What do you think?
Rate this book
Counting the Cost
For handsome, hard-riding cowhand, Heck Benham, life is as solid as the New Mexico countryside he loves, as predictable as the annual spring roundup. Yet, that all changes when Mrs. Ruth Reynolds moves from back east into his homeland and into his heart. The stark contrast in their lives is played out in a territory that is, itself, coming into its own. As Ruth and Heck face a trail of pivotal, life-changing decisions, their love is challenged at every turn. What will it cost them before they find what is most important in life? With strong characters, true-to-life emotion, gentle humor, meticulous attention to detail and historical accuracy, the author paints a passionate tale of love and learning, of romance and redemption.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 30, 2009
109 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
January 20, 2009
Actually...I wrote it. In plotting and writing other books I learned that some books are gifts, that you are a channeler of a tale that comes from somewhere further than inside you. This was one of those gifts. Based on family history and set in the Great Depression, it's the tale of a cowboy and a socialite from back east, of opposites attracting and the inevitable fallout from choices made in the heat of passion.
January 8, 2009
As the editor for Counting the Cost, you may say I'm a bit biased and, yet, its greatness has very little to do with me and so very much to do with the author's masterful abilities and her passion for the story behind this book. Based on Liz Adair's own family history, Counting the Cost is a fascinating read. The author not only draws you in with her well-crafted scenes, historical accuracy, interesting details and her believable characters and their gut-wrenching choices, but her emotion-laden story goes beyond that. For every reader, Counting the Cost strikes at the very heart of life as Liz Adair effectively holds up a mirror for readers, encourging them to examine their own motives and the very meaning of life.
January 24, 2009
Liz Adair tells a wonderful story about a romance between a New Mexico cowboy and an Eastern society woman that is absolutely spellbinding. It's funny, sad and very well written. It made me think about life, love and the consequences of our actions. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a really good read. I read it three times.
Well done, Liz.
Well done, Liz.
February 7, 2009
I have a confession to make—when I first picked up “Counting the Cost,” I had a hard time getting into it. There were some typos, a lot of characters, a lot of details, a lot of back story, and I was getting lost. I set it down and came back to it last night. This time I was able to catch the kite’s tail of the story and stayed up until 3 am, finishing it in one sitting.
The year is 1935. Heck Benham works as a cowhand in New Mexico, talented with a rope, with the animals, and with leadership. He has his life all planned out—he wants to be a ranch foreman, and he knows that if he keeps on the path he’s chosen, soon he’ll attain that goal.
Ruth Reynolds comes from a different social strata. Used to porcelain tea cups, silk stockings, and plush furniture, she’s astonished to find that others live more simply than herself. When her husband brings her to New Mexico, she’s immediately smitten with Heck, but he keeps his distance. She’s a married woman and he has no right to feel the way he does.
But when Ruth’s husband attacks her, leaving her bruised and battered, Heck steps in. He carries her out of the house and off to a little shack on a piece of land far from her abusive husband. When word reaches them that Ruth’s husband has taken his own life, they are free to marry, but they’ve been living together without benefit of clergy for some time, and it will take a while to live that down.
What started out as dreamy-eyed infatuation turns into a sharp wake-up call as Ruth realizes that her days of tea parties and manicures are over if she’s living as Heck’s wife. Heck realizes that this beauty that so enchanted him has no spiritual sensitivity, and his ponderings about life and the universe are falling on deaf ears. Ruth pursues a career, unhappy with her life, and Heck can do nothing more than continue to try to hold his marriage together, making sacrifice after sacrifice, hoping that someday, Ruth will compromise with him as well.
The characters don’t make the best decisions throughout the book, but as I came to the end, I realized that they did the best they could for what they had been taught and the light and knowledge they’d been given. Heck knew that living with a married woman was wrong, but he had to choose between two evils. Should he let her stay where she was and get savaged further, or should he step in and save her life? Ruth was never taught the meaning of integrity or loyalty, but she learned this lesson, most painfully, toward the end of the story. I didn’t agree with many of their actions, but they learned and overcame, and by the time the book ended, I was satisfied that their experiences had led them to where they needed to be for their own growth.
