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When Lightning Strikes
Kidnapped from her Oregon-bound wagon train, a schoolteacher falls into the hands of a handsome bounty hunter and finds herself swept up in an entirely different kind of adventure.
Abigail Bliss can't tell anyone her real name. Her father insists on using an alias for their sudden move to Oregon - a turn of events that signals trouble. When bounty hunter Tanner McKnight kidnaps her, determined to take her to her wealthy grandfather in Chicago, Abby vows not to go quietly.
This lawless, untamed man is everything her father warned her against, yet as they traverse the perilous plains, Abby comes to view her abductor as her protector.
What will happen to the unexpected passion that burns between them when they reach their destination and Abby must face a surprising legacy that could keep her and Tanner forever apart?
Abigail Bliss can't tell anyone her real name. Her father insists on using an alias for their sudden move to Oregon - a turn of events that signals trouble. When bounty hunter Tanner McKnight kidnaps her, determined to take her to her wealthy grandfather in Chicago, Abby vows not to go quietly.
This lawless, untamed man is everything her father warned her against, yet as they traverse the perilous plains, Abby comes to view her abductor as her protector.
What will happen to the unexpected passion that burns between them when they reach their destination and Abby must face a surprising legacy that could keep her and Tanner forever apart?
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First published February 2, 1995
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About the author
Rexanne Becnel
64 books119 followersRexanne Becnel is the author of more than twenty historical romance and contemporary mainstream novels, many of which appeared on the USA Today bestseller list. With the publication of her first novel, My Gallant Enemy, Becnel won the Waldenbooks Award for Best First-Time Romance Author and the Romantic Times Award for Best Medieval Romance by a New Author. While growing up, Becnel lived for a time in Germany and England, where she became fascinated by medieval history. After studying architecture at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, she worked as a building inspector for the Vieux Carré Commission, the agency of the City of New Orleans charged with protecting and preserving the distinct architectural and historic character of the French Quarter. Becnel lives in New Orleans with her husband and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 3, 2013
This is my first novel by Rexanne Becnel and it won't be my last.
After her mother dies, Abigail is shocked by her father's decision to not only go by a different name but to pack up quickly and have them join a wagon train headed for Oregon. She diverts her attention away from the constant hardship of this grueling journey by writing children's stories. But that is until she meets Tanner McKnight, a handsome bounty hunter hired by Abigail's grandfather to bring her to him in Chicago.
Romance, adventure, kidnapping and murder create a story that is not easy to put down.
After her mother dies, Abigail is shocked by her father's decision to not only go by a different name but to pack up quickly and have them join a wagon train headed for Oregon. She diverts her attention away from the constant hardship of this grueling journey by writing children's stories. But that is until she meets Tanner McKnight, a handsome bounty hunter hired by Abigail's grandfather to bring her to him in Chicago.
Romance, adventure, kidnapping and murder create a story that is not easy to put down.
June 30, 2013
3.5 stars
Abigail's mother recently passed away and Abigail has noticed an abrupt change in behavior by her father. Abigail and her father are on a wagon train bound for Oregon. He tells her that they must use a false last name without explaining why.
Becnel describes vividly what life is like on a wagon train: from having to pack and unpack a wagon constantly to having to wear dark clothes because of dust or mud.
Abigail's escape from her daily routine is writing stories about the adventures of two mice, Tillie and Snitch. She shares these tales with the children on the wagon train. Her dream is to have them published.
Tanner meets Abigail when he helps her get un-stuck from mud. There's an immediate attraction between them but Tanner can't act on it because he senses that Abigail is very innocent and he doesn't do innocent. Plus, he's on a hired mission to find the lost granddaughter and heir of his employer.
Tanner eventually joins the wagon train and as he gets know Abigail, he realizes that she might the person he's looking for. Tragedy soon strikes and Tanner must tell her the truth.
Abigail had a couple of TSTL moments but I liked her blinding devotion to her father as well as her unwavering desire to be an author. She didn't complain about being on the wagon train and tried to make the best of it with her stories of Tillie and Snitch.
I also liked Tanner. He was very protective of Abigail. At first, I can see why he was resistant to be Abigail. He wanted to be honorable and knew that they were in different social stations. But after taking her virginity, his continued arguments of not being with her became tiresome.
I recommending reading this terrific old western. It has great depictions of being on a wagon train as well as nice romance.
ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley.
Abigail's mother recently passed away and Abigail has noticed an abrupt change in behavior by her father. Abigail and her father are on a wagon train bound for Oregon. He tells her that they must use a false last name without explaining why.
Becnel describes vividly what life is like on a wagon train: from having to pack and unpack a wagon constantly to having to wear dark clothes because of dust or mud.
