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Braddock-Black #1
Blaze
The gold rush sparked a new American dream for those who staked their claims in the rich soil of undeveloped Indian territories. To Blaze Braddock, beautiful, pampered daughter of a millionaire, it was a chance to flee stifling codes of Boston society. But when Jon Hazard Black, a proud young Absarokee chief, challenged her father's land claim, Blaze was swept up in a storm of passions she had never before even imagined.
Taken hostage by the Indian warrior, Blaze Braddock surrendered to the dreams of a defiant people -- and found love in the arms of a man who had sworn to be her enemy...
This book is intended for mature audiences.
Taken hostage by the Indian warrior, Blaze Braddock surrendered to the dreams of a defiant people -- and found love in the arms of a man who had sworn to be her enemy...
This book is intended for mature audiences.
486 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
98 people are currently reading
1629 people want to read
About the author
Susan Johnson
243 books568 followersAnd it all began rather serendipitously. Long ago, as they say, in another time, when fast food hadn't reached our area and the only shopping was what the feed mill offered, I was reading a book that annoyed me .
My husband was lying beside me in bed, watching TV. Turning to him, I sort of petulantly said, "How the hell did this book get published?"
"If you think you're so smart," he replied, with one eye still on the TV, "why don't you write a book?"
So I did. And very badly.
I've since learned how to do, he said, she said, and a great variety of other adverb heavy, sometimes lengthy explanations of why my characters are saying what they're saying, along with finally coming to an understanding of what things like POV means. Point of View for you non-writers}.
Although, I still don't fully comprehend why it matters if you switch POV and I cavalierly disregard it as much as possible. So while my technical skills have hopefully improved, what hasn't changed is my great joy in writing. There's as much pleasure today in listening to my characters talk while I type as fast as I can, as there was the first time I put dialogue to paper--in long-hand, then, in my leather bound sketch-book.
My husband was lying beside me in bed, watching TV. Turning to him, I sort of petulantly said, "How the hell did this book get published?"
"If you think you're so smart," he replied, with one eye still on the TV, "why don't you write a book?"
So I did. And very badly.
I've since learned how to do, he said, she said, and a great variety of other adverb heavy, sometimes lengthy explanations of why my characters are saying what they're saying, along with finally coming to an understanding of what things like POV means. Point of View for you non-writers}.
Although, I still don't fully comprehend why it matters if you switch POV and I cavalierly disregard it as much as possible. So while my technical skills have hopefully improved, what hasn't changed is my great joy in writing. There's as much pleasure today in listening to my characters talk while I type as fast as I can, as there was the first time I put dialogue to paper--in long-hand, then, in my leather bound sketch-book.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
August 15, 2017
★★★★★! The Braddock-Black series, book 1 of 5. Harvard educated, rich & handsome playboy, Absarokee Indian chief, Jon Hazard Black fights for a legacy & the heart of Blaze Braddock!
UK EDITION SERIES INFO & REVIEW
Braddock-Black series
Book 1
Formats: Kindle & paperback in both US/UK
Introducing the Braddock-Black family saga, starting with its matriarch Jon Hazard Black; an Absarokee Indian chief, Harvard educated attorney, rich and successful business man, land & mine owner plus gorgeous and sexy playboy. Hazard has managed to move seamlessly between two worlds where he is loved and respected, even feared. From the glitzy ballrooms of the wealthy - in and out of bedrooms, to the wilderness protecting what’s his and amongst his people fighting for a legacy. This is his story!
Susan Johnson aka C.C. Gibbs, is published by different publishers in the US and UK, hence the different titles and covers.
These are stand-alones, but most enjoyed if read in order:
Book 1: (Year 1865)
Blaze (US) / Burning Touch (UK)
Book 2: (Year 1889)
Silver Flame (US) / A Seductive Flame (UK)
Book 3: (Year 1891)
Forbidden (US) / Forbidden Pleasure (UK)
Book 4: (Year 1896)
Brazen (US) / Rapture (UK)
Book 5: (Year 1888)
Force of Nature (US only)
Jon Hazard Black, Hazard or “Black Cougar”: Absarokee Indian Chief/~26 years/attorney-land/mine owner playboy/$$$/black hair/black eyes.
After obtaining a law degree from Harvard, Jon Hazard Black, Hazard aka “Black Cougar”, a young, handsome, charismatic and commanding Absarokee chief, returns to Montana to protect his land and his people.
Thanks to his education and exposure to the “white man’s ways” combined with his sinfully good looks and bedroom skills he moves effortlessly between the life of the ultra-rich high society and his own tribe. Women want him, man respect and fear him and his own people are looking to him to lead and carry a legacy.
Blaze Braddock: Caucasian/19 years/heiress/$$$$/red hair/blue eyes/virgin.
Enter Blaze Braddock, a head-strong heiress and daddy’s girl. Their first encounter is a disaster and they don’t much care for each other. When there is a conflict regarding Hazard’s land and instead of resolving the matter for her father Blaze ends up being held hostage by Hazard.
Annoyance is replaced by lust that turns in to a mesmerizing all-consuming love. But the year is 1865 and they have much to overcome; the times are tumultuous and there’s a fortune at stake (Blaze’s net worth was $22 million, which by today’s standard would make her a billionaire 33 times over). Add to that the many, many people who want to keep them apart, anything from scorned ex-lovers, admirers, fortune hunters to their own families.
Will they find their way through and back to each other?
Spellbinding story-telling! A larger-than-life and unforgettable hero! Intriguing and suspenseful plot! A love story of epic proportions! Classic Susan Johnson!
*In her earlier books Susan Johnson, a master historian has been known for her abundance of facts and history. She has reference and note section providing further details. I have always found it both interesting and educational. But you don’t have to read in order to enjoy their story.
“She writhed helplessly against his steely grip, her frantic movement only furthering the progress of his softly caressing tongue. In moments, Hazard forced a shuddering moan from her and quivering she gasped in shallow rapturous sighs.”
***
Hero rating: 5 stars
Heroine rating: 4 stars
Sex scenes rating: 5 stars
Sex scenes frequency: 4 stars
Storyline concept rating: 5 stars
Storytelling skills rating: 5 stars
Story ending rating: 5 stars
******************************
Overall rating: 5 stars
Would I recommend this series: Yes.
Would I re-read this series: Yes.
Would I read future books by this author: Yes.
Be sure to join CCGibbsFANS here on GR for the latest news:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
(Public group for members 18 years and older)
April 23, 2015
★★★★★! The Braddock-Black series, book 1 of 5. Harvard educated, rich & handsome playboy, Absarokee Indian chief, Jon Hazard Black fights for a legacy & the heart of Blaze Braddock!
US EDITION SERIES INFO & REVIEW
Braddock-Black series
Book 1
Formats: Kindle & paperback in both US/UK
Introducing the Braddock-Black family saga, starting with its matriarch Jon Hazard Black; an Absarokee Indian chief, Harvard educated attorney, rich and successful business man, land & mine owner plus gorgeous and sexy playboy. Hazard has managed to move seamlessly between two worlds where he is loved and respected, even feared. From the glitzy ballrooms of the wealthy - in and out of bedrooms, to the wilderness protecting what’s his and amongst his people fighting for a legacy. This is his story!
Susan Johnson aka C.C. Gibbs, is published by different publishers in the US and UK, hence the different titles and covers.
These are stand-alones, but most enjoyed if read in order:
Book 1: (Year 1865)
Blaze (US) / Burning Touch (UK)
Book 2: (Year 1889)
Silver Flame (US) / A Seductive Flame (UK)
Book 3: (Year 1891)
Forbidden (US) / Forbidden Pleasure (UK)
Book 4: (Year 1896)
Brazen (US) / Rapture (UK)
Book 5: (Year 1888)
Force of Nature (US only)
Jon Hazard Black, Hazard or “Black Cougar”: Absarokee Indian Chief/~26 years/attorney-land/mine owner playboy/$$$/black hair/black eyes.
