Kaki Warner
Author of Pieces of Sky
About the Author
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Works by Kaki Warner
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- female
- Short biography
- Kaki Warner is an award-winning author and long time resident of the Pacific Northwest. Although she now lives on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State, Kaki actually grew up in the Southwest and is a proud graduate of the University of Texas. Her years spent riding horses and enjoying the expansive views of Texas became the Historical Romance Author, Kaki Warner inspiration for the backdrop of her novels - the wide-open spaces of historic New Mexico Territory.
Several years ago after their two children had left for college, Kaki and her husband, Joe, moved from the city to their hilltop cabin overlooking the scenic Methow Valley. Kaki now spends her time gardening, hiking, reading, writing, and soaking in the view from the deck with her husband and floppy-eared hound dog
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Forget about the romance - the novel is worth the cost just for the spirited sniping between Rafe and Thomas. And for Ash's grumblings too. Warner writes heroes to die for, and Rafe is one of her best. Laconic but honorable, his actions definitely speak louder than words. I didn't love Warner's last two books but this one shows her back on track. I am worried that Thomas and Prudence's story, which comes next, will read like the romance between a noble savage and a saintly black woman, and show more not a real relationship between two genuine human beings, but maybe she can pull it off. show less
When Molly McFarlane arrived in Savannah to visit her ailing sister what she found was a surly brother-in-law (Fletcher), a terrified niece and nephew, and her sister at death’s door. Before she took her last breath, her sister begged Molly to take the children and get as far away from Savannah (and Fletcher) as possible. Fletcher and a group of men were searching for a book of valuable information that could lead to another war between the north and south. They were convinced Molly or the show more children took the book so they sent a search team to find them.
A few weeks later, traveling west through Texas, their train derailed. The train company paid out death benefits to the dead passengers’ families. Feeling desperate, Molly claimed to be engaged to a man who was barely alive. Told she must be his wife to collect the money, she arranged a deathbed marriage and found the local minister to bless the union. The patient (Hank Wilkins) didn’t die and Molly used her nursing skills to help him recover. Hank’s brother Brady arrived to bring him back to the family’s New Mexico ranch. Upon hearing about his brother’s marital status Brady convinced Molly to come to the ranch where she could continue to help with Hank. This sounded like a good idea to Molly because she and the children needed to be protected until she could figure out her next move. She was certain that Hank would want the marriage annulled once he regained his memory and realized he didn’t know her, much less propose to her, before the derailment.
Kaki Warner takes us back to Rosa Roja Ranch – home of the Wilkins brothers. In Pieces of Sky we met Brady, the oldest brother, and his English wife Jessica. Open Country is the story of Hank, the second brother, and Molly, the woman he doesn’t remember marrying. Hank is the intelligent, quiet brother – a man you want on your side. I enjoyed the story of Molly and Hank. Both are used to being self-reliant and are slow to back down when they feel tested. They each feel a duty to family and that shines in this book. The author wrote touching and emotion-filled scenes for these two vibrant characters. It was nice to see minor characters from the first book, especially Dougal. He added perfect comic relief.
This novel has action, drama, romance and humor. I recommend Open Country to fans of (Western) Historical Romance. show less
A few weeks later, traveling west through Texas, their train derailed. The train company paid out death benefits to the dead passengers’ families. Feeling desperate, Molly claimed to be engaged to a man who was barely alive. Told she must be his wife to collect the money, she arranged a deathbed marriage and found the local minister to bless the union. The patient (Hank Wilkins) didn’t die and Molly used her nursing skills to help him recover. Hank’s brother Brady arrived to bring him back to the family’s New Mexico ranch. Upon hearing about his brother’s marital status Brady convinced Molly to come to the ranch where she could continue to help with Hank. This sounded like a good idea to Molly because she and the children needed to be protected until she could figure out her next move. She was certain that Hank would want the marriage annulled once he regained his memory and realized he didn’t know her, much less propose to her, before the derailment.
Kaki Warner takes us back to Rosa Roja Ranch – home of the Wilkins brothers. In Pieces of Sky we met Brady, the oldest brother, and his English wife Jessica. Open Country is the story of Hank, the second brother, and Molly, the woman he doesn’t remember marrying. Hank is the intelligent, quiet brother – a man you want on your side. I enjoyed the story of Molly and Hank. Both are used to being self-reliant and are slow to back down when they feel tested. They each feel a duty to family and that shines in this book. The author wrote touching and emotion-filled scenes for these two vibrant characters. It was nice to see minor characters from the first book, especially Dougal. He added perfect comic relief.
This novel has action, drama, romance and humor. I recommend Open Country to fans of (Western) Historical Romance. show less
First 2/3rds of the book were very good. The flavor of the Old West was very well done. This wasn't just a wallpaper history read. The characterizations were very well done and quite in depth. The people were multidimensional. There were bits of humor and angst and tragedy and caring. But the book just went on too long. The story seemed to end and then there was a weird unnecessary situation at the end where she left him to go back to England and he finally came for her a year later. She was show more pissed because he wouldn't give up his land for her. I thought she shouldn't have asked. Realistically if you love the man then you love his love for the land, that love being part of who he is. show less
A good Western romance is a rare thing these days and this is one of the best ones I've read. Both Molly the heroine and Hank, the hero are great characters. Molly is placed in an untenable situation. Her dying sister begs Molly to take her two children away from their evil stepfather, which Molly who has just lost their father does. She travels from city to city with her niece and nephew, trying to escape, and is in desperate straights when a train derailment occurs and she decides to marry show more a stranger who seems at deaths door to collect the death benefit money. When his brother, Grady, the hero of the previous book in this trilogy finds out, he blackmails Molly into heading to the ranch, first to care for a very damaged Hank who doesn't die after all due to Molly's care, and second, as Grady's wife Jessica, is due to give birth soon and Grady is frantic for her sake.
But this deception does not sit well at all for Molly and even less so when her feelings for Hank deepen. She knows he will be angry when he finally realizes how he has been deceived. She makes for a great heroine. She's strong - she's had to be as an assistant to her physician father, she's never had a real chance to live a normal life. She is honest and loyal and she feels terrible about what she did to Hank and suffers for it, but she is determined to take care of her only remaining family. Yet she's also vulnerable too and afraid that she will lose Hank once he finds out.
And Hank. What a delicious hero he makes for. When he first recovers, he has no memory of who he is. But it doesn't take long for him to remember everything - except for Mollie and his step children. He's the strong but silent hero type as anyone who has read Pieces of Sky will remember. A shallow thing, but I'm glad Molly shaved his beard off very early in the story. Although he doesn't remember his 'wife' he slowly develops feelings for her, only to experience betrayal when the truth comes out. He doesn't talk a whole lot, and when he's upset, takes to doing rather endearing things while working it out in his head. He loves to tinker with things and is a bit of a loner and an inventor.
Brady and Jessica from the first book also play a large role in this book, though I don't think you have to have read Pieces of Sky to enjoy this book. Mandi didn't and she still really enjoyed Open Country. So often previous characters in series only make a token appearance and I'm glad they were more than that in this book.
This is a Western, and a gritty one at that. Both Molly and Hank do things that aren't necessarily easy to read about, but I thought the author did a great job in showing us why they did what they did.
This book has more of an epic feel to it and reminds me of the books of yesterday without the overblown writing that sometimes went along with them. If you are a fan of Westerns this is one that you must read and if you are thinking about reading a Western this is one you must read. If you've never read a Western, but like books with great characterization, a strong hero and a delicious hero, this is one you must read. In short, anyone who loves a good romance, this is one you should read. show less
But this deception does not sit well at all for Molly and even less so when her feelings for Hank deepen. She knows he will be angry when he finally realizes how he has been deceived. She makes for a great heroine. She's strong - she's had to be as an assistant to her physician father, she's never had a real chance to live a normal life. She is honest and loyal and she feels terrible about what she did to Hank and suffers for it, but she is determined to take care of her only remaining family. Yet she's also vulnerable too and afraid that she will lose Hank once he finds out.
And Hank. What a delicious hero he makes for. When he first recovers, he has no memory of who he is. But it doesn't take long for him to remember everything - except for Mollie and his step children. He's the strong but silent hero type as anyone who has read Pieces of Sky will remember. A shallow thing, but I'm glad Molly shaved his beard off very early in the story. Although he doesn't remember his 'wife' he slowly develops feelings for her, only to experience betrayal when the truth comes out. He doesn't talk a whole lot, and when he's upset, takes to doing rather endearing things while working it out in his head. He loves to tinker with things and is a bit of a loner and an inventor.
Brady and Jessica from the first book also play a large role in this book, though I don't think you have to have read Pieces of Sky to enjoy this book. Mandi didn't and she still really enjoyed Open Country. So often previous characters in series only make a token appearance and I'm glad they were more than that in this book.
This is a Western, and a gritty one at that. Both Molly and Hank do things that aren't necessarily easy to read about, but I thought the author did a great job in showing us why they did what they did.
This book has more of an epic feel to it and reminds me of the books of yesterday without the overblown writing that sometimes went along with them. If you are a fan of Westerns this is one that you must read and if you are thinking about reading a Western this is one you must read. If you've never read a Western, but like books with great characterization, a strong hero and a delicious hero, this is one you must read. In short, anyone who loves a good romance, this is one you should read. show less
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