Early Dawn

atherine Anderson provides a strong American romance

Early Dawn
Catherine Anderson
Signet, Dec 29 2009, $7.99
ISBN: 9780451228741

In 1887 the vicious Sebastian gang killed his wife of five years Olivia after gang raping her. For the next three years Matthew Coulter has lived for one thing only: vengeance.

In 1890 her engagement to John Parrish ends when his high society parents rejected her lineage and spread gossip about her illegitimate birth. Selling their house, Eden Paxton accompanied by her mom Dory leaves San Francisco by train to spend time with her brother Ace Keegan (see Keegan's Lady) and his wife in Colorado. She never makes her destination as the Pacific Express heading to Denver is robbed and she is taken for pleasure and to be sold in Mexico.

Matthew tracks down the gang of robbers and rescues Eden. Instead of begging him to escort her to Ace, she joins him on his vendetta. As they fall in love, each looks back at what motivated them to go after the Sebastian gang.

This exciting sequel is fast-paced from the moment the heroine is abducted and never slows down until the final confrontation. The cast is solid especially the lead couple and the vile gang whose nastiness is evident from witnesses like Matthew's family and by readers when they debate taking Eden in their camp or keeping her pure for sale south of the border. Although the cast is somewhat stereotyped, Catherine Anderson provides a strong American romance as life in the Old West can prove dangerous but also can foster love.

Harriet Klausner

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Nice story

A bit predictable but still enjoyed it.

Solid western romance

Early Dawn is book 10 in Catherine Anderson's Kendrick/Coulter/Harrigan series. This is my first in the series. I have only read Annie's Song by Anderson and I loved it. My friend had this book in her TBR pile and loaned it to me. It caught my eye because of the back cover. On it said that Eden Paxton was kidnapped and Matthew Coulter whose own wife was murdered at the hands of this terrible gang and he couldn't resist saving Eden. I was immediately hooked. I can't resist a kidnapping/rescue story.

I have to say that I thought that Early Dawn was a very solid story. Eden and Matthew are fully developed characters whose connection and love story develops very believably throughout the book. The things that Eden goes through are not for the faint of heart. Matthew's past is just as challenging. Both characters have a lot to overcome if they are going to get over their past and begin to love again.

There are times when I thought that the story dragged a bit. In the beginning it takes a while before Matthew and Eden meet. Eventually, though the fact that so much time is spent on Eden and Matthew developing their relationship and the fact that it moves slowly is a benefit to the story. It helps the believability factor considering all that they have been through.

There is a bit of sequel references. I don't feel that it detracted from Eden and Matthew's story. If anything it made me want to go back read about the other characters. I enjoyed this Western and feel that fans of Westerns will want to give this one a try.

Amazing

Ms.Anderson done it again. It was simply touching and amazing reading this book. Some part of it I got tears in my eyes with the was she puts her words on paper............. amazing that all i can say . Love all of miss anderson books

Undying Love

The book "Early Dawn", by Catherine Anderson is a unbelievable action filled book that keeps the reader entertained when reading about the plot. The main characters in this book is Matthew Coulter and Eden Paxton. "Early Dawn" is about a woman just getting over a divorce and sells her house for the purpose of leaving her old life behind. In order to do that she originally planned to hop on a train with her mother so she can go to visit brothers house in Colorado, and eventually settle down there. Unfortunately for Eden, the train had been invaded by the murderous gang of brothers known as the "Sebastian's", in search for valuables,money, and jelwerey. When Eden attempts to save a young child from being killed by them, she is taken by the gang and is raped. The Sebatians plan to sell her in Mexico and receive a lot of money. Clearly Eden is put in a bad situation, and went through much suffering because of them. Fortunately enough Matthew a rancher has been trying to hunt down and kill the gang for many years due to the death of his wife which they raped and killed. Matthew desires so bad to have revenge on the Sebastian gang. While tracking the Sebastian's, Matthew later runs into the destroyed train only to find that they had taken another innocent woman. When Matthew learns this he decides to rescue this helpless woman. He miraculously rescues poor Eden and has to keep running and hiding every day in order to not be caught by the Sebastian gang. The characters are forced to face challenges such as covering their tracks, sleeping through cold nights, hunting for food and face wild animals. Eden has forced herself to think that she will never have respect for a man ever again but later changes her thoughts as she develops major feelings for her hero Matthew Coulter. Eventually they both share their love confessions for each other and get married.The love between these two people is described as a never ending love.The major themes of this book is love between two people and revenge of the past. I liked the fact that this book kept me as a reader engaged and entertained by how much action was in it, such as the challenges, shootings and obstacles the characters had to face in order to not be caught. I however didn't like how detailed the rapes were and sexual spots in the book. It was rather disturbing. I also didn't like how predictable the whole book was, even though it was entertaining, I found myself knowing what was going to happen next. I don't think you should read it if your a male because I would definitely say it is more of a feminine romantic book. Other recommended works by Catherine Anderson fans are "Bright Eyes","Blue Skies" and "Comanche heart" or "moon". If your into western romances then you might find this book to be quite enjoyable. I honestly didn't think it was the greatest book and I wouldn't read it again. Overall I personally wouldn't reccomend it to any of my friends.

Great book

Like all of Catherine's book, but Early Dawn is one of my favorites. Great book.

Very Absorbing Read

Because I am not as fond of historical romance as contemporary romance novels I almost did not read this book. I am so glad I did. Matthew and Eden are a hero and heroine you will never forget. As they struggle desperately to make it through their plight of outrunning a gang of murderers their relationship slowly and sweetly develops into something wonderful and the combination of those plots is mesmerizing. Now I can't wait to read the other historical romance novels by Catherine Anderson, especially the ones involving these families.

The real old west is revealed in this great read

If you love historical romance then you have to love Catherine Anderson. There are few authors who can capture the feel of the old west and do it with the reality that she does.
Early Dawn is no wimpy story, it has depth, it has tragedy, it has revenge, and it has salvation. The story line/plot is original and an unlikely start for most romance writers who stray away from the hard knocks school of writing. Her dialogue is raw and harsh without being crude and flows as smooth as the river that's described within. She paints pictures with her words so the reader has a bird's eye view of her landscape. Her characters are all very three-dimensional even those who you wish a hasty trip to hades. Her hero Matthew and heroine Eden combines two of her unforgettable families The Coulters and The Keegan/Paxton's. She wows us with the romance, which is sweet and spicy while she awes us with her amazing storytelling.
Early Dawn is a great read, a wonderful romance but is not for the faint hearted. It deals with the brutality of mankind and the harshness and vastness of our burgeoning new country. If you love a great romance, this read's for you.

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