"He was accustomed to people's fear and disappointment, but when he left the hotel he actually felt noble, maybe for the first time in his life. And he liked the feeling."

Amy Harmon’s tall tale of the outlaw Noble Salt and Butch Cassidy is a love story inspired by this American legend.

I knew VERY little about Robert LeRoy Parker (Butch Cassidy) going into this story and I’d never read an Amy Harmon book. What an experience. I needn’t have worried because the story was really about a man who is inspired to change his life around and become courageous enough to protect those he loves.

I’ve discovered that Harmon makes her characters very relatable. She’s taken a hardened criminal, a famous outlaw of the Wild West, placed some hurdles in his path to redemption, given him the courage and determination to ‘let go and let God’, and crafted him with the softest, tender heart capable of love and honour. His swoon-worthy nature revealed itself when the onion layers were peeled away and Harmon was able to show that we should never judge someone on appearances and history.

“The outlaw life was not what I wanted, but it’s what I chose. I didn’t know I was choosing it. Not until it was too late, and I sure as hell didn’t understand the cost. But I’m paying it. I’m paying it now that I want a life with you.”

Harmon’s characters will pull you in, her story will captivate you, and her ability to combine music, poetry, outlaws and romance will amaze you!

I was gifted this copy by Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Just give me a stoic, straight-shootin’ head-over-spurs goner with the heart of a poet, why don’t you? Also make him yearning personified and wrapped in nostalgia.

Oh, Mr. Noble Salt is a marvel for a hero-centric romance reader. We don’t catch the outlaw morally grey and on the cusp of redemption, but actually he’s already sorted through those shades of blacks and whites and very much paying his dues while unflinchingly self-aware of his motivations/choices/consequences situation. Such an achy thing about a man burdened with misplaced and well-placed guilt, worn down by loneliness, expecting nothing from her but the sweet, almost unbearable longing she washes over him just by being, and singing.

And our aloof Parisian Songbird, spine-of-steel, though life-trampled and baggage-laden, definitely worthy of all the insta-devotion from a hero who turns his competent knack for criminal activity into steadily pulverizing her problems down to the most minor inconvenience. He’s so no-nonsense about being willing to do anything, literally any-thing for her. I’m trying to think what Noble Salt would not do for his Jane. Go vaudeville and dance a polka? I don’t know, I think he would. Some heroes risk life and limb, but still there’s a line. Not for him. The inevitability of following her, protecting her, basking in the unwitting balm of her, just is. Whatever my arbitrary preconceived notions, I did not expect this to be so “‘T’ for tarnation” tender. They’re both shrouded, solitary, fierce protectors who found each other, and that was it.

I have to tell you though, it took the wind out of my sails a bit to have to separate how, though involving an emotionally bonded married couple and not descriptive or gratuitous, what’s on page is just a tad beyond my personal content comfort level. And I mean separate it from how it truly is some whoa-well-written, all-in romance and how, especially the first two thirds, I was giddy ah-swooning ah-very much. So, due diligence on whether this goes over for you or not, definitely necessary if you are watchful of that.

I decided to jump in and read while bracing for impact because of wary curiosity; I would’ve been jumping on it like Gus on a hot dog if I had known the tropes. It was my first Amy Harmon, and the hard-to-pin-down atmospheric, grounded writing brought on a very particular kind of aching chest pang, like, lower in the chest cavity and more hollow than constricting. Of course you read reviews for physiological reactions, so I’ll add that the sweet endearment from a no-mincing-words hero with such a distinctive character voice was like a buzzer button lighting up all the swoon circuits. Every character delightfully jumped off the page, and, in the end, I loved going to so many places I didn’t have on my itinerary to get to hard-won happily ever after.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

Content notes: Two scenes of brief and vague married intimacy on page, some brief, vague allusions to arousal and below neck caressing. Brief mentions of prostitution including allusion to hero being a past patron. Semi-frequent moderate language. **SOME TRIGGER WARNINGS MIGHT SPOIL**
Brief flashback to sexual assault and mention of further long-standing abuse. On page miscarriage. On page trauma processing. On page gun violence and implied suicide.

"I call you honey because that's the way you make me feel. Soft and warm and golden."

Who knew an outlaw could be so loyal? So honest? So NOBLE? Noble Salt—formerly known as the infamous Butch Cassidy—was surprisingly…very likeable. No wonder the world-weary Jane fell in love with him so thoroughly. He softened her hard exterior and broke through her emotional armor with his unwavering commitment and unconditional love. Noble gave his steady love so freely, asking nothing in return. He was gentle, humble, and kind. His kindness towards Jane’s son Augustus was a thing of beauty. Noble may be one of my favorite male leads that Amy Harmon has written, which is so interesting considering he is a former outlaw. She sure knows how to write a hero—even a reformed one. This story was absolute magic. Harmon stayed as true to the history and legends as possible, while still giving the readers the exact ending they desire. I’ll admit, I predicted the plot twist about halfway through the novel—the subtle clues are there—but that did not take away from the blissful satisfaction I felt upon finishing this beautiful novel.

"The Outlaw Noble Salt" is a historical fiction novel with a bittersweet plot. The story provides Butch Cassidy, a legendary outlaw, with a second chance for a different ending to his life. The real Butch Cassidy's death is a mystery, so the novel explores a fictitious scenario involving a songbird love interest and her precocious son, who idolizes Cassidy.

Butch attends Jane Toussaint's concert at Carnegie Hall. After the concert, he is mistaken for the doctor called to look at Jane's son, Augustus, who has fallen ill. Jane and Butch have a “moment,” and he leaves hopelessly in love with her and enamored with Augustus.

A chance encounter in Paris six years later rekindles the old feelings. In desperation to protect herself and Augustus, Jane hires Butch as her bodyguard. The story of Jane’s past unfolds, and the reason for her need for a bodyguard is revealed as Butch and Jane find themselves falling deeper and deeper in love. They begin to imagine a future together with Augustus. However, their happiness is short-lived, as fate has other plans.

Though I thoroughly enjoyed this novel with all the beautiful, magical touches of Amy Harmon and her exquisite talent for creating palpable feelings of love and yearning, it didn’t resonate with me as much as my absolute favorite AH novel, “What the Wind Knows,” or her 2023 book, “A Girl Called Samson.” I found the ending predictable, but I must admit, it was the one I hoped for.

Make sure to read this author’s note to get insight as to why Amy wanted to write about Butch Cassidy and some of her influences on character and story development.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC. I will always read Amy Harmon!

Wow! Another fantastic story from Amy Harmon. I would not normally pick up a book about an 'outlaw' but this was all that I could hope for in a story. Romance, grief, danger, and a happily ever after!

This book is gorgeous and heart wrenching. So many beautiful quotes, and definitely a book I would recommend to lovers of historical fiction!!

I adored this book. I never wanted it to end and am actually not sure I can find the words to do it justice in a review. This is one of those books that just takes you by the heart, and doesn’t let go until the very end. Captivating until the very end.

Being an equal mix of what felt like an old Western film + a sweeping historical romance, I could not put this book down and was hooked from the very beginning. I knew it was going to take me for a ride, and I was 100% down for it. I grew up on old Western films (thanks to my dad) and musicals/historical romance movies (thanks to my mom,) so this book felt like coming home.

What I loved most:
-The characters/found family. This diverse bunch of characters absolutely stole my heart, and I loved Amy’s take on some of these very infamous characters in American history.
-The romance (obviously.) I don’t even have the words! The tenderness. The sincerity. All of it. This is the most epic opposites attract romance, and seeing the love and devotion between these two MCs brought me to tears. Some tropes you can expect: opposites attract/opposite worlds, caretaking, single mom, bit of an age gap - seriously, SO many good ones here, and all done perfectly.
-The themes of forgiveness and redemption interwoven into this storyline. This book and these characters are a powerful example of the intricacies of the human condition, how the choices we make impact our future, and how no matter what your past looks like - we all deserve a second chance at happiness. No human is all good or all bad, and this book showcases that perfectly.

I will be recommending this book to anyone who will listen.

Amy Harmon is such a talented author whose emotional stories always hit me to the core, like a gut punch. I loved “My Unknown Beloved” and “A Girl called Samson”, where she fictionalized historical figures that I didn’t know much about. In the “Outlaw Noble Salt”, she's reimagined the story of nefarious Butch Cassidy and created a compassionate, kind, swoony anti hero. I love how Harmon has painted Cassidy’s world weariness: his exhaustion of being in a gang with his brother and his desire to leave that life behind and move forward alone. I fell in love with Gus (be sure to read Harmon’s afterword that she based his birth mark on her son’s), Sundance Kid and even Van who always wanted to be like Butch.

The more Jane falls in love and becomes “besotted” with Butch the more the reader does too. This sentence describing Jane's love for Butch, “she had the sensation of a deep exhale, a settling of her soul”. Harmon writes beautiful, poetic sentences regarding their love for each other. It made me cry. This emotionally crafted book was a “settling to my soul”.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC!

IN THE GOLDEN WEST
TREASURE TAKES FORM AS A MAN
OUTLAW, NOBLE SALT

Thank you, Amy Harmon for welcoming me into the Wild Bunch club. I had the best time reading this book. You and your stories make me a better person.

I'm reminded that good people can make bad choices, and bad people can make good choices. And while there may be a grey line between right and wrong, being kind will always reap the best rewards. Even with all the treasures buried on this continent, finding love (honest, sincere love) is more rare and valuable. Dead or Alive.

I didn’t cry until the end.

I’m pretty proud of myself. Amy Harmon knows how to weave words in just the way to break my heart. Then she goes and stitches it back up.

This book. I’m calling it now. It’s the book of 2024 for me.

It’s about the infamous outlaw that we have little details of at a certain point in his life. Amy Harmon wrote the love story of redemption. If there’s a common theme throughout it’s how everything in life is a juxtaposition.

I loved the poetry throughout, pretty sure I highlighted all the haikus.

The characters. They all added something special. Noble is that prickly man with a warm center. He’s the pineapple of the west. Prickly with a core of gold. The romance that comes because of him, oh melt my heart. I was a puddle while taking in all the tender moments.

Just take all the stars, this book is a masterpiece that deserves to be read.

Now. For the content. Skip if you rather go in blind:

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Swearing sprinkled throughout (Bible swears), murder, very vague open door (not descriptive, but you know what’s going on), and flashbacks of rape (leading up to the act)

Oh. My. Heavens!!!! I’ve never read a book about an outlaw (that I can remember anyway), and this was the absolute best book to start a new addiction. The humanity she gave to Noble was pure perfection, he was flawed with a good heart. The romance was perfectly swoon-worthy, with Noble and Jane making my hand touch my heart from the tenderness of it all. The tenderness and stability he showed toward Augustus had me in tears. I loved it! Thank you for this beautiful and heart-wrenching and suspenseful and hopeful and redemptive experience. It’s one I won’t forget.

I've been a faithful reader of Harmon's for over a decade now. Several of her books are on my TOP FAV READS of all time list, and though it's only March, I'm positive this will be my favorite read of 2024. Harmon's signature approach to storytelling is both exquisite and addictive, and I am once again left to marvel at her God-given talent. Though I finished this novel days ago, I can't bring myself to pick up another book because Noble still owns the majority of my fiction-loving heart. What an incredibly inspiring hero! (And don't even get me started on the romance... wow, wow, wow.)
FIVE BRIGHT AND SHINNY STARS for The Outlaw Noble Salt. What a treasure this book (and this author) is to our literary world.
Highly, highly recommend!

Amy Harmon is a must-read author in my opinion! She has the most beautiful way of writing historical romances that just melt me. I really enjoyed this Wild West/Butch Cassidy romance. All about what loyalty, family, trust, being “good”, freedom, and love mean in the grand scheme of things.

This book is amazing! If you love historical fiction you must read this! Amy Harmon wrote a magnificent story with Butch Cassidy as the main character. It's full of adventure, love, loss, and redemption. I think everyone can find something they love within this book.

I immediately connected to the story in the prologue. I grew up in the same area as the setting of this book, so it was fun seeing places that I regularly visited in this novel.

Often authors fail to respect the different faiths where their books are set. She showed great respect for the faith held by the community, but also made it a novel that anyone could appreciate. This is a hard thing to do, but Amy Harmon rose to the challenge and did a fantastic job!

I finished this book in tears, and I wish that it were a true story.

There is a closed door scene that may make it inappropriate for younger readers.

Thank you to Amy Harmon, Net Galley, and Lake Union publishing for allowing me to review this book. I was given an e-arc copy of this book to read in exchange for my honest opinions.

I absolutely adored this book! I finished with tears in my eyes and joy in my heart. Amy Harmon can do no wrong. She’s a fabulous writer who I will never stop recommending.

My first 5 star read of 2024.

"Fate settles the score, and karma catches up."

Ms. Harmon has a way with words and storytelling that once you start, you don't want to put down the book because you get captivated. In this different perspective on Butch Cassidy, you get to see his feelings, flaws and love about his life and those who are in it. Many characters are introduced and there were a couple that stuck with me.

I'm going to stick with the way the author wrote his ending. Happy and free.

𝙱𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕.”

The beauty in this book stunned me and I almost instantly fell in love with this story of Robert LeRoy Parker, otherwise known as Noble Salt. Filled with glorious, flowing words, The Outlaw Noble Salt was a most captivating and exciting tale well seasoned with what it means to truly love and be loved while finding redemption and peace throughout the process. This book pulled at my heartstrings till they were absolutely raw, but oh how I loved it!

I adored the hokku’s at the beginning of every chapter! Honestly one of my top favorites of this book.

𝙼𝚢 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎
𝙾𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚘𝚕𝚍
𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝’𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎

Augustus Maximilian Toussaint (Gus) stole the show. His tender spirit and brutal honesty melted my heart time and time again. His mother’s very “mother bear” spirit concerning him and his wellbeing was absolute perfection and really endeared her as well in my eyes. Poor Gus just wanted to make life easier for everyone else and did his utmost best to make things right; he valued real above all else. His relationship with Noble had me melting umpteen times from the pure sweetness of it.

Jane “Boot” Toussaint was described as an expensive vase, beautiful and hard, and I wholeheartedly agree with that assessment. She dreamed only of peace, peace for herself, peace for her son. The moment her darling son entered the world, she learned that love does not make a person strong. The more you love, the more weaknesses you glean along the way. Life can be so wonderfully ironic.

Our main character, the man of many names and identities, Noble Salt, Butch Cassidy, Robert LeRoy Parker was an extremely fascinating man. Growing up as the oldest of thirteen made for an interesting personality. He was a caregiver, a nurturer by nature, an outlaw to the rich, a hero to the less fortunate. And then he was a bodyguard. Not a bad man at his core for he believed doing bad things did not necessarily make him a bad man, Noble only wished to live up to his name and truly be noble, but rarely is it easy to escape your past. He was the straightest of arrows, but you don’t bring arrows to a gunfight. Butch was the Peter Pan to his Wild Bunch until it was finally time to accept that life continues ever on and you simply cannot hope to remain forever young and without true love.

The relationship between Noble and Jane was so dynamic and filled with chemistry; I loved every nuance of it. Because she made him feel soft, warm, and golden, he called her honey and every time I melted a little bit more. His gentleness and patience with her was the sweetest thing ever.
“𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜𝚗’𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚎. 𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜.”
“𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚞𝚙 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚖𝚢 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝. 𝙽𝚘𝚠 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎?”

I felt such sorrow for Van Campbell Parker, forever stuck in his big brother’s shadow. He simply wanted to be known, to make a difference, to be a someone on his own. His character evoked such annoyance, anger, pity, and grief. In the end, “Rip Van Winkle” made the ultimate sacrifice for all and tore my heart out while he was at it.

Such an immensely well written story by Amy Harmon! Most definitely one of her best ones yet!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Amy Harmon does it again!! I flew through this one and as someone whose family has been in Utah since the earliest pioneers, Harmon definitely did her research. I loved the pacing of this one, too. Well developed and so much fun! I think this book has Amy Harmon forever on my “auto buy” list!

All. The. Stars! 😭

I absolutely adored this story and all of the characters. It was a beautiful telling of redemption, sacrifice, and unconditional love. Amy Harmon has a way of making you FEEL so much through her writing and my heart was in my throat the whole time.

You know it’s a 5 star read when you cry through the last hour of the book and then burst into tears again when your husband asks you why you were crying. 😂

I will definitely be rereading this one again!

Content: two open door scenes (very vague descriptions), some language

In this eARC, I embarked on a wild ride through the pages of this Western-ish Romance. Courtesy of Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing, it was a narrative that felt both familiar and refreshingly unique. The pacing kept me eagerly turning pages, always ready to discover the next twist. While I would have liked a bit more positivity for the main characters, their struggles and desires added depth to the storyline. Despite the age-old themes of good versus evil and love, I found myself deeply invested in the fate of the outlaws. Even with the frequent changes in setting and the multiple aliases of the characters, I found it surprisingly easy to follow along. The dialogue occasionally felt stiff but maybe it lent an authentic historical atmosphere to the narrative. However, the repeated use of haiku began to feel tiresome as the story progressed. While the novel may not directly address contemporary issues, its central theme of love and longing resonates on a universal level, making it a heartfelt read that I would gladly recommend.