After obtaining a law degree from Harvard, Jon Hazard Black, Hazard aka “Black Cougar”, a young, handsome, charismatic and commanding Absarokee chief, returns to Montana to protect his land and his people.
Thanks to his education and exposure to the “white man’s ways” combined with his sinfully good looks and bedroom skills he moves effortlessly between the life of the ultra-rich high society and his own tribe. Women want him, man respect and fear him and his own people are looking to him to lead and carry a legacy.
Blaze Braddock: Caucasian/19 years/heiress/$$$$/red hair/blue eyes/virgin.
Enter Blaze Braddock, a head-strong heiress and daddy’s girl. Their first encounter is a disaster and they don’t much care for each other. When there is a conflict regarding Hazard’s land and instead of resolving the matter for her father Blaze ends up being held hostage by Hazard.
Annoyance is replaced by lust that turns in to a mesmerizing all-consuming love. But the year is 1865 and they have much to overcome; the times are tumultuous and there’s a fortune at stake (Blaze’s net worth was $22 million, which by today’s standard would make her a billionaire 33 times over). Add to that the many, many people who want to keep them apart, anything from scorned ex-lovers, admirers, fortune hunters to their own families.
Will they find their way through and back to each other?
Spellbinding story-telling! A larger-than-life and unforgettable hero! Intriguing and suspenseful plot! A love story of epic proportions! Classic Susan Johnson!
*In her earlier books Susan Johnson, a master historian has been known for her abundance of facts and history. She has reference and note section providing further details. I have always found it both interesting and educational. But you don’t have to read in order to enjoy their story.
“She writhed helplessly against his steely grip, her frantic movement only furthering the progress of his softly caressing tongue. In moments, Hazard forced a shuddering moan from her and quivering she gasped in shallow rapturous sighs.”
***
Hero rating: 5 stars
Heroine rating: 4 stars
Sex scenes rating: 5 stars
Sex scenes frequency: 4 stars
Storyline concept rating: 5 stars
Storytelling skills rating: 5 stars
Story ending rating: 5 stars
******************************
Overall rating: 5 stars
Would I recommend this series: Yes.
Would I re-read this series: Yes.
Would I read future books by this author: Yes.
Be sure to join CCGibbsFANS here on GR for the latest news:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
(Public group for members 18 years and older)
March 11, 2014
One of my all time favorite Native American Historicals...truly, a well researched and lovely nod to a little known tribe called the Absarokee. This book highlights the later years of the struggle of these proud people after the Civil War. When the realization that their way of life was nearly over, and a new one forced upon them by settlers. It's easy to vilify white people in books like this but there is a sense of peace in this book, underneath the obvious angst and hardship. The Absarokee and Lakota portrayed here are honorable and spiritual. I put this book down with a sense of sadness for their road ahead, but also a sense of hope for this beautiful romance.
This is my very fist book by Susan Johnson. I'd been recommended Sinful more than once, as I tend to love erotic historical romances. And I suppose that this book has somewhat erotic scenes, if you consider the genre and the year it was written...first published over twenty years ago! Historical romances are always more titillating to begin with because of the propriety represented by the time period. By today's standards, this wasn't really all that much more explicit than a spicy contemporary, so if you're holding off because of that, I'd suggest you go for it. The sex was so well done, and it adds intimacy to the story...it's not there for shock value or just to be raunchy. It's raw, passionate, at times innocent, at times utterly carnal, but it always, always adds to the bond between Hazard and Blaze.
~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`
SYNOPSIS
Blaze Braddock is spoiled and rich, an American woman with little idea what it means to be an American pioneer. Boston society keeps her ignorant, and the men and women that comprise it bore her. Her mother married her father for his money and has little interest in her daughter. Her father is the complete opposite and dotes on his daughter, indulging her wishes and allowing her liberties that many young women wouldn't have. When the two travel West to Montana in order to acquire some gold mines, it quickly becomes apparent that Blaze might not be a good fit for the rugged West.
Jon Hazard Black, chief of the Absarokee Indian tribe, will not cave to the rich white men intent on taking his lucrative gold mine from him. Sent for his education by his now deceased father, Hazard grew up in the white man's world and fought in their Civil War. He knows their ways but loves his people. This gold mine will make enough money to buy enough land (that should belong to them anyways) so that his people won't have to resort to horrific reservations like the southern tribes. His people should live free, with their families, their beloved horses, and their customs. Fair warning: Hazard is every inch a manly man.
A bit chauvinistic (as right for the time period) and pushy, though surprisingly romantic and tender as well.
When the flame haired beauty is sent to convince Hazard to sell, Hazard does what any good Absarokee man would do...he takes her captive. This pampered princess can't cook or clean and is stubborn, opinionated, and oh-so-tempting. This random situation thrust upon these two starts the events that lead to an epic romance, a forbidden love that not only crosses racial boundaries, but comes up against more obstacles than any one couple should have to face. Cultural differences are just the beginning. The world is against them...and it seems as if sometimes they are against themselves. But their love is unstoppable.
~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`
MY THOUGHTS:
What a journey! When I set this book down for the last time and tried to think back to the beginning, I realized just how immersed I was in Blaze and Hazard's story, and just how far they had come. It felt as if years had passed for me. Who they were at the onset of their romance was hardly a shadow of who they were at the end. Wow.
My favorite parts of this book were the time spent with the Absarokee tribe. They were a fairly small tribe compared to their neighbors, the Lakota. But Native American ways of thinking are just fascinating. They are big on honor, on pride and strength and family. They were a remarkable people. Are a remarkable people.
I keep mentioning the heritage part of this story but I don't want to downplay the romance because it was amazing. The romance really drove the story. Susan Johnson did a remarkable job of introducing a couple who reluctantly fall for each other. Their chemistry is obvious and undeniable. Hazard has quite the past; in fact, we get a taste of the extent of his conquests at the beginning of the story. Blaze has little to no experience but she's a passionate woman and isn't afraid to go after what she wants. What made their romance so epic is the sheer scope of all that happens...both to drag them apart and to keep them together. It's a constant struggle for them, a battle between their two worlds. Not to mention their internal battles. They are both very strong characters, and aren't those the most fun to witness falling in love?
~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`
A beautiful romance, a gorgeous background; a well researched story, rich in detail and full of action...this is a book that I'd recommend to any American Historical romance lovers. This is the kind of book that made me fall in love with reading all those years ago...it's full of radiance and joy, complete with realistic situations, and professionally researched while maintaining the intensity and passion of a romance novel. Five huge stars!
This book has been released under a different publisher in the U.K.
Here is the series in the US:
Blaze
Silver Flame
Forbidden
Brazen
Force Of Nature
Here is the series in the UK:
Burning Touch
A Seductive Flame
Forbidden Pleasures
Rapture
C.C. Gibbs is the same person as Susan Johnson, just FYI :D
I was honored to be given a copy of this book by the author in return for a review.
This is my very fist book by Susan Johnson. I'd been recommended Sinful more than once, as I tend to love erotic historical romances. And I suppose that this book has somewhat erotic scenes, if you consider the genre and the year it was written...first published over twenty years ago! Historical romances are always more titillating to begin with because of the propriety represented by the time period. By today's standards, this wasn't really all that much more explicit than a spicy contemporary, so if you're holding off because of that, I'd suggest you go for it. The sex was so well done, and it adds intimacy to the story...it's not there for shock value or just to be raunchy. It's raw, passionate, at times innocent, at times utterly carnal, but it always, always adds to the bond between Hazard and Blaze.
