Historical Romance
Deborah Camp
Published in 2012 (originally 1997)
H/h - Drew Dalton/Cassie Little Dalton
Setting: Kansas, 1886.
Read in December, 2018.
My rating: 
[spoiler alert]
A Tough Man’s Woman
is the book 3 and presumably the last installment of Deborah Camp’s
Tough Man/Too Tough series. I already talked about my disappointments
with this series in the previous 2 books. Unfortunately this one wasn’t
any better. Even with 2 quite likable main characters this might be my
least favorite of the series. :(
I’d begin again by suggesting Deborah Camp’s recent western historical romance releases such as Lonestar’s Lady and Solitary Horseman.
I became her fan reading those 2 books. I can vouch for her great
writing style and her knack for storytelling. However this series in
particular was publish in the mid-90s and there were work to be done
where characters were concerned. Books 1 and 2 were okay reads. I liked
reading both but there were issues in both that bothered me.
Book 1, Too Tough to Tame
was the story of a small town doctor’s assistance and a Native American
warrior. The heroine, Tess meets Storm in His Eyes under a very
uncommon circumstance, where she was kidnapped then was forced to take
care of the bullet wounds on him. With the demeaning way white folks
viewed and treated Indian people, maybe that’s why Storm’s cousin
thought this is how he could get some help for him. But apparently Tess
didn’t have the same kind of hatred for the Indians so after the initial
shock, she was happy to be taking care of the ‘manly’ Storm In His
Eyes. Tess’s blonde beauty and Storm’s aforementioned ‘manly attributes’
playing a vital role, their romance (or ‘lust at first sight’ as I
called it) takes off. It wasn’t an easy road to travel but they finally
find their HEA after many ups and downs, revenge and a few murders.
Book 2 takes place a few years later in Tough Talk, Tender Kisses.
The protagonists were new and in the beginning I thought it’d be a
great read. Adele and Reno had been young sweethearts who were forced to
be apart after a particular set of circumstances. Later Adele moved to
one state while Reno to Montana, trying his luck in the goldmines. They
never thought to see each-other again but when they finally did after
another particular set of circumstances, neither thought they’d feel the
same pull towards one another. But it seemed that the spark was still
there. And that’s where trouble began. Reno had always been in love with
Adele and he wanted to come out and express his feelings. He tried to
show his feelings in various ways. Unfortunately, the person who ruined
the whole story for me was Adele herself with her snotty, judgmental
behavior. She marked Reno down as a charming good-for-nothing who will
never amount to anything and that’s how she treated him for the better
part of the story. I can go on and on when I begin to think of how much I
disliked her so I’ll stop here. I adored Reno, wanted to slap the hell
out of Adele and that’s how it remained until the end. Was very
disappointed cause they actually shared a chemistry that could’ve made
the story even better!
Now, A Tough Man’s Woman takes
place 3 or so years after book 2. We’ve already met the h, Cassie Little
in the previous 2 installments. In book 1 she was a little girl wounded
from a bullet whom Tess treated and helped nurse back to health. Cassie
was a very minor character, though she had such a strong, almost
worshipful, regard for Tess that I wanted her to have her own book.
Sadly, in book 2, my illusions shattered when I found her working at a
saloon and selling herself for money. :( She was a beautiful child with
blue eyes and blonde hair, but her family was poor and that was her
destiny when she left them to strike out on her own. With no help and no
other options she became the prey to a predator, the owner of the same
saloon who lured her into this life (as she describes the whole thing at
one point in this story). On the other hand, the H, Drew, is a
completely new character whom I’ve never met before.
In book 2,
Cassie was given a new life when Adele and Reno helped her start afresh.
First, Adele taught her how to read and write and then, after the owner
of the saloon died in a duel/gun-fight with Reno, she and Reno helped
Cassie out of that place. In the end it was hinted at that she has found
a better prospect for beginning a new life. Since meeting Tess, Cassie
had always wanted to be a lady like her. It had been her life’s mission
even when she was a prostitute. At the least, she tried to dress and act
like a lady if it was possible. Hell, she even had a doll named after
Tess (as we find in book 2, which makes more than one appearance in book
3) that she liked to hold when she was in distress, telling me how
young and vulnerable she was at 17. She finally thought she’d be a lady
when she replied to a mail-order bride advert and leaves Whistle Stop to
marry.
In book 3, however, it’s revealed that Cassie’s life
hasn’t really been much improved. Well, yes, she married a man easily 3
times her age but he was neither nice, nor anyone stellar. He was mean
AND closefisted, wouldn’t ever spend a single penny extra for anything
resulting them to live in a rickety house. But Andrew knew his kettle.
So he had a fine stock and quite a sizable ranch called Ranch D, even if
he won’t hire enough ranch-hands needed to tackle a ranch of that size.
He even gave Cassie a son, who was currently 10months old. But her
miserly husband has up and died a few months ago, leaving her alone,
though to Cassie it was rather like good riddance. She got what she came
here for and endured Andrew for the past 3 yrs. A beautiful baby boy
along with a ranch that was her own; something she plans to expand and
improve. Finally she’d be a lady of some means and people will respect
her. At least that was Cassie’s idea of a future… until someone named
Drew Dalton rode in and staked a claim on Ranch D.
I will tell
you that I didn’t read the blurb or any review well before going into
the book so I didn’t know who was Drew at first until he introduced
himself to Cassie. I only went into this book cause I really wanted to
read Cassie’s story. Now to be quite frank, the moment I read that drew
was Cassie’s step-son, I became instantly apprehensive. And a little
sick. As Andrew’s first born, Drew was the heir to the ranch but Cassie
had no idea that Andrew even had an older son, let alone a living one
who may come to put a claim on her life’s dream! Cassie wasn’t happy and
tried her best to find ways to make Drew go away. However he wasn’t
budging for he had plans to settle down here, not only to take care of
the kettle his father left, but also to open a stud farm. Just like his
father knew his kettle, Drew knew horses and he wanted that stud farm to
become a reality.
As the story went on, it’s also revealed that
that mean old a$$hole never told Cassie about Drew cause he was holed up
in a prison for the past few years for kettle rustling. A crime Drew
vehemently denied, though it seemed like majority of the townsfolk and
Andrew himself didn’t believe him, which landed Drew in jail. Andrew
obviously never thought Drew would be out alive from that hole. He’d
pretty much forgotten about him! Oh what a father figure!! -_- Drew
though, recently found a way to appoint a much better lawyer who was
able to free him from a charge where I presumed the evidence were
circumstantial at best. He had come home planning a battle with his
bastard of a father (you could tell there was no love lost between those
two) to claim what was rightfully his. And found he’d not only married
but saddle Drew with a stepmother and a half-brother, and then up and
died on him! Yep he wasn’t happy with the outcome either, though the
first thing he noticed was Cassie’s age and beauty and thought what type
of marriage they might’ve had. Drew began lusting after her on spot,
even before knowing she was his step-mother and that’s how it stayed for
the rest of the story.
Me? I was trying to find a way to not
find the whole scenario gross. Unfortunately I couldn’t shake of the
feeling at all however much I tried. I mean this could’ve been tackled
in a multitude of different ways. Drew could’ve been some other kin. I
even hoped as far as to think that Cassie’s son was maybe someone
else’s. Maybe she was pregnant before she married Andrew Dalton and I
prayed that Andrew Jr. wasn’t his. But the author confirmed within a few
chapters that he was. This was probably the first time I’d have been
happy with the heroine having a child of another man instead of the one
she’d married, all so the whole thing later didn’t seem so... unseemly! I
mean I could’ve even gone as far as to try and forget Drew and Cassie’s
initial relationship if she didn’t have a child by his father! Now tell
me, what the child will call Drew when he grows up? Father? Brother?? I
mean, seriously???! *SMH*
The rest of the story was pretty much
based on Drew and Cassie’s burgeoning desire for one another which
culminated into love at a later point in time. They even thought their
attraction was ‘not right’ but of course, there was that lure of the
forbidden. Eyeroll. Cassie was pretty much panting
after Drew who was a sight much, much better than his father ever was
with dark auburn hair and blue eyes. He was tall and handsome and a hard
worker. And I already mentioned that Cassie was beautiful so Drew lost
his head over her very early in the story.
I did like the story
in general. I enjoyed the way, later, Drew and Cassie’s
relationship—which began on lust, transformed into something deeper as
they work and fought enemies coming to ruin Drew and claim the
ranch—together with only one goal in mind. Ranch D was the Dalton’s and
that’s the way it’ll remain. Even if Cassie was apprehensive that Drew
may throw her out with her child, soon that apprehension was allayed
when she got to know him better. He was totally different than his
father, though he liked to think his blood was tainted, mingled as it
was with his no-good sire’s. I can only imagine that Drew took after his
mother, in both looks and temperament and I liked him a lot. I could
see why Cassie would prefer him over his father. I enjoyed their
camaraderie even if at times I thought Cassie was still quite immature
despite the life she’s lived and the stuff she’d seen and endured. She
could still be jealous of the women who came to call on Drew (hoping to
have him as their suitors) and stomp away. She could be quite irrational
and leap before thinking, always trying to prove to Drew that she was
an equal to him. Part of it, as I understood, stemmed from her
insecurity. But when their relationship deepened as they became lovers
and partners and they began trusting one another with everything they
had, Cassie matured more than she ever was. She’d finally found the man
she could have a real home with. If only they could
apprehend the people bent on ruining them!
So in the end I felt
this could’ve been a great read too. Everything was fine but I just wish
that one little thing didn’t bother me so much! Nope. It simply ruined
my enjoyment of the story. 3 stars.
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