Celeste De BlasisReseñas

this will long be one of my favorite books. it goes far beyond a romance novel, the characters and the history that is here pull you in. i cried unabashedly with Mary and read passages out loud to anyone who would let me. this book has stayed with me all these years and i reach for it again and again.

A Wild Hope by Celeste De Blasis is a 2020 Bookouture publication.

Well, they sure don’t write ‘em like this anymore… Sigh…

This sweeping saga was originally written back in the 1980s, back when epic historical tomes were commonplace. Sadly, many of these books have simply faded into obscurity along with the authors who wrote them.

Thankfully, some publishers have chosen to digitally format a select few of them- giving them new titles and covers and offering them to a whole new audience.

For those of us who were fans back in the day, this is also an opportunity to revisit some of our old favorite authors and some of their work again… and in a format that is a little easier on the eyes.

For anyone concerned about content- not every single historical romance novel written in the 1980s was a ‘bodice ripper’. Yes, this book is a romance and there are explicit sex scenes- more than I felt was necessary, and there are moral issues, like adultery, but it is also a story that would appeal to historical fiction fans. For it’s time the novel incorporated issues into the story, like race, and feminism and features a strong female lead character, which should appeal to the modern reader.

I really miss these sweeping sagas. There’s nothing like being swept away into another time and place and following the characters through all the tragedies and triumphs in their lives. I also love that the story will continue in the next book and will once again feature characters from this novel and lead the reader into future generations. That’s something we don’t get much of these days in historical fiction or romance and kind of miss that too.

This is a long book- and because our attention spans are shorter these days- I did get a bit impatient a time or two when I felt the pacing lagged and there didn’t seem to be much going on- but at the same time, I enjoyed the long span of time the novel covered and all the various locations, and layers of emotions involved.

Overall, I loved getting lost in this novel and it was so nice to read a book by Celeste De Blasis again, after all these years. Looking forward to book two in the trilogy!!

5 stars

DNF - I enjoyed the focus on California history but the social sentiments are dated and I couldn't overlook that so I decided to stop reading.

An epic sweeping story that covers many years but also makes the story feel close and intimate without feeling small. I highly recommend pretty much everything this author writes because she has a wonderful style.

An epic sweeping story that covers many years but also makes the story feel close and intimate without feeling small. I highly recommend pretty much everything this author writes because she has a wonderful style.

An epic sweeping story that covers many years but also makes the story feel close and intimate without feeling small. I highly recommend pretty much everything this author writes because she has a wonderful style.

An epic sweeping story that covers many years but also makes the story feel close and intimate without feeling small. I highly recommend pretty much everything this author writes because she has a wonderful style.

An epic sweeping story that covers many years but also makes the story feel close and intimate without feeling small. I highly recommend pretty much everything this author writes because she has a wonderful style.

An epic sweeping story that covers many years but also makes the story feel close and intimate without feeling small. I highly recommend pretty much everything this author writes because she has a wonderful style.

An epic sweeping story that covers many years but also makes the story feel close and intimate without feeling small. I highly recommend pretty much everything this author writes because she has a wonderful style.

One of the first books I couldn't put down.

I hated for the saga to end...

Another page turner.

Before reading it, I had noticed the book on the shelf. I wasn't allowed to read it for a long time, not fit for a child, my mother said.
When I finally was allowed to (around 14 years of age),I simply loved this book. For me it was my first book about real life, though it is a novel and therefor probably fiction.

What I liked, apart from the saga about Tessa, her heritage and her family, was also the history part of this book. I have no clue if the background described is close to how it was in those days, but it was done in such a manner, that it was very plausible for me. And I learned from it, since I had not yet had many history lessons about the west.

The book is very realistic: about the love for another person, about troubles in life, elianation, betrayal, friendship, having children, see them grow up, having difficulties letting them go, saying goodbye to the partner you love so much and need to be living without for many years...
It gave me a look at what could be ahead. Not the setting of course, my hometown is not to be compared with California half way the 19th century. No, about family life and all that is attached to it. I admired Tessa and Gavin for living the way they did, never give up, not even in the hardest times.

This is one of the first books I clearly remember reading. I reread it a few years ago and it was a trip down memory lane - otherwise it probably wouldn't have held my interest. It's decently written, but pretty dramatic. Also, without spoiling anything... one of the main characters commits what I consider an unforgiveable act, but it's pretty much just blown off. Reading it now as an adult, that really spoils the whole thing for me.

A highly readable book, infused with historical facts and an engaging storyline. Highly recommended!

If you loved the first two books in this trilogy, chances are good that you'll like this one too. But I have to admit, I got bored with it. In fact, I got so bored I didn't even finish it, which is very unusual for me.

I also started to feel a bit as though the author were preaching at me about certain topics of social reform-- which admittedly are still relevant today and it's interesting to know that many of the same arguments were made in the last quarter of the nineteenth century as we made in the last quarter of the twentieth-- or was she putting modern ideas into older heads? Without doing my own research, it's hard to tell.

But ultimately I just got bogged down in all the new characters of the new generations and the unchanging perfections or foibles of the elder. It all became monotonous and I gave up.

A richly detailed sequel to Wild Swan, which covers the lives of the family during the mid 19th century, taking them through the end of the Civil War. Like its predecessor, it is long enough to be a leisurely exploration of both characters and themes, a refreshing change from the often hectic pace of today's novels. Again it is dominated by Alexandria, now a matriarch of a large family and manager of a successful farm and racing stable.

But while the themes of family and finding soulmates, love and grief, and the cycle of llife, are still much a part of this book, it is inevitably dominated by the looming Civil War. I dreaded it and decided that when it came I would skim or skip over those parts dealing with the war, but when I got there I couldn't put it down. I got more of a sense of the reasons and chronology of the war, placed in a human context, from this book than I think I've gotten from any book I've ever read about it, fiction or non-fiction. (But the Civil War isn't my area of expertise.)

We need more of this type of historical fiction published today.½

This is a classic novel that starts a well-loved trilogy.

It begins early in the 19th century in England, during the Napoleonic Wars, and ends in the Federal period of U.S. history. It explores issues of the nature of love and marriage, society's judgments of outsiders, class conflicts and resolutions, slavery, and smuggling. It also explores horse breeding and racing in England and America in the first quarter of the nineteenth century.

The length makes it a leisurely exploration of the lives and times of the characters, at a pace we don't often get to enjoy in novels published today.

The one outstanding problem that I had with this novel was that much of the plot--and the commentary on the nature of marriage--was based on a false, or rather mistaken, premise. The infamous "marriage with deceased wife's sister" prohibition law did not come into effect in England until 1835-- which is at the end of this novel, not its beginning. During the time the novel is set, such a marriage was not prohibited by civil or ecclesiastical law: instead, it was voidable. That meant that either party could get an annulment on those grounds if they chose, but the marriage was presumed valid and the children were legitimate. (Jane Austen's brother legally married his deceased wife's sister in England in 1820.)

But setting aside this inconvenient problem, the novel stands on its own merits as a rich exploration of creating family, life, status, friendships, trust, and their rewards.

I LOVED this book. I reccomend it all the time for patrons who want someone/something new. I had a paperback copy years ago and would not let ANYone borrow it because it was falling apart and I was afraid they would lose the pages that were falling out. HAHA I had a rubberband to hold it all together. Very interesting learning about California. I think this book set me up to love the "Outlander" series so much as it follows generations of the same family also. On a side note: I always thought Susan Lucci should play the main character of Tessa. No offense to Ms. Lucci, but I think is too late for that now.

Wild Swan begins in 1813 as thirteen year old Alexandria (Alex) Thaine's grandmother sends her to live with distant relatives on the west coast of England to get her away from her hateful mother. In Devon she thrives with the Falconer family and especially forming a lifelong bond with the younger son Rane. Rane decides to wait until Alex is old enough before he asks for her, but in the meantime Alex's sister dies and her mother calls her back to help raise her two infant twins. The twin's parent St. John (pronounced sinjon) returns badly wounded from the Napoleonic wars, Alex nurses him back to health and a bond is formed between them and the children that leads to a marriage (albeit not sanctioned by the Church of England), unbeknownst to Rane who waits until Alex is 16 and arrives too late to propose marriage to the already "wed" Alex. Wah!

Alex eventually makes a good marriage with St. John and to get away from family influences they make their way to Maryland to strike their fortune at horseraising/racing. Alex faces quite a surprise when she finds herself face to face again with Rane who also left England to find a new life away from memories of his love for Alex. At this point the story takes up with Alex and St. John's efforts to purchase land (named Wild Swan) and start raising thoroughbred horses and life on the racing circuit, that eventually leads to the aquisition of a mad horse that has dreadful consquences on St. John, Alex and their children. More than that, I'm not telling.

All in all a highly enjoyable read and I had a hard time putting it down and lost more than an hour or two of sleep (always a good sign??). Despite being typed as a romance, this novel was packed with plenty of historical details to place it a step or two above the norm, especially as the author dealt quite nicely with the slavery issue and the St. John's opposition to same. My only minor quibbles are that unless you are a "horsey" person (which I'm not) there are some spots that become a bit slow (but you can skip them) and the sex scenes, while not gratuitous, were a bit...well...ahem....just a tad too detailed for my tastes (especially one scene - you'll know when you get there). If it had been a "true" bodice ripper than I wouldn't have minded, but eventually enough is enough. Outside of that, it was a pretty darned good read and there are two books that complete the story, Swan's Chance and A Season of Swans.½

The Tiger's Woman starts in late 1869 San Francisco as Mary Smith is on the run from her past. In disguise she takes work as a dance hall girl and attracts the attention of business man/entrepreneur Jason Drake (nicknamed the Tiger for his ruthless reputation with women, business and gambling), but she runs from him to Seattle, Washington Territory (what fun, my home town!) where Jason eventually finds her. Still terrified that the man from her past will find her she accepts Jason's offer of protection and goes to live with him on his island in the San Juan's, where Jason lives with his mother, son and quite a group of misfits who have also come to the island for reasons of their own. Jason was widowed when his wife died in childbirth and his son Jamie bears the scars of Jason's disinterest and has also grown up with the hatred bred into him by his grandmother. Mary's gentle but strong willed nature soon bridges the gap between father and son and the three strive to build a new life together. However, the abuse Mary suffered at the hands of the man from her past always threatens to sever the relationship, especially as Mary's fears become real and he begins to manipulate Jason's investments in an attempt to destroy him and return to take Mary away.

There's actually a whole lot more to it than that but to give away much more of Mary's past would blow the plot right out of the water and I'm not into spoilers. Suffice it to say that while not the fastest paced book, it was highly enjoyable and I very much enjoyed how both Jason and Mary were able to heal the wounds of their respective pasts and move forward into a new and stronger relationship. De Blasis also deals with the sensitive issue of a woman abused from an early age and how it affect's one's life and relationships with others (and not just men) and how she can heal and overcome that past for a healthier future.

I also very much enjoyed the visits to old San Francisco, Seattle, Washington Territory, a logging operation or two, and the San Juan Islands. The author clearly did some research and even this Seattle native didn't catch any Sleepless in Seattle like gaffes that distracted from the story. Lots of name dropping of our pioneer fathers - Asa Meeker, Pike, Boren and even one I never knew outside of a nightclub in Pioneer Square, Doc Maynard! If you're looking for a fast paced racy read, this probably isn't for you but if you want to sit back and enjoy a well crafted tale and don't mind a chapter or two (or three) of detailed descriptions of day to day life in the 1870's than this is worth checking out. Note, while I wouldn't quite call this a "bodice ripper" Mary and Jason did enjoy a healthy physical relationship and I wouldn't recommend it for a younger reader.

Swan's Chance begins in 1836 and takes up the story of the Alex and Rane Falconer where Wild Swan left off, as the Falconer family continues to expand their line of Thoroughbred Horses at their farm Wild Swan, along with Rane's ship building enterprise. Their children grow to adulthood, marry and have children of their own as the tensions between the North and South heat up over the issue of slavery. Alex's beloved granddaughter Gincey works with the Underground Railway and during a mission gone awry meets Virginian Travis Culhane (sparks fly of course). The remainder of the book details the lives of the Falconer family are entwined with the horrors of the Civil War and it's aftermath.

All in all a very entertaining read, although I did find some slow spots -especially when the author was recounting the historical events of the Civil War. It was more like being told than being shown, although I don't see how she could have done otherwise without making it into a book as cumbersome as House Divided, and that's the last thing I want to attempt again (only made it as far as 700 out of 1400 pages, should have been book divided).

If you're looking for an action packed, racy page turning read this probably isn't the book for you, but if you do enjoy a well told story spanning multiple generations in a solid historical setting this series is worth checking out. As in the first book, my only minor quibbles are that unless you are a "horsy" person (which I'm not) there are some spots that become a bit slow (but you can skip them) and some of the sex scenes, while not gratuitous, were a bit...well...ahem....just a tad too detailed for my tastes. If it had been a "true" bodice ripper than I wouldn't have minded, but eventually enough is enough and I would not recommend this series for younger readers because of that. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and am looking forward the completion of the trilogy as the Falconer family and the nation begins the healing process in A Season of Swans.

A Season of Swans begins in 1870 and the focus of the story shifts from Alex and Rane Falconer to their granddaughter Gincie and her husband Travis Culhane and their three children. Now happily settled in California, a surprise return from Gincie's past leads her to a drastic move that has unexpected consequences and the Culhane family must leave California and return to the family's farm in Maryland, Wild Swan. Eventually the couple learns to overcome their problems resettling and the aging Alex and Rane turn over the running of the farm and the raising of the Thoroughbreds to the Culhanes. The story then shifts to that of their three children as they reach adulthood and settle into careers of their own.

There's a whole lot more to the story than that but it's really hard to put it all into words without writing a book report so I'll skip that. What De Blasis excels at is putting her characters into the events and politics of the day, which provides a highly entertaining way to retell the nation's history. From a Klan raid in the old south, to the events following Little Big Horn, to labor riots in Chicago and more as the author weaves her characters in to real events from our nation's history. My only complaint is that this book is a bit too long and should have finished it up about 200 pages sooner. After three books there's just one too many coming back from the edge of death recovery leading to another overly happy marriage that it got a bit old after a while, and a little too busy. Four stars. The first two books in the series (in order),

Wild Swan
Swan's Chance

The Proud Breed begins in the 1840's as Tessa McCloud prepares for her sixteenth birthday. Great granddaughter of Don Esteban, one of the original Californio ranchero families, she has been "sold" by her father to the very evil Don Luis to pay off his gambling debts. Looking for a final respite before meeting her fate at the hand of Luis, Tessa goes to her favorite spot on the ranch and while swimming in the buff she is spotted by Yankee Gavin Ramsey who mistakes her for a servant girl and assumes she's fair game for the taking. Tessa attacks Gavin with her knife, but then nurses him back to health when she realizes he's been sent with a message and birthday gift from her great-grandfather. Love blooms, but the couple must find a way to escape her engagement to Luis and repay her father's gambling debts.

Once wed, Tessa and Gavin begin their lives and build their fortune in Monterey, the capitol of Old California, along with Gavin's partner, Indian. The old ways of the original California rancheros are threatened by an indifferent Mexican government and an influx of American settlers anxious to take control. As their business enterprises continue to grow and California reaches statehood Tessa and Gavin's marriage is threatened by jealousy, treachery, bigotry, adultery and the horrific acts committed by the revenge minded Don Luis -- yet they survive it all to build a family dynasty in the new State of California.

De Blasis does an incredible job of taking the reader on a grand ride through California's history -- from the now dying ways of the Californio Rancheros, old Monterey, the gold camps, lawless San Francisco with it's fires and the vigilantes, through the Civil War to the turn of the century and more as Tessa and Gavin's marriage withstands the tests of time and their dynasty is eventually passed on to their children. Peopled with memorable characters and abundant historical facts this was a highly enjoyable tale about a very strong willed woman and the man she loved until death did they part that will have you reading well into the wee hours of the morning. I did find the way the author worked Gavin and Indian into the Civil War to be a bit of a stretch, but other than that a near perfect read for me, and a highly enjoyable way to learn more about a fascinating period in U.S. history. Readers might find the last 100 or so pages are a tad bit slow at times, but well worth it for a very very bittersweet epilogue as the Ramsay family rings in the new century at the end of 1899 - have the tissue handy.½