~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`
SYNOPSIS
Blaze Braddock is spoiled and rich, an American woman with little idea what it means to be an American pioneer. Boston society keeps her ignorant, and the men and women that comprise it bore her. Her mother married her father for his money and has little interest in her daughter. Her father is the complete opposite and dotes on his daughter, indulging her wishes and allowing her liberties that many young women wouldn't have. When the two travel West to Montana in order to acquire some gold mines, it quickly becomes apparent that Blaze might not be a good fit for the rugged West.
Jon Hazard Black, chief of the Absarokee Indian tribe, will not cave to the rich white men intent on taking his lucrative gold mine from him. Sent for his education by his now deceased father, Hazard grew up in the white man's world and fought in their Civil War. He knows their ways but loves his people. This gold mine will make enough money to buy enough land (that should belong to them anyways) so that his people won't have to resort to horrific reservations like the southern tribes. His people should live free, with their families, their beloved horses, and their customs. Fair warning: Hazard is every inch a manly man.
"I like a bitch in heat"
A bit chauvinistic (as right for the time period) and pushy, though surprisingly romantic and tender as well.
When the flame haired beauty is sent to convince Hazard to sell, Hazard does what any good Absarokee man would do...he takes her captive. This pampered princess can't cook or clean and is stubborn, opinionated, and oh-so-tempting. This random situation thrust upon these two starts the events that lead to an epic romance, a forbidden love that not only crosses racial boundaries, but comes up against more obstacles than any one couple should have to face. Cultural differences are just the beginning. The world is against them...and it seems as if sometimes they are against themselves. But their love is unstoppable.
"Bodies locked in melting delirium, the world was theirs, the universe within.
No wine or roses or gifts of precious jewels, no aphrodisiacs or passionate poetry, no coy preambles or elegant repartee. Only feeling. A naked, blind spark between two diametrically different people inciting a frightening longing as intense, as mutual as their joined bodies. It had happened to the both, without warning, a wild, rushing torrent sweeping everything aside in a spare, firelit cabin on a pine-covered mountain range three thousand feet above sea level"
~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`
MY THOUGHTS:
What a journey! When I set this book down for the last time and tried to think back to the beginning, I realized just how immersed I was in Blaze and Hazard's story, and just how far they had come. It felt as if years had passed for me. Who they were at the onset of their romance was hardly a shadow of who they were at the end. Wow.
My favorite parts of this book were the time spent with the Absarokee tribe. They were a fairly small tribe compared to their neighbors, the Lakota. But Native American ways of thinking are just fascinating. They are big on honor, on pride and strength and family. They were a remarkable people. Are a remarkable people.
"Hazard, sitting awake, staring into the darkness and listening to the even breathing of the woman he loved, wondered how long there would still be choices for his people before a generation would come born into captivity. And then a weariness would assail him, a seasoned warrior born too late. too late to live his life out in the old ways. Too late to stop the inexorable tides of civilization. Too late to know the peace of his father in a land dark with buffalo and plenty?"
I keep mentioning the heritage part of this story but I don't want to downplay the romance because it was amazing. The romance really drove the story. Susan Johnson did a remarkable job of introducing a couple who reluctantly fall for each other. Their chemistry is obvious and undeniable. Hazard has quite the past; in fact, we get a taste of the extent of his conquests at the beginning of the story. Blaze has little to no experience but she's a passionate woman and isn't afraid to go after what she wants. What made their romance so epic is the sheer scope of all that happens...both to drag them apart and to keep them together. It's a constant struggle for them, a battle between their two worlds. Not to mention their internal battles. They are both very strong characters, and aren't those the most fun to witness falling in love?
~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`
A beautiful romance, a gorgeous background; a well researched story, rich in detail and full of action...this is a book that I'd recommend to any American Historical romance lovers. This is the kind of book that made me fall in love with reading all those years ago...it's full of radiance and joy, complete with realistic situations, and professionally researched while maintaining the intensity and passion of a romance novel. Five huge stars!
This book has been released under a different publisher in the U.K.
Here is the series in the US:
Blaze
Silver Flame
Forbidden
Brazen
Force Of Nature
Here is the series in the UK:
Burning Touch
A Seductive Flame
Forbidden Pleasures
Rapture
C.C. Gibbs is the same person as Susan Johnson, just FYI :D
I was honored to be given a copy of this book by the author in return for a review.
July 4, 2021
2.4 stars
This read probably/exactly how you would expect a bodice ripper of 1986 to. The hero is banging everyone (but not the heroine's mom this time!) in beginning, he alpha af but also pretty dang sensitive/loving to heroine's needs, the heroine is a virgin but this time she takes her agency in both hands and shoves it at the hero until he bangs her, there is adventure, but the Absarokee tribe (hero) was actually shown in a culturally sensitive light and seems to be fairly well researched, thee drama with relationship Betrayal (misunderstandings forced), and the start of an epic family dynasty.
You can start to see the cringe elements from '70s & '80s bodice rippers falling away and the '90s heroine emerging.
Adventure in the west (modern day Montana), epic leads, villains being villainous, annoyingly forced that made the story feel dragged out Misunderstanding, and, wait for it, FOOTNOTES. I love footnotes, especially historical ones, in historical romance because I'm a geek.
Bodice ripper lite, an interesting story in regards to it's transitional feel.
This read probably/exactly how you would expect a bodice ripper of 1986 to. The hero is banging everyone (but not the heroine's mom this time!) in beginning, he alpha af but also pretty dang sensitive/loving to heroine's needs, the heroine is a virgin but this time she takes her agency in both hands and shoves it at the hero until he bangs her, there is adventure, but the Absarokee tribe (hero) was actually shown in a culturally sensitive light and seems to be fairly well researched, thee drama with relationship Betrayal (misunderstandings forced), and the start of an epic family dynasty.
You can start to see the cringe elements from '70s & '80s bodice rippers falling away and the '90s heroine emerging.
Adventure in the west (modern day Montana), epic leads, villains being villainous, annoyingly forced that made the story feel dragged out Misunderstanding, and, wait for it, FOOTNOTES. I love footnotes, especially historical ones, in historical romance because I'm a geek.
Bodice ripper lite, an interesting story in regards to it's transitional feel.
December 12, 2021
Overall: 2.5 rounded to ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: varied. Most were 🍑🍑 but a few were 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (with the note that there was quite a bit of 90s explicit going on here (lots of euphemisms)
Humor: Don’t recall much, maybe a little bit
(These are all personal preference on a scale of 1-5 (yours ratings may vary depending what gives you feels and how you prefer you sex scenes written, etc) except the Steam Scale which follows our chart from The Ton and Tartans Book Club. )
Basic plot
Blaze is the daughter of a millionaire, whose family came out west for the gold rush. Her father gets into a land dispute with Jon Hazard Black – who kidnaps Blaze for negotiations.
Give this a try if you want:
- Western America setting – some of the book takes place in the east (Boston, Harvard) but the majority of it is during the gold rush out west.
- Mid to high steam – there’s quite a bit of a sex in this book – it’s 90’s explicit. I felt like the foreplay was pretty explicit the actual sex itself lent itself to a bit more euphemisms. Many of the scenes are quite short, but the first one between the main characters is like 20 pages! There are also on page sex scenes with other women before the hero is intimate with the heroine.
- The book begins in 1861 – has some talk of the American Civil War, and goes on for a number of years
- Older hero – there are scenes of the hero having sexual relations with multiple men’s wives then cuts to the heroine being a little girl looking out the window – I believe the heroine is 19 when they are together, not sure about the hero but I would guess he’s at least 15 years older?
