Eyes of Gold, Eyes of Silver

I loved everything about this book. I fell in love with the lead characters and loathed the villians. I have been looking for other books written to this level and am having a tough time. Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold set the Bar!

The heroine and hero of this enchanting Western will have you sighing with contentment. The two are thrown together with such a violent start and still find a way to make their relationship work. I enjoyed their story and I really felt that I got to watch two people fall in love.

My only complaint with the book was the stubborn antics of the hero and his brothers. Their doubt in him lasted WAY too long, despite the proof in front of their very eyes that their brother was a good man and loved his wife (over and over and over and over this is proved). I found them to be dimwitted and ridiculous. Even at the very, very, very end the brothers STILL doubted the hero. It was exasperating. Also, the hero himself continued to be doubtful of his wife, though she proved herself to him over and over. I was proud that when the final test came, he found that he did indeed trust her. However, it seemed ridiculous at some points that he continued to suggest that she leave. Much of this novel circled around the day to day lives of these people and their attempts to prove themselves to others. Annie, the wife, to her husband, Cord, and Cord to his brothers. You'd think having had been doubted his entire life he would give his wife a chance, yeah? But he was a doubter as much as he was a recipient of doubt. This entire book was about doubt.

Still, it is a four star novel because the parts that were good were SO good. This is a story worth reading. Annie is strong and attractive as a character. Cord is firm and resolute and protective. The love scenes are realistic and become increasingly better as the couple falls in love- giving the novel a sense of authenticity. The trials and tribulations that the couple go through are rewarding to read about. The novel opens with excitement, has some fun parts and comes to a climax with another adventure.

What well thought out novel! I could not put this book down. I loved the story line and felt a real connection to the characters. Since this read I have read Sing my Name by the same author and fear I will not find another book to top this! The only problem I had with this book is that it ended! Enjoy!

I love historical romances and am beyond pleased with this book. I did not want to put it down. It was good from page 1, no exaggeration. Now, i've read some good books, but they don't get that way until a few chapter or half way through, so this was so refreshing. Someone mentioned how his brothers didn't believe him until the very very end and how annoying it was..i found it interesting and not boring at all. Sure i got irritated at his brothers, but was never bored with it. I ordered the authors other book on kindle and hope it is just as good.

I purchased this book based on the synopsis of it written in product description,over 3 months ago.Only after that did I start reading the controversy surrounding book/author. That had me thinking, Great, I just wasted my money and it probably won't be worth my time either.So I put it off.
But I kept going back to read new customer reviews and tried to ignore the negative comments on anything but the story itself.The overwhelming great reviews had me convinced to finally give it a try- I started it, and could not stop!! It had me from page 1!! The beginning was so intense and action packed that it set up the rest of the book nicely, so that you just have to find out if Cord and Anne overcome ALL of the unfair, cruel, and horrifying acts committed against them. Anne was so likable and Cord so strong that you could not help rooting for them the whole time.The authors description of everything took you back to this time like you were there. Do I know this author personally?? No.Would I recommend this book to other people?? YES!! I could not stop talking about it at work and told many of my kindle owning friends they must read it!
So if like me you have been hesitant to read it, wait no longer, you will not be disappointed in this wonderful book. I will definitely be reading more to come from this talented author.

Quite well written and I liked the characters, that's pretty much all I have to say about this one... I thought it would be a sexy engaging read but I found it just entertaining enough.
Not bad for a few rainy afternoons as it is quite long (not that I complain about it).

I really liked how the characters admitted that they loved each other and didn't fight against one another. I didn't like how detailed each and every conversation was between the characters. I never really felt any kind of connection with the secondary characters. And what happened at the ending??? your left hanging on what happened to the H and H.

I absolutely loved this book. This is a book that I will reread from time to time. The beginning was heart breaking, which I will not tell what happens, other than Anne and Cord are forced into marriage.

The Bennet family was a strong loving family, and yes, knocking a few male (Bennet) heads together sounds pretty good. Anne took care of that ok. Even Cord walked lightly around her when she was mad.

Cord was a silent type with a dry sense of humor. When his temper was riled be careful, especially if it concerned Anne.

Anne was very spirited, talkative at times and did not take anything of off anyone. She was very protective over Cord, who found humor in her protectiveness.

Anne and Cord had a deep respect for each other even though they were married under very bad circumstances. This respect grew into a love that one could only dream off.
Eyes of Silver, Eyes of GoldEyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold

I really liked how the characters admitted that they loved each other and didn't fight against one another. I didn't like how detailed each and every conversation was between the characters. I never really felt any kind of connection with the secondary characters. And what happened at the ending??? your left hanging on what happened to the H and H.

I absolutely loved this book. This is a book that I will reread from time to time. The beginning was heart breaking, which I will not tell what happens, other than Anne and Cord are forced into marriage.

The Bennet family was a strong loving family, and yes, knocking a few male (Bennet) heads together sounds pretty good. Anne took care of that ok. Even Cord walked lightly around her when she was mad.

Cord was a silent type with a dry sense of humor. When his temper was riled be careful, especially if it concerned Anne.

Anne was very spirited, talkative at times and did not take anything of off anyone. She was very protective over Cord, who found humor in her protectiveness.

Anne and Cord had a deep respect for each other even though they were married under very bad circumstances. This respect grew into a love that one could only dream off.
Eyes of Silver, Eyes of GoldEyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold

I am somewhat new to western romances but this one, advertised for Kindle, sounded worth reading. First off the title was intriguing. The abused and unappreciated heroine with the gray eyes is Anne Wells. To avoid a horrendous arranged marriage, Anne manages to elude her deranged father and run away. She has very little money and a great need to stay hidden, so the night of her escape she takes shelter in a barn. She awakes in the morning to find that the owner of the barn is a half-breed, amber-eyed rancher she once went to school with, Cord Bennett. They are discovered by her father and a band of hooligans he has assembled, the worst is assumed, Anne and Cord are beaten until they agree to a shotgun wedding, and then Cord is beaten until he is presumed dead. Finally the villains ride off leaving Anne with the corpse to manage as best she can.

Except...Cord is not quite dead, and Anne has a wealth of spirit and determination. With her nursing skill, hard work, stubborn refusal to accept defeat, she saves him. They decide to accept their marriage and make it real. They begin with liking and respect, mutual struggle, and a great deal of team work as together they confront enormous challenges caused by family mistrust, enmity, the unacknowledged madness of Anne's father, racial prejudice, and the emotional baggage they each carry. The events of the story demonstrate their growing trust, appreciation, commitment, unity and love.

This well-written story was one I could not put down until I reached the satisfying just-right conclusion.

This inspirational western historical is filled with interesting characters from Anne and Cord to their respective families to the town gossip. The author has created a realistic and entertaining community for this novel but is the hero, Cord as he struggle to control his emotions, provide forgiveness and go on with his life who will steal your heart. There is plenty of action and it gives a realistic description of the violence of that era. The characters live life directly, simply, and often painfully, and they have more feeling than they can express. This book is simply charming engaging and inspiring.

I only ever review books when they are truely awful, or truely wonderful. This, I am happy to report is that latter. This book is written amazingly well. The storyline is done really well - oftentimes romance novel's stories just seem to be set up to facilitate the relationship between the main characters. Not this book, the character development is great, the romance between the two main characters is very natural feeling (and dare I say, realistic?). Like a previous reviewer I read it in 2 days, simply because I needed to sleep and go to work. If you buy any book this month - but this one. You won't be disappointed.

wow! Where to start........Um, well,...first of all, God Bless Ruth Ann Nordin(love her books!) I saw she reviewed this and loved it. So I bought it on kindle.
This book packs twice the story in 1/2 the size!! You'll swear you read a 2000 page novel!

Early one morning, Cord Bennett finds Anne Wells hiding in his barn. Both are beaten, Cord is shot, married and he is left for dead. And you thought your day was bad..HA!......and that's just the beginning.............
This story is fast paced without skipping a single detail along the way. Every character, every emotional outburst-all the dialogue is nothing but a smooth transition right into the next incident.
Cord and Anne are two characters written exactly like they are meant to be. Both are tough fighters, that live to fight another day, and their #1 enemy is her father.(if they don't kill each other first) Their romance is tentative at first, then spontaneous then natural. The tenderness in the intimate scenes are spot on without being nasty or dirty. Just Ahhhhhh....nice. Plenty of comedy/drama woven into this must have. The secondary's--Oh My! Fabulous! I feel like I could take a drive to Mason and actually see these people!
Read this baby straight thru the night!

recommended

I loved this story. The characters, the story line they just pull you in like you're there with them and feeling the day to day lives. I couldn't put it down and I've had to read it more than twice I enjoyed it so much. I told my friend to read this book she called me the next day and told me she couldn't put it down and stayed up half the night to finish it. A very great read. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would.

Let me endorse what most of the other reviewers have said. This is an outstanding novel. Most romance novels seem to follow a boilerplate story line. Often I can look at the progress bar on my Kindle and tell you where the story goes next. Not so with this work. Ms. O'Connell surprised me at almost every turn. There was not an unbelievable moment in the entire book and the characters simply came to life before my eyes. No question but that this effort deserves a solid five star rating.

This book is an historical western romance. To be honest, historical romances are not really my thing, and western romances are second only to Regency romances as my LEAST favorite genre. That said, I LOVED this book! I stayed up way too late last night finishing the book, because I just couldn't put it down.

The characters were great and so believable. Anne, the heroine was strong, capable, and a little quirky; Cord was not a perfect hunk, but was very human, and appealing because of it. The family was not quite as fleshed out - many seemed a little two dimensional. While I felt that the conflict between the families was a little much to be believed, I am have seen families in real life that I couldn't believe they acted that way!

I've read the short bio of the author, and she sounds like what I would like to be when I grow up (well, in my next life, since I'm already grown!). She has been involved with animals all her life, and that carries over to her stories as well. While it is not a crucial element of the story, there is an animal connection in this book as well, which just adds another dimension for me (like ice cream on your fresh-from-the-oven brownie). My introduction to Ms. O'Connell was her first book, Rottweiler Rescue: a Dianne Brennan mystery for dog lovers. It was a wonderful mystery that was set in the dog world of dog shows and pure bred rescue.

I will definitely be eagerly looking for anything else Ms. O'Connell writes! Check them out - I think you may like them as well, especially if you enjoy animals in your life.

I am not experienced at reading Romance novels, so I don't know if this is simply what they are like, but I found it amateurish, not fleshed out, hard to follow, and really more like an outline or rough draft. There is alot of narrative (telling, not showing) and a distinct lack of transitions so that I had to reread several passages to follow what is happening.

Overall I found it to be cliche and unrefined.

I absolutely LOVED this book! This is the first book I've read by this author and I'll definitely be reading more of hers. I couldn't put this book down, finishing it in a little under 2 days. I definitely recommend it.

I really enjoyed this book. Kept my interest throughout the book...The characters were well developed and I liked that the main female character was not a shrinking violet:-) I am looking forward to more works from this author.

Cord and Anne are wonderful and I really did love this book. If you sit back and review everything you can clearly see the reasoning behind everyone's actions and opinions. The older brothers ticked me off that they never gave Cord the benefit of the doubt and always assumed the worst. After mulling over this, I could see where they were coming from. The author gave such a great feeling on each character that you can see them as real people and know so much about them-more then what is even written. This is book is worth 10 times the kindle price.

What a delightful read this was. I rarely reread novels, but since purchasing this book in September I have read it 3 times. The characters stay with you long after you've finished their story. Ms O'Connell is a truly talented author and I look forward to reading more of her books.

I read a lot of western historical romance and the characters of Cord and Annie were the best I've encountered in a long time. I read this book in one day and was sorry when it was over. If you like your female characters strong and loyal and your male characters strong and brooding, this one is for you!

I really enjoyed this story. I purchased it to read on my Kindle. The writing grabs you at the beginning and makes you keep reading! A wonderful historical romance. I would give it more than 5 stars if I could.