HAWK'S PLEDGE

Author: Constance O'Banyon ISBN: 0843956356 7/2006 HISTORICAL Publisher: DORCHESTER
Time Period: 1866 Texas

Theirs Was a Tale of Tragedy and Triumph Four children abandoned in an orphanage. Two missing parents. One man whose hatred divided a family, whose duplicity ended in murder, inextricably weaving all their lives together in a web of lies that only time could untangle. Whit He was a gambler by necessity, a loner by choice. Ever since the orphanage had gone up in flames, Whit Hawk had been searching desperately for what remained of his family. Instead he found Jacqueline Douglas, a rancher in need of a good hand, a woman in need of the right man. Wildly beautiful, she was as untamed as the Texas he loved, and Whit knew that no matter what else life held in store for him, the fiery redhead must be his.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I will start my review by saying that Constance O'Banyon is truly a gifted author. I love her books, have read and reviewed them on separate occasions and they always delight me. I had a little harder time getting comfortable with HAWK'S PLEDGE than I usually do with Ms. O'Banyon's books.

Jacqueline Douglas is a strong woman by nature, having no other choice than to step in and take over her brother's ranch after he is killed at war. She is wild and lovely, giving everything she has for her small piece of land and trying with all her might to keep things together. When Whit Hawk shows up on her land with a lame horse, part of her feels as though he is a blessing in disguise, while another part of her feels as if she has lost her mind for even looking at him twice.

Whit Hawk has had a hard life. Orphaned at a young age and left to try and right the wrongs done to himself and his brothers and sisters, he has made some very difficult decisions that have had some very bad consequences. Now, he is all alone with no one in the world to love him, looking for the family that he lost. His search leads him to the hearth and home of none other than a beauty by the name of Jackie Douglas.

I love Whit and Jackie together. She is as wild and unruly as he is headstrong and determined. She certainly gives Whit a run for his money. They have a special kind of chemistry and are literally brought together by the circumstances surrounding their lives.

My only gripe with HAWK'S PLEDGE is how fast the first few chapters go. There are 336 pages in this book and yet by page 76—and after only a handful of sentences spoken—Jackie is declaring her love for Whit and acting determined with all her heart to fight it. I just don't buy it. While I can totally see any woman with a brain falling for Whit, even I wouldn't be able to fall in love with him to the point of desperately trying to restrain myself after only a couple of rough sentences spoken to each other. It was hard to swallow that part of the book and made things seems a little awkward, at first, but it did get better.

The relationship between Whit and Jackie grows and develops to a more natural conclusion as the book goes on. Then I was able to settle down and really enjoy Ms. O'Banyon's wonderful heroine and hero and the host of secondary characters that helped to bring this book to life.

Kristal Gorman