- Captive/kidnapped trope – the hero takes the heroine hostage
- A bit of enemies to lovers feel/forbidden love trope (heroine is the daughter of a man that’s in a land dispute with the hero)
- You’re all right with a jealous hero that’s a bit of a jerk
- Soldier hero that’s an Absarokee chief, heroine is a bit of a spoiled socialite
- I think Johanna Lindsey fans would enjoy the plot line of this book – it had very similar feels to me as some of her work
My thoughts:
Sadly this book wasn’t for me. I’m not sure what exactly happened, it could just be my mood. I don’t usually read a western America setting, and while I was excited for the change, I just didn’t enjoy it.
Jon Hazard Black is the first hero that actually made me get kind of grossed out and think about STDs. It doesn’t usually bother me when the hero is a huge rake and sleeps around but there were sooo many detailed scenes of him sleeping with other men’s wives and literally going directly from one person’s bed to another immediately after (within minutes!). During this time the heroine is a little girl looking out her window thinking about horses and riding. It was just a personal turn off for me.
Blaze came off as a bit of a spoiled monster at first. I didn’t mind her overall, but I also had no connection to her. She kind of went into a sensual haze the moment Hazard touched her and I found it really annoying. It didn’t matter what was happening, how she felt about him (if she was mad, etc) as soon as he touched her she became mindless and ravenous for sex. Like a trance she would come out of once it was done. This is really not my thing, I want the emotions really tied with the physical and I felt like with it happening this way, her emotions weren’t connected to the act. The sex to me was physical and not tied as well to emotions and feelings.
“Are you ready to earn your keep?” “Say yes, little rich girl.” “Say you’ll cook for me.” “And clean for me.”
I just never really feel in love with any of the characters in the story. I do think it was well researched. There was a touch of white women having a fetish over Hazard, but I didn’t see anything super problematic. I just felt like some of the plot just didn’t really make the most sense. Or things would be a problem and then all of a sudden they wouldn’t be.
Example – they have sex. Then Hazard says he’s not going to anymore. Why? Who knows. But then they do again anyway after a short stint of him protecting his virtue. There’s some miscommunication towards the end – he believes a note was written by her and she screwed him over basically and left him, when she didn’t. He is convinced she’s the horrible person until she’s just not and he knows he can’t live without her. I didn’t really follow the whole mental journey of that forgiveness/awakening
Content Warnings:
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
Plot/Storyline: 📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔
Sexual Tension: ⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋
Sex Scene Length: varied. Most were 🍑🍑 but a few were 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Sex Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (with the note that there was quite a bit of 90s explicit going on here (lots of euphemisms)
Humor: Don’t recall much, maybe a little bit
(These are all personal preference on a scale of 1-5 (yours ratings may vary depending what gives you feels and how you prefer you sex scenes written, etc) except the Steam Scale which follows our chart from The Ton and Tartans Book Club. )
Basic plot
Blaze is the daughter of a millionaire, whose family came out west for the gold rush. Her father gets into a land dispute with Jon Hazard Black – who kidnaps Blaze for negotiations.
Give this a try if you want:
- Western America setting – some of the book takes place in the east (Boston, Harvard) but the majority of it is during the gold rush out west.
- Mid to high steam – there’s quite a bit of a sex in this book – it’s 90’s explicit. I felt like the foreplay was pretty explicit the actual sex itself lent itself to a bit more euphemisms. Many of the scenes are quite short, but the first one between the main characters is like 20 pages! There are also on page sex scenes with other women before the hero is intimate with the heroine.
- The book begins in 1861 – has some talk of the American Civil War, and goes on for a number of years
- Older hero – there are scenes of the hero having sexual relations with multiple men’s wives then cuts to the heroine being a little girl looking out the window – I believe the heroine is 19 when they are together, not sure about the hero but I would guess he’s at least 15 years older?
- Captive/kidnapped trope – the hero takes the heroine hostage
- A bit of enemies to lovers feel/forbidden love trope (heroine is the daughter of a man that’s in a land dispute with the hero)
- You’re all right with a jealous hero that’s a bit of a jerk
- Soldier hero that’s an Absarokee chief, heroine is a bit of a spoiled socialite
- I think Johanna Lindsey fans would enjoy the plot line of this book – it had very similar feels to me as some of her work
My thoughts:
Sadly this book wasn’t for me. I’m not sure what exactly happened, it could just be my mood. I don’t usually read a western America setting, and while I was excited for the change, I just didn’t enjoy it.
Jon Hazard Black is the first hero that actually made me get kind of grossed out and think about STDs. It doesn’t usually bother me when the hero is a huge rake and sleeps around but there were sooo many detailed scenes of him sleeping with other men’s wives and literally going directly from one person’s bed to another immediately after (within minutes!). During this time the heroine is a little girl looking out her window thinking about horses and riding. It was just a personal turn off for me.
Blaze came off as a bit of a spoiled monster at first. I didn’t mind her overall, but I also had no connection to her. She kind of went into a sensual haze the moment Hazard touched her and I found it really annoying. It didn’t matter what was happening, how she felt about him (if she was mad, etc) as soon as he touched her she became mindless and ravenous for sex. Like a trance she would come out of once it was done. This is really not my thing, I want the emotions really tied with the physical and I felt like with it happening this way, her emotions weren’t connected to the act. The sex to me was physical and not tied as well to emotions and feelings.
“Are you ready to earn your keep?” “Say yes, little rich girl.” “Say you’ll cook for me.” “And clean for me.”
I just never really feel in love with any of the characters in the story. I do think it was well researched. There was a touch of white women having a fetish over Hazard, but I didn’t see anything super problematic. I just felt like some of the plot just didn’t really make the most sense. Or things would be a problem and then all of a sudden they wouldn’t be.
Example – they have sex. Then Hazard says he’s not going to anymore. Why? Who knows. But then they do again anyway after a short stint of him protecting his virtue. There’s some miscommunication towards the end – he believes a note was written by her and she screwed him over basically and left him, when she didn’t. He is convinced she’s the horrible person until she’s just not and he knows he can’t live without her. I didn’t really follow the whole mental journey of that forgiveness/awakening
Content Warnings:
Locations of kisses/intimate scenes:
May 15, 2011
3.5 stars. After all these years of being a huge Susan Johnson fan, I finally read Blaze!! To tell you the truth, the reason why I didn’t read this book before is because I was never really a big fan of the Native American Indian romance. The storyline just never appealed to me. I hate reading historical settings in which a set of ignorant people feel like they are superior to others because of the color of their skins. I know it's never really the hero or heroine, but it still annoys.That’s why I stayed away from American historicals for so long. I just recently got a back bone and started venturing in that territory. I still can’t deal with slavery being involved in my romance though. I know it’s naive but I read to get away from all the crap that goes on in this world and that’s one period I hate reading about. I have a tendency to sympathize with the injustice of the secondary characters in that setting more than the leads and it takes away from the romance for me. Anywho, this is SJ we are talking about here, so I knew no one was gonna make my hero feel like he was less than. And Hazard certainly lived up to the expectations! He was magnificent! I said this before and I’ll say it again, no one writes a hero like SJ! Talk about a drop dead gorgeous hero!
This was a nice read. Not a five star read for me, but it kept my interest.
I loved Hazard and I loved Blaze and the chemistry between them was scorching hot, but 500 pages was a bit much and the storyline was a little unrealistic. I never really understood how keeping Blaze captive helped him with his claim and I
especially didn’t buy that her father and all his male companions, in that day and age would have let her go up into an Indian’s cabin alone to negotiate a deal. Puleeze!
Also, I wished that the hero didn't have other kids because he never saw them or mentioned them much, so it seemed like he didn't care about them, and it only put him in a bad light in my eyes. I wanted to smack him! What about your 3 other kids dude?! And did anyone else notice that him and Blaze didn't get married for real! Tell me if I missed something, but It was only in the Indian custom that they were married and all he had to do was say she was his wife! No ceremony, no paper signing,no nothing! Get the heck outa here! I want a real wedding my friend! All in all though, I’m glad that I gave this book a try and I loved seeing the old SJ in action once again and you were right Karen, it reminded me why I loved her.
This was a nice read. Not a five star read for me, but it kept my interest.
I loved Hazard and I loved Blaze and the chemistry between them was scorching hot, but 500 pages was a bit much and the storyline was a little unrealistic. I never really understood how keeping Blaze captive helped him with his claim and I
especially didn’t buy that her father and all his male companions, in that day and age would have let her go up into an Indian’s cabin alone to negotiate a deal. Puleeze!
Also, I wished that the hero didn't have other kids because he never saw them or mentioned them much, so it seemed like he didn't care about them, and it only put him in a bad light in my eyes. I wanted to smack him! What about your 3 other kids dude?! And did anyone else notice that him and Blaze didn't get married for real! Tell me if I missed something, but It was only in the Indian custom that they were married and all he had to do was say she was his wife! No ceremony, no paper signing,no nothing! Get the heck outa here! I want a real wedding my friend! All in all though, I’m glad that I gave this book a try and I loved seeing the old SJ in action once again and you were right Karen, it reminded me why I loved her.
November 18, 2013
It's really really boring. The twists in the plot are really silly and too many. The author just goes on and on about silly explanations which are just not required. The characters are one dimensional. I don't get Blaze's desirability, she's loud, irrational, overly possessive and irritatingly immature. Hazard is just slightly better. This style of writing falls under the old school of thought where the author is not happy till the lead pair goes through enormously difficult conditions and are always ready to think the worst of each other. I couldn't even finish the book and have up before the last twist could be unraveled.
September 15, 2021
Re read 2021
Still a 5 star read for me. 💕 spoilers below
What makes this epic love story exceptional is that the MCs don’t spend the entire book fighting, don’t you hate that! Then it’s like 3 pages of happiness and HEA.
This h says the ILY first, and chases him til he’s hers at 35%, then the rest of the book is one sweet, emotional, and loving relationship between the MCs until about 70%, then a misunderstanding BS and break up(not related to ow in any way) happens. Rest assured, this is a bodice ripper with lots of drama, it’s not boring, just that the conflict comes from the outside, not btw the couple.
I 110% recommend it, but if you’re not used to romance books from the 90s, keep in my that the first 50 pages will drag due to extensive character development and details.
Safety gang info. Spoilers!!!!👇
No rape
No force seduction…. There’s a lot of the h trying to seduce the H action though! He keeps playing hard to get lol….
🚩No cheating
He’s a man slut.
Descriptive love scenes with a few ow at the very beginning before the MCs meet.
Then once they briefly meet, he has sex with ow off page to forget the bratty h for a day or two.
Once he’s had sex with the h, he’s completely faithful and only has eyes for her.
Minor funny ow drama. He kissed a girl during a tribal dance (his duty and the h told him he’s allowed, she talked him into it!😂), but this ow loved him and kissed him too long, so the pissed off h went and kiss an om to piss of the H, was hilarious.
They’re apart for 2 months and although he thinks she brutally betrayed him, he remained celibate, and this guy was a huge slut before so this truly showed how much he loved this girl. Do I even need to bother telling you if the h remained celibate?
- he loved his dead ex wife. Sigh …my pet peeve. This caused some angst with the h.
- he has 3 kids with ow, and I assumed. 3 different other women’s. He’s never met them. Sigh…more pet peeve…And one secret baby from the ow from this book, that he won’t know about til book 5. No he never cheats on the h in this book or in any other future books.
So total of 4 kids with the ows.Yes, what a slut.😂
But he has only eyes for the h when he falls in love with her.
Their new baby birthing scene made me tear up, so emotional omg! He cried and so did I!
Still a 5 star read for me. 💕 spoilers below
What makes this epic love story exceptional is that the MCs don’t spend the entire book fighting, don’t you hate that! Then it’s like 3 pages of happiness and HEA.
This h says the ILY first, and chases him til he’s hers at 35%, then the rest of the book is one sweet, emotional, and loving relationship between the MCs until about 70%, then a misunderstanding BS and break up(not related to ow in any way) happens. Rest assured, this is a bodice ripper with lots of drama, it’s not boring, just that the conflict comes from the outside, not btw the couple.
I 110% recommend it, but if you’re not used to romance books from the 90s, keep in my that the first 50 pages will drag due to extensive character development and details.
Safety gang info. Spoilers!!!!👇
No rape
No force seduction…. There’s a lot of the h trying to seduce the H action though! He keeps playing hard to get lol….
🚩No cheating
He’s a man slut.
Descriptive love scenes with a few ow at the very beginning before the MCs meet.
Then once they briefly meet, he has sex with ow off page to forget the bratty h for a day or two.
Once he’s had sex with the h, he’s completely faithful and only has eyes for her.
Minor funny ow drama. He kissed a girl during a tribal dance (his duty and the h told him he’s allowed, she talked him into it!😂), but this ow loved him and kissed him too long, so the pissed off h went and kiss an om to piss of the H, was hilarious.
They’re apart for 2 months and although he thinks she brutally betrayed him, he remained celibate, and this guy was a huge slut before so this truly showed how much he loved this girl. Do I even need to bother telling you if the h remained celibate?
- he loved his dead ex wife. Sigh …my pet peeve. This caused some angst with the h.
- he has 3 kids with ow, and I assumed. 3 different other women’s. He’s never met them. Sigh…more pet peeve…And one secret baby from the ow from this book, that he won’t know about til book 5. No he never cheats on the h in this book or in any other future books.
So total of 4 kids with the ows.Yes, what a slut.😂
But he has only eyes for the h when he falls in love with her.
Their new baby birthing scene made me tear up, so emotional omg! He cried and so did I!
September 23, 2022
DNF pg. 96
A failed buddy-read with Nenia. :( I'm bailing first, but I think it's been weeks since either of us has picked up this book. I thought the hero was SO HOT at first. He was insatiable and unfailingly polite and considerate to his lovers. He even told one he wouldn't mess up her hair. I don't know, he was just awesome. Then he meets the heroine and he turns into a total fucking dick. Like a completely different person. Ugh, it was such a 180 that I immediately didn't want to continue. So here I am, DNFing at last.
A failed buddy-read with Nenia. :( I'm bailing first, but I think it's been weeks since either of us has picked up this book. I thought the hero was SO HOT at first. He was insatiable and unfailingly polite and considerate to his lovers. He even told one he wouldn't mess up her hair. I don't know, he was just awesome. Then he meets the heroine and he turns into a total fucking dick. Like a completely different person. Ugh, it was such a 180 that I immediately didn't want to continue. So here I am, DNFing at last.
April 8, 2024
cool soul mate mystic feel. Not usually a
western fan but this one had big country
locale and captured sprit of the times in so many ways. S. Johnson sneaks in portraits of historical figures in a way that makes them come alive. This novel has a hottie hair Custer. Of course I had to do a history refresher. Not sure I can make it through the series knowing how it all really turns out. Hazard says it , sadly still mostly true. It’s a man’s world. Thank goodness women enjoy natural gifts of deluded perspective.
western fan but this one had big country
locale and captured sprit of the times in so many ways. S. Johnson sneaks in portraits of historical figures in a way that makes them come alive. This novel has a hottie hair Custer. Of course I had to do a history refresher. Not sure I can make it through the series knowing how it all really turns out. Hazard says it , sadly still mostly true. It’s a man’s world. Thank goodness women enjoy natural gifts of deluded perspective.
