Lisa Higdon
Higdon, Lisa - UNFORGIVEN (Zebra Historical - 4/99) (3)
She was the spoiled, somewhat naive only child of a prosperous
Texas rancher when Cole Thornton walked into her life, and when
this handsome, powerfully sexy man offered a quick escape from
the gilded cage in which Caitlin McDonnell thought she lived,
the high-spirited young lady embraced adventure with open arms.
By the time she learned that Cole was part of an outlaw gang on the run from the law, Caitlin was too much in love to regret her impetuous flight and turn back from the danger surrounding her. It was only after months of dodging the authorities (and the evil intentions of her lover's uncle) that a far more worldly young woman finally came to realize the desperate situation she was in. The thought that Cole had deceived her only made the resolution to return home that much stronger, so with a heavy heart she fled back to the security of her father's loving arms and the ranch she'd once felt was a prison. When she left Cole behind, however, Caitlin unknowingly took something precious along with her; and year's later she would discover that you may be able to run, but you can't hide from the sins of the past.
I must admit that I had a love/hate relationship with this book. Because I don't care for silly, spoiled young women and usually try to avoid reading about them, the heroine in UNFORGIVEN—during the first six chapters anyway—wasn't a sympathetic character for me. Despite the flashes of maturity she showed here and there in the early stages of the plot, I had difficulty getting past the annoyance her behavior provoked, which kept pulling me out of the story.
Having said that, however, the remainder of the book read like a whole different tale. For the most part, it was fast-paced and interesting, with a plethora of multifaceted characters that I really came to care about. But even so, the author's use of the "great misunderstanding," a device that often negatively impacts my reading enjoyment, made me occasionally want to jump into the story and give one or another of the characters a good shake. *grin* In the end, however, I'm very glad I resisted the impulse to put the book down unfinished. I would recommend UNFORGIVEN to those readers who want to be immersed in the drama of western frontier life, circa mid-1800s—especially if they don't mind heroines who are, at times, a real danger to themselves and those who love them. ~Connie Ramsdell for Bookbug on the Web
NEXT PAGE
Background provided by Judi's Doodlings
Copyright © 1997-1999 Bookbug on the Web