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Elizabeth Lowell

Author of Amber Beach

139+ Works 23,691 Members 337 Reviews 34 Favorited

About the Author

Elizabeth Lowell is actually a pen name for the real person named Ann Charters Maxwell. Maxwell was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1944. She was educated at the University of California, Davis and the University of California, Riverside, where she received a B.A. in 1966. She married Evan show more Maxwell, a journalist, on September 4, 1966. They have published numerous novels together including The Silk Strategy, The Ruby, Steal the Sun, Redwood Empire, and The Golden Mountain. Maxwell started her writing career in 1975 with the science fiction novel Change. She has written over 60 novels and one non-fiction book. The novels range from science fiction to historical fiction, from romance to mystery to suspense. She has written under numerous pen names including A. E. Maxwell, Annalise Sun, and Lowell Charters. In 1982, she began publishing romance novels as Elizabeth Lowell. She was awarded the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in 1994, Romance Writers of America Best Historical Romance in 1994, and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. Her title Beautiful Sacrifice made The New York Times Best Seller List for 2012. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:

Ann Elizabeth Charters Maxwell wrote as Ann Maxwell, Elizabeth Lowell, Annalise Sun and Lowell Charters. As A. E. Maxwell, she wrote in collaboration with her husband Evan Maxwell.

The A. E. Maxwell author page; however the two pages should not be combined due to the existence of another author called A. E. Maxwell.

Series

Works by Elizabeth Lowell

Amber Beach (1997) 783 copies
Midnight in Ruby Bayou (2000) 755 copies
The Wrong Hostage (2006) 725 copies
Pearl Cove (1999) 717 copies
Moving Target (2001) 709 copies
Jade Island (1998) 664 copies
Die in Plain Sight (2003) 639 copies
Running Scared (2002) 637 copies
The Color of Death (2004) 630 copies
Always Time to Die (2005) 615 copies
Innocent as Sin (2007) 593 copies
Untamed (1993) 592 copies
Blue Smoke and Murder (2008) 591 copies
Forbidden (1993) 574 copies
Enchanted (1994) 543 copies
Winter Fire (1996) 446 copies
Death Echo (2010) 441 copies
Only His (1991) 412 copies
Only Love (1995) 402 copies
Only You (1992) 397 copies
Only Mine (1992) 394 copies
Autumn Lover (1996) 385 copies
Tell Me No Lies (1986) 376 copies
Beautiful Dreamer (2001) 357 copies
To the Ends of the Earth (1998) 352 copies
Eden Burning (2002) 337 copies
The Secret Sister (2005) 335 copies
A Woman Without Lies (1985) 331 copies
Reckless Love (1990) 331 copies
Whirlpool (2006) 318 copies
Warrior (1991) 301 copies
Lover in the Rough (1984) 300 copies
This Time Love (2003) 299 copies
Remember Summer (1999) 298 copies
Desert Rain (1996) 297 copies
Death is Forever (2004) 295 copies
Forget Me Not (1984) 293 copies
Fire and Rain (1990) 278 copies
Fire Dancer (1982) 266 copies
Granite Man (1991) 257 copies
Outlaw (1991) 257 copies
Beautiful Sacrifice (2012) 253 copies
Where the Heart Is (1997) 253 copies
Shadow and Silk (1997) 251 copies
Fever (1988) 237 copies
Chain Lightning (1988) 231 copies
Dancer's Luck (1983) 225 copies
Too Hot to Handle (1986) 221 copies
Dangerous Refuge (2013) 211 copies
Dancer's Illusion (1983) 201 copies
Dark Fire (1988) 199 copies
Sweet Wind, Wild Wind (1987) 173 copies
Timeshadow Rider (1986) 167 copies
Night Diver (2014) 162 copies
Perfect Touch (2015) 146 copies
Love Song for a Raven (1987) 135 copies
Change (1975) 131 copies
The Diamond Tiger (1992) 123 copies
The Ruby (1995) 103 copies
The Secret Sisters (1993) 94 copies
A Dead God Dancing (1979) 94 copies
The Jaws of Menx (1981) 77 copies
Money Burns (1991) 74 copies
The Art of Survival (1989) 74 copies
Gatsby's Vineyard (1987) 68 copies
The Frog and the Scorpion (1986) 67 copies
Name of a Shadow (1980) 61 copies
Just Enough Light to Kill (1988) 60 copies
The Fire of Spring (1986) 59 copies
The King of Nothing (1992) 53 copies
Murder Hurts (1993) 49 copies
Redwood Empire (1987) 49 copies
Granite Man [and] Warrior (2007) 46 copies
Fire and Rain [AND] Outlaw (2007) 45 copies
Summer Games (1984) 40 copies
Summer Thunder (1983) 38 copies
The Danvers Touch (1983) 34 copies
The Singer Enigma (1976) 34 copies
Traveling Man (1985) 32 copies
Thunderheart (1992) 31 copies
Valley of the Sun (1983) 31 copies
Sequel (1986) 29 copies
Fires of Eden (1986) 27 copies
Summer Lovers (3-in-1) (1997) — Contributor — 21 copies
Steal the Sun (1981) 20 copies
Golden Empire (1979) 20 copies
The Golden Mountain (1990) 15 copies
Hechicera (2009) 3 copies
sa Maxwell, Ann 2 copies
The Rocking M Collection (2015) 2 copies
Sólo tú (2007) 1 copy
L'amant du nevada (1999) 1 copy
Šero a hedvábí (1999) 1 copy
Treetops 1 copy
Prohibido (2008) 1 copy
Solo mía (2007) 1 copy
Fire Dancer 1 copy
Foundling 1 copy
Letní závraΕ₯ (2014) 1 copy

Associated Works

Tagged

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Common Knowledge

Legal name
Maxwell, Ann Elizabeth Charters
Other names
Maxwell, Ann
Sun, Annalise
Lowell, Elizabeth (with Evan Maxwell)
Charters, Lowell (with Evan Maxwell)
Maxwell, A. E. (with Evan Maxwell)
Birthdate
1944-04-05
Gender
female
Nationality
USA
Birthplace
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Places of residence
Madison, Wisconsin, USA (birth)
Pacific Northwest
Washington, USA
Education
University of California, Riverside (BA|English Literature|1966)
Occupations
romance novelist
Relationships
Maxwell, Evan (husband)
Lowell, Heather (daughter)
Awards and honors
Romance Writers of America (Lifetime Achievement Award, 1994)
Disambiguation notice
Ann Elizabeth Charters Maxwell wrote as Ann Maxwell, Elizabeth Lowell, Annalise Sun and Lowell Charters. As A. E. Maxwell, she wrote in collaboration with her husband Evan Maxwell.

The A. E. Maxwell author page; however the two pages should not be combined due to the existence of another author called A. E. Maxwell.

Members

Discussions

Reviews

This started out well, but by page 100 had descended into silliness, full of spitefully jealous women and hypermasculine, brutish men. I really don't find murderous jealousy and controlling possessiveness very sexy. But I do love the idea of the Glendruid witch/clan/curse. That was really a lot of fun.

I'm giving it 3 stars mostly out of nostalgia, and in homage to my younger self that enjoyed this book at a time when I was just discovering the Romance genre had a subcategory of supernatural/magical romance, and was not very particular about healthy relationships.

Paperback, very tattered, bought at a secondhand shop.
… (more)
 
Flagged
Doodlebug34 | 10 other reviews | Jan 1, 2024 |
 
Flagged
Kiri | 1 other review | Dec 24, 2023 |
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:πŸ“”πŸ“”πŸ“”πŸ“”πŸ“”
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻
Heroine:πŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈ.5
Intimacy Level: πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯
Relationship Building: πŸ’’πŸ’’πŸ’’πŸ’’
Heart & Feels:πŸ’žπŸ’žπŸ’žπŸ’ž
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚
Page Turner Level:πŸ“–πŸ“–πŸ“–πŸ“–
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨

First Impressions
Autumn Lover is the first book in the Maxwell duo series and is number five in the "Only" series. This story has been on my watchlist for the longest time and for almost a year I have been trying to get this one read. I am not sure why I have put off this book for the longest time, but I finally braved the wild frontier and grabbed up this book and it was actually way better than I expected. But also reading this made me realize why I don't read too many older historical's anymore, the angst was unreal in this book and the hero is a jerk alpha hero. So if that isn't for you, then I don't recommend it. But if you don't the jerk hero type, and love some great plot machinations and strong western themes, then I do recommend this one to you. It definitely has a storyline that will keep you on the edge of your seat and really delivers such a strong thought out story.

First Line
I hear you need a ramrod who can handle a gun

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Hunter Maxwell
An Alpha Male, Gunslinger, On the hunt for revenge for the death of his family. Bitter about his late wife who had countless affairs and used him and mistrusts most women.

The Heroine: Elyssa Sutton
With her parents dead, its up to Elyssa to save her ranch from outlaws and rustlers. She loves pretty things but has never found a place where she has been accepted and loved for who she is. She lives and breathes her family's home.

Summary
When Elyssa Sutton returns from England to her family's home and ranch in Wyoming, following the end of the Civil War, everything her parents built is falling apart. With rustlers and scavengers picking the place clean, she will fight with everything she has to protect what is left. When Hunter Maxwell arrives, to be her foreman and to stop the destruction, she hires him on. Hunter is on the road to revenge against the Culpeppers who destroyed just about everyone he loved. He doesn't trust Elyssa, she is a beauty just like his late wife and wears satin dresses and he doesn't trust her to not flirt with every man within a mile of her. Hunter has been burned badly, and despite the unfair treatment he deals toward Elyssa, there is a strong connection that forms between them. But they are in great danger now and it will be a miracle if they survive the coming storm...

What I Loved
Autumn Lover wasn't a easy and light filled story. This is most definitely not for the faint of heart, but it was a solid story that packed quite a punch. It does have a writing style that was typical of authors back then, so keep that in mind. There is quite a bit of inner relationship angst in this story. But there is also a very well written plot and great storyline that will keep you moving forward on the story. We have some great character development here. The hero is a tough nut to crack, but eventually he redeems himself. We see such great torment in him over his past and losing his children, so he definitely is multi dimensional and it takes a while to get down to the heart but once you do then its pure gold. Then we have our heroine, whom I really loved. I just had a blast with her character. She has such spirit and genuine heart and intentions and I admired her strength. She stands up for herself which I really was endeared by. The plot of the story is what really makes this story shine. The author kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through this and I was so eager to see it play out in the end.

What I Struggled With
I really struggled with the angst and how the hero treats the heroine. This was really hard to see, because the heroine has such a tender heart. And the hero has all of these wrong misconceptions about her character and its really tough to see how hard he is on her and he can come off as very demeaning and almost bullying in some respects. So keep that in mind before reading this one if these characteristics might be triggering for you.

Overall View
Autumn Lover is a story that is full of autumn vibes, spicy angst, and a plot to keep you eager and involved....a solid win of a story!

Favorite Quote(s)
For Elyssa it was like being in one of her restless dreamsβ€”darkness and moonlight, the scent of rosemary and the rippling murmur of water, Hunter’s eyes watching her with a hunger that made her heart turn over.

β€œNo one can stand upright on fire,” Elyssa whispered. β€œAll you can do is sink into it…and let it burn.”

Autumn lover. I’ll remember you each year when leaves turn to fire.

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Historical Romance
Time Era(s): American West, Civil War, Reconstruction
Character Types: Alpha Male, Jerk Hero, Tortured Hero
Themes: Angsty, Pining Heroine, Groveling Hero, Danger, Western, Autumn Fall Vibes
Tropes: Unrequited Lovers, Revenge, Age Gap

Book Perspective
3rd POV

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Both

Song This Book Inspires
This Is My Trying-Taylor Swift

Recommendation For Reading Order
You can read as a standalone

Steam/Spice Explanations

Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
… (more)
 
Flagged
addictofromance | 3 other reviews | Sep 10, 2023 |
9788492415113
 
Flagged
archivomorero | 1 other review | May 21, 2023 |

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Statistics

Works
139
Also by
4
Members
23,691
Popularity
#884
Rating
½ 3.7
Reviews
337
ISBNs
965
Languages
13
Favorited
34

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