A Review of Untamed, by Lisa Rayne
Untamed is a rollicking western, full of banter, steam, wit, high stakes, and bad guys. I had no idea what to expect when I picked it up, as I had not read any of Lisa Rayne’s books before, but I loved it. You can bet I will be reading more of her books soon! This book was a breath of fresh air.
Setting
Lawless, Kansas, 1888.
Main Characters
Blaaze Lassiter has made his living as a bounty hunter and a Deputy US Marshal, and he is ready to retire from that life. He has a parcel of land outside town, and he is ready to for a quiet life of breeding horses and whitling. Alone.
Mary Catherine Templeton has a college degree in mathematics and plans to use it. But no one in Cleveland will hire a woman to work in banking. When she inherits a saloon in Kansas from a cousin, she determines that will be her ticket to becoming an independent business woman.
Romance
Mary Catherine doesn’t know what to make of the cowboy boarding in a room above her saloon, but somehow, every time trouble rears its head, Blaaze is there to help her out. Then he explains to her that her cousin didn’t just rent out rooms above the saloon, she ran the local brothel. What is a proper woman supposed to do with that piece of information?
For his own piece of mind, Blaaze hopes she packs up and returns to Ohio, but her stubborn streak piques his interest. As does her quick mind, her beautiful face, and her sharp wit. For all that he thinks she should return east, he is not about to let her get run out of town by bad guys. And it has nothing to do with him falling for her. Because that is not in his plans.
Mary Catherine should absolutely not find the rough cowboy attractive, because he is a menace. And he is distracting. And maybe, since she has no intention of ever marrying, he can help her better understand why she gets so riled in his presence.
Plot
When Mary Catherine arrives in Lawless, the brewery owner comes to ask her to settle up her saloon’s tab with him. She has thirty days to pay up, or he will seize the saloon. No way will she let him drive her out. But how can she make the money if she closes down the brothel? And the numbers in the saloon’s books don’t add up.
Blaaze realizes the brewery owner is trying to buy up the saloon as part of his plan to get rich when the railroad comes to town, and that he has the sheriff in his pocket. When it looks like the brewer might have arranged the Mary Catherine’s cousin’s “accident,” Blaaze knows he is going to have to come out of retirement and protect Mary Catherine, even if it means she learns he has killed men for a living.
Historical Worldbuilding
Rayne builds us a classic prairie town, with a saloon, a mercantile, a hotel, and a lot of illegal liquor for a state that has outlawed it. There are a few forgivable hiccups with horses and apparel, but the history of that region in the railroad era, and of the real figures some of the characters are based on, is right on target. Most of all, readers feel like they have been plunked right down into a Hollywood Western, with jingling spurs, a quick-drawing hero, and a plucky heroine with a pencil stuck through the bun in her hair, which is exactly where we want to be for this book. That was what I signed on for, and I loved it!
Tropes
This is definitely a fish out of water trope, with Mary Catherine about as far out of water as is possible, but determined to make it work. We also have an experienced hero and a virgin heroine, and even a love triangle. And of course it has all the western tropes of a gunslinger who wants to hang up his guns, a schoolmarm-ish (but so very bold!) heroine, and bad guys smashing up saloons in fistfights.
Secondary Characters
There are some fabulous secondary characters, including Blaaze’s sister, Addison, and Babs, the leader of the “sportin’ women.” Tobias, Blaaze’s friend, is also great fun, in the way annoying-friends-who-know-you-better-than-yourself-and-won’t-let-you-forget-it can be. There are lots of characters who could carry their own story if Rayne decides to revisit Lawless, Kansas again sometime, which I hope she will.
Point of View
This story is written in third person, and it alternates between Blaaze’s point of view and Mary Catherine’s.
In Summary
- This is a fun Western romp, with witty banter, lots of action, and a fabulous romance.
- It is set in a fictional town in Kansas during the height of the railroad boom that either made or broke such prairie towns, and Lawless is right on the verge of that transitional moment.
- The main characters are each larger than life and fabulous. So fun!
- The basic history is on target, including some great-but-too-often-overlooked history of the US Marshals. It is really nice to see a western with an accurate depiction of the demographics for the area and period.
- The tropes are fish-out-of-water, experienced hero/virgin heroine, love triangle, and all the standard Western tropes.
- The heat level is about a three out of five, with some steamy scenes that are central to the story.
- There is the standard barroom violence of westerns, a kidnapping, and some characters do get shot, in typical western fashion. None of it is drawn out or particularly graphic.
Bring ’em on!
Please continue to let me know about historical romances set in the Americas that you enjoy. I am reader, too, and I would love to hear about them and also share them with others!
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