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Wild Western Hearts #4
Chase the Fire
Feisty rancher Libby Honeycutt has no time for love until she tastes the kisses of Chase Whitlaw, her hired hand, and finds ecstasy in his arms
480 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1991
About the author
Barbara Ankrum
40 books156 followersBarbara Ankrum grew up in Upstate New York, training to be a ballerina, but secretly dreaming of being an actress. Her first fangirl crush on Haley Mills led her to practice her British accent on unsuspecting store clerks, and she dreamed of co-starring in the remake of THE MOONSPINNERS. Because she was also a compulsive reader, she discovered that the film was based on a book by the fabulous Mary Stewart, which led to Barbara's lifelong obsession with romantic fiction.
Since Haley Mills was, sadly, not in the market for a co-star, Barbara pursued a degree in English Literature from the University of Tennessee. And when that degree, predictably, led to unemployment, she pulled up her socks and moved to Hollywood where she built a career as a successful commercial actress while raising two amazing (now grown) children with her sweet husband.
Writing romance came naturally from all that reading and the down time between auditions. Once she sold her first book, she said farewell to Hollywood-Land and never looked back. In between writing novels, she got her MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard and optioned a few screenplays. But her first love is, and always will be, romance.
Barbara's emotional, character driven, adventurous historicals (Wild Western Hearts series), her sexy, romantic suspense for Harlequin and her funny, heartwarming contemporaries for Tule Publishing, offer a little something for everyone. Twice nominated for Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA Award, and her contemporary romance, Holiday Hearts, was made into a Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Christmas movie! Today, she lives in Texas with her husband and a scruffy, adorable rescue dog.
Please visit her on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Barbara.ankr...
Website: www.barbaraankrum.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/BarbaraAnkrum
Since Haley Mills was, sadly, not in the market for a co-star, Barbara pursued a degree in English Literature from the University of Tennessee. And when that degree, predictably, led to unemployment, she pulled up her socks and moved to Hollywood where she built a career as a successful commercial actress while raising two amazing (now grown) children with her sweet husband.
Writing romance came naturally from all that reading and the down time between auditions. Once she sold her first book, she said farewell to Hollywood-Land and never looked back. In between writing novels, she got her MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard and optioned a few screenplays. But her first love is, and always will be, romance.
Barbara's emotional, character driven, adventurous historicals (Wild Western Hearts series), her sexy, romantic suspense for Harlequin and her funny, heartwarming contemporaries for Tule Publishing, offer a little something for everyone. Twice nominated for Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA Award, and her contemporary romance, Holiday Hearts, was made into a Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Christmas movie! Today, she lives in Texas with her husband and a scruffy, adorable rescue dog.
Please visit her on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Barbara.ankr...
Website: www.barbaraankrum.com
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/BarbaraAnkrum
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 27, 2017
A tad melodramatic but still an enjoyable read with authentic dialogue and internal dialogue. I will certainly explore more of her books.
May 4, 2018
This is a beautifully written, emotive historical romance. There is danger and drama with everything to keep the reader's attention all the way through to the end. I found that once I started reading, I was unable to put the book down. Unlike many Westerns, the plot speaks of real people facing real problems in the post-Civil War era. When Chase finds himself in a ditch alongside a soldier from the opposite side, one would expect him to finish off the dying man without a qualm. After all, it is war. But the man makes a dying request and Chase is unable to refuse him. Chase carries out his promise, and arriving at Libby's ranch, Chase discovers that she is struggling to survive and he does the only thing he can reasonable do, namely to stay and give her as much assistance as he can. The only problem is, he falls in love with the feisty, strong-willed woman. When the truth comes out, Libby is devastated, and her world is turned upside down once again. I loved the main characters in this book. Chase is a wounded hero with his own hangups and pain, whilst Libby is a woman who has learned to survive on her own. Although this book is part of a series, it is a stand-alone and can be read as such. I received this book for free from eBook Discovery. I voluntarily post this review. This is my honest review.
May 20, 2018
The first chapter of the book was slow for me but luckily it is short and once you get past it you do see why we are shown that first chapter. So do give the book a chance past the first chapter because it is a nice little story. It was a good quick read.
It starts out during the civil war. Chase Whitlaw was a soldier during the civil war fighting for the North and him and a Rebel soldier were both down and that soldier asked him to find his wife. A while later Chase does find the wife (Libby Honeycutt) but he rescues her several times. Libby is a strong woman and refuses to give up her Ranch with out a fight. He ends up helping her out on her ranch and falling in love with her.
I received this book for free to read from ebook discovery in exchange for an honest review. The opinions in this review are 100% my own.
It starts out during the civil war. Chase Whitlaw was a soldier during the civil war fighting for the North and him and a Rebel soldier were both down and that soldier asked him to find his wife. A while later Chase does find the wife (Libby Honeycutt) but he rescues her several times. Libby is a strong woman and refuses to give up her Ranch with out a fight. He ends up helping her out on her ranch and falling in love with her.
I received this book for free to read from ebook discovery in exchange for an honest review. The opinions in this review are 100% my own.
July 18, 2020
Too much left unsaid in dialogue is frustrating.
While this book was entertaining, I thought it lacked the humour and witty dialogue of the first book in the series. There were too many inner thoughts, words and sentences left unsaid in dialogue that it became frustrating. The whole premise of the story seemed to revolve around the misunderstandings caused by this.
At the Battle of the Wilderness, Yankee Chase Whitlaw comforts a dying enemy, promising to find his wife and return her locket. Two years later he tracks her down only to discover the difficulties she is having. Keeping the reason for his being there a secret, he hires on to her ranch when he discovers there is something not quite right about the problems occurring.
While this book was entertaining, I thought it lacked the humour and witty dialogue of the first book in the series. There were too many inner thoughts, words and sentences left unsaid in dialogue that it became frustrating. The whole premise of the story seemed to revolve around the misunderstandings caused by this.
At the Battle of the Wilderness, Yankee Chase Whitlaw comforts a dying enemy, promising to find his wife and return her locket. Two years later he tracks her down only to discover the difficulties she is having. Keeping the reason for his being there a secret, he hires on to her ranch when he discovers there is something not quite right about the problems occurring.
May 25, 2018
Chase the Fire (Wild Western Hearts Series, Book 4) by Barbara Ankrum is a Historical, Western Romance. During the Battle of the Wilderness, Union Major Chase Whitlaw shoots a Rebel soldier.
As the Reb lies dying, he begs him to return a locket to his wife. Libby's horse ranch, plagued by unexplained accidents, is failing. Chase finds Libby in desperate straits and offers help instead of the truth. Working side-by-side, their passion becomes undeniable. When Chase's truth is revealed Libby must decide to forgive him or say goodbye to him forever. I voluntarily received an arc from eBook Discovery and this is my honest opinion.
As the Reb lies dying, he begs him to return a locket to his wife. Libby's horse ranch, plagued by unexplained accidents, is failing. Chase finds Libby in desperate straits and offers help instead of the truth. Working side-by-side, their passion becomes undeniable. When Chase's truth is revealed Libby must decide to forgive him or say goodbye to him forever. I voluntarily received an arc from eBook Discovery and this is my honest opinion.
January 13, 2021
Chase Nd libby
Great story and well written. Chase had his problems from the war and Libby was trying to make a go on her ranch. Chase promised a reboot he would take the locker home to his wife after he did. Well when Chase met Libby he fell in love. At first site they Gascoigne to over come but in the end they had their HEA would highly recommend.
Great story and well written. Chase had his problems from the war and Libby was trying to make a go on her ranch. Chase promised a reboot he would take the locker home to his wife after he did. Well when Chase met Libby he fell in love. At first site they Gascoigne to over come but in the end they had their HEA would highly recommend.
July 11, 2016
Excellent book! Should have more than 5 Stars!
I absolutely loved this story, so much in fact, that I stayed up all night reading it. I read a lot of books, and this story has become one of my all-time favorites. I have now read it twice. The story is different than the typical Western Romance, and the characters are realistic and each written with their own personality that contains good and bad characteristics which make them seem like they truly lived in history. Being a history major who taught high school history for several years, I loved and appreciated the author's attention to historical detail and the fact that she included some real life famous Western figures in the book. I could go on and on about how wonderful and well written I think this story is and how highly I recommend it. I cannot stand buying a book that ends up being a huge disappointment. This book is so great. I hope my words will help more people read it. I will say that the bedroom scenes are just a bit too spicy for me, but they are tastefully written without being raunchy. The details are kept to a minimum which, in my opinion, allows readers to use their imaginations where many books today give such vivid details that these books often come close to needing to be in another genre. Overall, I plan on reading other books by Barbara Ankrum and expect them to be just as great.
I absolutely loved this story, so much in fact, that I stayed up all night reading it. I read a lot of books, and this story has become one of my all-time favorites. I have now read it twice. The story is different than the typical Western Romance, and the characters are realistic and each written with their own personality that contains good and bad characteristics which make them seem like they truly lived in history. Being a history major who taught high school history for several years, I loved and appreciated the author's attention to historical detail and the fact that she included some real life famous Western figures in the book. I could go on and on about how wonderful and well written I think this story is and how highly I recommend it. I cannot stand buying a book that ends up being a huge disappointment. This book is so great. I hope my words will help more people read it. I will say that the bedroom scenes are just a bit too spicy for me, but they are tastefully written without being raunchy. The details are kept to a minimum which, in my opinion, allows readers to use their imaginations where many books today give such vivid details that these books often come close to needing to be in another genre. Overall, I plan on reading other books by Barbara Ankrum and expect them to be just as great.
January 13, 2024
My first Barbara Ankrum book. I normally don't start a series by reading the last one first (LIFO). And I normally don't pick books based on the cover picture. But the synopsis was intriguing and this fourth book was the only one available electronically through the library. And come on, the cover photo is not that bad.
Just as the prologue states, in 1864 a Union soldier (Chase) is facing off a Confederate soldier (Lee) when a canon explodes injuring them both and they land not far from each other. The Rebel pleads with the Yankee to find his wife and deliver a locket that Lee pulls from around his neck. It takes Chase Whitlaw two years, but he eventually finds Lee's widow, Libby.
I wanted to give this book four stars. My true rating is 3.5. It had a good cast of characters, suspense, romance, and some humor. But there was this one scene that I found completely unbelievable that involved a rancher and a bad guy. Won't provide names because I don't want to spoil it. Anyway, I failed to understand why the rancher acted as he did. It made no sense to me.
Will I read another Barbara Ankrum book? Probably. I also recommend "Chase the Fire" to anyone who enjoys western historical fiction. Or just westerns.
Just as the prologue states, in 1864 a Union soldier (Chase) is facing off a Confederate soldier (Lee) when a canon explodes injuring them both and they land not far from each other. The Rebel pleads with the Yankee to find his wife and deliver a locket that Lee pulls from around his neck. It takes Chase Whitlaw two years, but he eventually finds Lee's widow, Libby.
I wanted to give this book four stars. My true rating is 3.5. It had a good cast of characters, suspense, romance, and some humor. But there was this one scene that I found completely unbelievable that involved a rancher and a bad guy. Won't provide names because I don't want to spoil it. Anyway, I failed to understand why the rancher acted as he did. It made no sense to me.
Will I read another Barbara Ankrum book? Probably. I also recommend "Chase the Fire" to anyone who enjoys western historical fiction. Or just westerns.
April 21, 2016
FANTASTIC
Number four was just as good if not better than the others three. I really like how she shows the War between the States as a terrible war that in some instances had no endings just tragedies. But good could come from it.
Number four was just as good if not better than the others three. I really like how she shows the War between the States as a terrible war that in some instances had no endings just tragedies. But good could come from it.
May 1, 2015
Loving this series, although I wish the characters overlapped more. This was a very good read. Suspense and drama included made it a book I didn't want to put down.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews