Jude Deveraux is an author I first read many years ago and while some of her books definitely do not age well I do think the Velvet Montgomery Annuals Quadrilogy books do continue to be basically enjoyable to read. I have always enjoyed the interactions her characters have had and the places she sets the story. The plot can be a bit thin but overall I think it's a good beach read. ( )

This was an exciting book and I loved the setting in the Washington rain forest with beautiful descriptions. Other parts take place in a western setting with cowboys and outlaws. Chris sure gets up to her fair share of trouble but it sure keeps things interesting. Lots of plot twists and some good steamy romance. A really great book worth reading. ( )

The Temptress
by Jude Deveraux

Christiana Montgomery Mathison, a.k.a. Nola Dallas, is 28 years old and has a history of finding herself caught up in dangerous situations. She left home at 18 to become a newspaper reporter and has now gained a reputation as a courageous, albeit foolhardy, woman who is out to save the world. She has written articles exposing the Mexican government, spending days and nights in the company of Mexican guards before talking a guard into unlocking her cell; she has infiltrated whorehouses for a story on what it's like inside brothels; and is currently preparing to expose a white man for inciting "Indians" (term used in the book) to massacre missionaries. She is often assumed to be a man considering the tales she tells, and is held up in high regard and awe by the women she encounters because of her willingness to live such an audacious life.

Her father is fed up and wants her to return home, settle down, and raise a family. He hires two men, Asher Prescott, and a recently released ex-con, Tynan, to retrieve her from the west coast of the Washington Territory and bring her home. Tynan is chosen as their guide as he has experience finding his way through the rain forest which a lot of people avoided out of superstition that it is filled with ghosts. Prescott is sent along with the hopes of making Chris fall in love with him before their return. Although Prescott is a bit of a dandy and has a history of a failed business and is only after Chris to gain access to her father's money, he is full of himself and confident that he can convince her to marry him. Tynan's only experience with women is through brothels, one of which he was raised in during some of his childhood years. He knows very little about his past, including his full name, and although the ladies flock to him, and he is very charming, he thinks very little of himself and runs from the idea of marriage as he doesn't think he has anything to offer anyone. Hmm, guess which one Christiana falls for?

Because Chris is full of curiosity and jumps into situations before really thinking them through, always wanting to help those in need, she tends to get them into some sticky situations which Tynan begrudgingly helps her with. In the doing, they all end up in some pretty exciting adventures: shoot-outs, hiding out in brothels, posing as performers in a peddlers' cart, etc.

It has all the boxes checked off for the ingredients to a good story, but it failed to impress me much. For one thing, the attitudes of the people and the way they spoke to each other seemed more modern than the setting of rustic Washington Territory in the 1800s. People saying, "You were GREAT!" doesn't fit in (for me) with the times represented. Even the fact that the heroine would have been given a position on a big-city newspaper and sent off into the wilds to find stories to write about seemed improbable. The last-minute happy ending was also contrived and unfulfilling. That being said, it was still enjoyable to read. Huh. I guess my ambivalence is showing in the 3* rating. ( )

An utterly stupid book. ( )

From BackCover:
With the blazing spirit of a true Montgomery, heiress Christiana Montgomery Mathison bravely defies the two men who abduct her. Forced into the primitive rain forests of the Washington Territory, she is swept into a thrilling adventure. Amid schemes of greed and intrigue, the bold beauty resists the wooing of one captor, and uses all her wiles to entice the other, the mysterious Tynan . . . a dark, fatally handsome man who desires her . . . but who must refuse her love at all costs! ( )