Forget Me Not

by Stef Ann Holm

Book Overview

Journeying to the untamed west on her own and taking a job as a ranch cook in Sienna, Wyoming, Josephine Whittaker fears her lack of culinary skills will make her situation more difficult, until she... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 067100204X
• ISBN13: 9780671002046
• Release Date: May 1997
• Publisher: Pocket Books
• Length: 353 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I had this book as a teenager, but my mother made me throw it away along with the rest of my romance novels because she thought they were dirty. For years I felt bad about it and never touched another romance, but the story of "Forget Me Not" always struck a cord in me. This novel is everything I ever wanted in a romantic relationship, and I can say that I have been blessed with this kind of love in my marriage to my husband Edward. Finding this book after almost ten years was a miracle and I will keep it with me always. A great read and a lasting story!

GOOD TO THE LAST DROP - UHH, PAGE!

Wonderful characters: Josephine Whittaker - 25, was married for 6 years - is now free and independant and stranded with no money in the town of her dreams, Sienna, Wyoming. Such a prissily raised lady. No qualifications to land a self-supporting job. Keeps refering to Beadle's dime novel "Rawhide's Wild Tales of Revenge in Sienna". J.D. McCall - 28, never married but has visited the "ladies" in the Walkingbars saloon - owner of The McCall Cattle Company ranch [a big ranch]- has no time or interest in a city bred gal. Suddenly finds his hormones sitting up and taking notice of Jospehine. Rio Cibolo - 18 year old, blonde full-of-gut-and-glory wrangler. J.D. had to rescue Rio from jail for causing a disturbance. Rio discribed Josephine as "pretty as a thirty dollar pony". J.D. claims he didn't notice. "Boots" McCall - sixty some years - afraid his is losing his mind - forgets some things - on the outs with J.D. most of the time until ...... - proves to be a friend to Josephine. J.D. needs a cook - one who can produce a hearty meal on the trail. Jospehine's qualifications: she is an excellent hostess, has a flair for choosing the appropriate table service for same party, qualified to supervise domistics in a large household - oh yes, she is also a master at archery. [now pay attention to that]. Well she could read couldn't she? All she needs is a cookbook! Follow the wonderfull progression of the relationships between these characters as their individuality bounces of one another and the story describes their blending together into working family. Emotions, love, jealosy and hormones all blend to make for a lively story of wounded people. Enough sass and backtalk to keep it spicey. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED --M even with the PMS

enjoyable

I enjoyed this book quite a lot and thought it was sweet. But having just finished HARMONY, I found this book not as good. I thought that HARMONY was great and I was ready to laugh again.

A Classic Battle of the Sexes!

Highly Recommended Josephine Whittaker has read too many Beadle dime novels. Newly divorced, determined to be independent, and robbed of her meager funds, Josephine accepts employment as the cook on a trail drive. There is only one problem: Josephine doesn't know how to boil water. Until four months ago she was worth four million dollars. Now she is destitute and despised by former so-called friends. Dismayed to find the Western town of Sienna unlike the description in the Beadle novel, Josephine squares her shoulders to face reality. The death of her father stamped "closed" on her former life; all bridges to the East burned behind her as the train sped West. J. D. McCall knows to take a pretty woman on a rugged trail drive is akin to folly, but Josephine is the only one who applies for the cook's position. Trail-hands will tolerate almost anything but bad grub. Dressed in a gown of silk, Josephine looks nothing like a cook, but she assures J. D. pan-fried beef is her specialty. By coincidence it is the favorite meal of all the cowboys at the McCall ranch. The way the touch of her hand, the smell of her perfume, the warmth of her smile makes J.D. feel has no bearing on his decision to hire her. What he feels is just an anomaly. He will survive it like all of the other illness he's contracted. At least that's his plan until the first time his lips feel the delicate brush of her mouth. When the sparks die, and earth again begins to rotate, J.D. is a doomed man. Prim and proper Josephine Whittaker lists his heart as her new residence. Josephine's first attempts at cooking prove disastrous. Yet, what is a newly independent woman to do but try again. Determined to earn enough money to settle in San Francisco, she takes the recipe book as her bible. However, nowhere in the cookbook is there a formula to cure the way J.D. makes her feel. His first kiss literally curls the toes in her shoes. The mere touch of his hand and her will-power flies South with the migrating birds. Josephine and J.D. battle more than trail dust on the long journey to the Spring pasture: fears of failure, old memories, and the constant presence of the cowboys play a tug-of-war with the lover's burgeoning emotions. Stef Ann Holm writes an unforgettable novel filled with insight, memorable characters, and picturesque narrative. The original plot moves at a quick pace, but never looses it way. The dialog works to enhance the storyline, and clarifies the images of her characters. Ms. Holm's ability to understand the working of a shattered heart is nothing short of marvelous. Her empathy and insight create a book to cherish. Kathee S. Car

Forget Me Not, Stef Ann Holm's new book is a delightful read

Imagine yourself as a well-bred city girl, leaving the security of the city after six years of marriage to an abusive husband, and ending up in a crude cow town. Imagine having all your money and worldly possession mistakenly taken. Imagine applying for the job of ranch cook in order to survive and you have never cooked a meal. Imagine falling in love with a man whose own mother abandoned him as a child and who has no time for a fragile city girl. If you can imagine yourself in this situation, you're, Josephine Wittaker, the heroine of "Forget Me Not". On the surface, the book is filled with humor. Some scenes are absolutely hilarious, but under the humor is much much more. The book is about relationships, about people who've been hurt and who're learning to trust and love again. One of the novel's forte is the brilliance of the author's characterization. Each of the major characters is unique in his/her own way. Even the minor characters are not stereotypes, but individuals with their own personality and voice. Boot, the hero's father is a vivid and unique personality and so are the cowboys who work on ranch. Josephine is a fiesty heroine, a woman who has suffered and is brave enough to go after a new life. J.D is strong and silent, afraid to love but when he does he loves fiercely. The story is fast-paced and readers will be sure to applaud when Josephine eventually proves to J.D that she has the grit and gumption to be a rancher's wife. This is the first book I've read by Ms. Holm, but it's definitely not my last