Abigail's escape from her daily routine is writing stories about the adventures of two mice, Tillie and Snitch. She shares these tales with the children on the wagon train. Her dream is to have them published.
Tanner meets Abigail when he helps her get un-stuck from mud. There's an immediate attraction between them but Tanner can't act on it because he senses that Abigail is very innocent and he doesn't do innocent. Plus, he's on a hired mission to find the lost granddaughter and heir of his employer.
Tanner eventually joins the wagon train and as he gets know Abigail, he realizes that she might the person he's looking for. Tragedy soon strikes and Tanner must tell her the truth.
Abigail had a couple of TSTL moments but I liked her blinding devotion to her father as well as her unwavering desire to be an author. She didn't complain about being on the wagon train and tried to make the best of it with her stories of Tillie and Snitch.
I also liked Tanner. He was very protective of Abigail. At first, I can see why he was resistant to be Abigail. He wanted to be honorable and knew that they were in different social stations. But after taking her virginity, his continued arguments of not being with her became tiresome.
I recommending reading this terrific old western. It has great depictions of being on a wagon train as well as nice romance.
ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley.
June 27, 2013
When Lightning Strikes is a beautifully written historical romance. It's the first book I have ever read by this author. After reading it, I know I'll be seeking out her other books! Through the wonders of ebooks, now everyone has a chance to experience Abby and Tanner's romance. I really enjoyed this book. Being a western novel, the story remains timeless.
Tanner and Abby's love story was very sweet. Their fall into love was slow and a wonderful journey to read about. I loved these two together. Abby wants someone who can ignite her passions. She knows Tanner is the man for her. She sees beyond the tough exterior that he portrays to the the sensitive caring man he really is inside. She definitely had her work cut out for her in trying to convince Tanner that he really was the man for her. I loved the epilogue.
Along with the romance, I enjoyed the glimpse into the life that the characters lived in the 1840s. I don't remember much from history class about the wagon trains to Oregon, but after reading this, I felt like I was there. What an uncertain time it must have been. Setting out on a months long journey, not knowing if everyone you left with would make it. It really gave me a new respect for our ancestors who expanded our country. This book is a throwback you definitely don't want to miss!
Tanner and Abby's love story was very sweet. Their fall into love was slow and a wonderful journey to read about. I loved these two together. Abby wants someone who can ignite her passions. She knows Tanner is the man for her. She sees beyond the tough exterior that he portrays to the the sensitive caring man he really is inside. She definitely had her work cut out for her in trying to convince Tanner that he really was the man for her. I loved the epilogue.
Along with the romance, I enjoyed the glimpse into the life that the characters lived in the 1840s. I don't remember much from history class about the wagon trains to Oregon, but after reading this, I felt like I was there. What an uncertain time it must have been. Setting out on a months long journey, not knowing if everyone you left with would make it. It really gave me a new respect for our ancestors who expanded our country. This book is a throwback you definitely don't want to miss!
April 22, 2018
A SOLID 3.5 STARS!
REXANNE BECNEL IS A HIT OR MISS AUTHOR FOR ME AND WHILE THIS WAS PREDICTABLE, IT WAS AT LEAST ENJOYABLE IN AN ANGTSY WAY.
OUR HERO is a hired gun who is searching for our heroine, the granddaughter of a very rich man. When he finally came upon their trial, he wasn't sure which woman in the bandwagon camp was the right one, except there is an exceptional schoolteacher whose beauty and intelligence has captured his attention. How he prayed it wasn't her! After her father's death, the truth comes to light and he is forced to choose between her or giving her a better life. Fallen in love with her as he did, he chose to bring her home. He's not a bad man nor a good one, but to the right lady...he's awfully protective and sweet unless he is mean on purpose. I found him a bit endearing because he believed himself unworthy of a future society heiress.
OUR HEROINE is a bit bookish, but she's no shrewish nerd but a beautiful one who is a little long in the tooth. When her father suddenly uproots their life after the death of her beloved mother, she is dismayed to find her dreams of becoming a children's author drifting further. Exasperated with the secret reason her father insists they change their surname, she doesn't have much of a choice but to obey like a dutiful daughter of her time. Life gets interesting when a dark, tall man joins the bandwagon and for the first time in her 20 years, she's met a man whom she truly desires...a man her father obviously disapproves of.
OVERALL this was rather entertaining even if it did start out a teeny bit slow before getting to the good part.
REXANNE BECNEL IS A HIT OR MISS AUTHOR FOR ME AND WHILE THIS WAS PREDICTABLE, IT WAS AT LEAST ENJOYABLE IN AN ANGTSY WAY.
OUR HERO is a hired gun who is searching for our heroine, the granddaughter of a very rich man. When he finally came upon their trial, he wasn't sure which woman in the bandwagon camp was the right one, except there is an exceptional schoolteacher whose beauty and intelligence has captured his attention. How he prayed it wasn't her! After her father's death, the truth comes to light and he is forced to choose between her or giving her a better life. Fallen in love with her as he did, he chose to bring her home. He's not a bad man nor a good one, but to the right lady...he's awfully protective and sweet unless he is mean on purpose. I found him a bit endearing because he believed himself unworthy of a future society heiress.
OUR HEROINE is a bit bookish, but she's no shrewish nerd but a beautiful one who is a little long in the tooth. When her father suddenly uproots their life after the death of her beloved mother, she is dismayed to find her dreams of becoming a children's author drifting further. Exasperated with the secret reason her father insists they change their surname, she doesn't have much of a choice but to obey like a dutiful daughter of her time. Life gets interesting when a dark, tall man joins the bandwagon and for the first time in her 20 years, she's met a man whom she truly desires...a man her father obviously disapproves of.
OVERALL this was rather entertaining even if it did start out a teeny bit slow before getting to the good part.
June 24, 2013
You know what kind of retro romance almost always ages well? Historical romance. Aside from perhaps changing tastes in chest hair, you’re unlikely to get hung up on the fact that the “contemporary” characters don’t have things like smart phones and bikini waxes. They’re not supposed to, after all. Unless it’s some sort of time-travelling historical romance and the heroine is listening to a Bell Biv DeVoe cassette tape on her Walkman. That would be awkward.
Right, but that’s irrelevant. When Lightning Strikes, by Rexanne Becnel, is a historical romance set in the American West in the 1850s. Abigail and her father are in a wagon train headed to the Oregon Territory, to claim free land and start a new life. Except that she’s not sure exactly why they’re starting a new life, or why her father insists they now go by a different last name. Living in a wagon train for months on end is more work than fun, although Abby makes the most of it by spending her days chatting with new friends and telling stories about a pair of mice, Tillie and Snitch, to the children who cluster around her. Abby aspires to write children’s stories, something her father, a serious and pious schoolteacher, considers a frivolous preoccupation for a woman who will most likely become a preacher’s wife. And he even has the preacher picked out: Reverend Dexter Harrison, a young man travelling with the train.
(Okay, retro awkwardness note: Whenever I hear the name “Dexter,” I think lovable serial killer. Whose son is named Harrison. We’re always making new associations that we have to throw out when we read older books. Exhausting, but fascinating too.)
So, obviously Dexter isn’t a lovable serial killer. And he’s not even terribly lovable. At least not from Abby’s point of view. She’s a good girl — a schoolteacher, an obedient daughter, a virtuous and well-brought-up woman — but Dexter is too earnest and dull for her, a daughter raised by parents who truly loved each other. Abby’s mother died before they left Missouri, and her father hasn’t recovered from his grief. The whole history of their relationship fascinates Abby. Her mother came from a wealthy family, but threw it all away for Abby’s father. Abby wants a love like that. Her father, on the other hand, wants nothing more than for her to settle down with a good man.
Life on the trail is tough, of course, and pretty gross. Abby gets mired in the mud at one point, and that’s when the very opposite of a good man comes into her life. A hard man with the unlikely name of Tanner McKnight lifts her into his saddle and rescues her. Fantastic eyes, fantastic hair, fantastic thighs…unf. Abby’s awakened.
Tanner doesn’t just happen to be there, of course. With Abby’s mom’s death, Abby’s grandfather has learned he has a granddaughter and will do anything it takes to meet his only living relative. Including hiring someone to chase her across the prairies and drag her back to Chicago, kicking and screaming if need be.
One of the things I love about historical romances is the little details of life in another time. Becnel is a seasoned historical romance author, so she provides a few fun facts to enlighten. For instance, when Tanner first drops by Abby’s wagon, she’s doing laundry. A very particular sort of laundry. Strips of rags are hanging around her head to dry, and she’s humiliated. Think on that the next time you double-bag your tampons at the pharmacy. And then there are all the problems surrounding living out in the open with hundreds of people when the most skin a woman is allowed to reveal is her hands and face. I read this book while I was camping and felt uncomfortable enough for everyone stumbling bleary-eyed to the showers in the morning in their glasses and flip flops and sweats with “Pink” stamped across the bum. Imagine trying to take a bath outside, with just some flimsy sheets blowing in the wind to hide you, when people are ambling past all the time. And still trying to be a respectable, modest woman.
Impropriety abounds in this book, both situational and Tanner-inspired, and that is awesome. Abby’s a stubborn and refined but delightful character, and Tanner is your typical bad boy who meets the right woman. The story navigates several twists and turns, making the ending not at all certain. I loved that I didn’t always know whether Abby would go with her heart or her mind at every turn. She often surprised me, which I enjoyed. The passion between her and Tanner is quite delicious too. Hot hot hot. Tanner knows his way around a corset all right, and you betcha Abby is going to take advantage of that.
Still, after reading about life on the dusty trail, I was done with thinking about how long they’d gone without properly washing. I felt gross after three days of camping. Maybe that coloured my reading. Seriously, I have to get over this hang-up I have about cleanliness in historical romances. It was a fact of life, and it’s one of the many aspects of this book that came across as true and fascinating and that makes it well worth reading.
I read When Lightning Strikes as part of Open Road Media’s Retro Reads program.
Lila
(Review also posted here: http://wp.me/p2MJls-9G )
Right, but that’s irrelevant. When Lightning Strikes, by Rexanne Becnel, is a historical romance set in the American West in the 1850s. Abigail and her father are in a wagon train headed to the Oregon Territory, to claim free land and start a new life. Except that she’s not sure exactly why they’re starting a new life, or why her father insists they now go by a different last name. Living in a wagon train for months on end is more work than fun, although Abby makes the most of it by spending her days chatting with new friends and telling stories about a pair of mice, Tillie and Snitch, to the children who cluster around her. Abby aspires to write children’s stories, something her father, a serious and pious schoolteacher, considers a frivolous preoccupation for a woman who will most likely become a preacher’s wife. And he even has the preacher picked out: Reverend Dexter Harrison, a young man travelling with the train.
(Okay, retro awkwardness note: Whenever I hear the name “Dexter,” I think lovable serial killer. Whose son is named Harrison. We’re always making new associations that we have to throw out when we read older books. Exhausting, but fascinating too.)
So, obviously Dexter isn’t a lovable serial killer. And he’s not even terribly lovable. At least not from Abby’s point of view. She’s a good girl — a schoolteacher, an obedient daughter, a virtuous and well-brought-up woman — but Dexter is too earnest and dull for her, a daughter raised by parents who truly loved each other. Abby’s mother died before they left Missouri, and her father hasn’t recovered from his grief. The whole history of their relationship fascinates Abby. Her mother came from a wealthy family, but threw it all away for Abby’s father. Abby wants a love like that. Her father, on the other hand, wants nothing more than for her to settle down with a good man.
Life on the trail is tough, of course, and pretty gross. Abby gets mired in the mud at one point, and that’s when the very opposite of a good man comes into her life. A hard man with the unlikely name of Tanner McKnight lifts her into his saddle and rescues her. Fantastic eyes, fantastic hair, fantastic thighs…unf. Abby’s awakened.
Tanner doesn’t just happen to be there, of course. With Abby’s mom’s death, Abby’s grandfather has learned he has a granddaughter and will do anything it takes to meet his only living relative. Including hiring someone to chase her across the prairies and drag her back to Chicago, kicking and screaming if need be.
One of the things I love about historical romances is the little details of life in another time. Becnel is a seasoned historical romance author, so she provides a few fun facts to enlighten. For instance, when Tanner first drops by Abby’s wagon, she’s doing laundry. A very particular sort of laundry. Strips of rags are hanging around her head to dry, and she’s humiliated. Think on that the next time you double-bag your tampons at the pharmacy. And then there are all the problems surrounding living out in the open with hundreds of people when the most skin a woman is allowed to reveal is her hands and face. I read this book while I was camping and felt uncomfortable enough for everyone stumbling bleary-eyed to the showers in the morning in their glasses and flip flops and sweats with “Pink” stamped across the bum. Imagine trying to take a bath outside, with just some flimsy sheets blowing in the wind to hide you, when people are ambling past all the time. And still trying to be a respectable, modest woman.
Impropriety abounds in this book, both situational and Tanner-inspired, and that is awesome. Abby’s a stubborn and refined but delightful character, and Tanner is your typical bad boy who meets the right woman. The story navigates several twists and turns, making the ending not at all certain. I loved that I didn’t always know whether Abby would go with her heart or her mind at every turn. She often surprised me, which I enjoyed. The passion between her and Tanner is quite delicious too. Hot hot hot. Tanner knows his way around a corset all right, and you betcha Abby is going to take advantage of that.