July 12, 2013
There were parts of this book that were really good and then there were some that were so stupid and unbelievable that it made it hard to truly like the book as a whole. What white man sends his virgin daughter into a cabin with an Indian to negotiate a business deal after the Indian has shot at them!
January 9, 2017
On sale for $1.99.
September 27, 2010
Parts were good, other parts not so good.
I wished it would be over during the last half. My major problems were with the methods the author used to separate the couple and create conflicts. Much of the story was well written with good dialogue, but I was angry more than I was pleased. Sometimes I can enjoy a story even though I may not buy the plot or find too much illogic, but not in this case. It was not enjoyable enough to recommend.
Story Brief:
Jon is the son of an Indian chief in Montana. His father sends him to Harvard to learn the white man’s ways. Married women seek him out to have affairs, and he happily obliges them. He is handsome and great in bed. After graduating from Harvard he returns to Montana and obtains claims for one of the richest gold mines in the area. Billy Braddock is a wealthy man from Boston who wants to buy Jon’s mining claims. Since Jon won’t let anyone near enough to talk, Billy’s 19-year-old daughter Blaze goes to talk to Jon on behalf of her father. Jon keeps Blaze as a hostage for awhile. Billy is a good man but his foreman Yancy is evil. Yancy attempts to kill Jon more than once in the story.
CAUTION SPOILERS:
Things I did not like:
Initially Jon has Blaze as a hostage for about two weeks. They have sex twice on the first day. Then Jon decides that he will not have sex with her again due to some vague notion about morality and his objectives to get gold for his tribe. I did not understand this. Blaze has fallen for him and wants sex, but he denies her for eight days. Finally he gives in to her seduction attempts, and they have sex daily and frequently into the future.
They have fallen in love, gotten married, and are living in a cabin near the mine. Yancy comes along with a small army of men who attack them. They set explosives which seal the mine entrance with Jon inside. Everyone thinks Jon is or will be dead. Yancy then forcibly takes Blaze to Boston. Yancy believes Jon is dead, but for some reason he leaves a forged note from Blaze saying that Blaze wants to leave Jon and go home to Boston. Jon escapes from the mine five days later and sees the note. He believes the note and doesn’t try to contact her. I disliked reading the next 67 pages while they were apart. This is my major pet peeve: “conflict due to inaccurate assumptions.” Then, Blaze has been locked up as Yancy’s prisoner ever since arriving in Boston. Yancy forces her with armed guards to go to a woman who performs abortions. Blaze is hoping to escape by bribing the woman with jewels. Before the woman enters, Jon arrives through the window. Instead of saying “You’re alive, I thought you were dead. Help me get out of here.” Blaze says to Jon “How did you know I was here?” I was mad at this stupid continuation of conflict based on vague communication.
Jon is working the mine alone to obtain gold to buy land for his people to live on so they wouldn’t have to go to a reservation later. While he is doing this alone, he is constantly at risk of being killed by others who want his mine. Later in the story, he brings a bunch of his tribesmen to help work and guard the mine. Now they can be successful and work around the clock. My question and problem with the plot is why didn’t he get their help earlier?
Story length: 478 pages. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 15. Length of sex scenes: 5 short scenes (1 page or less), 9 long scenes (1.8 to 6.5 pages), and 1 longest scene (16.5 pages). Setting: 1861 Boston, Mass. and Montana area. Copyright: 1986. Genre: historical western romance.
For a list of my reviews of other Susan Johnson books, see my 3 star review of “Hot Property” posted 9/30/08.
I wished it would be over during the last half. My major problems were with the methods the author used to separate the couple and create conflicts. Much of the story was well written with good dialogue, but I was angry more than I was pleased. Sometimes I can enjoy a story even though I may not buy the plot or find too much illogic, but not in this case. It was not enjoyable enough to recommend.
Story Brief:
Jon is the son of an Indian chief in Montana. His father sends him to Harvard to learn the white man’s ways. Married women seek him out to have affairs, and he happily obliges them. He is handsome and great in bed. After graduating from Harvard he returns to Montana and obtains claims for one of the richest gold mines in the area. Billy Braddock is a wealthy man from Boston who wants to buy Jon’s mining claims. Since Jon won’t let anyone near enough to talk, Billy’s 19-year-old daughter Blaze goes to talk to Jon on behalf of her father. Jon keeps Blaze as a hostage for awhile. Billy is a good man but his foreman Yancy is evil. Yancy attempts to kill Jon more than once in the story.
CAUTION SPOILERS:
Things I did not like:
Initially Jon has Blaze as a hostage for about two weeks. They have sex twice on the first day. Then Jon decides that he will not have sex with her again due to some vague notion about morality and his objectives to get gold for his tribe. I did not understand this. Blaze has fallen for him and wants sex, but he denies her for eight days. Finally he gives in to her seduction attempts, and they have sex daily and frequently into the future.
They have fallen in love, gotten married, and are living in a cabin near the mine. Yancy comes along with a small army of men who attack them. They set explosives which seal the mine entrance with Jon inside. Everyone thinks Jon is or will be dead. Yancy then forcibly takes Blaze to Boston. Yancy believes Jon is dead, but for some reason he leaves a forged note from Blaze saying that Blaze wants to leave Jon and go home to Boston. Jon escapes from the mine five days later and sees the note. He believes the note and doesn’t try to contact her. I disliked reading the next 67 pages while they were apart. This is my major pet peeve: “conflict due to inaccurate assumptions.” Then, Blaze has been locked up as Yancy’s prisoner ever since arriving in Boston. Yancy forces her with armed guards to go to a woman who performs abortions. Blaze is hoping to escape by bribing the woman with jewels. Before the woman enters, Jon arrives through the window. Instead of saying “You’re alive, I thought you were dead. Help me get out of here.” Blaze says to Jon “How did you know I was here?” I was mad at this stupid continuation of conflict based on vague communication.
Jon is working the mine alone to obtain gold to buy land for his people to live on so they wouldn’t have to go to a reservation later. While he is doing this alone, he is constantly at risk of being killed by others who want his mine. Later in the story, he brings a bunch of his tribesmen to help work and guard the mine. Now they can be successful and work around the clock. My question and problem with the plot is why didn’t he get their help earlier?
Story length: 478 pages. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 15. Length of sex scenes: 5 short scenes (1 page or less), 9 long scenes (1.8 to 6.5 pages), and 1 longest scene (16.5 pages). Setting: 1861 Boston, Mass. and Montana area. Copyright: 1986. Genre: historical western romance.
For a list of my reviews of other Susan Johnson books, see my 3 star review of “Hot Property” posted 9/30/08.
November 11, 2013
Glad I had my knitting to hand as I could read a page then knit - such a roller coaster of a tale that my heart leapt and sank by turns and I needed some distraction while the story made up its mind which way to jump. At its most basic, it's a love story but it's also shot through with sadness as 'progress' and its corruption threaten an older way of life. There's murder and mayhem aplenty but also honour and courage offset the move violent parts.
The characters are all entirely credible and are well drawn which is why to observe their suffering was so agonising. Desserts are not always just but thanks goodness greed is generally punished. Misundestandings abound and if there was one weakish point to me it was the heroine's failure to convince her erstwhile lover of her innocence at mid point but then that was the point of the story.
The pacing is by and large well done and suspense is very skilfully built up until the reader is about to burst with anticipation.
By far one of the best books I've read in 2013 if not the best but it's a close call. Can't recommend it too highly.
