The thought that Hope found Drake attractive at ALL after he kept threatening to (and almost carrying out his threats) to rape her to get her payment. It was truly disgusting. Sometimes after the tragedy happened (won't say anymore for fear of spoilers) she acted like a victim of Stockholm Syndrome, which honestly is the only reasonable excuse for her behavior. I definitely will NOT be reading any more books by Miss Sinclair, for fear that they'll be like this one in any way, shape or form. Not at ALL recommended.


VERDICT: 1/5 Stars


*A copy of this book was given to me by the author herself, in exchange only for an honest review which I've given. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in online.*

[Nenia Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, be still my trashy heart! Ever since I saw that cover! That title! I was in love with this book. I needed this book. I almost didn't even care what it was about because how could I possibly be in my right mind and turn down the opportunity to purchase a book called CALIFORNIA CARESS with my coin? It just isn't done.

So I bought the book for $2.99 and began to read and even though one of my eyebrows spiked when I found out it was a-- *Dracula hiss*-- Western, I was still intrigued. Mostly because Hope isn't like other bodice-ripper girls. No, seriously. She is no doormat. She punches the hero in the face when he gets out of line (he was a bad man, to be fair). When she finds out that her mentally disabled brother has been tricked into fighting a bunch of bullies who want to stab him and steal their gold-mining claim, she hires the hero, Drake, to fight in his stead. He bullies her into paying with her body, as well as their coin, but she's just like "haha okay" while lying through her teeth and having no intent to pay.

The hero, Drake, is a tough gunslinger mercenary guy from the East Coast with a sad history that has made him into the bad man that he is today. He's come to California to get money and revenge, and Hope's involvement has only expedited the process, because she's drawn a whole bunch of attention to herself and to him and Drake's evol brother hates him enough to want him dead for reasons. A whole bunch of unresolved sexual tension and one failed assassination attempt later, and they're on their way back to Boston to confront the evol brother.

CALIFORNIA CARESS, despite the silly title (or maybe because of it??) is a really fun Western romance. I didn't even think I liked Western romances but my only acquaintance with them was through authors like Sandra Brown and Diana Palmer and their heroes are a bit more caveman-y than I like. Drake is definitely an alpha in every sense of the word but he's really not as bad as he could have been (*stares at Steve in SWEET SAVAGE LOVE*). In several parts... he's actually really, um, sweet? And that was actually what really won me over to this book: it has fairly deep characterization and all of the characters have motivations for doing things (except the villains who just exist to be hated). There's a deep convo on a boat that Hope has with some old lady and it's all about living your life for yourself and not letting grief weigh you down and it's SO MEANINGFUL. I got misty-eyed.

The only things I didn't really like about the book were some inconsistent pacing (lots of slow parts after the cabin fire), how Hope kind of gets beaten down (even though a lot of that is grief and mental exhaustion, I think, so I'll give that a pass, even though I missed the conniving "fists of fury" Hope from the beginning of the book), and a lack of a final show-down with the evol brother and his wife. The "okay, bye" resolution didn't really work for me, especially after the murder attempt.

If you like Westerns, you should definitely pick up CALIFORNIA CARESS. It seems like only a couple of this author's books were actually rereleased into ebook but I'm going to swipe 'em all.

4 stars

[Holly Bargo · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF: TSTL Heroine

At 28% the heroine who is impulsive, dishonest, short-tempered, and none too bright claims to be intelligent. That's where I quit. The so-called hero, at this point, is basically intent on raping the heroine because she agreed to his demand of sex to fight on behalf of her mentally challenged brother. Of course, she's a good girl and has no intention of honoring the deal, and, of course, he insists she does. It's an old story of an innocent whoring herself for a good cause. I'm not a fan, especially when the innocent is an idiot.

[Kj · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't bother. Staccato storytelling, there is no flow to the banter, the hero is an arse (not in a good way) and to be honest so is the heroine a lot of the time. I frequently felt like the author had forgotten what she had written two paragraphs earlier. In a genre that thrives (often brilliantly) on trope and cliche, the clumsy use in this book made me cringe. If she slapped him one more time I would have slapped her!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a lot of distracting typos and a main character that is hot and then cold. One minute she has found the love of her life and the next she can't stand him. This theme becomes irritating after a bit seeing as we know how it will end.

[Leagh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hope Bennett was determined to find Drake Frasier to save her brother from being killed. When she did find him though, he was not the guy she thought he was. Drake Frasier had no idea how to react when a beautiful women literally fell into his arms. The first thing he thinks is that she is there to betray him and he will stop at nothing to find out if and why she is.

