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The Education Of Madeline (2009)

by Beth Williamson(Favorite Author)

3.74 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0758234694 (ISBN13: 9780758234698)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Brava

series

Plum Creek

review 1: 4 starsI flew thru this one in 2.5 days. I should really add a "distraction" catergory. It's so hot, it distracted me from the pain via the gym. I have a couple favorite authors for this category and I'm forever grateful. This book sure kept me on the treadmill & elliptical, couldn't wait for the gym so I finished thru nightly reading time. As Maddie and Teague acted out the indecent proposal, both wanted to deny the real attraction because one month was all they got. The storyline as captivating from the beginning, the chemistry and the characters were real-exciting-colorful-passionate. Even though it started out with the "education"...hawtness beware... the plot had you twitching in no time as Maddie and Teague fight the impossible conspiracy against the town Sheri... moreff and Judge. Not bad for a light ER read.
review 2: I really enjoyed this (erotic) historical western by Beth Williamson. It had me hooked after the first few pages, and didn't let up after that. There was lots of passion between the H/H, some verrry erotic moments, an interesting story premise, and a mildly exciting conclusion. There was a secondary plot about a couple of crooked public officials who were out to embezzle the heroine's considerable wealth, discredit and ruin her, but I never for one minute thought they'd get away with it. This book was mainly a love story between a rich but sheltered spinster who was just learning how to live, and a drifter who thought he lost everything that mattered in life.Madeline Brewster is a kind, generous 32 year old spinster from Plum Creek, Colorado, rich beyond belief (owner of the local bank and most of the town), but sadly lacking in happiness or experiences. After her cruel and tyrannical father's death 2 years before, she decides to take the bull by the horns and find out what she's been missing in life. She's a rather tall, sturdy, voluptuous woman, and her marriage prospects are dim. She has certain wants and needs, and when she finds out that a man accused of being a horse thief is about to be hung, she has an idea. After sizing up this handsome hulk (6'6") of a man, she makes a deal with the local lawmen, insisting that he have a fair trial and a chance to prove his innocence. While waiting for his trial, he can stay with her for a month and work for her. But the work she has in mind is more than just labor around her property. He may also be laboring in her bed. Madeline proposes that he teach her everything he can about the intimacies between a man and a woman, and she will pay him five hundred dollars. Not a bad deal for a drifter with not much to live for.Teague O'Neal is an big, brawny 35 year old Irishman who has been drifting the past seven years, since the (Civil) war has ended. A terrible tragedy in his life has all but destroyed his soul, and for the past few years he's done nothing but drift and scrape by. When big, beautiful Madeline walks into his life with her outrageous proposal, he's more than interested. But he wants her to be sure before she throws away her virginity on a no-account like him, with nothing to give her but his experience. But once the two come to an agreement, the 'lessons' in lovemaking begin, and boy oh boy, that's when you'll need a fan! Every day or so there's another 'lesson', and before long both Madeline and Teague are hungering for the lessons and each other. It's not long before the lessons turn into something more, as Madeline worms her way into Teague's shattered heart and Teague brings Madeline more joy and happiness than she's known in 20 years. But then Teague confesses to a betrayal, and Madeline doesn't know if she can trust him again. And then she finds herself fighting to uphold her good name, as well as hang on to her family fortune. Teague vows to fight for her love, and to win back her trust. But a month is nearly up, and not only may Teague have to face the law, but Madeline has to fight against some corrupt lawmen out to ruin her. Will these two lovers be able to fight together and win the happiness that is within their reach?This was a very well written, fast paced story, with a couple of characters you'll want to root for. Madeline was a smart but sheltered woman, not afraid to speak her mind and a very generous soul who liked helping others. And even though she was incredibly wealthy, her father kept her under his thumb and never let her travel outside of town or experience anything. A lot of the people in her small town were suspicious of her because her father was such a cruel and not well-liked person, so she had an unfair reputation to overcome as well. She had very few friends besides Eppie, a young mulatto former slave who now worked and lived with her, and very few life experiences. And when Teague came into her life, she was like a flower waiting to bloom. And under his guidance and love, bloom she did. You could just feel the happiness radiating from her. And Madeline affected Teague in the same way. This guy was so down on his luck and on life, not really caring if he lived or died until Madeline thrust herself into his life. I loved how she brought him back to the point where he had hope again for the future. Their love scenes were passionate, erotic, but very sexy too, and you could definitely feel that they were falling in love. I like how they fought together against the corrupt bad guys, and outsmarted them. I liked when Madeline finally got to experience the big city (Denver), which is where Teague got to show her a thing or two about life. The only problem I had with this story was the epilogue, which I felt was a bit rushed and neatly tied up. I thought "Is that it?" after I read it. So a few more pages to flesh out the epilogue would have been greatly appreciated.If you're looking for a nicely erotic historical set in post Civil War Colorado featuring a couple of very likable characters fighting for their love, look no further than "The Education of Madeline". This was a good combination of plot and sexy romance, and one of the better books I've read this year--4 1/2 stars! less

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