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The Wild One
Just One Touch. . .
Beautiful and aloof, actress Jessica Sullivan wants nothing to do with good-for-nothing men. But when the darkly handsome Lee Montgomery walks through her door, that simple rule is forgotten forever. Because the secret hidden in her heart is about to be revealed. . .
Is All It Takes. . .
Boston-born Lee Montgomery is anything but proper. He knows he's called a rogue, and he doesn't give a damn. Jessica can keep her distance if she wants to but that won't last. Not when he longs for her the way he does. Now how in the hell did a confirmed cad fall so deeply in love--and what can he do about it? Lee intends to mend his ways--and make Jessica love him back. . ..
Praise for Denise Eagan
"Eagan debuts with a powerful novel that is. . .intensely emotional and pure romance. A desperate woman, an alpha hero, a sexually charged meeting, secrets, danger and passion all meld into one nonstop read." -- Romantic Times on Wicked Woman, 4-star review
Beautiful and aloof, actress Jessica Sullivan wants nothing to do with good-for-nothing men. But when the darkly handsome Lee Montgomery walks through her door, that simple rule is forgotten forever. Because the secret hidden in her heart is about to be revealed. . .
Is All It Takes. . .
Boston-born Lee Montgomery is anything but proper. He knows he's called a rogue, and he doesn't give a damn. Jessica can keep her distance if she wants to but that won't last. Not when he longs for her the way he does. Now how in the hell did a confirmed cad fall so deeply in love--and what can he do about it? Lee intends to mend his ways--and make Jessica love him back. . ..
Praise for Denise Eagan
"Eagan debuts with a powerful novel that is. . .intensely emotional and pure romance. A desperate woman, an alpha hero, a sexually charged meeting, secrets, danger and passion all meld into one nonstop read." -- Romantic Times on Wicked Woman, 4-star review
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
2 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Denise Eagan
7 books8 followersDenise Eagan resides in suburban Boston. The town is just boring enough for her to keep writing her Victorian romances, generally with a mystery/murder element because nothing says romance like a dead body. In a house of all males—husband, two teenage boys and a thieving beagle—she keeps her sanity and fends off testosterone poisoning by eating massive doses of chocolate chip cookie dough. She has a degree in finance, but when her first book, soon to be titled Wicked Woman, became a finalist in the American Title competition sponsored by Romantic Times, she turned to writing full-time.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 13, 2011
Reviewed by Jamaica Layne
Book provided by author for review
The Wild One is Denise Eagan's second novel, the followup to her well-received debut, Wicked Woman. This historical romance is set in the American Old West, beginning in post-Civil War San Francisco, and the plot meanders around through Colorado and finally to Texas not far from the Mexican border. Shakespearean actress Jessica Sullivan shares a tiny flat with her fellow actress Michelle, a Midwestern jezebel stage actress who bleaches her hair and pretends to be French. Unlike her sensual roommate, who has a whole host of lovers, Jessica is "frigid" and celibate, not just because she is actually married (her estranged ne'er-do-well husband abandoned her six years ago), but because she truly believes that she does not enjoy sex. Lonely and miserable Jessica takes comfort in her supposed frigidity, but finds herself shaken out of her comfort zone when she is attracted to Lee Montgomery, a free-spirited professional gambler and general scoundrel who also happens to be Michelle's current flavor-of-the-month boyfriend.
Jessica has been saving all the money earns from acting over the past six years to pay back her family for the money her estranged husband helped her steal from them. But instead of using a bank (which were notorious for sudden failures in the 1800s), Jessica asked the manager of her acting troupe to "hold" it for her. When the troupe manager suddenly shuts down the San Franscisco show and insists the troupe move to Denver, she discovers that he hasn't "held" the money for her at all---instead, he's used it to support his gambling habit, and every cent of the money she's saved over the past six years is gone. Desperate and broke, Jessica engages Lee's help to confront her boss----and instead they find him dead, murdered from a slit throat. Jessica and Lee are framed for the murder and have to flee on horseback across the frontier to avoid death by hanging. Passion, drama, and excitement ensue----and I can't say much more about the plot without giving away too many spoilers.