I still feel that some of the background characters and some of the details could have been thinned out to keep the focus where it should be, on Ruth and Heck. Overall, however, the book was thought-provoking and well-constructed, and I felt as though I came to know Ruth and Heck and to appreciate their internal struggles.
(This book was published in 2009 by Inglestone Publishing.)
The year is 1935. Heck Benham works as a cowhand in New Mexico, talented with a rope, with the animals, and with leadership. He has his life all planned out—he wants to be a ranch foreman, and he knows that if he keeps on the path he’s chosen, soon he’ll attain that goal.
Ruth Reynolds comes from a different social strata. Used to porcelain tea cups, silk stockings, and plush furniture, she’s astonished to find that others live more simply than herself. When her husband brings her to New Mexico, she’s immediately smitten with Heck, but he keeps his distance. She’s a married woman and he has no right to feel the way he does.
But when Ruth’s husband attacks her, leaving her bruised and battered, Heck steps in. He carries her out of the house and off to a little shack on a piece of land far from her abusive husband. When word reaches them that Ruth’s husband has taken his own life, they are free to marry, but they’ve been living together without benefit of clergy for some time, and it will take a while to live that down.
What started out as dreamy-eyed infatuation turns into a sharp wake-up call as Ruth realizes that her days of tea parties and manicures are over if she’s living as Heck’s wife. Heck realizes that this beauty that so enchanted him has no spiritual sensitivity, and his ponderings about life and the universe are falling on deaf ears. Ruth pursues a career, unhappy with her life, and Heck can do nothing more than continue to try to hold his marriage together, making sacrifice after sacrifice, hoping that someday, Ruth will compromise with him as well.
The characters don’t make the best decisions throughout the book, but as I came to the end, I realized that they did the best they could for what they had been taught and the light and knowledge they’d been given. Heck knew that living with a married woman was wrong, but he had to choose between two evils. Should he let her stay where she was and get savaged further, or should he step in and save her life? Ruth was never taught the meaning of integrity or loyalty, but she learned this lesson, most painfully, toward the end of the story. I didn’t agree with many of their actions, but they learned and overcame, and by the time the book ended, I was satisfied that their experiences had led them to where they needed to be for their own growth.
I still feel that some of the background characters and some of the details could have been thinned out to keep the focus where it should be, on Ruth and Heck. Overall, however, the book was thought-provoking and well-constructed, and I felt as though I came to know Ruth and Heck and to appreciate their internal struggles.
(This book was published in 2009 by Inglestone Publishing.)
June 5, 2015
Counting The Cost
By Liz Adair
Liz Adair’s bittersweet western drama, Counting the Cost, delivers a fresh take on an old theme—the struggles of lovers from two different worlds--that will pierce your heart regardless of gender or favored genre. Drawing from the lives of her ancestors, Adair melds adept historical research with rich literary wordsmithing and exquisitely developed characters, to transport her readers to the Depression-era New Mexico prairie. In this barren beauty, age-old values become the fulcrum upon which human virtue and frailty are balanced.
Counting the Cost delivers the emotional equivalent of a body-wrenching rodeo ride. Adair immediately lulls you, placing you in the saddle with exquisite descriptions of peaceful cowboy life, sprinkled with crisp humor. And then the gates open as human passions jerk her characters from their idyll, and choices determine the next pitch of the ride.
The book tackles difficult topics, but the author delicately handles each one with discretion and care while avoiding triviality or excuse. Sweet torture ensues as brief, tender glimpses into the spiritual discoveries of the book’s hero, Heck Benham, are discreetly woven throughout the story, like a secret, adding further dimension to an already rich character, and intensifying his moral wrestle. Heck’s loyalty and love for one woman challenges his inner compass, and like the cadence of an approaching drumbeat, these truths inevitably emerge: Choice matters. Character matters. Timing matters. And consequences fall due.
This reader went for the tissues several times and slammed the book shut a few as well, unprepared to face the foreshadowed events looming ahead. And then I reopened the book and read on, unable to set it aside until I knew the outcome, attesting to Liz Adair’s captivating writing.
