Action-filled historical western…

I’m a big fan of this author and was thrilled about this new series featuring adventure, danger and cowboys! Right from the start, the action took center stage with secrets and family truths slowly revealed. Phoebe and Remington butted heads from the beginning so their chemistry-fueled relationship was anything but sweet. Sultry, drama-filled for sure, but definitely not sweet…

If I didn’t engage in the story as much as I wanted to, I’m going to blame it on a reading funk I can’t seem to shake. That isn’t going to deter me from diving into the next read because, well, this author and cowboys!

A Touch of Frost took me back to the old west back in 1800’s. I’m always curious about how people lived and got by years ago, and it was interesting to get a glimpse into that time. The old west ranch life is appealing to me, and Colorado from the descriptions sounded like a beautiful place. Phoebe and Remington’s romance captured my heart right away, and there was a bit of suspense mixed in to keep the story exciting.

Phoebe has grown up in New York, her life revolving around working stage/theater where her older sister, Fiona was a star for many years only to give it up for a handsome older cowboy/widower, Thaddeus Frost. Wasn’t a huge fan of Phoebe’s sister, and her drama, but by the end I could understand some of it.

Phoebe takes the train out to join her sister out in Colorado on the Twin Star Ranch only to be held up and abducted off the train. Never fear, Phoebe’s brother-in-law sent along his son, Remington, to watch over her, and make sure she makes it safely to Twin Star.

Phoebe was a spunky heroine I immediately connected with. Loved the banter between her and Remington! They had great chemistry, and once their romance took off it was super hot! Also, the men in historical romances never seem to have issues with committing like modern day romances and that eliminates some of the frustration or uncertainty I feel while reading contemporary romances. Once Remington got to know Phoebe he was determined to stick by her.

There was some action, a few twists, and danger rounding out this western historical romance quite nicely. This is my first time reading Jo Goodman, so I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy this as much as I did. I’ll be checking her backlist for sure.

Review will be posted on the 29th of June.

Lou: Jo Goodman is an autoread for many of us at The Bookpushers and I was so excited to read A Touch of Frost. While I liked the hero and heroine, sadly I struggled with the rest of the book for a multitude of reasons. I’ll talk about the good first! I adored Phoebe and Remington. Their witty banter and romance is what kept me reading the pages during the times I struggled. Phoebe is smart and witty and her disguise on the train was awesome. I loved that her background came from a theatre and I would have loved to have seen her in that atmosphere and setting. Anyways, the beginning of the book had me hooked. A train robbery, a confident gun-shooting Phoebe taking lead while poor Remington got knocked unconscious and wasn’t there to save the day. It was a really neat flip.

E: Like Lou I struggled with A Touch of Frost. I think I had to read it a few times before I clearly understood the main characters and their relationships with each other. I ended up resorting to drawing a mental map and connecting the dots because I really felt like I was reading five different relationships (not all romantic) between five different people but the connections weren’t evenly distributed. I really liked Phoebe and Remington - their inner strength, inner quietness, and their secrets. Their relationship was a slow-burn one and despite looking the most complicated on paper ended up being the most straightforward. Their “meet-cute” had me laughing and I enjoyed seeing their trust slowly build. However, the other relationships along with something which is seeming to become a trend with Goodman’s recent writing has left me less than thrilled.

Marlene: I’m on the same page. Remington and Phoebe’s bantering relationship completely sucked me in. Every time they were together, the dialog absolutely sparkled. I also loved the way that Phoebe stood up for herself with Remington, and that he understood that the only way anything would work between them would be if they were equals. But the other relationships, and the central suspense plot, dragged more than a bit. I’ll also confess that I very much found myself wishing that Phoebe and Fiona’s names were so similar, and Fiona’s status so frequently obscured, often by her own machinations, that I kept getting them mixed up.

