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I am Lover of romance, who indulges in the romantic adventures of literature

My name is Renee, and I am the host of this site. I am a 34 year old woman, on the prowl for her mate, searching out the best of books, exploring the wilds of the imagination and delving into the heart of a beautiful love story.

 

Book Review and Book Feature: Thunder on The Plains

by | Oct 15, 2015 | Book Reviews | 17 comments

Book Review and Book Feature: Thunder on The Plains

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review and Book Feature: Thunder on The PlainsThunder on the Plains by Rosanne Bittner
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on October 6th 2015
Genres: Historical Romance, American West
Pages: 608
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
ISBN: 1492631205
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five-stars

THE SOUND OF TWO HEARTS BEATING, JOINED BY A LOVE MADE STRONGER BY STRUGGLE, CAN BE AS LOUD AS ... THUNDER ON THE PLAINS
Lovely young heiress Sunny Landers was utterly devoted to her father's great dream --- a transcontinental railroad that would run from Chicago across the Great Plains to the Pacific. Accompanying Bo Landers on a wagon train west, she discovered for herself the glories of the unsettled country --- and met the rugged frontiersman who would be her destiny.
Half Cherokee but raised by whites, Colt Travis was like the land of his birth: handsome to gaze upon, yet wild, imposing, dangerous. When he first saw the spirited, passionate daughter of Bo Landers, the man who'd hired him to scout the western territories, he knew she was everything he'd ever wanted in a woman --- but believed he never could have.
Beneath a starlit sky, against an endless horizon, Colt opened Sunny's eyes to the majestic beauty of the land, then awakened her body and soul to an ecstasy she'd never dreamed possible. Together they would fight to settle an untamed country, uniting a nation that war had shattered --- but could they brave the perils that threatened to drive them apart?

My Review

Thunder On The Plains is a republished book from Rosanne Bittner via Sourcebooks Casablanca. A few months ago, I read this author for the first time and I have been hooked on her ever since. In fact she is one of the best romance writers I have ever had the pleasure to read and This review will be a bit shorter than I would like, but there is so much that goes on in this story and I don’t want to spoil anything for those that haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

Thunder On The Plains was a phenomenal romance that had me hooked from the beginning. This story kicks off when our hero Β Bo Landers takes a job at 20, to escort, protect and guide a father and daughter and group of men across the west to start a transcontinental railroad. Sunny, is the daughter of a man of wealth and she is his heiress because out of his three children she is the only one that truly believes in his dream to see this railroad come to be. Sunny, is only 16 but she is lovely, sweet and kind. She has a kind word for everyone and doesn’t have a hateful or mean bone in her body. Instantly there is chemistry between Bo and Sunny even though they both know how far apart their worlds are. So they become content with mere friendship. Bo and Sunny are separated but are drawn back together over the years through various set of circumstances. But Sunny and Bo have a love that is destined and both of them will have to fight for it to keep it.

What is truly wonderful about this story is how long their love story spans years, grief, tears, struggles, turmoil, and pain. This is a story that will be heartwrenching for the reader but will stay in your memory for years to come. This is an epic romance where we see that love isn’t easy to find and can be hard to hold onto. Where you have to truly fight for it and that the cost can be high. Both of these characters are different, grew up in opposite ways, have futures that seem to be far apart from each other. But we see when every time they run into each other, how much they truly need each other in the right ways. This is a romance that kept my tissues right by my side and I couldn’t help but feel for these two. It is quite a big book, took me two days to read with 600 pages but what a book!!! This is one of my favorites books of the year and Rosanne Bittner is classic and writes romance in a way you can never expect.

We see a glimpse of history of the transcontinental railroad, and the surrounding conflict of the war between the states and other factors that caused many problems before it was fully built. We see the struggles the native Americans suffered through, but also the families trying to move west. The historical aspect is true to fact and had a unique experience seeing a different outlook on the history of the United States.

This is a story that kept me spellbound from the beginning, that had me battling with my emotions and is one of the best reads I have ever read. This author is moving to the top of the best authors to read in romance. She writes in a way that is real and vivid and true. If you haven’t read this author, pick her up right now and you won’t have regrets….100% guaranteed.

About Rosanne Bittner

For those of you who have not yet read my books, my stories are generally set in the American West of the 1800's and feature vividly-described, historically accurate settings that span the US from Missouri to California, from Canada to Mexico. Many of my books portray the poignant history of our Native Americans, and though the characters are my own, I use real historical locations and events in all my novels. I must be doing something right, because more and more men are writing to tell me how much they enjoy my westerns, too. Louis L'Amour has always been one of my favorite writers, and I am very flattered that my male readers compare my books favorably with his!

As many of you already know, I was selected as the September 2013 Spotlight Author on fellow romance- writer Winnie Griggs' website, "Small Towns, Big Hearts, Amazing Grace." Winnie writes inspirational historicals for Love Inspired, and she conducted a very extensive interview with me about my life and my writing. If you missed it, you can still read the interview here!

Recently we lost an icon of TV westerns, James Arness, better known as Matt Dillon of the longest-running TV western ever, GUNSMOKE. I was very saddened to hear this, partly because Matt Dillon was my hero in my teens, and also because there are so few TV heroes left β€” actually, none that I can think of. TV sets no good examples of a strong line between "good" and "bad" any more. The old westerns did that. Cheesy sometimes, but kids understood that if you did something "bad" you had to pay for it. Respect, honor, manners β€” very little of any of that on TV any more. GUNSMOKE survived as long as it did because it had several characters with whom one could identify and empathize β€” like Doc Adams, Chester Good, Festus, and Matt Dillon's long-time "girlfriend" Kitty. The only western hero left as far as I can see is Clint Eastwood. When he is gone it will be a HUGE loss for quality movies as well as another icon of western movies and also TV (remember Rowdy Yates of RAWHIDE?). I always wanted to be able to meet James Arness in person, but now that will never happen. Still, he remains "alive" to me through continued re-runs of GUNSMOKE, which I watch every evening.

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17 Comments

  1. Lily B

    wow what a heartfelt review, i missed out on this one so it looks like i will have to buy it πŸ˜‰

    Reply
    • Lover Of Romance

      oh you should, all of her books I have read so far this year have been out at my top favorites. I can’t seem to get enough. They are definitely worth buying.

      Reply
  2. LilyElement

    I haven’t read this author before. I love when I try a new author and they hook me. I’ll have to try out her books πŸ˜€ Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Lover Of Romance

      oh you definitely should!! She is great, but warning you, you might need a box of tissues, she writes emotion in a very vivid way. But you will love it.

      Reply
  3. Sophia Rose

    Yep, this one impacted me quite similarly. It was tough fought and the conflict was real feeling and not contrived so I felt it all. I gulped back tears, too.

    Reply
    • Lover Of Romance

      It was a tough read, especially toward the end there….just about broke my heart especially for Bo. I love how Bittner writes emotion in her stories, it seems so real.

      Reply
  4. Anna@herding cats&burning soup

    Oh man. I passed on this one since I had such a long Nov list to work on. I read her a couple months ago and loved it too. I’m so excited to hear that this one was an amazing read. Maybe it’ll be my Christmas treat πŸ˜€

    Reply
    • Lover Of Romance

      oh you definitely should try this one out!!! I am sure you will have fun with it. But I hear you, November is a long list for me as well. So many good books come out this time of year.

      Reply
  5. Kathy_MyNookbksnmore

    I haven’t read this author before but it does sound good. It’s been a while since I read a historical romance so I’m adding this to my TBR. Great review!

    Reply
    • Lover Of Romance

      oh you really should try this out soon!!! She is fabulous.

      Reply
  6. Sarah @ One Curvy Blogger

    I haven’t been in to historical romance for some time, I but I use to love it. This one sounds like a really good one. Maybe when I’m in the mood again for HR I will pick this one up!

    Reply
    • Lover Of Romance

      I would definitely recommend this author to anyone reading Historical romance. So when you get in the mood for it, try Bittner out—she is amazing.

      Reply
  7. kimbacaffeinate

    Wow, Bonnie this sounds wonderful. I love stories that stay with you like this.

    Reply
    • Lover Of Romance

      It is pretty fantastic when it happens right? Especially since it is an rare occasion so its always a delight to read books like that.

      Reply
  8. Lola

    This sounds like a great historical romance, with both an epic romance and ltos of historical details. I like the sounds of how this one deals with lots of important topics lat that time, like the railroad, the native americans and the war between the states. And the slow buildign emotional romance sounds awesome too. Great Review!

    Reply
    • Lover Of Romance

      Thanks!!! It was pretty amazing. I love how Bittner brought history to life in these details she portrayed in this book.

      Reply
  9. Carla N

    Oh wow 600 pages in just two days? That’s amazing haha! It sounds really wonderful, although I always hate it when a couple is separated for a long time in a story :'(
    Thanks for sharing! πŸ™‚

    http://lipstickandmocha.blogspot.com/

    Reply

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