A book with this power to engage makes a perfect gift for anyone, and a splendid personal treat.
By Liz Adair
Liz Adair’s bittersweet western drama, Counting the Cost, delivers a fresh take on an old theme—the struggles of lovers from two different worlds--that will pierce your heart regardless of gender or favored genre. Drawing from the lives of her ancestors, Adair melds adept historical research with rich literary wordsmithing and exquisitely developed characters, to transport her readers to the Depression-era New Mexico prairie. In this barren beauty, age-old values become the fulcrum upon which human virtue and frailty are balanced.
Counting the Cost delivers the emotional equivalent of a body-wrenching rodeo ride. Adair immediately lulls you, placing you in the saddle with exquisite descriptions of peaceful cowboy life, sprinkled with crisp humor. And then the gates open as human passions jerk her characters from their idyll, and choices determine the next pitch of the ride.
The book tackles difficult topics, but the author delicately handles each one with discretion and care while avoiding triviality or excuse. Sweet torture ensues as brief, tender glimpses into the spiritual discoveries of the book’s hero, Heck Benham, are discreetly woven throughout the story, like a secret, adding further dimension to an already rich character, and intensifying his moral wrestle. Heck’s loyalty and love for one woman challenges his inner compass, and like the cadence of an approaching drumbeat, these truths inevitably emerge: Choice matters. Character matters. Timing matters. And consequences fall due.
This reader went for the tissues several times and slammed the book shut a few as well, unprepared to face the foreshadowed events looming ahead. And then I reopened the book and read on, unable to set it aside until I knew the outcome, attesting to Liz Adair’s captivating writing.
A book with this power to engage makes a perfect gift for anyone, and a splendid personal treat.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2009
In Liz Adair’s new novel, Counting the Cost, the Southwest in the early twentieth century comes to life. Ms. Adair has an uncanny ability to transport any reader from their own situation, and transplant them into the rigid and challenging life of a cowboy in New Mexico.
Heck Benham understands life on his terms. He understands cattle. He understands hard work. He understands family values. But everything he holds sacred is about to be challenged when Mrs. Ruth Reynolds drives her way into Heck’s life.
From the moment Heck and Ruth meet, the reader’s own perception of right and wrong, good and evil will be questioned. In a uniquely objective portrayal of Ms. Adair lets the reader feel both the shame and the joy of choosing love and sacrifice over honor and social mores.
The characters are at times likable and other times disagreeable as they attempt to balance love and selflessness with the confusion of living under unfamiliar circumstances. But even the sometimes irritating choices the characters make cannot dispel the very real and powerful love between the characters.
This is the story of opposing fronts: man/woman, natural instinct/societal expectations, contrasting lifestyles, and joy/pain. At times the reader will find they are cheering for the triumphs of the characters, only to be swept away as they share in their pain of the characters. Ultimately, the reader will find themselves counting the cost they would pay to experience true and abiding love.
Liz Adair is a master of creation. Her characters and settings produce a realistic optimism that creates a pleasurable and unique experience for her readers.
Heck Benham understands life on his terms. He understands cattle. He understands hard work. He understands family values. But everything he holds sacred is about to be challenged when Mrs. Ruth Reynolds drives her way into Heck’s life.
From the moment Heck and Ruth meet, the reader’s own perception of right and wrong, good and evil will be questioned. In a uniquely objective portrayal of Ms. Adair lets the reader feel both the shame and the joy of choosing love and sacrifice over honor and social mores.
The characters are at times likable and other times disagreeable as they attempt to balance love and selflessness with the confusion of living under unfamiliar circumstances. But even the sometimes irritating choices the characters make cannot dispel the very real and powerful love between the characters.
This is the story of opposing fronts: man/woman, natural instinct/societal expectations, contrasting lifestyles, and joy/pain. At times the reader will find they are cheering for the triumphs of the characters, only to be swept away as they share in their pain of the characters. Ultimately, the reader will find themselves counting the cost they would pay to experience true and abiding love.
Liz Adair is a master of creation. Her characters and settings produce a realistic optimism that creates a pleasurable and unique experience for her readers.
