Part of the Bargain

by Linda Lael Miller

Part of the Bargain by Linda Lael Miller released on May 31, 2005 is available now for purchase.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Westerns, Contemporary, Western Romance, Harlequin

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1994

About the author

The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West. Raised in Northport, Washington, Linda pursued her wanderlust, living in London and Arizona and traveling the world before returning to the state of her birth to settle down on a spacious property outside Spokane.
Linda traces the birth of her writing career to the day when a Northport teacher told her that the stories she was writing were good, that she just might have a future in writing. Later, when she decided to write novels, she endured her share of rejection before she sold Fletcher’s Woman in 1983 to Pocket Books. Since then, Linda has successfully published historicals, contemporaries, paranormals, mysteries and thrillers before coming home, in a literal sense, and concentrating on novels with a Western flavor. For her devotion to her craft, the Romance Writers of America awarded her their prestigious Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
Long a passionate Civil War buff, Linda has studied the era avidly for almost thirty years. She has read literally hundreds of books on the subject, explored numerous battlegrounds and made many visits to her favorite, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where she has witnessed re-enactments of the legendary clash between North and South. Linda explores that turbulent time in The Yankee Widow, a May 7, 2019 MIRA Books hardcover, also available in digital and audiobook formats.
Dedicated to helping others, “The First Lady of the West” personally financed fifteen years of her Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women, which she awarded to women 25 years and older who were seeking to improve their lot in life through education. She anticipates that her next charitable endeavors will benefit four-legged critters.
More information about Linda and her novels is available at www.lindalaelmiller.com, on Facebook and from Nancy Berland Public Relations, nancy@nancyberland.com, 405-206-4748.

Reviews

[The Written · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whose grandmother wrote this book. At some point I went to look for the publishing date and it says 2013 but it definitely was not written by someone with 21st century sensibilities. I couldn't even finish it because it was just terribly written and makes no sense. There are sex scenes or rather scenes that hint that sex is happening. The author's sexual terminology was so cringe because it was so antiquated. I did not finish this book.
SEX SCENES = YES
STEAM = 0
DO NOT RECOMMEND

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

So many issues...

I understand this book was written long ago. It probably shouldn’t have been re-released. The characters are fickle as hell but give up a minute later. The story takes place in about a week’s time.
There is also an issue with the formatting. There is no space between scenes so most transitions don’t make sense.

[Margo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this book is a 5-1 (5 stars for drama, 1 star for romance). The H, and the 2 OM, behaved inexplicably throughout. The h would have been justified mowing them down with a machine gun. The H was so all over the place emotionally, and so irrational, that he honestly seemed like he needed medication.

In terms of writing, I had assumed it was part of a series because we were dropped into so many situations with very little warning. I was wrong.

Recommended because of high WTFery and if you are in the mood to exclaim aloud in frustration about the plot.
.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jess and Libby. She comes back to the ranch to lick her wounds following a disastrous marriage. Jess accuses her of having an affair with his brother, Stacey, mostly because that is what Stacey is telling everyone. Stacey was married and wanted to leave his wife for Libby. Didn't understand that at all, Stacey needed therapy. Then there was Stacey's wife, who had psychological issues of her own! There continued to be trust issues between the two main characters, with lots of immature yelling. Then, in addition, Libby's breasts were mentioned on just about every page. Jess definitely had a fetish. Meh.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

There was little to no structure to this story. The "conflict" was basically non-existant and none of the men are desirable. Stacey was an aggressive stalker who completely disregarded the feelings of all the women in his life. Aaron is a straight up sociopath who basically doesn't play into the book at all. And then there's the hero, Jess. He flips hot and cold on a pin and never seems to believe the woman he allegedly loves. I get that the point being attempted was that he's bringing Libby out of her shell but a lot of the early sex scenes came across as very aggressive and non-consensual. Overall this was not great.

[Aimee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know it was written in 1985, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised- but so sick of the sort of cookie cutter mass market paperback where you have helpless woman, stream-rolled by strong sexy man into having a whirlwind affair, followed immediately by marriage, children, and, one imagines, life-long bliss. This trope of sexually repressed female with a dark, painful past only needs a man to borderline force her into a relationship with him to be happy is just messed up on a lot of levels. I also hate the whole "woman doesn't know she is beautiful" thing- why are we telling women that there is something attractive about having no self-confidence? UGH.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The great Barlow baby race

Libby comes back home following a disastrous marriage and loss of a stepson, only to be picked up at the airport by her old love Jess, who was under the impression that she'd been having an affair with his brother who was married to her cousin. Confusing? You bet. Rest assured everything eventually. .. but not easily ... is straightened out and everyone ends up happy.

Another great story by Linda Lael Miller.

[Mary Kritenbrink · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not her best work

I have read a few of this author's books and this was by far the worst. The editing was horrible. The story jumps around with a change of paragraphs instead of chapters. The storyline was a series of repeated situations with different scenery. This almost seemed like a draft of outline instead of a fully developed story.

[vera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

I really enjoyed this book it had me reading and not being able to put the book down. I loved how it had me wanting to finish it and see how Libby would end up. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read love stories.

[Emily Higgins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libby Kincaid returns to the ranch where her father is foreman after the end of her marriage. The ranch is owned by Jess Barlowe's family. Jess thinks that Libby is trying to break up his older brother's marriage. Libby must convince Jess that she has eyes only for him.

[Mary Vanderheydt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great job

LINDA .his a re-read and just as hard to put down to the end as all YOUR books. I re-read all by
Our books they are all keepers keep writing. You are my favorite author. THANKS for the great book. Mary.

[Vilma Sampson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lacking in substance

I am an avid Linda Lael Miller fan however this book would have been great, 5 stars, if there were less sex scenes, and more narrative, more to the story. It’s as if the sex scenes were “fillers”.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Linda don't disappoint. Keeps you waiting to read one more page just one more.excellent characters,make you fall in love with them. You can feel their emotions. Truly a master in her trade. A must read for any romance liver.

[Cecilyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a good example of authors falling into the negative society norms of the time. It just doesn't age well. The FMC is helpless without a redeeming quality, and her dialogues (internal and external) about her deaf cousin Cathy are just off-putting.

[Virginia'dele Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always enjoy Linda Lael Miller's books, but this is not my favorite of her stories. It was just "okay" as it was missing the character intrigue that she usually develops.

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story by Linda Lael Miller.

[Celene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how my heart ached.

[Rosemarie Groner · Rating 1 out of 5]

No offense to the author- I got to the point where I figured out the stepson died and decided it wasn’t my cup of tea. I wasn’t invested enough in the characters to keep reading and deal with that.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would like more of a story and a little less bedroom time.

[Meagan Mothershed · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.. I'm not even sure what to say....maybe because it was originally published in 1985 but it was all over the place.

[Susan Kitsmiller O'Leary · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of my fav authors and so disappointed. Just one big sex scene and pitty parties for spoiled little rich brats. I wish I had passed in this one.

[Jean Katchmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the story of Jess and Libby. Lots of hostility and love in their relationship.

[Charlotte Bishop · Rating 1 out of 5]

Juvenile characters. Filler sex every few pages. Stacey and Jess were immature twits. The bear was the most interesting character in the book.

[Catheryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I didn't say it was good, I said I liked it.

I can't explain why I love some of the older LLM books but I do. This one was a bit over the top with the drama. I did want to hit Jesse over the head a couple of times, but I still really enjoyed the book. Just go into this story for the ride and not much else. It was frustrating that it took everyone a while to believe that she was not having an affair with Jesse's brother. But everyone got there eventually.

[Adriana Fogaça · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ardente Como o Verão
Linda Lael Miller
H.C.P. Sucessos 30
2012

Até então a achava que nunca tinha lido uma estória tão cheia de confusões. Mas agora estou liberta deste estigma. Nunca vi dois casais arrumarem tanta confusão juntos.

O casal principal é ótimo e tão cabeça dura, que em alguns momentos fique muito brava com os dois. Tinham tanto prazer em discutir como tinham em fazer amor.

O segundo casal não ficou muito atrás, arrumaram confusões pra si mesmo, como para os outros, mas o final tudo se resolveu de forma gloriosa.

Definitivamente adoro romances de cowboy.

ADORO!!!!

RECOMENDADÍSSIMO!!!!

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty obvious this is an older book of hers but I still really enjoyed it. There was a lot of conflict between Libby and Jess and Libby and Cathy because of lies that Stacey (Jess's brother and Cathy's husband) was spreading. That part of the storyline was annoying to me but I really enjoyed Libby as a character and really liked her relationship with her father. Characters aren't as well developed as they are in her more recent books.

[Kelly Fountain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty great older book. Enjoyed the characters , although there is a lot of angst between Libby and Jess. It was frustrating at times with the lack of trust shown. Idk how I feel about the lies that Stacey told about Libby as well. She was a very forgiving "character". I don't think I could have been that easy to forgive and forget. Overall, good read and I would recommend.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 2 in 1 authors book. Ms. Miller is her usual wonderful self. The story by Carla Cassidy "To Wed and Protect" was good too. I give it 4 stars. Also, I believe it is part of a series and I do plan to get the other books in that series!

[Lisa Currier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite from this author. The story seemed thrown together and not really going anywhere. Very quick, easy read.

[Graceful-Hippo · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read, with fun but unmemorable characters. This won't make my list of favorite comfort reads, but it's great for vacation.