Extreme Measures

Rating:
Summary: Yee Haw!
Review: I must confess, I am a Regency fanatic. I love the whole prim and proper tone of a well-done Jane Austen type romance. I really am not a huge fan of Westerns...BUT, Extreme Measures was so enthralling and the characters so compelling that I have become a bit of a convert.

The sizzling relationship between Andre and Faith keeps you turning the page. These characters have such heart that it is easy to fall in love with them.

Renee Halverson should be utterly commended for a fantastic first effort. I look forward to reading another of her westerns, truly!

Rating:
Summary: Yee Haw!
Review: I must confess, I am a Regency fanatic. I love the whole prim and proper tone of a well-done Jane Austen type romance. I really am not a huge fan of Westerns...BUT, Extreme Measures was so enthralling and the characters so compelling that I have become a bit of a convert.

The sizzling relationship between Andre and Faith keeps you turning the page. These characters have such heart that it is easy to fall in love with them.

Renee Halverson should be utterly commended for a fantastic first effort. I look forward to reading another of her westerns, truly!

Rating:
Summary: engaging western Americana romance
Review: In 1879 Denver at the Dancing Belles Saloon, Andre Du Bois realizes how Faith O'Malley cheated at cards. He takes her into his office threatening to turn her over to the law. Faith escapes with the two thousand dollars. That night Andre looked for Faith, but failed to find her. The next morning he sees her coming out of the bank. Andre forces Faith to work as a dealer at his saloon to pay off the money he insists she stole. She agrees to his terms.

Unbeknownst to Andre, who believes Faith wants to open up a brothel, she needed the money to pay the bank on a loan she had on Heart House, an orphanage she runs for the chidlren of whores. As Faith and Andre become acquainted they fall in love. However, he believes she is just like his missing wife Pearl who stole a fortune from him while she feels he could never accept the daughter of a prostitute let alone her running of Heart House.

Though there is an overuse of coincidental meetings, the story line absorbs the reader as the era comes alive through the actions of the lead couple. The support cast augments the plot as the audience learns about the plight of the children and the ailing prostitutes. Fans of western Americana romances will fully appreciate Renee Halverson's debut as EXTREME MEASURES renders plenty of enjoyment.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Cheers for this historical romance!
Review: Renee Halvorsen has reinvented the historical romance. The result of her efforts is a delightful read that is certainly not the "same old / same old" storyline.

I'm not particularly a fan of westerns, but this story is an exception and it really isn't a "true" western in that there isn't a cowboy on his horse or a remote ranch in the entire story. We are set in 1879 Denver, and seeing what town life might have been like at that time.

Also, the professions of the hero / heroine are also refreshingly new. Andre DuBois - a hero to fall in love with - is the owner of a classy saloon. Faith O'Malley - a heroine we constantly cheer - is the keeper of an unusual orphanage. She is no Mother Theresa though raising the children of prostitutes and willing to go into the "gray zone" to get what the children need.

The opening and closing are riveting, and every page in between will keep you caught up in the story. I see many secondary characters as well that I hope will get their own story in the future.

Read this and remember the name Renee Halvorsen. She won the right to publish this book in the Dorchester New Historical Voice Contest and I think we are going to see her name a lot in the future on book covers.

Wouldn't it be fun to be able to say "I read her first book" in the future?

Anna

Rating:
Summary: Cheers for this historical romance!
Review: Renee Halvorsen has reinvented the historical romance. The result of her efforts is a delightful read that is certainly not the "same old / same old" storyline.

I'm not particularly a fan of westerns, but this story is an exception and it really isn't a "true" western in that there isn't a cowboy on his horse or a remote ranch in the entire story. We are set in 1879 Denver, and seeing what town life might have been like at that time.

Also, the professions of the hero / heroine are also refreshingly new. Andre DuBois - a hero to fall in love with - is the owner of a classy saloon. Faith O'Malley - a heroine we constantly cheer - is the keeper of an unusual orphanage. She is no Mother Theresa though raising the children of prostitutes and willing to go into the "gray zone" to get what the children need.

The opening and closing are riveting, and every page in between will keep you caught up in the story. I see many secondary characters as well that I hope will get their own story in the future.

Read this and remember the name Renee Halvorsen. She won the right to publish this book in the Dorchester New Historical Voice Contest and I think we are going to see her name a lot in the future on book covers.

Wouldn't it be fun to be able to say "I read her first book" in the future?

Anna

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Boring Romance - Same Old Thing
Review: This book started out great. The heroine is cheating during a poker game. She is caught and manages to escape by outwitting her captors. What a refreshing change from the normal boring virginal do-gooder heroines that I always read about. Then the book goes downhill. It turns out the heroine is a normal boring virgin who takes in orphans. She cheats at cards to support them. After she escapes in the beginning of the book, her IQ drops dramatically. After she loses her virginity, it becomes non-existent. Just pass on this one. I am sure you have read it before many, many times.

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Boring Romance - Same Old Thing
Review: This book started out great. The heroine is cheating during a poker game. She is caught and manages to escape by outwitting her captors. What a refreshing change from the normal boring virginal do-gooder heroines that I always read about. Then the book goes downhill. It turns out the heroine is a normal boring virgin who takes in orphans. She cheats at cards to support them. After she escapes in the beginning of the book, her IQ drops dramatically. After she loses her virginity, it becomes non-existent. Just pass on this one. I am sure you have read it before many, many times.