January 19, 2009
I really enjoyed this book which is saying a lot because I usually hate unhappy endings. I stick with boy gets girl and they ride off into the sunset, happily every after, kinda stuff. This book gives you a dose of reality but lightly and with great style. The characters are vivid and the story line pulls you in from the get go. I wrote another review of this story on my blog and I'll share that with you as well.
Liz Adair's story of a cowboy who meets a city woman from back east is a passionate tale which relates the realities of for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health till death do you part. The story is set in Southern New Mexico during the Depression era. Liz’s descriptions of the dusty old west with it’s arroyos and mesas envelops you, and the highs and lows of the scenery mimic the characters’ struggles as they too ride the ups and downs of life. Liz writes intensely dynamic characters who you immediately identify with even if your closest experience with a cowboy is watching old westerns.
Liz Adair's story of a cowboy who meets a city woman from back east is a passionate tale which relates the realities of for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health till death do you part. The story is set in Southern New Mexico during the Depression era. Liz’s descriptions of the dusty old west with it’s arroyos and mesas envelops you, and the highs and lows of the scenery mimic the characters’ struggles as they too ride the ups and downs of life. Liz writes intensely dynamic characters who you immediately identify with even if your closest experience with a cowboy is watching old westerns.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2009
Years ago my friend, Liz, asked me to read this manuscript. I loved it, particularly because it's based on her family history. I was really pleased to get a copy of it for Christmas this year. So glad to see it finally published. Liz has an amazing ability to put words together that I've always been envious of. Good book!
June 18, 2010
Fabulous. Liz has an artful gift of description and the story haunted me. When I finished I had to think and then after about a day it totally hit me and I got it. It so deserved the Whitney Award and now I'm collaborating on turning it into a screenplay. It's awesome stuff!!
October 9, 2024
I wasn't in the mood for this, but I made myself read it because I had borrowed it from a friend years ago and finally decided I needed to return it to her. Took a while to get into it, but I really liked it! It's well-written, has good characters, is occasionally funny, sometimes sad, and the complexity of the marriage is pretty good, I think. I also liked Heck's spiritual progression.
August 17, 2024
3.75 stars. This story reminds me of the LDS novels I read from my parents' bookshelves as I was growing up. Thought-provoking, full of regrets but with tiny wisps of hope because the reader trusts this life is not the end.
January 9, 2010
"Ache" is a strange word. To begin with, it looks strange, and I'm certain any foreigner struggling to learn English would mispronounce it at the first try. But, after finishing Liz Adair's novel, "Counting the Cost," it was the word which seemed to sum it up the best.
On one hand, "ache" connotes a continuous kind of pain, whether it's the literal sort you might feel in a part of your body, or the figurative type associated with heartbreak, sadness, or compassion. Yet "ache" can also refer to a feeling of intense desire for something or someone.
By the time I reached the end of her story of a tragic romance set in Depression-era New Mexico, I had felt all those kinds of aches, but in a sweet and soulful way. Through the pages of her novel, her main characters slowly took on very real forms and they ached in very real ways. They ached for each other, and they ached because of each other.
And it surprised me. When it comes to fiction written by present-day authors, I never go in for romance because, generally, they aren't real enough or compelling enough for me. There has only been one other book I've read in the past several years that left me with a similar kind of sweet ache. "Cold Mountain" by Charles Frazier. And I only read that one because of the glowing reviews (which, I might add, were well deserved).
Like Frazier, Adair exhibits both a grasp of her landscape and the skills to describe it in phrases that both envelop and illuminate the reader. And "Counting the Cost," like "Cold Mountain," pairs two cultural opposites--a rural, rustic male with a refined, sophisticated lady. In one story, the divide is bridged, but the circumstances of war get in the way...in the other, well...I'll leave it to readers to discover for themselves how Heck and Ruth deal with their differences. In both cases, however, there is an overpowering verisimilitude, thanks to the authors' detailed descriptions.
While I have not yet read any of her other works, it is clear that Adair is a very gifted writer. A third of the way into her story, I had already begun to feel that cocoon that only the best kind of literary writing evokes. It's a sense of being enclosed in the beauty of literature...words that caress and carry you into other places. She didn't hit it in every chapter, but there were enough such moments that I almost didn't want to reach the end of the story.
