Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Harcourt's Mountain, by Elaine Dodge, is part of a genre that I normally don't read. The covers show, without fail, a man and a woman: he, wearing nothing but a pair of ultra-tight trousers and his long, wavy hair, holds her against the broad expanse of his muscled chest; she, invariably beautiful, is dressed in a dress that just reveals a little shoulder and looks longingly in his eyes... but... this cover was different. I know, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. We all know it, yet we always look first at the cover, then read the blurb on the back, before we even consider opening it up.

In the case of Harcourt's Mountain, I was pleasantly surprised. Where I usually find the characters insipid, Ms Dodge has written characters with grit. Where I usually find the scenery bland, the setting of British Columbia was breathtakingly beautiful. Set in 1860s America, I entered the story with a decent amount of trepidation: this was going to be one of those stories that are just a little too nice, too sweet, with not enough action and drama to really get it going. It wasn't... not in the least. Although it took a little going, by the second or third page, I was willing to give this story a real try. By the second or third chapter, I was ready to give it my full and undivided attention.

Luke Harcourt won a mountain during a poker game, literally. The nearest town several days away, going for supplies takes planning, a horse and a wagon, as the bare minimum. On one such trip, Luke finds himself on the docks when the women on the 'bride' ship are being sold. When he sees Hope Booker, he cannot help himself; if she is not sold, she will end up in the local brothel... and Hope looks too much like a lady for such a fate. According to the 'salesman', the sale is a legally binding marriage. If that is the case, then why does the receipt state 'goods bought'?

Like I said, normally I would not have picked this book up, but I am glad that I did. Although it will never be my favourite genre (and I still prefer LGBT couples), Ms Dodge has restored a little of my faith in male-female romance novels. But, I would have liked to have seen more developed sex scenes; this story could have dealt with them. Still, it is my only real gripe with Harcourt's Mountain... I'm giving it 3.5 stars out of 5.