The Wild One is a sexy, engaging read, but it is not without its flaws. For example, there are a lot of jarring anachronisms that deter from the historical setting, especially in the characters' speech. Many conversations sound a lot more twenty-first-century than they do nineteenth century (no Victorian-era person ever said "OK", let alone in every other sentence) and even though Michelle's French accent is supposed to be fake and her French phrases and grammar poor, that doesn't excuse the author (or editor) for misspelling tons of French words. (I minored in French in college, so I am a real stickler for that). Plus, the copyeditor really seemed out to lunch on this book----it's riddled with typos, from missing words and skipped phrases to rampant misspelling (I recall seeing the word "brooch" misspelled three different ways on the SAME PAGE).
If you can get past the typos, anachronisms, and somewhat clunky beginning, though, The Wild One is still an entertaining book. The plot is suspenseful and keeps you turning the pages, and the love scenes are appropriately steamy.I look forward to Denise Eagan's future books as she continues to develop her career.
Book provided by author for review
The Wild One is Denise Eagan's second novel, the followup to her well-received debut, Wicked Woman. This historical romance is set in the American Old West, beginning in post-Civil War San Francisco, and the plot meanders around through Colorado and finally to Texas not far from the Mexican border. Shakespearean actress Jessica Sullivan shares a tiny flat with her fellow actress Michelle, a Midwestern jezebel stage actress who bleaches her hair and pretends to be French. Unlike her sensual roommate, who has a whole host of lovers, Jessica is "frigid" and celibate, not just because she is actually married (her estranged ne'er-do-well husband abandoned her six years ago), but because she truly believes that she does not enjoy sex. Lonely and miserable Jessica takes comfort in her supposed frigidity, but finds herself shaken out of her comfort zone when she is attracted to Lee Montgomery, a free-spirited professional gambler and general scoundrel who also happens to be Michelle's current flavor-of-the-month boyfriend.
Jessica has been saving all the money earns from acting over the past six years to pay back her family for the money her estranged husband helped her steal from them. But instead of using a bank (which were notorious for sudden failures in the 1800s), Jessica asked the manager of her acting troupe to "hold" it for her. When the troupe manager suddenly shuts down the San Franscisco show and insists the troupe move to Denver, she discovers that he hasn't "held" the money for her at all---instead, he's used it to support his gambling habit, and every cent of the money she's saved over the past six years is gone. Desperate and broke, Jessica engages Lee's help to confront her boss----and instead they find him dead, murdered from a slit throat. Jessica and Lee are framed for the murder and have to flee on horseback across the frontier to avoid death by hanging. Passion, drama, and excitement ensue----and I can't say much more about the plot without giving away too many spoilers.
The Wild One is a sexy, engaging read, but it is not without its flaws. For example, there are a lot of jarring anachronisms that deter from the historical setting, especially in the characters' speech. Many conversations sound a lot more twenty-first-century than they do nineteenth century (no Victorian-era person ever said "OK", let alone in every other sentence) and even though Michelle's French accent is supposed to be fake and her French phrases and grammar poor, that doesn't excuse the author (or editor) for misspelling tons of French words. (I minored in French in college, so I am a real stickler for that). Plus, the copyeditor really seemed out to lunch on this book----it's riddled with typos, from missing words and skipped phrases to rampant misspelling (I recall seeing the word "brooch" misspelled three different ways on the SAME PAGE).
If you can get past the typos, anachronisms, and somewhat clunky beginning, though, The Wild One is still an entertaining book. The plot is suspenseful and keeps you turning the pages, and the love scenes are appropriately steamy.I look forward to Denise Eagan's future books as she continues to develop her career.
May 27, 2011
Lee Montgomery was "wild" for Victorian times-a gambler, ranky rogue born from a wealthy family but moves out west to be free from restrictive east coast society. He meets Jessica, Shakespheran actress, wounded, anti-men. Of course, she eventually gives into his charms. Very sexy story but lacked depth and real character sort of a sterotype of romance novels. I didn't like how the characters were so predictable and no sub-stories, secondary thread except a lame murder!
April 22, 2009
I've never read Romance novels and saw this at the supermarket. Maybe I'm reading an untalented writer, but it's so hard to get into the characters and the story.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews