Five Star Expressions - The Awakening Fire

By Kelley Pounds

Book Overview

An exiled half-breed on a quest for revenge and redemption . . . Seven years in prison on Alcatraz Island have honed Christian Ladino's lust for revenge to a razor's edge. He lives to kill the soldier... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1594142033
• ISBN13: 9781594142031
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Five Star
• Length: 385 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.0" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

entertaining western romance

In 1882 New Mexico Territory, traveling nuns from the Sister of Charity accompanied by a novice find the near dead body of half-breed Christian Ladino lying next to a corpse. The women provide aid to Christian taking him to their St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe. However, when Christian holds a sister as hostage, the novice Adela Fremont bravely intercedes.As Christian heals, he and Adela are attracted to one another. They are also connected through con artist and illegal gun seller Nigel Smeet. Christian wants to kill Nigel whose false testimony sent him to Alcatraz while Adela is linked through her mother married to Smeet's former partner. Adela learns that her stepfather, whom she never met, was murdered and her mother, who she has not seen in fifteen years, was abducted along with her stepbrother allegedly by the Apache. She turns to Christian for help though she is not sure she can trust her heart with him.This entertaining western romance stars two delightful protagonists who feel their growing love is taboo for several reasons and need to avoid one another, but must work as a team if they are to rescue the youngster. The story line contains a whiff of mystery involving what happened to force Adela's mom to "hide" her child in a nunnery. The secondary players provide a feel for the era and Smeed is an incredibly manipulative villain getting lonely teens to do his bidding. Kelley Pounds furbishes an action-packed thriller that will please fans of the sub-genre.Harriet Klausner

This book is one you will remember!

The Awakening Fire is a book you will remember! As rich as a tapestry, it weaves us through New Mexico on a riveting adventure filled with love, emergence, fear, hate and finally acceptance. Ms. Pounds teaches us there are no boundaries dividing two souls when love is involved. The characters are as vivid as the backdrop, each one so unique and so memorable. They each have their own demons to wrestle with and it's wonderful to see them emerge on the other side. The two main characters, Ladino (my all time favorite now) and Adela are forever emblazoned in my memory-like old friends you have met along the way and will never forget. This book is not just a good read-it's an escape into a vast sensory of what New Mexico's history and people were really like. If you've never been to New Mexico-this book will take you there! A must for all serious historical romance readers!

Excellent reading!

Adela Fremont was a nurse and a novice Sister of Charity. On her first solicitation trip, her group came upon a dead young man and a seriously wounded half breed. Christian Ladino awoke in the care of the nuns. He had been a prisoner on Alcatraz Island for seven years and had recently been released. His only desire was to kill Nigel Smeet, the one who had killed his grandmother. His only lead was to find the daughter of Smeet's latest victim. Adela was the only one who would care for the Apache. (She was also the one that Christian had been searching for.) Adela had not seen her mother in over fifteen years. The day they were to finally meet, disaster struck! Her mother, step-father, and infant half-brother had been on the way to see Adela when a Mescalero Apache, Pajaro, and his band attacked. The step-father was killed, the infant was stolen, and the mother was near death. Adela received permission to care for her. This she did until her new found mother passed away. Adela turned to Christian for help in locating her missing brother. Smeet and Pajaro were working together. Now, so would Christian and Adela! **** A vivid and exciting ride into the past! It was fabulous! If you enjoy Historical Romances then this one is A MUST for you to read! ****

A Keeper of a book

Kelley Pounds delivers a satisfying read in this, her first published novel. She refuses to take the easy road with her complex characters, pushing Adela and Christian again and again until they take on heroic proportions. Loved the three- dimensional villain, too--the kind of guy you hope will choose light over dark. Ms. Pounds captures the essence of her setting--making the New Mexican desert as real as her characters. It's obvious that this is only the first step in the career of a great writer. The only drawback: I want more now.

Cream of the crop Western Historical

The Awakening Fire will set your heart on fire. There's nothing contrived about this romance between a Catholic novice and a half-breed Apache. Their inner struggles are real and draw the reader into their world, a world Kelley Pounds brings to life with vivid imagery. There's a surprise around every corner and honest emotion on every page. Kelley's prose is beautiful, smooth and intelligent. The cold night desert air will chill your skin; the scent of sage brush abounds, and the burning sun during the hot desert days will send you scurrying for shade. No matter what your genre preference, I promise you will love this book. I recommend you buy it and place it on top of the TBR list. What's next Ms. Pounds? I can hardly wait.