I truly liked this book except for a few things that didn't flow well. There was one common goal in this book and I don't think a true explanation was ever given as to "how" or "why" that goal was accomplished. I felt like the story left me a bit unsatisfied and without answers to very important questions. Also, one big thing happened without warning and I thought it should have been made into a bigger deal and maybe we as readers should have been lead into it a little slower and that unsettled me a bit. (I would explain further but it is a big spoiler)

I had a little trouble figuring Drake out as well. One minute he was acting like he was madly in love with Hope and the next he was acting like he could have cared less and no real reason for his change of heart was established. He did things that I never did quite understand even at the end. You could tell they were getting close to each other but at times they really seemed to genuinely hate each other. Hope on the other hand was a very good character, she was strong and kept true to herself. She was big on self pity at times and jumped to conclusions but I feel I would have acted the same way. Drake was giving her seriously mixed signals and I feel she was a bit confused as well.

The plot, however, was very good. I loved the story line and thought it was very well thought out. The story kept true to it's time period and that is a big bonus in my eyes. There was a lot of emotion and heart in the story. Also it was very sensual and hot.

I gave this story a 3 because it did have some very good features and I would definitely recommend this to others, it was just "missing" a few key things that I need in a book to make it complete.

[Inga · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review:


It was the first book of Rebecca Sinclair I have read and I liked it. It was a good historical romance with little western taste in it.

Regarding the plot:

Hope is desperate to save his brother Luke from being killed and she takes some extreme measures to save him. She is approaching gunslinger Drake to take her brother’s place in a fight. Drake agrees to it, but the prize is high for Hope – she has to spend a night with Drake.

When Hope and Drake first meet, then there is an undeniable attraction between them even though Hope is trying to avoid the thought. Hope has some other plans; mainly that she has no intention of keeping her promise.

The story is quite good with some twists and turns in it. There is fairly good romance story in the California Caress and also quite a lot of action. The author has written a good story which keeps your interest for reading.

Regarding the characters:

I liked Hope. She had courage and was believable heroine. She was feisty and had lot of spark in her. She was willing to take some serious risks even though she was afraid sometimes. Drake was also well-written and he was quite good at balancing Hope.

Generally:

I really enjoyed the plot. In the middle of the story I think that the pace became little too slow, but towards the end of the book the pace took up again and the ending was very enjoyable. The strongest parts of California Caress’ were the characters. I liked that the author also put some attention to the supportive characters. Every character had a story to tell and that made it enjoyable to read.

4 stars

[Tonileg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I try to put myself into these romance stories and this was difficult to do in this story because there is a serious lack of females in this story.
This is a historical romance set in the nineteenth century Gold Rush California where there was no law except the gun and the knife. This is a full length novel that had been published and recently e-published and luckily I caught it for free on kindle this week.
How much can you lose before a person's spirit is broken? Hope (aptly named heroine) has lost everything (she thought) at the beginning of the story. Within the first three chapters, she loses even more and it reminds me a little of the story of Job in the bible who is tested by God to prove his faith. Hope has a strong spirit so although she does struggle with the terrible traumas that have happened (Post-traumatic syndrome at its worse). She is a survivor and (relatively) lucky because she catches the eye of a gunslinger Frazier. They are book well raised educated people so even though they find themselves in uncivilized situations so I didn't find it all that difficult to believe that they find themselves in love with each other. I liked this match up, although I did find it frustrating that they didn't share their feeling a little bit, but that was historically authentic for people to keep their thoughts and feelings to themselves. The dialogue was not historically accurate, but I preferred it that way because it made it easy for the modern reader to keep with the flow of the story.
I should mention that this is not a christian romance because there are spicy moments, but nothing perverse or outside of the usual vanilla sexual relations between the H/h.
2 stars

[Romancing the Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review by Molly: My first Rebecca Sinclair novel but definitely NOT my last. Wowee, was this ever a good read! Ms. Sinclair takes her readers on a ride of laughs, heartache, betrayal, and intense passion. Her characters are finely chiseled and compliment her captivating story line.

My favorite character was Drake. Sure, he's the hero of the story and a hunky, sexy “gunslinger”, but his character was also quirky, sensitive, full of pain, and downright lovable! He's a character whose life is complex and his pain is truly evident. I loved getting to know him and his strong personality from the moment he entered the story.

Hope's character took a little longer to warm up to. Her trust issues and hiding behind her pain really irked me sometimes. But, I loved watching her interact with Drake. Those two went head for head in all their conversations, but the sparks flew instantly!