Lou: Yes their slow-burn romance was lovely–and I’m a huge fan of slow-burn romances–and they were the tower of strength amongst a host of other characters that confused me to no end. Firstly the identities of the kidnappers and how they were interconnected with the town left me scratching my head at times. Their brief POV chapters didn’t seem to add anything to the story, except adding to my confusement. Then there is Remington’s father, who is married to Fiona, who is Phoebe’s sister. Fiona...was not an easy character to like. At all. I’m not sure I would even call her an interesting character, because her sole purpose seemed to be a tension stick between Remington and Phoebe. She wasn’t very nice to Phoebe. She tried something with Remington back in the day that once Phoebe learns about is literally physically sick. Learning about Fiona’s history made the way she behaved understandable. But another reveal just added to the overall confusement. One aspect I did not like at all was something that happened in another Goodman book where an older woman character is made out to be the bad guy. And this book had a similar theme, and it’s like, what gives?

I’m still mulling over what Goodman did to Phoebe when she was younger.

[spoiler]Phoebe was raped multiple times and the way Goodman revealed this was done in such a casual and matter of fact manner. Then there was the reveal of who Fiona was to Phoebe, which ties in with the rape of Phoebe. [/spoiler]

E: The villains..well let me clarify, the train robbers/kidnappers started off as minor/bit players but then they seemed to take on an autonomy almost like they wanted to become main characters. Looking back, I think the shift was meant to illustrate a couple of different things, first how lucky Phoebe and Remington were during the initial kidnapping which was already evident but seemed to mostly work within the story. The second thing I took away was an example of how a single bad deed can quickly snowball into worse actions which didn’t seem to fit because the kidnappers weren’t individuals I had any vested interest in so it threw me out of the story. I will agree Fiona was an extremely difficult person to like and she was involved in three of the primary “relationships” not always to her credit. I actually wanted to see more of Thaddeus and Fiona’s relationship not just the contentious tense parts. I got the feeling their courtship and coming to consensus would have revealed a lot.

[spoiler]In several of her books and with what appears to be an increasing frequency the heroine has been raped or dealt with attempted rape - in some cases it was a villain in the story and other cases in the past. There are other ways to describe evil and to add emotional punch. While Fiona and Phoebe share a special bond due to rape/attempted rape and the impact of those actions does strongly inform the present day, in story time personalities, I think Goodman is starting to lose me as an autobuy because of the prevalence. [/spoiler]

Marlene: [spoiler]This is where some serious mixed feelings come into play for me, too. There are plenty of other ways for a woman to be traumatized besides either rape or a stalker, which is a trap that too many romantic suspense series fall into. But getting down off my soapbox, Phoebe’s reveal of her past rape felt too casual. Not that she couldn’t have found a way to deal with it, but something about that scene just didn’t feel right. [/spoiler]

As far as Fiona went, I did figure out their actual relationship before that reveal, but Fiona was such an unlikeable character for so much of the book that I didn’t necessarily feel all that bad for her. The way she treats Phoebe was abusive enough when it seemed they were sisters, but felt way over the top once the truth came out.

The rest of the villains seemed like paper tigers. There just wasn’t much there, there, and their perspective added more confusion than substance.

Lou: Yes I could have done without the POV from the villains. A more active subplot of a whodunnit would have been much more entertaining. Which brings home another issue I had with how slow the plot meandered at times. It took me almost five days to finish this book. Apart from the scenes with Phoebe and Remington, the other POV from other characters added nothing much to the story. Instead of creating a secondary romantic subplot with Thaddeus and Fiona, we got petty jealousies and insecurities that had me not caring in the slightest about what happened between them, especially with how unlikeable Fiona was as a character.

[spoiler]Yes I too have noticed Goodman heavily relies on rape for emotional impact in her books and I agree with E and Marlene’s points. There are other ways to describe evil in a harsh time period that doesn’t include sexual violence towards the heroine. [/spoiler]

The story also ended very abruptly with a quick conclusion to the kidnappers. This book really was a miss for me compared to the previous Goodman novels I’ve loved. Not sure what happened with this book. I liked Phoebe and Remington and their romance, but the other issues in the book made me feel somewhat relieved that the story was finished. You know the dreams you have where you’re running from something but you don’t actually move? This book was sort of the equivalent where I kept reading and reading and nothing much was happening. It’s over 400 pages long, which to me was overcooked considering there wasn’t much happening in the book itself.

