O'Rourke's Bride

by Barbara Dan

Book Overview

Clever enough to outsmart her matchmaking father, Kate McGillacutty coyly agrees to marry a man of the lumberjack baron's standards, a 'real' man unafraid of hard work. Daring to call his bluff, Kate picks her candidate from the dregs of Virginia City's rough-hewn timber men, certain she can convince him to play along.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0821780557
• ISBN13: 9780821780558
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Zebra Books
• Length: 415 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Great Book

Loved it - great for reading on the plane. McGregor's Bride is a little bit better (but I have a weakness for Highlanders.)

A Delightful Romp!

You will not be bored with this book! As a matter of fact, the action is romantic, humorous, and sufficiently engrossing that the book is hard to put down. You wonder what in the world will happen next? What is the beautiful, hot-tempered, impetuous Kate going to do now?! From start to finish, the book entertains, while giving you your money's worth (and then some!) in the romance department. On a scale of milk toast to hot chili peppers, the book's romantic heat leans more towards the peppers. This is a spicy romance with wit aplenty. It is obvious that the author has spent a lot of time doing her research - you can put yourself into the action with confidence that you will be living a fairly accurate picture of the times. I can't wait for Barbara Dan's next book - who knows what the next the time and place will be?! The only thing you can depend on is that it will be another wild, witty romantic adventure.

Witty, Sexy, Irish West Romance!

Barbara Dan treats romance fans with a brand new rip roaring western romance with sexy passionate Irish characters that are very much like a mixture of two all-time favorite John Wayne movies, The Quiet Man and McLintock. Kate McGillacutty has grown up with all the conveniences of a wealth, but unfortunately without the closeness of her father, as her parents have been estranged. Her father decides it is time he needs an heir to his fortune and brings Kate and her mother back out west in order to arrange a marriage with the foreman of his mine. Kate and her father strongly disagree and when they argue she decides to outsmart him and his plan by marrying the first man she sees on the street. The handsome, down on his luck, Irish aristocrat, turned actor, and now just plain passed out drunk, Peter O'Rourke is her choice. He makes a side deal with her father to not only marry Kate, but accept a lumberjack foreman job. The main part of the plan is to take the pampered Kate with him to the camp in order to teach her the value of hard work and then return her in the spring for an annulment and remarriage to the foreman her father wanted her to marry all along. Kate is furious when she discovers she has been fooled and decides she is going to show everyone. Both Peter and Kate have much to prove to themselves and each other running and supporting the lumber camp, not counting on their desire that soon spins out of control. When the lumber camp burns in a forest fire they run for their lives and spend the night in a cave where their intense passion can no longer be denied and realize they are meant to be together. When word comes that Peter is now the heir to his family's title, he hides that little bit of information and not only does he end up fooling Kate's father into a deal so he can become a lumbar baron in his own right, but he fools Kate as well, who thinks he robs a bank for her. The sparks fly once again between the firey Irish couple with the families coming together. O'Rourke's Bride is a well-written story with passionate characters that will make you smile and laugh. It is a pleasure to read a brand new western romance that is so much fun. I can't wait for more from this author.

Great Characterization.

I just finished reading O'ROURKE'S BRIDE and I must say that I haven't enjoy a book so much in a long time. It is set in a part of the coutry I know, so that was fun, but there is nothing trite or contrived about how this book unfolds. I especially enjoyed O'rourke. Let's have some more books like this from Barbara Dan.

Rustic Love

The best 3.99 I spent and will most likely spend much more on this author. I love reading new authors, its risky, but sometimes you find a gem. What makes a promising talent? 1. Wit - if you don't have it - you can't fake it. Some people show this talent early on in their writing - think Jane Austen. 2. Humor - not the same as wit but just as important. I cannot love characters who do not possess a sense of humor or spew out humorous remarks. 3. Hardship - do the hero and heroine develop and become better human beings thereby bringing forth or enhancing their love? 4. Wisdom - what have they learned? how have they changed? Some authors stick nonsense into what should have been a maturing of the couple. It takes real talent to pull this off. 5. Touchable characters - do they make you jump out of your seat, can you talk to these characters? Barbara does a fantastic job- the story is compelling although the writing will take time to get better as she is just starting out but already the dialogue is getting there. Keep pushing that pen Barbara, you have one devoted fan who cannot wait for more. Just caution - don't let stereotypes set in - e.g., although Kate's dad is your stereotypical controlling father - his irrationality comes from his love for her, instead of showing a one dimensional character - make sure to develop the important supporting roles as well they are crucial to the main characters development and growth in the story. Give them a spot in your heart as well - "bad" or "good" characters require a realism that comes from a personal relationship with the author making the bad/good line fuzzy. Make them yours and they will be real to your readers. Thanks for a great debut book - I will be waiting to see your talent progress.