In 1876 in the Kansas Territory, Sheriff Joshua Hassett began looking for Galen. He was working as a bounty hunter for Congressman Theodore Cady, whose brother was killed by Galen. The congressman wanted her brought in to stand trial. He not only sent Joshua, but a couple of other (vicious) bounty hunters to assure successful results during his campaign for governor of Kansas. He felt that this, in addition to other vicious murders attributed to Galen, would ensure his election.

This book, for me, was slow starting and sluggish to get immersed into it. I did, nevertheless, get caught up in the book and became spellbound. There are so many topics covered in Galen’s pitiful existence that it was painful and disappointing reading through the basic storyline. However, life is not always happily-ever-after, and this story had a myriad of obstacles for Galen to survive. Life was not pretty in Galen’s journey toward survival, but she managed to cope with one trial after another.

Ms. Angela Ashton brought to life her characters even though their stories were not always pleasant. After following Galen and her many aliases through her life until she met Joshua Hassett, it was refreshing to know that somebody would look at her with hope for her future—even when she had none herself.

Ms. Ashton’s storyline was intense and heart wrenching. She took a childhood of poverty and cruelty and sprinkled it with hopeful expectations and caring. I enjoyed it after I got into the core. The sexual scenes ran the gambit from sensual beauty to harsh rape.

The book while challenging, was overall a great literary work. It should be a winner.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Explicit

Reviewer: Brenda Talley
January 28, 2008