Sadly I’m giving A Touch of Frost a C grade. Like E, I am going to be hesitant in picking up future books if they have similar themes we discussed in the spoiler tags.

E: I also noticed the “it’s complicated” relationship that did or did not exist previously between Thaddeus and his housekeeper. This was the catalyst to a lot of the unrest Phoebe arrived to find after Remington rescued her, but it didn’t come up until well into the story when I was already confused about Fiona’s reactions to certain comments. I really feel like this story lost its way leaving me disappointed and wondering if/why I liked Goodman’s writing previously. I literally went back and reread one to remind myself of why I had eagerly waited a year for this release. I really hope Goodman is back on form for her next release but unfortunately I am going to temper my eagerness and expectations as a result.

I give A Touch of Frost a C-/D+

Marlene: I did finish this book in a single day. As much as the kidnapping plot dragged out the end, and as much as I really, really did not like Fiona, the scenes with Remington and Phoebe carried me through. But, and it is a very big but in this instance, A Touch of Frost is nowhere near the book that This Gun for Hire is. I liked Phoebe and Remington, and I loved the fact that this is a romance of equals, and one done realistically well for this time and place. I was happy that of all the many, many misunderstandings that power the plot of this story, none of them involve a misunderstandammit between Remington and Phoebe.

In my full review of A Touch of Frost at Reading Reality (https://www.readingreality.net/2017/06/review-a-touch-of-frost-by-jo-goodman/) I gave it a B, and I should probably stick to that. But after reading all of E’s and Lou’s comments, I’m thinking I was probably a bit generous. C’est la vie.

The hero’s name is Remington Frost – what a great name. And he lives up to it – he starts off a little grumbly and mysterious and he turns into a lovely fellow who cares so much for the heroine.

We start on a train, as our heroine, Phoebe is leaving New York and her theater career, to head west to be with her sister. Phoebe is very familiar with the theater, having worked behind and in front of the curtain. When she receives an invitation to go out west to be with her sister, Fiona and her new husband, Phoebe realizes she misses her sister and is ready for a western adventure. She boards a train and gets that adventure when the train is robbed at gunpoint.

Remington Frost is the son of Fiona’s new husband. His father asks Remington, who is already traveling, to catch the same train as Phoebe just to keep an eye on her. Remington has never met Phoebe but has a picture of her, and does catch up with her. When the train suddenly stops and they are robbed, Remington hits his head and falls unconscious. When he awakes, Phoebe has been taken by the bad guys, supposedly to be held for ransom. He takes off after her, and eventually finds her tied up in a cabin.

This all sounds very dramatic but Phoebe’s wit really puts a light-hearted tone on this book. She is stubborn and independent and smart. She leaves “bread crumbs” as her captors drag her away, hoping someone from the train will come to find her. Being from the city, she isn’t a good horse rider, something that is amusing throughout the book.

After Remington finds her, he accompanies her to her sister’s house (and Remington’s father’s house) where Phoebe settles in and Remington and her fall in love. Their romance unfolds fast, but at the same time the author gives the two of them a lot of page time alone together, so the reader doesn’t feel cheated out of their story. You know when they get stranded in a storm, and find a cabin for shelter for the night – that the smexy times are coming, and the quiet, intimate conversation and their relationship is pretty much a done deal. I do love a surprise storm and a sex cabin.

This is more of a 3.5 star read for me because after the excitement of the train and the blossoming romance, this book has a bit of a slower pace. There is a side story with Fiona (Phoebe’s sister) and her husband and some rocky roads in their marriage. And the mystery is still there as to who robbed and kidnapped Phoebe. It just was a little slow for me at times. But Phoebe and Remington’s banter would come through and make me smile:

“Sit up,” he said. “What are you doing?”

“Soothing her.”

“More like confusing her. Just keep your hands where they are.”

“Yes, sir. I’d salute you, but I’m keeping my hands where they are.”

“That’s sass, isn’t it?”

I really enjoyed the first book in this series – if you have yet to check it out. Jo Goodman has a nice voice in this genre.

Grade: B-

<i>A Touch of Frost</i> should hit the spot for fans of Jo Goodman, but might lag a bit for new readers. While the characters are excellent and the romance is sweet, the book suffers from pacing issues.

The first 25% or so were dedicated to a kidnapping and rescue, which should have felt high stakes and high octane but really just kind of...dragged. The ending, which has a lot packed into it, felt rather rushed and a little unsatisfactory. The parts that were good, however, were really, really great.

Goodman is great at growing a romance in little moments, and there are a lot of great little moments in this book. I just wish that she'd dwelled on those a little more, and on the relationship between the heroine and her sister, than on that kidnapping at the beginning.

Overall, the book is a solid read, but it's not one that I'm likely to reach for again in the future.

A Touch of Frost turned out to be how I spent one day of my weekend. It was a good day.

I like Jo Goodman’s historical western romances quite a bit. If you haven’t indulged, This Gun for Hire is every bit as good as everyone said it was. Possibly even better.

What makes her romances so special, and so very interesting, are the characters. Both the hero and the heroine are unconventional in one way or another, and the way that they work together carries the story, usually on a wave of intelligent banter. As is true in A Touch of Frost.

The story begins with Phoebe Apple’s kidnapping. Just when she starts to think that all of the dime novel desperadoes that she’s been reading about are purely fictional, her train is stopped by a masked gang who rob the passengers and take her hostage.

At first it seems as if her kidnapping was just bad luck, but the more that the gang talks among themselves, the more it seems as if her kidnapping was the entire purpose of the expedition, and that any petty thievery that took place was mostly window-dressing. But Phoebe doesn’t believe that anyone would bother ransoming her. Her sister may be the new wife of a wealthy landowner, but Fiona Apple has no money of her own, and as far as Phoebe knows there’s no reason why Fiona’s husband would pay good money to ransom his sister-in-law.

It’s pretty clear that Phoebe knows nothing about the way that things really work out west. She has no idea that her new brother-in-law, Thaddeus Frost, set his son Remington on her trail, to guard her until she arrived safely at the Frost ranch. And it’s a good thing that he did.

While Remington is rather ignominiously laid low during the actual robbery, he’s pretty quick to recover after the fact and set out in search of Phoebe and her kidnappers. Phoebe, who may be a bit uninformed but is certainly smart as well as brave, has left a trail of discarded items to serve as breadcrumbs for any potential rescuer.

From their very first meeting, Remington and Phoebe strike sparks off of each other. In spite of the pretty awful circumstances, Remington finds Phoebe game to continue with any plan he hatches, and he gets them out of her current mess and safely home while others pursue the gang. A gang that successfully eludes pursuit and makes off with the $2,000 ransom that Thaddeus willingly paid. Back when $2,000 was very definitely real money.

Money that he doesn’t even want back, now that Phoebe is safe.

And that’s where the story really begins. Because Thaddeus is very much afraid that his new wife arranged the kidnapping – not because she wishes her sister any harm, but because she desperately wants enough money to leave him and go back to the bright lights and big city of New York, where she was a very successful actress.

He just wants to make Fiona want to stay, and has zero idea of how to go about it – which is why he sent for Phoebe. Phoebe, on that other hand, knows all of Fiona’s little tricks, because she’s been the victim of most of them. They may love each other, but Fiona’s many, many, many insecurities mean that she can’t resist scoring off of Phoebe at every single turn.

And Phoebe discovers that, unlike her sister, she loves life in the wilds of Colorado. She finds every single bit of life on the ranch absolutely fascinating. And in spite of every argument that Fiona makes against him, Phoebe discovers that she loves Remington Frost.

But her kidnappers are still out there, and now they’ve upped their game to murder. It becomes a question of whose luck will run out first, Phoebe’s or her kidnappers.

Escape Rating B: I had a lot of fun with this book because every scene between Phoebe and Remington absolutely sparkles with wit and humor. Their romance proceeds at a fast and fun clip from their shaky meeting until they fall into each other’s arms. There isn’t a lot of pretense between them, and that’s wonderful to see in a romance. They are each simply themselves, and their personalities just work together. Also, this is very definitely a romance of equals, something that is difficult to both successfully and reasonably pull off in a historical romance.

