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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

May 10, 2022  
Sneak a peek at the humorous Western historical fiction novel OUTLAW WEST OF THE PECOS by Preston Lewis Author on my blog, and enter the giveaway for your chance to win an autographed copy of the book - three winners!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2022/05/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-outlaw-west.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
Accused of cheating at cards on a Southern Pacific passenger train in far West Texas, H.H. Lomax is kicked off the train and finds himself at the mercy of the unpredictable justice of Judge Roy Bean, who calls himself “Law West of the Pecos.” After being fined of all his money, married, and divorced by the judge in a matter of minutes, Lomax discovers an unlikely connection to him.

Against a backdrop of a pending world heavyweight championship bout, Lomax heads to El Paso to interest someone in writing and publishing Bean’s biography. He winds up in an El Paso boarding house across the hall from Texas killer John Wesley Hardin. They despise each other, but Hardin fears Lomax’s straight-arrow Texas Ranger brother and treads lightly around Lomax. Because of Hardin’s crooked connections in El Paso, Lomax gets caught between him and corrupt constable John Selman.

El Paso is becoming the focal point of efforts to host a championship prizefight that everyone from the Presidents of the United States and Mexico to the governors of Texas, New Mexico Territory and Chihuahua have vowed to stop. Calling on his connections to his Ranger brother, El Paso officials and the promoter of the boxing match, Lomax uses his Judge Roy Bean friendship to pull off the oddest prizefight in heavyweight history.

Outlaw West of the Pecos stands as an entertaining mix of historical and hysterical fiction.
     
nice easy read (0 more)
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book 2 in the Tenet Gentleman's Club series, but I have not read book 1. I did not feel as I missed anything for not doing so, since the couple in that book are not mentioned, I don't think, in this one.

You get pulled straight into this book, and what Elizabeth is trying to solve, right from page one, and It does not really let you go!

I liked that both Elizabeth and Langdon have a say, although it took me a little bit to grasp Langdon's first name and put the two together.

I liked that there is intrigue and drama. I did have an inkling, right from the start, about a certain character, so it was fun watching that all come to pass.

It is an historical romance, so its full of the rules and regulations of the time, along with words for various things. Made me chuckle a time or two how the feelings these two had for each other were described towards the beginning. It's not overly explicit but it does carry some steam, once Elizabeth gave into the need to have Langdon in the way she wanted.


It's a well written story, that delivered to me just what I needed at the right time.

One teeny niggle though. The book is set in London, and as such, I expected ENGLISH words to describe certain things. A couple of things were given AMERICAN wordings.

First I've read of this author. Will I read more? Quite possibly if the blurb grabs. If it's an historical, I will know to look for the English/American wordings and it won't bother me so much!

4 good, solid stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
The Wicked Cometh
The Wicked Cometh
Laura Carlin | 2018 | Mystery, Romance
8
9.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Enjoyable, easy read
Rich in atmosphere, characterisation and vocabulary, this historical fiction follows the character of Hester White, an 18-year-old living in squalid conditions in 19th century London. A carriage accident may well prove her salvation - passenger, the charismatic Calder Brock, seems determined to rescue her from the gutter, his sister Rebekah to be entrusted with her education.

Following closely in Sarah Waters' footsteps, this is a Victorian pastiche that returns to those perennials of murder, identity, prostitution and female survival. Carlin writes with fluency and conjures up a grim, dank, seedy London where the only sanctuary for our heroine is in female friendship

While this is an enjoyable read, it does feel more generic than original, and there are some clumsy tricks such as the extended death-bed confession/life-story at the end. Great for fans of Victoriana.
  
The Mapmaker's Children
The Mapmaker's Children
Sarah McCoy | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I loved this book with each turn of the page. It gave you two stories that went well together. You get a modern mystery. You also learn about history at that time.
 
This book has you learn about Sarah and her family. We learn about slavery and what it like to be a part of the UGRR? The historical fiction and story go through the past to the future.
 
What will happen to Sarah and helping other by being so brave? The abolitionist John Brown has a daughter that might really be talented. She and Eden have something in common. Will Eden uncover the secrets of the past to the future?
 
You do learn about slavery and what our country was going through at that time. Eden may find a story that connects to the Hills from the past to present.
  
Why Girls Love Sailors (1927)
Why Girls Love Sailors (1927)
1927 | Comedy
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
So-so Laurel and Hardy movie from the days before Laurel and Hardy even existed as an idea. No sign of the usual characterisations, bowler hats, or tit-for-tat; Stan plays Willie the winkle-fisherman whose sweetheart is abducted by the captain of a ship largely crewed by thugs and scoundrels; Ollie plays the unnamed first mate. Stan's plan involves a surprising amount of cross-dressing.


More of a curiosity than anything else, though I'm not sure I'd go as far as those suggesting this once-lost film would have been better off staying that way. It certainly lends weight to the suggestion that Stan was the more gifted comedian but Ollie was a more versatile actor - he still keeps doing those looks to camera, though. In the end, it's not outrageously bad, but mainly of historical interest.
  
This take on what it means to be on the Mayflower and the struggles that come along with it is very interesting. It makes what I just think of an event so much more. The character, even though it is hard to keep track at times, are relatable and you find yourself invested in their stories. The language was modern and that took away from the story for me. My only other problem was the flatness, while there was problems most of the book just felt monotonous. This could be just because I don't read much historical fiction but I am not sure.
Perfect for those fans who want to feel connected to a real event but with a fictional aspect instead of just facts. This will give them a good read that will keep you interested until the very end.
  
If I could kiss Ingrid Hahn I would! There are legitimately no words to describe how happy her hero made me in this novel. Despite some of his stupid actions due to his hurt pride, it was refreshing to find a male in a historical romance put faith in his wife and defend her. Not because he is in love with her or because she his wife, but because he truly believes the opposing party was wrong. Seriously. Bless you Hahn.

But moving on, I enjoyed this novel as a whole. There were certain things that aggravated me like the male lead not being able to see past his hurt pride at times. But their love can naturally rather the forced. It was a delight to read and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Viking Queen (1967) in Movies

Mar 1, 2018 (Updated Mar 2, 2018)  
The Viking Queen (1967)
The Viking Queen (1967)
1967 | Action, Drama, International
5
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Wildly historically inaccurate, wholly absurd Hammer exploitation movie based on the events of the Iceni revolt led by Boudicca in 1st-century Britain. Roman governor (American) falls unconvincingly for Briton queen (Finnish); their imminent marriage promises to be bad for the business of the local merchants and their corrupt ally, a Roman general (Scottish), so a conflict is provoked, leading to rebellion...

Problems are mostly with the script, which appears to be only vaguely familiar with the concept of historical research, although a lot of the acting and staging is also pretty poor. Some usually reliable actors (Andrew Keir, Patrick Troughton) do the best they can with the material they're given. Probably best viewed as a high-camp piece of unintentional comedy. The widely-circulated story that one of the Roman actors can be seen wearing a wristwatch appears to be apocryphal.