The characters are all entirely credible and are well drawn which is why to observe their suffering was so agonising. Desserts are not always just but thanks goodness greed is generally punished. Misundestandings abound and if there was one weakish point to me it was the heroine's failure to convince her erstwhile lover of her innocence at mid point but then that was the point of the story.
The pacing is by and large well done and suspense is very skilfully built up until the reader is about to burst with anticipation.
By far one of the best books I've read in 2013 if not the best but it's a close call. Can't recommend it too highly.
August 4, 2019
There were several things that bothered me about this book. It worked out in the end, but the beginning was annoying. This is the first historical romance I have read, where the main male character is sleeping with so many women and thinking it's great. Even when they know about each other. Most historical romances, have the reader know about one main girl that he has been with in the past, but you never read about it. It's already happened. This one, oh no. Several women before he meets Blaze.
The other main point was that he kept calling her names, and then she would fall into bed with him. I don't think that's very romantic. It was demeaning and rude, and just plain wrong.
The characters at the beginning of the book are deplorable, but they do redeem themselves at the end. I found it a bit too long, but it's probably because the beginning is a little boring and takes awhile to pick up.
The other main point was that he kept calling her names, and then she would fall into bed with him. I don't think that's very romantic. It was demeaning and rude, and just plain wrong.
The characters at the beginning of the book are deplorable, but they do redeem themselves at the end. I found it a bit too long, but it's probably because the beginning is a little boring and takes awhile to pick up.
July 12, 2024
Minor edits in 07/04/2024.
Why I do like to reread this book over the years? It’s got to be the hero because he’s such a hot ladies man. Blaze by Susan Johnson is really a good steamy Western HR. Jon Hazard Black is Harvard educated, an Absarokee Chief, rich, magnificent drop dead gorgeous ladies man who f**** beautiful women thru the beginning chapters of the book.
Back home in the Montana Territory he accidentally meets stunningly beautiful, with red hair, of course, Blaze Braddock, spoiled Boston girl who’s out west with her millionaire daddy cuz he’s buying up gold mines. Jon kidnaps Blaze and keeps her. Scorching hot sex scenes!! Excellent story. A dastardly villain! Read the adventure to find out the rest of the story…
Why I do like to reread this book over the years? It’s got to be the hero because he’s such a hot ladies man. Blaze by Susan Johnson is really a good steamy Western HR. Jon Hazard Black is Harvard educated, an Absarokee Chief, rich, magnificent drop dead gorgeous ladies man who f**** beautiful women thru the beginning chapters of the book.
Back home in the Montana Territory he accidentally meets stunningly beautiful, with red hair, of course, Blaze Braddock, spoiled Boston girl who’s out west with her millionaire daddy cuz he’s buying up gold mines. Jon kidnaps Blaze and keeps her. Scorching hot sex scenes!! Excellent story. A dastardly villain! Read the adventure to find out the rest of the story…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 5, 2008
HOT HOT HOT
October 30, 2010
As most of her books, once you get past the extremely sensual sex scenes, there is a very good story.
May 11, 2013
Not believable at all. It's 1 star for the factual notes found at the end of the book and within the story.
May 31, 2022
Too much smut and no substance.
DNF before ch. 4.
DNF before ch. 4.
September 24, 2022
Impressive as to how the author kept me intrigued enough to continue reading this book when I find both the hero and the heroine utterly deplorable.
August 3, 2016
2013: Second time was just as good as the first. I loved the characters. Reading other reviews complain about how improbable the events in the story have reminded me that this is FICTION and everything does not have to be "probable". Entrancing and romantic, exciting and full of high adventure in the wilds of Montana, charming and sophisticated in the cultured upper stratosphere of the East. Also fascinating historical tidbits. Loved it.
2012: A Books Free Swap find (along with Book #2 Silver) to complement my recently read Forbidden #3. Titles and covers are lame but the writing is terrific. Interesting plot where the Absarokee (Crow) tribe in Montana has the foresight to learn how to function and prosper as the Americans push Westward into the traditional tribal territory. Hazard Black, the chief of his clan, takes his father's advice and travels East to attend Harvard, returning with the education and contacts to use the white's culture to build the necessary wealth to protect what is theirs.
The Boston bred Venetia (Blaze) Braddock attempts to negotiate the purchase of his gold mine claim, leads to some unexpected developments. Very enjoyable.
2012: A Books Free Swap find (along with Book #2 Silver) to complement my recently read Forbidden #3. Titles and covers are lame but the writing is terrific. Interesting plot where the Absarokee (Crow) tribe in Montana has the foresight to learn how to function and prosper as the Americans push Westward into the traditional tribal territory. Hazard Black, the chief of his clan, takes his father's advice and travels East to attend Harvard, returning with the education and contacts to use the white's culture to build the necessary wealth to protect what is theirs.
The Boston bred Venetia (Blaze) Braddock attempts to negotiate the purchase of his gold mine claim, leads to some unexpected developments. Very enjoyable.
June 7, 2020
While I love this book there are times I wish I could go through and get rid of the details. Ms Johnson does her homework about the era and place she is writing about, going so far as to add footnotes to the story. This story is set in the post Civil War West more specifically the territory of Montana. This is a story of one man's attempt to save his people from extinction. Along the way he falls for a Boston debutante that is head strong and intelligent. Blaze is more than a match for Hazard Black. There isn't any of the more explicit language that is part of today's storytelling but Ms. Johnson can still write some intense and steamy love scenes. There are plenty of those scenes scattered through the story. There is also a look into the day to day life of the a Mountain Crow clan.
June 13, 2017
Got to give this 4.5 stars. It was really good and the characters were well developed. Reading about Hazard and the Absarokee tribe was wonderful. Hazard was an amazing character and showed so much grace and strength under pressure. I loved how he dealt with situations. Blaze also grew on me. No doubt she was initially more of a spoiled bored debutant but she grew into a woman who was much stronger and worthy. The villains Yancy and Millicent were really quite evil and I despised them which made them good characters too. Wonderful story with lots of depth and information. I can't wait to read the next one in the series.
January 11, 2012
Susan Johnson's Blaze is the start of the BRADDOCK BLACK Series and personally one of my all time favorites.
Jon Hazzard Black is part Native American who loves his land. Blaze Braddock wants the land, and there is where the story starts to get interesting; Blaze has never met a more arrogant man in her life, and Jon has never met a more irriatating sexy woman in his.
Between them the chemistry heats up to epic porportions; and soon you are with them on an adventure that takes them from enemies to lovers. This is one story that continues to entertain there is never a dull moment.
Jon Hazzard Black is part Native American who loves his land. Blaze Braddock wants the land, and there is where the story starts to get interesting; Blaze has never met a more arrogant man in her life, and Jon has never met a more irriatating sexy woman in his.
Between them the chemistry heats up to epic porportions; and soon you are with them on an adventure that takes them from enemies to lovers. This is one story that continues to entertain there is never a dull moment.
August 29, 2022
1,5 étoiles
April 18, 2022
2.5 stars
November 26, 2015
Although I find the cover a bit ridiculous, Blaze was a very pleasant surprise! While there are some phrases throughout that make it obvious this romance is old, the story itself didn't feel too dated to me. It's certainly not a bodice a ripper, and the heroine isn't some simpering maiden. Blaze is actually quite feisty and is often the one initiating sex with our dashing hero, Hazard. In fact, it's her attempted seduction of him that really gets their love story rolling.
Blaze starts out with a bit of a historical info-dump. I can honestly say that I was not expecting that at all. There is a lot of real history in the first several chapters and it really sets the tone for the political and social situation of the time. It's the height of the Gold Rush, and Hazard owns land that contains a few prosperous veins. Of course, there are money hungry people out there who will do anything to get that land and the gold within it. However, Hazard is not selling for anything. He's using that money to support his tribe, and he won't give that up, not even for the very tempting Blaze.
I actually kind of loved Blaze in places. It's long and detailed, so we really get a sense of the time, place, and the characters. It's obviously well researched, and there are end notes! There are end notes in a Historical Romance! Most of them have to do with Hazard's tribe, giving us extra details or context. I loved this, and I loved how Blaze actually makes an effort to be respectful of Hazard's people's customs and learn their language. She's a hostage, so she could have just made a huge fuss and disrespected everyone out of spite, but she doesn't.
What kept me from fully loving Blaze was just a few things. The first was that in the beginning (and during the fight at the end), Hazard calls Blaze a bitch a lot, or refers to her as a bitch in heat. I really did not like this. I get that he was mad about her trying to seduce his land away, but it made me cringe every time. Then their fight at the end was quite repetitive. It was several pages of the same argument over and over. Hazard simply wouldn't listen to anything she had to say, and then suddenly all was well again without him ever apologizing for treating her so poorly. Things also get a bit drawn out at the end. It was exciting, but I did feel like those last 30ish pages were just unnecessary.
In the end, I did enjoy Blaze quite a bit. I loved that it was set in America during the Gold Rush, because it added this sense of excitement that you simply can't get in a London ballroom. Blaze may have started off as a spoiled society miss, but she was never a typical lady, and I appreciated her owning her sexuality and not letting men run her. The end did leave me with a smile on my face, and I may pick up the next in the series to see what's in store for their first born.
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
Blaze starts out with a bit of a historical info-dump. I can honestly say that I was not expecting that at all. There is a lot of real history in the first several chapters and it really sets the tone for the political and social situation of the time. It's the height of the Gold Rush, and Hazard owns land that contains a few prosperous veins. Of course, there are money hungry people out there who will do anything to get that land and the gold within it. However, Hazard is not selling for anything. He's using that money to support his tribe, and he won't give that up, not even for the very tempting Blaze.
I actually kind of loved Blaze in places. It's long and detailed, so we really get a sense of the time, place, and the characters. It's obviously well researched, and there are end notes! There are end notes in a Historical Romance! Most of them have to do with Hazard's tribe, giving us extra details or context. I loved this, and I loved how Blaze actually makes an effort to be respectful of Hazard's people's customs and learn their language. She's a hostage, so she could have just made a huge fuss and disrespected everyone out of spite, but she doesn't.
What kept me from fully loving Blaze was just a few things. The first was that in the beginning (and during the fight at the end), Hazard calls Blaze a bitch a lot, or refers to her as a bitch in heat. I really did not like this. I get that he was mad about her trying to seduce his land away, but it made me cringe every time. Then their fight at the end was quite repetitive. It was several pages of the same argument over and over. Hazard simply wouldn't listen to anything she had to say, and then suddenly all was well again without him ever apologizing for treating her so poorly. Things also get a bit drawn out at the end. It was exciting, but I did feel like those last 30ish pages were just unnecessary.
In the end, I did enjoy Blaze quite a bit. I loved that it was set in America during the Gold Rush, because it added this sense of excitement that you simply can't get in a London ballroom. Blaze may have started off as a spoiled society miss, but she was never a typical lady, and I appreciated her owning her sexuality and not letting men run her. The end did leave me with a smile on my face, and I may pick up the next in the series to see what's in store for their first born.
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
October 3, 2016
3.5 Stars
Wow. This was epic in the way of a lot of those 1980s/90s romances. It reminded me a bit of those books by Kathleen Woodiwiss/Karen Robards/Rosemary Rodgers except the alpha hero wasn't as mean. It was looong but kept me entertained during the slow moments of a week-long vacation.
This romance featured a Native American hero and I usually avoid this historical sub-genre for a couple of reasons. While I can't say that this book was an exception to my rule, I did enjoy it more than most.
Things I liked: the plot was action-packed and moved along nicely. I thought the hero was a sweet alpha. I appreciated that he had a wife from his tribe who he loved (she died) before his obsession with our red-haired heroine. The author researched the hero's tribe and included footnotes.
Things I didn't like: I was not completely charmed by the heroine. She wasn't terrible, and I understand that she needed a strong will to endure the trials in store but...I didn't think that being spoiled was a positive characteristic. Also, while the plot was interesting I could have used a bit more relationship development between the main characters and between the heroine and the tribe. We find out that our hero has fathered three children with other women but then we never hear about them again in this book because...only the child with our heroine matters?
Still, this book did what I needed it to do. It was a pleasant diversion during a few rainy vacation days. Mission accomplished.
Wow. This was epic in the way of a lot of those 1980s/90s romances. It reminded me a bit of those books by Kathleen Woodiwiss/Karen Robards/Rosemary Rodgers except the alpha hero wasn't as mean. It was looong but kept me entertained during the slow moments of a week-long vacation.
This romance featured a Native American hero and I usually avoid this historical sub-genre for a couple of reasons. While I can't say that this book was an exception to my rule, I did enjoy it more than most.
Things I liked: the plot was action-packed and moved along nicely. I thought the hero was a sweet alpha. I appreciated that he had a wife from his tribe who he loved (she died) before his obsession with our red-haired heroine. The author researched the hero's tribe and included footnotes.
Things I didn't like: I was not completely charmed by the heroine. She wasn't terrible, and I understand that she needed a strong will to endure the trials in store but...I didn't think that being spoiled was a positive characteristic. Also, while the plot was interesting I could have used a bit more relationship development between the main characters and between the heroine and the tribe. We find out that our hero has fathered three children with other women but then we never hear about them again in this book because...only the child with our heroine matters?
Still, this book did what I needed it to do. It was a pleasant diversion during a few rainy vacation days. Mission accomplished.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2009
If you can get through the first hundred pages of typical historical romance writing and verbose dialogue, I think you'll enjoy this book. If you like your romance novels on the hot side, "Blaze" will not disappoint you. The book is also enriched with various settings, from wealthy Boston society, to decadent gold mining towns, to an earthy village of a Plains Native American tribe. I don't look for "reality" in romance novels, just a chance to be transported to another place and time.
The only thing that I did not like about this book is that they never resolved the big issue that separated Blaze and Hazard. I find that disturbing. It was just dropped like it never happened. They never discussed it and he never learned the real reason behind her going back with her mother and why he found her at that place. I wouldn't go ahead and spoil it for those who haven't read this book yet so I'll stop right here.
What ultimately saves this book from being one of those run-of-the-mill historical romance books which litters book stores is the historical accuracy of Johnson in providing rich, detailed explanations (by way of end notes). I loved the history of the American Indian heritage, and the commitment Hazard has to his culture. I have never expressed any interest in the American Indian culture before but this book made me understand it for the first time.
Book Details:
Title Blaze
Author Susan Johnson
Reviewed By Purplycookie
The only thing that I did not like about this book is that they never resolved the big issue that separated Blaze and Hazard. I find that disturbing. It was just dropped like it never happened. They never discussed it and he never learned the real reason behind her going back with her mother and why he found her at that place. I wouldn't go ahead and spoil it for those who haven't read this book yet so I'll stop right here.
What ultimately saves this book from being one of those run-of-the-mill historical romance books which litters book stores is the historical accuracy of Johnson in providing rich, detailed explanations (by way of end notes). I loved the history of the American Indian heritage, and the commitment Hazard has to his culture. I have never expressed any interest in the American Indian culture before but this book made me understand it for the first time.
Book Details:
Title Blaze
Author Susan Johnson
Reviewed By Purplycookie
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