It was also great that whatever the conflicts are in the story, and there are plenty of them, not a one of those conflicts requires a misunderstandammit between the hero and heroine. There are a lot of times when Remington wishes that he didn’t have to tell Phoebe the gory details of what’s going on, but he knows that he has to for their relationship to work. So he does it, and with very little prevarication at that.

But there are plenty of secrets in the story just the same. There’s an entire herd of drama llamas camped on the field between Thaddeus and Fiona. They do love each other, but they are not talking to each other, at least not about anything that really matters. There’s a huge subplot between them that can be summed up as “assume makes an ass out of u and me”.

Starting with Fiona assuming that Thaddeus had a long-running affair with his housekeeper after the death of his wife, and that said affair was still going on up until he met Fiona, if not longer. That said housekeeper is in love with Thaddeus makes the whole thing believable, and that Thaddeus has been oblivious to the woman’s feelings for 20-something years just adds to the confusion.

But the big mystery in this story is all about the kidnapping, and the subsequent murders. As much as I enjoyed the interplay between Phoebe and Remington, the case felt like it took a bit too long to finally unravel. Although I knew Fiona wasn’t behind it, finding out who was, why, and how, seemed awfully slow to come together. I reached a point where I just wanted them to wrap it up already.

And as much as I loved Phoebe, Fiona is an extremely unlikable character from beginning to end. It’s a good thing that Phoebe loves her, because I certainly did not. I found her cruel and manipulative, and while I knew she wasn’t the mover and shaker behind events, I wouldn’t have minded a bit if she were.

But I was very glad at the end that I got to see Phoebe and Remington’s happy ending. They earned it!

Readers get their books from a number of sources. Like you, I come to The Romance Dish because I trust the people here as those who are steady, open-minded readers of fiction. There are several authors I’ve picked up due to The Romance Dish. I’ve picked up books recommended by my favorite authors; I’ve picked up books recommended by my best friends; and I’ve picked up books recommended by whichever woman’s magazine I’m reading that week. Now I’m sure there have been a number of reviews about Jo Goodman’s books, done by those listed above, but like some books (i.e. Harry Potter), sometimes it takes me longer to believe the hype.

I picked A Touch of Frost because the lady I take grocery shopping (a mother figure who is not my mother) has recently gotten back into reading again--chiefly romances--and I’ve been determined not to let this opportunity for her mental good health go unassisted when I can help. She is the kind of reader that romance writers write for, I believe--well, we write for all kinds--but my friend suffers from depression and bipolar disorder and has for many years before the right medications and care began to work for her. When she was younger, she used to read romances all the time; and then for about 20 years, she refused to read them at all. So when she started reading them again--and asked me specifically if I could bring her some books--I came loaded with books. I asked her preferences. Cowboys, she said.

At the library, I saw that Jo Goodman’s books had cowboys on the covers and I put several in the bag for my friend. The next week at our usual grocery-shopping-McDonald’s excursion, I asked what she’d read and if she liked anything. Normally she’ll say, “They were good. Nothing stood out.” But this particular week, she said, “The cowboy books were really good.” “You mean the Jo Goodman books?” “Yes,” she said emphatically, “I liked those.” You have to understand that this lady’s demur “liking” of something is my equivalent of a Harry Potter Is Coming squeal. So when PJ sent out a list of ARCs allowing us reviewers to pick and I saw a Jo Goodman book, I thought, “Linda likes her books. I’ll try that one.”

And much like when I finally picked up the first Harry Potter book--after years of ‘ignoring the hype’--I fell into the book like Alice down the rabbithole, thinking, why hadn’t anyone told me about these books before? This woman is amazing!

When A Touch of Frost opens, Phoebe Apple is on a train, headed west to Frost Falls, Colorado, to visit her sister, Fiona, and new brother-in-law, Thaddeus Frost, when the train is robbed and she is kidnapped for a ransom. A stranger on the train--one who had been watching her ever since St. Louis or Chicago--rescues her, only this is no stranger. Remington Frost is Thaddeus’ son, who asked him to keep an eye on the young woman to make sure she arrived to Colorado safely. Fortunately, Phoebe is rescued without much effort; however, the rest of the book turns around the mystery of who kidnapped her and why. Thaddeus, strangely, doesn’t care and isn’t even interested in getting back the $2000 he paid to the kidnappers. Unfortunately, Phoebe’s own sister seems to be the biggest suspect behind the kidnapping, which is only reinforced by Thaddeus’ insistence to let the whole thing drop.

Secrets are revealed. And then more secrets are revealed. And then the mother of all secrets is revealed. Jo Goodman is extremely light-reined in maneuvering the reader into believing one thing and then revealing something else altogether. While reading and enjoying the story, I couldn’t help but admire Ms. Goodman’s deftness at weaving her story. If writing a story is basket weaving--and in romances, there are critics who certainly give the impression there is no trick to basket weaving--she takes simple materials, but weaves such a fine steady pattern that by the time the product is completed, it will definitely hold water. She creates a story that holds up in plot, characterization, historical accuracy (social mores) and romance. The setting is complete but not intrusive; the banter between the two main characters is natural and endearing; and the love scenes were at once realistic but so sensual and warm, you want to dog-ear the pages to show a willing participant later.

Remington is the kind of hero to root for and to revel in, a man of honor and humor and patience. Phoebe is capable, compassionate, and curious. The mystery that unfolds (because if you guess who did it, you should be a Sherlock) is well-played; and the relationships between Thaddeus and Fiona, Fiona and Phoebe, and Phoebe and Remington are real, complicated but cohesive. Communication is key in all these relationships; and Ms. Goodman demonstrates why these relationships hold together and thrive despite some rather sticky circumstances.

I can’t decide which I enjoy better: her dialogue or her ability to create realistic characters and scenes. It all just works, and she makes it look easy.
5 Star - Top Dish review by Hellie for The Romance Dish

Phoebe and Remington are an enchanting couple, her rescuing him then the tides turn and she’s in need to a hero.

Jo Goodman has always been able to transport people back in time, create a magical cast of characters, and weave a plot that leaves the readers hanging on. Phoebe and Remington have chemistry that is off the charts, their banter had me laughing and wanting more, and then they dealt with everyday life problems. Remington’s dislike for Phoebe’s sister, Fiona, a former actress, who carries her flare of dramatic everywhere she goes. Thaddeus, Remingtons’ father, is clearly a role model for many, and defender of those he loves. Ms. Goodman threw a plot twist in that I never saw coming, the book was perfectly laid out.

I would love to read more about Frost Falls and the lives tangled together at the Frost Ranch. Jo Goodman is a creative storyteller that had me turning pages, emotionally invested and enjoying every bit of A Touch of Frost. I would recommend this novel to anyone with a like of historical western romances, a future reread for sure!!

Review copy provided for a voluntary review.

Meet the train, ride along, keep the young woman from harm, easy right? A train robbery, a kidnapping, and a ransom note later has Remington Frost wishing he’d never received his father’s message. Sounded like an exciting opener that I couldn’t wait to jump on board for the ride.
Review

This was a blend of western, mystery, and romance with quite the opening scene and a situation that got more complicated as it went along. A Touch of Frost was a good one and I enjoyed it, but it didn’t completely get there for me due to a few little niggles rather than one issue. This is not the first time that I found the author’s writing style, particularly with the dialogue, distracting. I guess it is what it is. I also felt like I was getting in at the midway point of this story and the tension and conflict was already in place even as other aspects were in the introduction. It wasn’t bad, but just took some adjusting. I felt we got to know Phoebe and Fiona a lot better than Remington who wasn’t drawn with as much depth. He was good and likeable, but not as deeply known.

That said, the humor and fun flirty-ness between Phoebe and Remington was the best. My favorite part of the story.

The pacing had a few moments when I got distracted, but generally I was fine as it set off with an exciting beginning and then drew back to slowly introduce the characters further, grow the romances, and do some twisting and revealing near the end.

There are multiple narrators including the bad guys which did detract from the suspense a little as a result. I felt there was a lot going on and for the most part I kept up. I had the kidnapping for ransom figured out quickly, but that other twist definitely took me by surprise.

So, there were some smaller things that stacked up so that this was a good one rather than a great one. I liked what I got of the story which had some fun, flirty humor as part of the romance and an interesting mystery element and would recommend it to those who enjoy spicy historical romance in a western setting.

My thanks to Penguin-Random House for the opportunity to read this one in exchange for an honest review.

A Touch of Frost by Jo Goodman is a western historical romance. This is one of the rare occasions that I read a western, especially being historical. I did enjoy this story, and the fact that the main characters were very likeable.

Phoebe Apple, our heroine, is on a train from New York heading to visit her sister in Frost Falls, Colorado. The train is robbed, and Phoebe, while trying to help an unconscious young man she had been eying, finds herself kidnapped.

Remington Frost, our hero, is the unconscious man, having fallen while trying to fight off the kidnappers. Remington is Phoebe sister, Fiona’s brother in law, and was sent by Thaddeus, his father to make sure Phoebe arrives safely to their ranch in Frost Falls. It will be Remington, who will leave the train, and rescue Phoebe.
What follows is a sweet slow build romance between Remington, who does not like Fiona and Phoebe, who has her own issues with Fiona. Fiona’s attitude towards Remington and Phoebe, as well as her own marriage plays a big part of this story. But Remington and Phoebe were so great together, as the romance was fun, humorous and their chemistry was sensual. The major plot surrounding their romance, and Fiona and Thaddeus marriage was the mystery behind Phoebe’s kidnapping. There is excitement and danger, when someone close to the Frosts comes back to haunt them, as lives are on the line in the action-filled last third of the book.

I loved Phoebe, who a strong independent young lady, and a fun heroine. I also adored the handsome Remington, who seemed like the perfect hunky cowboy we would all want to meet. I personally did not like Fiona, who seemed to think only herself, and came across as an unlikeable b**ch. Closer to the end, we see both Fiona and Phoebe comes to terms, and Fiona does get a bit better.

Jo Goodman did an excellent job in creating a wonderful couple in Remington and Phoebe, and a story which had a lot of humorous banter, and an enjoyable romance. If you enjoy romance, a western and historical background, with a fun sexy couple, then you should read A Touch of Frost.

A Touch of Frost is Jo Goodman's latest American Historical Romance, and as per usual, it's a good one. If you're unfamiliar with Goodman's writing, the style in which she writes can be surprising; it's subtle and entrancing and not at all conventional. In some ways if you're not paying attention you can miss the romance, or at least the deeper feelings that are part of the central relationship. The characters don't always "tell", but if you're paying attention you can find the "show" that indicates something much stronger than words can convey.

In A Touch of Frost Phoebe and Remington meet amidst a train robbery where Phoebe is kidnapped and Remington knocked unconscious. It's not a coincidence that they two were on the same train, in fact Remington was sent to escort Phoebe to his father's ranch since Phoebe's sister married his father. Their relationship unfolds slowly and delicately, something that I appreciate as the development of characters is something that I really enjoy about Goodman's romances.

A Touch of Frost very much demonstrates that Goodman is setting the bar high in the American Historical Romance genre. If you enjoyed Jodi Thomas' classic romances, there is no doubt that you will enjoy Goodman and her subtle romances filled with darkness and danger, which is nonetheless balanced out with characters who grab and hold your attention.

A Touch of Frost is, quite simply, a cracking good yarn. Jo Goodman takes us back to the old west in this amusing, emotionally intense, sensual and absorbing tale about a clever woman, the man bound to protect her, and the love that waylays their neatly formed plans.

The first time Phoebe Apple sees Remington Frost, she is traveling by train to visit her newly married older sister at her home in Frost Falls. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have much time to spare a thought for the man staring at her so intently, as a string of accidents - which culminate in her being kidnapped and Remington being injured – occur in rapid succession.

Remington is the son of Phoebe’s new brother-in-law, Thaddeus, who sent him to unobtrusively escort her to Frost Falls and ensure her safe arrival. After he rescues Phoebe from her captors, she settles in at Thaddeus’ ranch, and she and Remington start to bond and have long conversations while he teaches her to ride. New York native Phoebe, a one-time semi-professional actress and theatrical seamstress, hasn’t even seen the west coast before, but her innate toughness makes her a natural to plant her heels in the dirt and slowly grow toward loving ranch life. But her complicated relationship with her sister, Fiona, and the weight of their bond makes life awkward; Fiona’s continued struggle between wanting a purposeful life and wanting to live out her romance with Thaddeus shake things up, as does the fact that Phoebe’s kidnapping turns out not to be a random event but an organized act that puts her life and the lives of those around her in danger. Phoebe is going to have a tough row to hoe if she’s to make it to her happily ever after.

You know you’re reading a well-considered story when every single character is memorable. Phoebe is amusing and tough – her ice cold calm reaction to the robbery (the third she has experienced at this point) is too funny, and her breathless love of dime novels contrasts interestingly with the more jaded experiences her theatrical background has given her. But she has depth and heart and grit; she’s the kind of heroine who accidentally kicks her horse into a gallop while trying to smack the hero in retaliation for hiding information from her.

The inelegant, wry, smart Remington manages to be quite a competent rescuer – which is good because, much to Phoebe’s discomfort, she tends to need rescuing (thankfully Phoebe gets to return the favor as time goes on). Goodman loves laconic, honorable heroes with a sense of humor, and Remington is a good addition to that fold. He has loved and lost, but isn’t bitter about it, and has not given up on the idea of finding love again. His interactions with his father provide an interesting secondary relationship.

The banter between Remington and Phoebe is cute without being overly childish and prohibitive to the romance that is developing between them. They generally talk to each other like adults which is quite refreshing - although some of Remington’s choices when it comes to Phoebe are annoying in the very early stages of their romance. But these are minor problems within the scheme of their relationship, for it burns slowly and in a way that allows them to develop something true and solid between them - especially as they work through the issues that cause Phoebe to be reluctant to commit - and capture the audience’s hearts and emotions.

All the supporting characters are great, even the minor ones; I enjoyed smart little Madeline, Blue – a wise fixture of Frost Falls - and the gossipy busybody Mrs. Jacob C. Tyler. But then there’s also the stalwart, jealous Ellie and the complex Fiona, who loves her husband but behaves with reckless impulsivity and selfishness when it comes to her own needs and especially in regard to Phoebe. Yet mixed in with that self-centeredness is true tenderness, vulnerability and love for her sister and for Thaddeus. Even the dim gang that tries to kidnap Phoebe is fun in their scummy way. Equal weight is given to Fiona and Phoebe’s sisterly relationship, which is richly and lovingly wrought, and Thaddeus and Fiona’s romance is also solidly explored and deconstructed. The mystery as to who wants to eliminate Phoebe is handled well, with multiple red herrings keeping the guessing game going. There’s also a huge third act twist that I never saw coming.

The book’s general flaws are minor – besides some of the issues I had with parts of the very early courtship between Remington and Phoebe, there are a couple of grammatic bobbles and awkward name choices (people living in the 1800s wouldn’t speak of ‘the popular dime novels’, they’d just say ‘dime novels’, and Phoebe referring to one of her wannabe captors as "Mister Shoulders" feels a bit childish and awkward. At one point she “puts his [Remington’s] cock to the hot suck of her mouth” which just sounds weird). The writing style Goodman employs is otherwise well-honed, and its tone encompasses humor, adventure, character growth and some surprisingly dark drama.

A Touch of Frost offers up powerful romance, intelligent character drama and large helpings of humor. All in all, it’s a feast for the heart and mind.

Phoebe has no idea when the train is robbed and she is kidnapped that she will get involved in an adventure of a lifetime. ARC from NetGalley.

Story of conflict of personalities as well as revenge. Fairly well written. The author unfortunately kept repeating a particular issue - unnecessarily so. Many times I was lost and couldn't figure out the characters train of thought.

A Touch of Frost is the first book I have read by Jo Goodman and I am glad I did. I enjoyed this story, Remington and Phoebe are great characters. The story is well written and I will definitely be looking to read more by this author.