Caine's Reckoning by Sarah McCarty

Back Blurb-

The Hell's Eight is the only family he's ever needed, until he meets the only woman he's ever wanted...

Caine Allen is a hardened Texas Ranger, definitely not the marrying kind. But when he rescues a kidnapped woman and returns her to town, the preacher calls in a favor. One Caine's honor won't let him refuse.

From the moment he bed Desi, Caine knows turmoil will follow. Desi might have the face of a temptress, but she also has a will of iron and while she needs his protection, she's determine that no man will control her again. They establish an uneasy bond, but it isn't enough for Caine. He wants all Desi has to offer. he wants her screams, her moans, her demands...everything. Yet there's still a bounty on Desi's head, and keeping her sexually satisfied is proving easier than keeping her alive.


I just finished reading this book about ten minutes ago and since then I've been trying to figure out how to put my feelings down so that everyone can read them. I first came across this book on Lisabea's blog...I think. She was raving about it and it got me intrigued, but I didn't do anything about it until today. I'm totally kicking myself that it's taken me this long to buy the book and read it, because it was good. It really, really was.

This book is based in 19th century Texas, but it reads more like a modern novel. The characters speak in slang that's more prevalent now, but for some reason this didn't bother me. Usually stuff like that drives me up the wall, but in this story, setting isn't the driving force, it's the characters.

Caine is a member of the Hell's Eight, a notorious band of Texas Rangers who have a reputation of shooting first and talking later. He's strong, determined, and has no interest in women other than having one flat on her back and being between her thighs. However, this does not mean that he is a jerk and he believes women should be cherished. His family was killed when he was quite young and after swearing vengeance, he's now a man who does what he needs to do to get his job done.

Desi, on the other hand, started out life as a pampered rich girl whose life was thrown completely upside down when her father decided it'd be great for the family to move out West. Though they were rich, gold was out there and they could always be richer. Instead, he ended up getting most of the family killed, leaving Desi and her sister to be brutally gang-raped and tortured by a group of Comancheros. Desi ended up getting away from them and being put under the "protection" of a gambler and sicko.

I loved the introduction to Desi. Caine and his friends are after her and they hear a woman scream. Expecting to find the women who were taken raped and beaten, he sees Desi stripped down to her underthings fending off the would-be rapists attack. He's impressed and it's only when things start to go bad that he acts.

Caine's Reckoning is a story about the give and take, push and pull, dominant game between two very strong-willed individuals. Desi has been scarred emotionally and physically by all that has transpired in her young life (she's 20) and she's not sure of this man who married her to get her out of the clutches of the man who made her life a living hell.

Caine just wants nookie (to start with), but once he realizes what happened to her in the past, he goes about seducing her.

The sex is hot. Caine isn't about to let her past cloud the passion the two of them have and he does everything in his power to seduce her. He's gentle and loving and wow...it's amazing. Can I just say though that during the ultimate love scene where everything culminates, I was almost in tears. It wasn't because it was sad so much as it showed how much trust the two of them now had towards each other. It was almost heartbreaking, if that makes sense.

The story is not an easy one to read. It's brutal and horrible and makes you sick, but it's also heart-warming and a beautiful love story between these two lost souls who have found each other. I will totally be looking for the rest of the series. Each man who is a part of Hell's Eight is broken in some way and boy I can't wait to read about the women who fix them.



My Rating: A- There were some weird typos and things that didn't mesh. That's why it's not an A+