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Fiction. Romance. Western. HTML:The Blackthornes and the Creeds. Two powerful Texas dynasties–and lifelong enemies. Set in the heart of the modern-day West, New York Times bestselling author Joan Johnston brings to passionate life the clash of wills between Blackthorne and Creed . . . as a man and woman discover a love stronger than the forces trying to tear them apart.Summer Blackthorne swore she’d never forgive Billy Coburn for running out on her and their future together. But show more that was before she found out she wasn’t Jackson Blackthorne’s child–Billy was. And now the “Blackthorne Bastard” has come home for a final day of reckoning...to the town that damned him and the woman he had always wanted. Only Summer can satisfy the hunger burning deep within him. Only she can help him hold on to his own unwanted son. It will be a marriage of expedience only. Until doubts and mistrust vanish in the heat of passion...and a man and a woman who never stopped loving each other fight bitter blood and impossible odds for a glorious second chance....
BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Joan Johnston's Sinful. show less
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Member Reviews
Overall Rating: 5.00
Action: 3.0 / Emotion: 5.0 / Romance: 5.0 / Sensuous: 2.5 / Suspense: 4.0 // Laughter: 4 / Giggle: 2 // Tears: 8 / Teary: 3
The Loner: 5.00:
Joan Johnston's third book in The Bitter Creek Series is one of those books that is impossible to put down after reading that first sentence. This over-nighter, un-put-down-able book was so engaging, intriguing, and emotionally moving that it was impossible not to give it the highest rating -- five stars. Basically, this book just "spoke" to me.
Hero: 4.95:
'Bad' Billy Coburn: You have to love a hero that never gave up. Billy overcame an extremely difficult childhood and turned out to be an honorable, compassionate man. It also helped that Billy was an incredibly masculine hero that show more had that special something that bad boys usually possess that melts a reader's heart. It would have been nice if he would have admitted his love for Summer sooner.
Heroine: 4.00:
Summer Blackthorne: Even though she came across as unlikeable in the previous books of the series (a spoiled little rich girl with a sense of entitlement), Summer won hearts because she was willing to try to live in Billy's world in spite of his mother and sister, who didn't like her. It was easy to identify with Summer because she exposed the same vulnerabilities to readers that all women seem to possess to some degree or another.
Story Line: 5.00:
Johnston did a great job with this story line. She built the romance between Billy and Summer, while in the background finishing up the unrequited story of love between Jackson "Blackjack" Blackthorne and Lauren "Ren" Creed, and including a third mini love story between paraplegic Sam Creed and Emma Coburn. Also, the twist that Eve threw into the mix was quite original and entertaining.
Action: 3.00:
Although the story moved along at a quick pace, it was not filled with a lot of action and adventure scenes to add extra excitement to the book.
Emotion: 5.00:
Johnston is simply gifting at tying the emotions of the reader to her characters. Johnston engaged the readers on such an emotional level that she brought forth laughter, giggles, that tight throat feeling, and tears.
Romance: 5.00:
This book will filled with three love stories in one. A strong sense of romance permeated all three of those stories.
Suspense: 4.00:
Johnston managed to keep the readers guessing all the way through the book. Was Billy ever going to confess his love to Summer? Was Summer ever going to realize she loved Billy? Were Blackjack and Ren going to get their belated happily-ever-after? Would Sam and Emma grab hold of their happiness? Would Billy and Summer solve the murder investigation in time?
Sensuous: 2.50:
Johnston may not include graphically detailed love scenes in her books, but there is just something about the way she writes those scenes that adds a sizzling sensuality to the story that is always a wonderful addition to any romance book.
Secondary Characters: 5.00:
One thing that Johnston does extremely well in her books is to include secondary characters that bring her books to life. In this book, numerous secondary characters were given a point of view voice that greatly enhanced the story. Besides Blackjack, Ren, Sam, and Emma, the other secondary characters that added a vivid flavor to the book included: {1} Evelyn "Eve" DeWitt Blackthorne; and {2} Dora Coburn. Also enjoyed the cameo visit of Callie and her children and Bay and her children when they visited Uncle Sam.
