This is my first time reading anything by Amy Harmon and oh boy! Now I’ve got to go read ash her other books! Aside from recognizing the name Butch Cassidy I didn’t know much at all about him. I immediately got lost in this book! I was worried I would be a little confused or lost if I didn’t already know a little of his story. But no, I loved it and never felt I was missing some details or explanations.

Harmon has an exceptional way of pulling on my emotions and engaging me as a reader and I've loved everything I've read by her. Outlaw Noble Salt is another winner to add to the list!

It's a spin on a Wild West novel and a redemption tale for Butch Cassidy, who is historically known in partnership with another outlaw, the Sundance Kid. They were famous outlaws from the early 1900s that many movies and stories have been made about. I liked that this was a new take on this historical criminal.

If you're in the mood for a love story/western then give this one a try.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5)
Steam Level: 🔥🔥 (vague open door scenes)

When famous singer Jane Toussaint has a chance encounter with a man named Noble Salt, she is unable to forget the man who cared for her son and made her feel safe. As years pass, Jane realizes Noble is actually an outlaw named Butch Cassidy. Despite this revelation, Jane still believes there's a good man behind the robber. When Hane crosses paths with Butch again, she takes a chance and hires him as her bodyguard. What happens next will change the course of her life forever.

I know this rating comes as a shock, but hear me out. I do think this was a beautiful story of fate, acceptance, and overcoming the past. The characters all had rich stories and a great found family dynamic. Butch was the ultimate protector and was dedicated to those he loved. The last chapter in particular was excellent. So why not 4 or 5 stars? This was just such a slow read for me. I found myself picking up other books instead when I had time to spare. I'm not a poetry lover, so the haiku verses didn't grab me. It was also very much an insta-love romance and took time for me to believe the connection between Butch and Jane. I think many will love this one, though!

This was my first Amy Harmon book and I loved it! It got off to a slow start for me but once I got into it, I was hooked!

It’s not really a western, but it’s set in that era and there are western bits and pieces sprinkled in. I thought the character development was well done and I loved the loved story. Even an outlaw deserves a love story!

Content warnings: murder, rape, miscarriage

This was my first Amy Harmon book, and I was so excited to read it! But in all honesty, I was a bit disappointed and couldn’t really get into this one.

While some chapters had me turning the pages, other chapters felt slow, clunky, long, and disjointed. At times, conversations between characters felt forced and awkward, and the plot felt a bit “hole-y” and unclear at times. By that I mean a scene would occur and I’d find myself pausing, thinking, “wait, what happened, again?” I’d then have to re-read some details to make sure I understood what was happening.

While I had compassion for some tragedies that had occurred in the main female character’s life, she didn’t appear to have much depth. I felt the same about the main male character—lack of depth. The lack of character development all-around surprised me.

I liked two things about this book.

1. The young boy in the story was spunky and likeable.
2. I loved the unexpected ending.

I never considered not finishing this book because I wanted to see how it ended. But it wasn’t the page turner I thought it would be.

RATING: 4/5 STARS

An excellent Western historical fiction novel from Amy Harmon. She always picks such interesting historical periods to write about. I did not know much about Butch Cassidy before reading this book. I enjoyed how she blended history and myth, and added her own storytelling. The relationships between the characters was engaging, and I loved the ending.

The Outlaw Noble Salt is NOT your typical Wild Wild West book. It is the fictionalized story of part of Butch Cassidys life & at the center of it is a love story. I enjoyed watching the story unfold and I honestly was not sure how it would end (and was surprised by the ending). Harmon did such good job with details, that I had a hard time figuring out which parts were truth & which were fiction. It is definitely worth reading, just don't expect a fast paced story.
Disclaimer- there are a few curse words & a scene that is almost "open-door"
Thanks netgalley for a copy. All thoughts are my own.

Amy Harmon is magic. Her writing is beautiful and her ability to create characters that you can't help but fall in love with blows me away every time I pick up one of her books.

The Outlaw Noble Salt is a very character driven novel and even though the pace of the story felt pretty slow, I didn't care. She does such an excellent job of character development, that I just want to read about them forever. Noble - aka Butch Cassidy - was a very endearing character. He's done bad things in his past, but he wants a different kind of future. Jane wasn't the most likable, but she's an incredibly sympathetic character that went through a great deal of growth and I was rooting for her. I absolutely loved her son, Augustus. Butch's old friend and brother - Harry (aka Sundance) and Van - even grew on me by the end.

One thing history buffs will definitely want to take note of is that this story is inspired by Butch Cassidy, but is entirely fiction. There are a few true details here and there, but if you are looking for more about the real life of Butch, you'll probably want to look elsewhere. This didn't hinder my enjoyment at all, but I did kind of wish that Harmon just created completely fictional characters and used Butch and the wild bunch as inspiration instead.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Outlaw Noble Salt. I appreciated the themes of second chances and overcoming trauma and the hardships life throws at us. Harmon's writing was as beautiful as always and I know these characters are going to stay with me for a long time.

okay is not typically a genre i would read, but whoa!!!!! i completely loved this book!!! def looking forward to more work from amy

Can I review this
In total hokku format
And get the job done?

Probably not. After all, I am no Amy Harmon. She is in a class all her own and she proved herself, yet again, to be worth her salt.

The Outlaw Noble Salt came as a bolt from the blue. I thought I knew where the story was headed but that was a big fat nope. Especially the love story. That was raw. And rare. And branded onto my heart in the shape of a honeycomb 💛

“You opened me up
And took my heart from my chest
Now how will I live?”

Yes, Amy. Please tell me how.

An easy 5 star read for me. Thank you for an advanced e-copy of this book.

"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)