One example stands out. I'm not sure if Heck's work on helping in the birth of a calf was something the author, herself, had once witnessed, or if she relied on an account given by one of her uncles. In any case, that is one scene that will stay with me for a very long time. It put me right there behind him, helping me to pull along with him. More than that, it seemed symbolic of the struggles in the story.
I know "Counting the Cost" is up for a Whitney Award this year and I urge all the voters to take a good, long look at this novel before casting their ballot. My vote is pretty much locked in.
On one hand, "ache" connotes a continuous kind of pain, whether it's the literal sort you might feel in a part of your body, or the figurative type associated with heartbreak, sadness, or compassion. Yet "ache" can also refer to a feeling of intense desire for something or someone.
By the time I reached the end of her story of a tragic romance set in Depression-era New Mexico, I had felt all those kinds of aches, but in a sweet and soulful way. Through the pages of her novel, her main characters slowly took on very real forms and they ached in very real ways. They ached for each other, and they ached because of each other.
And it surprised me. When it comes to fiction written by present-day authors, I never go in for romance because, generally, they aren't real enough or compelling enough for me. There has only been one other book I've read in the past several years that left me with a similar kind of sweet ache. "Cold Mountain" by Charles Frazier. And I only read that one because of the glowing reviews (which, I might add, were well deserved).
Like Frazier, Adair exhibits both a grasp of her landscape and the skills to describe it in phrases that both envelop and illuminate the reader. And "Counting the Cost," like "Cold Mountain," pairs two cultural opposites--a rural, rustic male with a refined, sophisticated lady. In one story, the divide is bridged, but the circumstances of war get in the way...in the other, well...I'll leave it to readers to discover for themselves how Heck and Ruth deal with their differences. In both cases, however, there is an overpowering verisimilitude, thanks to the authors' detailed descriptions.
While I have not yet read any of her other works, it is clear that Adair is a very gifted writer. A third of the way into her story, I had already begun to feel that cocoon that only the best kind of literary writing evokes. It's a sense of being enclosed in the beauty of literature...words that caress and carry you into other places. She didn't hit it in every chapter, but there were enough such moments that I almost didn't want to reach the end of the story.
One example stands out. I'm not sure if Heck's work on helping in the birth of a calf was something the author, herself, had once witnessed, or if she relied on an account given by one of her uncles. In any case, that is one scene that will stay with me for a very long time. It put me right there behind him, helping me to pull along with him. More than that, it seemed symbolic of the struggles in the story.
I know "Counting the Cost" is up for a Whitney Award this year and I urge all the voters to take a good, long look at this novel before casting their ballot. My vote is pretty much locked in.
February 17, 2010
Full review originally posted here: http://www.ldswomensbookreview.com/wo...
Liz Adair, author of The Spider Latham Mystery series and The Mist of Quarry Harbor, has written a memorable story, inspired by her own family history, about two people willing to give up what they know for love.
Counting the Cost is a fitting title at the beginning of the book, and even more so by the end. It is the story of Heck and Ruth, their lives and their love.
Heck Benham’s simple and steady cowboy life is disrupted by the arrival of the lovely Mrs. Ruth Reynolds. Heck does his best to stay out of her way, but after a violent incident involving her husband, Ruth leaves with Heck, both of them knowing that their actions will cause them to be shunned and outcast. After the death of Ruth’s husband, she and Heck marry and live happily until circumstances make each of them aware of what they have given up to be together, and what more they will have to sacrifice to stay together.
Liz has told an endearing, honest story. Her characters have depth and feeling, and are easy to care about. The tale flows in a natural, believable course through the characters’ lives, including the full spectrum of events from the mundane to the blissful and tragic. The reader learns about the history and geography of the New Mexican locales through conversation and description that never feels forced or lecturing.
While I didn’t find Counting the Cost to be an intense page-turner, I looked forward to picking the book up again every time I had to put it down.
Well done, Liz.
What worked for me: I loved Heck right away with his laid-back cowboy style and thoughtful ways. All of the characters were well written, including the minor characters that were present for short times throughout the story. Sometimes I wished Ruth didn’t want so much, but having experienced a more “advanced” lifestyle I could understand her desire to have certain things in her life. Sometimes I wished Heck wouldn’t sacrifice so much of himself, but I could understand how much he loved Ruth and what it is to have someone love you that much. I cried twice; and not just a tear or two, either.
What didn’t work for me: I almost wish there was a short epilogue or summary at the end of the story so I could know a little more about how things ended up in the future.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (definitely left an impression on me)
Would I read it again? Eventually, once I feel like my heart could take it
Would I recommend it? Yes, just keep a couple of tissues handy
Would I read more of Liz Adair’s books? Yes. I thought her Spider Latham Mystery series was enjoyable, too
FTC FYI: The copy of Counting the Cost that I reviewed was borrowed from my local library.
Liz Adair, author of The Spider Latham Mystery series and The Mist of Quarry Harbor, has written a memorable story, inspired by her own family history, about two people willing to give up what they know for love.
Counting the Cost is a fitting title at the beginning of the book, and even more so by the end. It is the story of Heck and Ruth, their lives and their love.
Heck Benham’s simple and steady cowboy life is disrupted by the arrival of the lovely Mrs. Ruth Reynolds. Heck does his best to stay out of her way, but after a violent incident involving her husband, Ruth leaves with Heck, both of them knowing that their actions will cause them to be shunned and outcast. After the death of Ruth’s husband, she and Heck marry and live happily until circumstances make each of them aware of what they have given up to be together, and what more they will have to sacrifice to stay together.
Liz has told an endearing, honest story. Her characters have depth and feeling, and are easy to care about. The tale flows in a natural, believable course through the characters’ lives, including the full spectrum of events from the mundane to the blissful and tragic. The reader learns about the history and geography of the New Mexican locales through conversation and description that never feels forced or lecturing.
While I didn’t find Counting the Cost to be an intense page-turner, I looked forward to picking the book up again every time I had to put it down.
Well done, Liz.
What worked for me: I loved Heck right away with his laid-back cowboy style and thoughtful ways. All of the characters were well written, including the minor characters that were present for short times throughout the story. Sometimes I wished Ruth didn’t want so much, but having experienced a more “advanced” lifestyle I could understand her desire to have certain things in her life. Sometimes I wished Heck wouldn’t sacrifice so much of himself, but I could understand how much he loved Ruth and what it is to have someone love you that much. I cried twice; and not just a tear or two, either.
What didn’t work for me: I almost wish there was a short epilogue or summary at the end of the story so I could know a little more about how things ended up in the future.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 (definitely left an impression on me)
Would I read it again? Eventually, once I feel like my heart could take it
Would I recommend it? Yes, just keep a couple of tissues handy
Would I read more of Liz Adair’s books? Yes. I thought her Spider Latham Mystery series was enjoyable, too
FTC FYI: The copy of Counting the Cost that I reviewed was borrowed from my local library.
May 4, 2010
I know you're not supposed to judge a book from its cover, but since starting to read the Whitney Award nominees, I know that I've been doing just that. I look at the artwork, the fonts, and the quotes on the back cover. I look at the font size of the text and the quality of the paper. If the paper is rough and the cover artwork is cheesy, I tend to conclude that the book will be bad. Reading the first few chapters of Counting the Cost, I expected it to be bad. So I was surprised when it turned out to be, gosh, pretty darn good!
Hank Benham is a cowboy in his late twenties who has already been on the range in New Mexico and Arizona for more than half his life. He's solid and dependable-- the kind of man who will be a ranch foreman in a few more years. Ruth Reynolds, an Eastern socialite, arrives on the ranch with her abusive husband, who has been sent to the desert to push pencils. Ruth takes an immediate shine to Hank, and within a few months, the husband is dead, and Hank and Ruth are together, living in a tiny shack in the middle of nowhere in Arizona. But love and passion can only sustain itself for so long, and pretty soon Hank and Ruth have to figure out how to sustain a marriage of opposites.
Wow, I loved this book. The characters were so rich and complicated, and the book (once again, my genre issues come through) was more than just a romance where the couple gets married at the end and lives happily ever after. Instead, it was the story of a marriage of opposites attracted, of a couple who has to compromise their personal dreams for the good of the relationship. I know relationships like this. I've seen close at hand examples of women who haven't been happy with the way their husbands provide, and do their best to let the men know it. I've seen men who have given up the things they're passionate about to make a little extra money for the family.
My main criticism of the novel is that in the last third of the book, Hank seems a little too saintly and Ruth a little too devilish. The characters are complicated in the beginning, and come back to those honest and complicated roots in the end, but Adair tends to draw them a bit more broadly for a while. But that's a small price to pay for a book that makes the New Mexico desert feel real, with characters (even the supporting ones) who jump off the page, with lyrical and beautiful writing.
The book needs a cover that is worthy of what's inside.
Hank Benham is a cowboy in his late twenties who has already been on the range in New Mexico and Arizona for more than half his life. He's solid and dependable-- the kind of man who will be a ranch foreman in a few more years. Ruth Reynolds, an Eastern socialite, arrives on the ranch with her abusive husband, who has been sent to the desert to push pencils. Ruth takes an immediate shine to Hank, and within a few months, the husband is dead, and Hank and Ruth are together, living in a tiny shack in the middle of nowhere in Arizona. But love and passion can only sustain itself for so long, and pretty soon Hank and Ruth have to figure out how to sustain a marriage of opposites.
Wow, I loved this book. The characters were so rich and complicated, and the book (once again, my genre issues come through) was more than just a romance where the couple gets married at the end and lives happily ever after. Instead, it was the story of a marriage of opposites attracted, of a couple who has to compromise their personal dreams for the good of the relationship. I know relationships like this. I've seen close at hand examples of women who haven't been happy with the way their husbands provide, and do their best to let the men know it. I've seen men who have given up the things they're passionate about to make a little extra money for the family.
My main criticism of the novel is that in the last third of the book, Hank seems a little too saintly and Ruth a little too devilish. The characters are complicated in the beginning, and come back to those honest and complicated roots in the end, but Adair tends to draw them a bit more broadly for a while. But that's a small price to pay for a book that makes the New Mexico desert feel real, with characters (even the supporting ones) who jump off the page, with lyrical and beautiful writing.
The book needs a cover that is worthy of what's inside.
December 6, 2010
As I read this book, I contemplated putting it down without finishing it many times, but kept at it. I was a little disappointed only because there wasn't really a happy ending for Heck. Heck was a handsome, quiet, cowhand, who was unaffected by settling down until he found himself attracted to a married socialite woman, Ruth Reynolds. They met when he helped her get her green coupe through the dips and rough rode to the ranch that he worked for. He was instantly attracted to her but put his attraction away because she was married and off limits. His good intentions were forgotten when he realized that her husband was an abusive jerk and carried her off to work on another ranch because he knew they wouldn't be accepted in his hometown because they weren't married. They lived simply but happily for awhile and Ruth learned the life a a cowhand's wife. When the opportunity came for them to marry they did and then moved back home, but something changed for Ruth and she wasn't content to just have enough to live on she wanted more like what she was used to before Heck, but she wanted Heck to want it too. Slowly Heck changed who he was, what he did, and his dreams (because Ruth is barren) so he could make the marriage work. Heck gave and Ruth took and wasn't willing to give up on her aspirations. She doesn't realize what her desires cost her till she looses Heck to a freak accident when he was on his way home to apologize for forgetting her birthday. Sad story about selfishness and the consequences to our actions which can't be changed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2011
Takes place in New Mexico (cowboys) during the depression. This was a love hate book for me. I almost quit about a quarter of the way through because I knew what was coming and it was making me mad but I'm glad I stuck with it. There was some religiosity that I feel really made a good story great. I found myself loving Heck and feeling bad that he had to suffer the consequences of his poor choice but glad that the story didn't end happily. There were times when I felt like slapping Ruth. I was full on bawling several times throughout the story.
I spent two summers in Mew Mexico and worked with large animals (cows, horses) in my college days so I can appreciate the beauties of the desert and the things she wrote about working with animals.
I spent two summers in Mew Mexico and worked with large animals (cows, horses) in my college days so I can appreciate the beauties of the desert and the things she wrote about working with animals.
December 27, 2010
This is one of those stories with a simple setting - New Mexico in the 1930s - and a simple plot, but the story transcends both. It isn't just a story about a cowboy, so I wouldn't call it a western. In its own way it's timeless as it explores the question of what a person is willing to pay, in terms of personal compromise, to have a life with the one they love. An ominous incident at the beginning is a grim foreshadowing of what the total cost will be when Heck and his friend find and kill a black widow spider as they clean out a house designated for the new ranch accountant and his wife who are coming from back east. If you love a love story, this book is for you.
July 29, 2016
I'm not usually a big romance reader, but had heard about this book from several sources after it was nominated for a Whitney Award (and won). For some reason, I had a hard time starting it. I actually put it down after a few chapters and came back to it after reading a few books in between. After a while it got better and I really enjoyed it. Although my grandparents lived in a different part of the country, they married during the same time period and I often thought of them while reading this book. I didn't really like the end, but I know the author was basing her work on family history and so I suppose it was closer to real life than the sort of ending I wanted from a book like this.
October 3, 2010
This is not the book I voted for in the Whitney Awards contest and the library wait list was so long by the time my turn came, the contest was over and this book had won. Now that I've read it I have to agree with other reviewers. I liked it at first but the ending was dissapointing. I don't like books where the male hero is so flawless and perfect the only choice the author has is to kill him off in the end. In a world of marry-go-round marriages this book could've set a good example of facing and overcoming a challenging relationship and it failed.
July 19, 2011
Set in 1935 New Mexico, Counting the Cost provides a wonderful window on a long ago era. Vividly written, beauty, joy, and tragedy alike are described in rich detail. If you love historical fiction, especially set in the American West, you will enjoy Counting the Cost.
NOTE: Counting the Cost won the 2009 Whitney award in Romance, but this is by no means a romance book. I would classify it as a historical novel, but I've heard some call it a "love story".
NOTE: Counting the Cost won the 2009 Whitney award in Romance, but this is by no means a romance book. I would classify it as a historical novel, but I've heard some call it a "love story".
April 11, 2009
I actually had the exquisite opportunity to read this novel in advance and give a pre-publication endorsement. The published work still stands up to my first estimation:
This book is a poignant look at a grand passion between opposites, a sensory delight filled with lush descriptions, spot-on dialogue, and a well-told story of choice and accountability. Liz Adair is a masterful storyteller. Don't miss reading this book!
This book is a poignant look at a grand passion between opposites, a sensory delight filled with lush descriptions, spot-on dialogue, and a well-told story of choice and accountability. Liz Adair is a masterful storyteller. Don't miss reading this book!
April 24, 2009
Was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book at first, but then I was surprised at how aimless it became for me towards the end. Then the end itself was quite unsatisfying for me. So, liked it; didn't love it.
February 3, 2012
Love her choice of the perfect word to pull up the imagery of the life and times i.e. gesticulating, gravid, strode, bereft, blithely, words with more character than our monotonous often boring vocabulary. Have we become lazy speakers? Quilty here.
September 5, 2009
I thought this book was well written but it gave me a bad feeling because there was so much unhappiness in it.
May 9, 2011
I liked this book, but was disappointed at the lack of growth in either main character and by the abrupt ending.
June 9, 2010
Life is choices and the ensuing consequences, and this story portrays that very well. It's also about what can happen when people from very different backgrounds fall in love and marry.
July 10, 2010
Really enjoyed both the story and the history encapsulated within it. Very well written.
March 26, 2011
This book was a page turner. It was also action packed. There was a lot of drama too. It was a cowboy love story. I liked it alot I don't really do the cowboy scene but this was good.
September 30, 2010
Nicely written but not what I expected. The story deals with living with the consequences of decisions.
January 20, 2012
I couldn't get over the fact that she didn't love her husband enough to accept him for what he is!!! She drove me CRAZY!!! Don't read if you don't like a happy ending.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews