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Nevada Captive
Determined to make her father's business--the McAlister Stage--a frontier success, spirited Caley McAlister finds her work ethic weakening when Marshall Jake Brody swaggers in to clean up the town and sweeps her off her feet
448 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 30, 2021
OK, I'm really not sure how to review this book.
On the one hand it's not a good book.
On the other hand it made me laugh so much that, maybe, if approached in the correct frame of mind, it is a good book.
Let me first explain how I came to be reading such a book. A friend (she's on this site and Knows Who She Is) bought "Nevada Captive" at a station bookshop because she needed something to read on the way home. The exact chain of reasoning that led to her choosing this particular book was never explained. Having settled into her seat with her new book it soon became clear that this wasn't the sort of book she enjoyed so, once she got home, it was put on a shelf, basically, unread.
Which is where I found it when visiting. I picked it up, took one look at the cover illustration and started to tease her about her taste in books. I decided to flick through the book and read a passage at random.
This turned out to be unintentionally hilarious.
Nearly every page so selected was a filled with the sort of dialogue that you can't imagine anyone saying with a straight face or with descriptions of characters that might bring a flutter to a maidenly breast but make a cynical communications engineer laugh out loud.
The hero, I recall, had Granite Hard Thighs and a Lightly Matted Chest.
Since I have neither, this stuck with me. The descriptions of the heroine's physical attributes have, alas, not lasted the twenty or more years since I read the book although I do seem to recall that she looked good in fringed buckskin whilst wielding a whip.
After a few more readings over a few more visits I finally just borrowed the book (in fact, she gave me it, all the time protesting that she really didn't want it) and I took it home and read it in bed over the next two evenings.
Honestly, I have rarely laughed so much.
I cried with laughing.
It literally, hurt.
And yet I went on to read the whole book because, despite the unintentionally hilarious dialogue, the cliches, the ridiculously chiselled hero and the heroine who really just needs the Right Man to Tame Her; like a soap opera or Game of Thrones, I just wanted to know what happened in the end. You could say that this is a really bad book but it entertained me for two evenings (maybe not in the way that it's Author intended) which is something Herman Melville has never managed to do.
On the one hand it's not a good book.
On the other hand it made me laugh so much that, maybe, if approached in the correct frame of mind, it is a good book.
Let me first explain how I came to be reading such a book. A friend (she's on this site and Knows Who She Is) bought "Nevada Captive" at a station bookshop because she needed something to read on the way home. The exact chain of reasoning that led to her choosing this particular book was never explained. Having settled into her seat with her new book it soon became clear that this wasn't the sort of book she enjoyed so, once she got home, it was put on a shelf, basically, unread.
Which is where I found it when visiting. I picked it up, took one look at the cover illustration and started to tease her about her taste in books. I decided to flick through the book and read a passage at random.
This turned out to be unintentionally hilarious.
Nearly every page so selected was a filled with the sort of dialogue that you can't imagine anyone saying with a straight face or with descriptions of characters that might bring a flutter to a maidenly breast but make a cynical communications engineer laugh out loud.
The hero, I recall, had Granite Hard Thighs and a Lightly Matted Chest.
Since I have neither, this stuck with me. The descriptions of the heroine's physical attributes have, alas, not lasted the twenty or more years since I read the book although I do seem to recall that she looked good in fringed buckskin whilst wielding a whip.
After a few more readings over a few more visits I finally just borrowed the book (in fact, she gave me it, all the time protesting that she really didn't want it) and I took it home and read it in bed over the next two evenings.
Honestly, I have rarely laughed so much.
I cried with laughing.
It literally, hurt.
And yet I went on to read the whole book because, despite the unintentionally hilarious dialogue, the cliches, the ridiculously chiselled hero and the heroine who really just needs the Right Man to Tame Her; like a soap opera or Game of Thrones, I just wanted to know what happened in the end. You could say that this is a really bad book but it entertained me for two evenings (maybe not in the way that it's Author intended) which is something Herman Melville has never managed to do.
January 6, 2019
OMG. And I'm done!! This was one heck of a gawd awful read, taking me almost three weeks to complete from start to finish (which is almost unheard of, as I typically finish a book within three days).
The fact that I threw out my back a few days ago and have been lying on a hardwood floor for some kind of pain relief for the majority of my days aided in the completion of this bodice ripper. Although my back is still really messed up, once I'm feeling up to it, I can eventually toss this book into the donation bin at my local Salvation Army - and I apologize in advance to the future reader of this mess :P
The story itself was extremely slow moving and overly descriptive. On every page, the readers are reminded of the hero's green eyes and we were treated to the heroine's "Great balls of fire!" expression throughout the book. For those who are intrigued to know more, the hero slapped the heroine's backside repeatedly and the heroine cursed at and fought with the hero like a "wildcat" non - stop.
Romance between the two characters?? Please. Nothing more than a few graphic sex scenes at best.
Sorry, Catherine Creel, although I do have another book of your's on my wish list, this book did not work for me.
Now on to the next book.
FINALLY!!
The fact that I threw out my back a few days ago and have been lying on a hardwood floor for some kind of pain relief for the majority of my days aided in the completion of this bodice ripper. Although my back is still really messed up, once I'm feeling up to it, I can eventually toss this book into the donation bin at my local Salvation Army - and I apologize in advance to the future reader of this mess :P
The story itself was extremely slow moving and overly descriptive. On every page, the readers are reminded of the hero's green eyes and we were treated to the heroine's "Great balls of fire!" expression throughout the book. For those who are intrigued to know more, the hero slapped the heroine's backside repeatedly and the heroine cursed at and fought with the hero like a "wildcat" non - stop.
Romance between the two characters?? Please. Nothing more than a few graphic sex scenes at best.
Sorry, Catherine Creel, although I do have another book of your's on my wish list, this book did not work for me.
Now on to the next book.
FINALLY!!
November 5, 2017
"Give 'im hell, Mac!"
"You, miserable, yellow-livered son of a bitch! I aught to flail you skinless, Joe Cottle! Don't you ever, EVER, raise a hand to my team again!"
"Cut it out, damn you! You've gone plump loco, you little -!"
"Hell, Cottle, you're the one who's loco! Anyone boneheaded enough to tangle with Mac deserves what he gets!"
This introduction to our heroine left me with some high hopes - I do so appreciate a difficult woman. Caley McAllister a is a stage coach Jehu - the driver - and, as such, is a skilled wielder of the whip with a knack for animals and nerves of steel. Not only that, she owns the Stage line, McAlister Stage and Transport Company, which she inherited when her father passed away. At the first mention of her father, we get the impression he will be a strong influence upon her, especially since he raised her alone and unconventionally(but he isn't, really).
Jake Brody is a big and cocky Texan, the fastest gun slinging lawman you've ever seen. There is no way but his way and everybody best learn that quick because he WILL take you to task. Don't get me wrong, I love me a high-handed man; someone quick to put his woman in her place when she needs it, cause sometimes she needs it :D. Jake Brody was not my kind of guy. And, in the long wrong, Caley wasn't too great either.
*spoilers*
This would've been a good story line if it had occurred over the span of even a month but it all took place within a week. In order to avoid an arrest Caley agrees to see the Marshall at the jailhouse for a talk on his first day in town. Once there, she is immediately embroiled in a passionate embrace. I'm not bothered by the instant passion at all - it's Caley's insufferable stubbornness and Jake's infuriating arrogance that get to me. From here on out, the whole story revolves around Caley saying no, and Jake saying, I don't care.
We're given the impression that she is basically madly in love from the start but is too scared by these new and unwelcome feelings that assail her. Unwelcome because she has always been accustomed to being in control of herself and every situation. And for Jake's part, he wants her for himself from the start too, thereby exonerating himself from any wrong doing because everything he does for her, he does for love... yeah, didn't buy it. I don't even mind that they can't even have sex without him forcing her so she doesn't feel like she "gave in" to him... it's that she does give in to him in every single way later, anyway. Being scared of new and intense sexual feelings (that have never been explained to you) is natural so I can get behind his high handedness in the physical area as I'm sure he always knew she wanted him.
The thing is, these characters are all over the damn place. Caley is supposed to be super independent and headstrong and vows that he'll never be the boss of her. Within four days he has already almost bedded her twice and conducts a shotgun wedding without her consent when they are caught in a compromising situation. She puts a fight to feel like she tried but she, of course, gives in on the wedding night. She states that driving is her life and she will never give it up. After five days Jake has taken over the running of the stage and forbidden her to drive. Granted, the stage has been robbed a few times and he claims it's for safety but he's a goddamn US Marshall trying to tame a boom town of cowboys - that's a kettle calling the pot black if I ever heard it. She defies him, of course, but it all comes off as her just being a spoiled brat over an actual perseverance of her independence. And for Jake's part, he just comes off as tyrannical jerk who expects everything to go as he says, always. She can't even walk the same roads around town that she's been walking on for YEARS simply because he claims they are more dangerous than they were( despite the fact that he says he making the place safer) and doesn't want her too.
There are other conflicts too - she's actually semi-engaged to someone else who is supposed to be the spoiled no-account son a wealthy rancher. Their connection comes from their fathers knowing each other way back but they never touch on their background story. There's also a side story about her "betrothed's" brother falling for a gypsy. Didn't care and didn't care for it. There was just no depth to the characters, it was all about Jake taming Caley and I simply didn't like they way he went about it. I felt like he broke her rather than broke her in and I only finished it because I did enjoy the Western content and syntax that is prevalent throughout. There are better characters, don't waste your time.
"You, miserable, yellow-livered son of a bitch! I aught to flail you skinless, Joe Cottle! Don't you ever, EVER, raise a hand to my team again!"
"Cut it out, damn you! You've gone plump loco, you little -!"
"Hell, Cottle, you're the one who's loco! Anyone boneheaded enough to tangle with Mac deserves what he gets!"
This introduction to our heroine left me with some high hopes - I do so appreciate a difficult woman. Caley McAllister a is a stage coach Jehu - the driver - and, as such, is a skilled wielder of the whip with a knack for animals and nerves of steel. Not only that, she owns the Stage line, McAlister Stage and Transport Company, which she inherited when her father passed away. At the first mention of her father, we get the impression he will be a strong influence upon her, especially since he raised her alone and unconventionally(but he isn't, really).
Jake Brody is a big and cocky Texan, the fastest gun slinging lawman you've ever seen. There is no way but his way and everybody best learn that quick because he WILL take you to task. Don't get me wrong, I love me a high-handed man; someone quick to put his woman in her place when she needs it, cause sometimes she needs it :D. Jake Brody was not my kind of guy. And, in the long wrong, Caley wasn't too great either.
*spoilers*
This would've been a good story line if it had occurred over the span of even a month but it all took place within a week. In order to avoid an arrest Caley agrees to see the Marshall at the jailhouse for a talk on his first day in town. Once there, she is immediately embroiled in a passionate embrace. I'm not bothered by the instant passion at all - it's Caley's insufferable stubbornness and Jake's infuriating arrogance that get to me. From here on out, the whole story revolves around Caley saying no, and Jake saying, I don't care.
We're given the impression that she is basically madly in love from the start but is too scared by these new and unwelcome feelings that assail her. Unwelcome because she has always been accustomed to being in control of herself and every situation. And for Jake's part, he wants her for himself from the start too, thereby exonerating himself from any wrong doing because everything he does for her, he does for love... yeah, didn't buy it. I don't even mind that they can't even have sex without him forcing her so she doesn't feel like she "gave in" to him... it's that she does give in to him in every single way later, anyway. Being scared of new and intense sexual feelings (that have never been explained to you) is natural so I can get behind his high handedness in the physical area as I'm sure he always knew she wanted him.
The thing is, these characters are all over the damn place. Caley is supposed to be super independent and headstrong and vows that he'll never be the boss of her. Within four days he has already almost bedded her twice and conducts a shotgun wedding without her consent when they are caught in a compromising situation. She puts a fight to feel like she tried but she, of course, gives in on the wedding night. She states that driving is her life and she will never give it up. After five days Jake has taken over the running of the stage and forbidden her to drive. Granted, the stage has been robbed a few times and he claims it's for safety but he's a goddamn US Marshall trying to tame a boom town of cowboys - that's a kettle calling the pot black if I ever heard it. She defies him, of course, but it all comes off as her just being a spoiled brat over an actual perseverance of her independence. And for Jake's part, he just comes off as tyrannical jerk who expects everything to go as he says, always. She can't even walk the same roads around town that she's been walking on for YEARS simply because he claims they are more dangerous than they were( despite the fact that he says he making the place safer) and doesn't want her too.
There are other conflicts too - she's actually semi-engaged to someone else who is supposed to be the spoiled no-account son a wealthy rancher. Their connection comes from their fathers knowing each other way back but they never touch on their background story. There's also a side story about her "betrothed's" brother falling for a gypsy. Didn't care and didn't care for it. There was just no depth to the characters, it was all about Jake taming Caley and I simply didn't like they way he went about it. I felt like he broke her rather than broke her in and I only finished it because I did enjoy the Western content and syntax that is prevalent throughout. There are better characters, don't waste your time.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews