Sweet Golden Sun

by Parris Afton Bonds

BY PASSION POSSESSED
In Victoria Romero de Kenton's veins ran the blood of her aristocratic Mexican father and breathtaking English mother. But her sheltered childhood was suddenly shattered by her parents' deaths. And her innocence as savagely ended by a brutal, drunken Texan.

Victoria's stunning beauty had made her a victim - but she vowed it never would again. From that day, she used the lusts of men as stepping stones on her path of conquests, as she moved to seize the wealth and power she hungered for...

...until the moment when this proud and passionate woman had to choose between the ultimate fulfillment of her dreams - and her maddening desire for the man she desperately tried to hate, yet could not escape...

Here is an unforgettable saga of the turbulent West - when men and women used every weapon at their command to win the gigantic struggle for empire.

284 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1978

About the author

I am dancing on sunshine that you are visiting my little part of Parris's paradise here on Goodreads.

I write for the reckless at heart Not surprisingly, I identify with my novels' characters, both the protagonists AND antagonists. I suffer with their angsts and bewilderments and rejoice in their joys and triumphs.

And I believe that if we heroically hold fast to our own vision for ourselves in our journey’s confrontations and challenges, Life WILL surely manifest our dreams and goals and visions, as it does for my characters in my novels.

***

Parris Afton Bonds is mother of five sons and author of nearly fifty published novels. She is co-founder and first vice president of Romance Writers of America, as well as, co-founder of Southwest Writers Workshop,

The Parris Award was established in her name by the Southwest Writers Workshop to honor a published writer who has given outstandingly of time and talent to other writers. Prestigious recipients of the Parris Award include Tony Hillerman and the Pulitzer nominee Norman Zollinger.

Declared by ABC's Nightline as one of the three-best-selling authors of romantic fiction, the award winning Parris Afton Bonds has been featured in major newspapers and magazines as well as published in more than a dozen languages. A New York Times best seller, she donates her time to teaching creative writing to both grade school children and female inmates ~ both of which are captive audiences.

Reviews

[ANGELINA]

This is the second of Ms. Bond's early novels that I've read and I much prefer the later ones. While I'm glad that, for the time it was written, she doesn't overdo it with the h being raped (though why it seems to be obligatory in late 70's/early 80's books is beyond me), but she way overdoes it with the antagonism between her and the H. Aside from horniness, they have nothing between them, then at the very end of the book we're supposed to believe they're soulmates??? I think NOT!

I also think the gay love (or rather, lust) triangle and murder, that she was aught in the middle of, was pretty ridiculous.

And, for a woman who hates being used (not that I blame her), she sure had no qualms about using others, accepting marriage proposals for escape, money and social position, and - consciously or not - to spite the H is pretty crummy, especially since the men involved really cared for her.

I gave it two stars for the historical background and detail, but the story only deserves one.

[Terryan]

I wasn't to sure about this book or the author. The story has a lot of twists and turns and is a bit complicated. Read it carefully I guess. I did start skipping pages so that wasn't a good sign. It wasn't really my style and would have scored it only as 3 1/5 stars but as that's not possible I opted for 4. It takes a while for the two main characters to sort of declare their love for each other which was starting to drive me nuts, both stubborn. HEA ending.

[Olnega]

Great book, couldn’t put it down. Glad I managed to get a paperback copy, this cover has a real vintage feel.

[seton]

Reprint of Sweet Golden Sun (1978).

[Cindy Woods]

Outstanding

What a good book this is! I've passed it up several times...not sure why. I'm so glad I finally read it, though! Lots of deep, raw emotion here. The young woman, Victoria, has such a life of varied experiences, done tragic and painful. Her inner determination is her driving force to be respectable and prestigious. In 1849 that was near impossible for a woman...almost unheard of. She is introduced, early on, to a truly enigmatic man...a Texas Ranger. One again, this author paints a picture with her descriptive words describing the Mexico-Texas regions as well as the society of upper and lower class citizenry and the era's rapidly changing culture and governmental policies. Several famous people are weaved into this earthy plot making for a most interesting read. This is the reason I so love reading Parris Bond books. It's not trite romantic fiction....it's very well researched historical fiction with romance. Highly recommend to readers of historical fiction and historical romance fiction as well as historical women's books. Great story with lots of emotion.