A more in-depth, detailed, spoiler-ridden review of The Loner appears at Wolf Bear Does Books (http://goo.gl/S3sMlN). show less
Action: 3.0 / Emotion: 5.0 / Romance: 5.0 / Sensuous: 2.5 / Suspense: 4.0 // Laughter: 4 / Giggle: 2 // Tears: 8 / Teary: 3
The Loner: 5.00:
Joan Johnston's third book in The Bitter Creek Series is one of those books that is impossible to put down after reading that first sentence. This over-nighter, un-put-down-able book was so engaging, intriguing, and emotionally moving that it was impossible not to give it the highest rating -- five stars. Basically, this book just "spoke" to me.
Hero: 4.95:
'Bad' Billy Coburn: You have to love a hero that never gave up. Billy overcame an extremely difficult childhood and turned out to be an honorable, compassionate man. It also helped that Billy was an incredibly masculine hero that show more had that special something that bad boys usually possess that melts a reader's heart. It would have been nice if he would have admitted his love for Summer sooner.
Heroine: 4.00:
Summer Blackthorne: Even though she came across as unlikeable in the previous books of the series (a spoiled little rich girl with a sense of entitlement), Summer won hearts because she was willing to try to live in Billy's world in spite of his mother and sister, who didn't like her. It was easy to identify with Summer because she exposed the same vulnerabilities to readers that all women seem to possess to some degree or another.
Story Line: 5.00:
Johnston did a great job with this story line. She built the romance between Billy and Summer, while in the background finishing up the unrequited story of love between Jackson "Blackjack" Blackthorne and Lauren "Ren" Creed, and including a third mini love story between paraplegic Sam Creed and Emma Coburn. Also, the twist that Eve threw into the mix was quite original and entertaining.
Action: 3.00:
Although the story moved along at a quick pace, it was not filled with a lot of action and adventure scenes to add extra excitement to the book.
Emotion: 5.00:
Johnston is simply gifting at tying the emotions of the reader to her characters. Johnston engaged the readers on such an emotional level that she brought forth laughter, giggles, that tight throat feeling, and tears.
Romance: 5.00:
This book will filled with three love stories in one. A strong sense of romance permeated all three of those stories.
Suspense: 4.00:
Johnston managed to keep the readers guessing all the way through the book. Was Billy ever going to confess his love to Summer? Was Summer ever going to realize she loved Billy? Were Blackjack and Ren going to get their belated happily-ever-after? Would Sam and Emma grab hold of their happiness? Would Billy and Summer solve the murder investigation in time?
Sensuous: 2.50:
Johnston may not include graphically detailed love scenes in her books, but there is just something about the way she writes those scenes that adds a sizzling sensuality to the story that is always a wonderful addition to any romance book.
Secondary Characters: 5.00:
One thing that Johnston does extremely well in her books is to include secondary characters that bring her books to life. In this book, numerous secondary characters were given a point of view voice that greatly enhanced the story. Besides Blackjack, Ren, Sam, and Emma, the other secondary characters that added a vivid flavor to the book included: {1} Evelyn "Eve" DeWitt Blackthorne; and {2} Dora Coburn. Also enjoyed the cameo visit of Callie and her children and Bay and her children when they visited Uncle Sam.
A more in-depth, detailed, spoiler-ridden review of The Loner appears at Wolf Bear Does Books (http://goo.gl/S3sMlN). show less
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Author Information
115+ Works 7,535 Members
Joan Johnston received a B.A. in theatre arts from Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida, an M.A. in theatre from the University of Illinois in Urbana, and a J.D. with honors from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. She has worked as a newspaper editor and drama critic, a director of theatre, a college professor, and an show more attorney. She is currently a full-time romance author. She has written over 50 novels including Sisters Found, The Cowboy, The Texan, The Loner, The Next Mrs. Blackthorne, No Longer a Stranger, and The Price. She also writes the Captive Hearts series and the Bitter Creek series. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Loner
- Original publication date
- 2002-04
- People/Characters
- Summer Blackthorne; Billy Coburn
- Important places
- Texas, USA
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 242
- Popularity
- 133,843
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.66)
- Languages
- Czech, English, French
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 3