With these two stubborn passionate heads, secrets from their past, rich historic details and a surprising twist mixed in the story, Ms. Sinclair turned out a wonderful story for every book lover. Whether you're looking for romance, suspense, humor or history, you can find it among the pages of this awesometastic novel! Definitely a must read Rose That Rules All! Can't wait to read more of Ms. Sinclair's work. Oh, and that cover? HUNKINESS!

Quote: ”Perfect doesn't matter to me, sunshine,”he said, his voice a husky whisper. “It never has. Haven't you figured that out yet?”His lips turned up in a slow,knowing smile.”A thousand Angeliques can't add up to one feisty Hope Bennett.”

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read a western in so long and I was excited when I picked this one up. I have to admit, the cover got me. The plot was interesting and had some unexpected twists, but the pace did slow towards the middle. The story did keep with the time period.
Hope is a strong wild woman who is bent on saving her brother. She heads into a saloon looking for the one gunslinger who can help her.
Drake is taken aback by the woman who stumbles into his room. After Hope explains what she wants him to do, fight on her brother's behalf, and offers to pay him all the money her family has left, he states that he isn't interested in her money. Drake is interested in her. With some reservations, Hope agrees, but does not intend to keep her end of the bargain.
I enjoyed Drakes character but I would have liked to read a little more of his POV. Hope dominated the story a bit for me, but I did like her character. She dealt with a lot and kept moving on.
I gave this book 3 stars because of the pacing issue and the lack of Drake's POV. I didn't really know what he was thinking or what he was feeling - one chapter he seems to be over the moon for Hope and the next he seems to not care. With the disconnect of his feelings the relationship between the characters was a bit off for me.

[Read2review · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed California Caress by Rebecca Sinclair. The story picks up in a mining town in California with Hope Bennett seeking the services of a gunslinger by the name of Frazier Drake. He wants more than money for payment which creates an interesting dilemma for Hope right up front. A romance ensues with a hefty dose of adventure taking the couple through several unexpected twists and turns.

Sinclair deftly handled Hope’s opening deal with Frazier and I ended upliking both Frazier and Hope. (I was worried given the request for Hope’s virginity as payment that I might not. Other romances with similar storylines make the hero too forceful when it comes to ‘taking payment’). California Caress brings two equally strong and equally wounded people together in a unique way.

There’s a lot of Frazier chasing after Hope and, of course, romance. I loved the humor Rebecca inserted into the final scene of the novel. Lots of heat. Lots of fun. And a dash of angst.

A definite 5 stars.

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book had a lot of distracting typos. It also used the same descriptive words over and over. I'm really tired of reading about his sinewy muscles. The plot "twists" could be seen mile away.

This really felt like several different stories. There's the section where they meet. Then there's the section where he nurses her back to health. And a completely different story takes over for the last part where we meet his brother.

And like so many novels, everything could have been solved if they had simply been honest with each other.

[Helene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story set during the gold rush. It was a very different time and I am glad women have evolved since then. I would have hated being cooped up at home, being ordered about by men. Though the heroine, Hope, had a mind of her own but she never went very far with it. I wish she would have been a bit less whining. Overall a good romantic western.

[Stephany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Free on Kindle and I have to admit I pretty much loved it! The writing was pretty good and the story flowed well. The main characters were electric and seemed believable. Not much else to say! Just a fun little romance.

[Highland-dreamer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hope annoyed me the whole book. It took her way too long to realize that she should've stayed with Drake. Although her hurt when he calls out for someone else when he is dreaming is understandable.

[Donie Deaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a free download. Been a long time since I read a Western. Although characters in the book interact with each other, they never really emotionally connect, The book is an ok read but there is little to no originality to the story, and that was disappointing.

[Dar · Rating 4 out of 5]

That ended really sweet!

Even though there was lots of back and forth, it was ever evolving and not the same thing each time. Two strong willed characters, neither a push over, and both completely oblivious to their feelings for the other

[LaSarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out my review at: Escape by Fiction

[Stace · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Audra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't particularly like this but I'll give it another shot later.

[❤️ Dorsey aka Wrath Lover Reviews ❤️]

Kindle Freebie 3.12.12

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good romance novel

[Mermarie]

Freebie today.

[Lindsay]

Amazon Freebie 11/20/2012

[Danni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Free ibook. Old west type book. Not really my thing but it was okay. Although I'm really annoyed at reading "sinewy" in this book!

[Morag · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light Reading