Still, after reading about life on the dusty trail, I was done with thinking about how long they’d gone without properly washing. I felt gross after three days of camping. Maybe that coloured my reading. Seriously, I have to get over this hang-up I have about cleanliness in historical romances. It was a fact of life, and it’s one of the many aspects of this book that came across as true and fascinating and that makes it well worth reading.
I read When Lightning Strikes as part of Open Road Media’s Retro Reads program.
Lila
(Review also posted here: http://wp.me/p2MJls-9G )
May 5, 2020
DNF at 36%
It's not keeping my interest.
It's not keeping my interest.
May 4, 2019
This is my first book by Rexanne Becnel; I understand that she writes mostly Medieval stories. I thought the story was too long; that the heroine spends too much time ruminating about Tanner McKnight (her love interest).
Abigail Bliss' world has changed radically when her mother died. Her father became more morose and secretive. Then Robert Bliss decided to change their last names and undergo a trip to the Oregon Territory by wagon train. All of this happened without an explanation to 20-year-old Abby.
Before long, Mr.(Bliss) Morgan was pushing a young preacher towards Abby, as a husband. However, Abby's eyes were turned to the new man on the wagon train, Tanner McKnight. He was everything her father warned her about. Tanner was a bounty hunter, without a home or steady income.
Abigail Bliss' world has changed radically when her mother died. Her father became more morose and secretive. Then Robert Bliss decided to change their last names and undergo a trip to the Oregon Territory by wagon train. All of this happened without an explanation to 20-year-old Abby.
Before long, Mr.(Bliss) Morgan was pushing a young preacher towards Abby, as a husband. However, Abby's eyes were turned to the new man on the wagon train, Tanner McKnight. He was everything her father warned her about. Tanner was a bounty hunter, without a home or steady income.
January 13, 2023
Good overall but the plot took a weird direction and things fast-forwarded big time in the last 1/4 of the book.
The Maiden Bride is still my favorite Rexanne Becnel
The Maiden Bride is still my favorite Rexanne Becnel
April 1, 2017
Atmosféra putujúcich, plne naložených vozov niekoľkých desiatok rodín; utekajúci otec pred minulosťou s dcérou, ktorú chráni pred budúcnosťou; najatý lovec ľudí Tanner a mnoho ďalších dobrých ingrediencií, dávajú jasný základ pre dobre upečenú knihu :-)
Spisovateľka veľmi dobre využila všetky prostriedky, ktoré sa jej ponúkli a tak čitateľovi poskytla nezabudnuteľný zážitok. Aspoň mne určite :-D
Abby netuší, prečo sa otec rozhodol po smrti jej matky vycestovať do Oregonu. Navyše pod iným priezviskom! Napriek tomu je slušne vychovanou dcérou, zbytočne sa nevypytuje a poslúcha otca na slovo... až kým nestretne Tannera. Mladý muž sa pripojí k ich kolónii a s Abby si padnú do oka. Abbyn otec ho však nepovažuje za vhodného nápadníka. Abby sa tak s Tannerom stretáva viac potajme... Zvyšok recenzie nájdete tu: http://kokinakniznica.blogspot.sk/201...
Spisovateľka veľmi dobre využila všetky prostriedky, ktoré sa jej ponúkli a tak čitateľovi poskytla nezabudnuteľný zážitok. Aspoň mne určite :-D
Abby netuší, prečo sa otec rozhodol po smrti jej matky vycestovať do Oregonu. Navyše pod iným priezviskom! Napriek tomu je slušne vychovanou dcérou, zbytočne sa nevypytuje a poslúcha otca na slovo... až kým nestretne Tannera. Mladý muž sa pripojí k ich kolónii a s Abby si padnú do oka. Abbyn otec ho však nepovažuje za vhodného nápadníka. Abby sa tak s Tannerom stretáva viac potajme... Zvyšok recenzie nájdete tu: http://kokinakniznica.blogspot.sk/201...
May 14, 2016
When Lighting Strikes
First time reading one of Rexanne Becnels books. Very good kept my interest a Abby and Tanner are a good pair although they have a had road to go in convening them selves of it. Wonderful with excitement, loss, love and a very enjoyable read. A lot of secrets start this story. Enjoy.
First time reading one of Rexanne Becnels books. Very good kept my interest a Abby and Tanner are a good pair although they have a had road to go in convening them selves of it. Wonderful with excitement, loss, love and a very enjoyable read. A lot of secrets start this story. Enjoy.
January 13, 2016
A sweet story
A very sweet story, I just wish she had left the profanity out of it. The story was carried well without it.
A very sweet story, I just wish she had left the profanity out of it. The story was carried well without it.
September 23, 2013
Couldn't finish it. It was just not my cuppa tea.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews