  Parts were good, other parts not so good., 2008-09-29
I wished it would be over during the last half. My major problems were with the methods the author used to separate the couple and create conflicts. Much of the story was well written with good dialogue, but I was angry more than I was pleased. Sometimes I can enjoy a story even though I may not buy the plot or find too much illogic, but not in this case. It was not enjoyable enough to recommend.
Story Brief:
Jon is the son of an Indian chief in Montana. His father sends him to Harvard to learn the white man's ways. Married women seek him out to have affairs, and he happily obliges them. He is handsome and great in bed. After graduating from Harvard he returns to Montana and obtains claims for one of the richest gold mines in the area. Billy Braddock is a wealthy man from Boston who wants to buy Jon's mining claims. Since Jon won't let anyone near enough to talk, Billy's 19-year-old daughter Blaze goes to talk to Jon on behalf of her father. Jon keeps Blaze as a hostage for awhile. Billy is a good man but his foreman Yancy is evil. Yancy attempts to kill Jon more than once in the story.
CAUTION SPOILERS:
Things I did not like:
Initially Jon has Blaze as a hostage for about two weeks. They have sex twice on the first day. Then Jon decides that he will not have sex with her again due to some vague notion about morality and his objectives to get gold for his tribe. I did not understand this. Blaze has fallen for him and wants sex, but he denies her for eight days. Finally he gives in to her seduction attempts, and they have sex daily and frequently into the future.
They have fallen in love, gotten married, and are living in a cabin near the mine. Yancy comes along with a small army of men who attack them. They set explosives which seal the mine entrance with Jon inside. Everyone thinks Jon is or will be dead. Yancy then forcibly takes Blaze to Boston. Yancy believes Jon is dead, but for some reason he leaves a forged note from Blaze saying that Blaze wants to leave Jon and go home to Boston. Jon escapes from the mine five days later and sees the note. He believes the note and doesn't try to contact her. I disliked reading the next 67 pages while they were apart. This is my major pet peeve: "conflict due to inaccurate assumptions." Then, Blaze has been locked up as Yancy's prisoner ever since arriving in Boston. Yancy forces her with armed guards to go to a woman who performs abortions. Blaze is hoping to escape by bribing the woman with jewels. Before the woman enters, Jon arrives through the window. Instead of saying "You're alive, I thought you were dead. Help me get out of here." Blaze says to Jon "How did you know I was here?" I was mad at this stupid continuation of conflict based on vague communication.
Jon is working the mine alone to obtain gold to buy land for his people to live on so they wouldn't have to go to a reservation later. While he is doing this alone, he is constantly at risk of being killed by others who want his mine. Later in the story, he brings a bunch of his tribesmen to help work and guard the mine. Now they can be successful and work around the clock. My question and problem with the plot is why didn't he get their help earlier?
Story length: 478 pages. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: 15. Length of sex scenes: 5 short scenes (1 page or less), 9 long scenes (1.8 to 6.5 pages), and 1 longest scene (16.5 pages). Setting: 1861 Boston, Mass. and Montana area. Copyright: 1986. Genre: historical western romance.
For a list of my reviews of other Susan Johnson books, see my 3 star review of "Hot Property" posted 9/30/08.
HOT!!!, 2007-10-17
With plenty of sex scenes this book is definitely a hot read, but the storyline is typical Susan Johnson where boy meets girl, boy dumps girl or girl realizes she can't change boy and moves on with her life, boy becomes a tortured soul and wants girl back but must fight to get her back in his life where she belongs.
After a second read, still my favorite romance novel!, 2007-03-24
I tend to read romance novels with a critical eye, but with "Blaze," I lost all objectivity. I remember in the beginning thinking, "I'll just read a few more pages." Before I knew it, it was midnight, and I was completely absorbed in the middle of the book.
Immediately, the book tantalizes you with a steamy love scene. If you like your romance novels on the hot side, "Blaze" will not disappoint you. The book is also enriched with various settings, from wealthy Boston society, to decadent gold mining towns, to an earthy village of a Plains Native American tribe.
I do admit, however, that there are some flaws. The characters throw themselves at each other as if they are animals in heat. It's hard to believe that anyone, much less a "well-bred" virgin, would be so unable to control their sexual desires. Also, upon a second reading, I wondered what the heroine really had to offer the hero. The only thing that really sets her apart from her rivals is her stubbornness. Also, the author, Susan Johnson, has sometimes been described as a bit wordy. I, however, found the eloquent prose really added an extra level of depth to the story.
By the middle of the book, I was enamored once again, with the spoiled little rich girl and the magnificent Native American chief. I was feeling the heroine's pain. I was seeing Jon Hazard Black through the eyes of Blaze, not only as a beautiful man, but as a beautiful person, who would fight to the death to save his tribe and for the woman he loved.
This book has action, romance, teepees, ballrooms, and lots of great sex! What more could you want?
Almost but not quite!!, 2005-03-07
Having read Silver Flame and Forbidden before this I was very interested in the infamous couple that came before the children - and while I enjoyed Blaze and Hazard I felt the stories of Trey & Daisy much more erotic and compelling. For Johnson this was pretty tame. And the reviewer that mentioned unresolved issues-I agree, what made Hazard all of a sudden forgive Blaze that night in bed - and really why did he not have more faith in her to begin with - it is not like Hazzard had as so many men issues of trust. Still in order to complete the series this is a good compliment book and a good solid 4 star romance.
Almost perfect, but not quite., 2004-06-02
This was a fabulous story, but it did have its faults. First of all, this was my first Susan Johnson book and I had heard she was similar to Robin Schone in regards to hot sex scenes. Well, I was VERY disappointed in that regard. The sex scenes were typical of a romance novel and there was nothing hot or particularly sexy about them. There is a part in the story where Blaze and Hazard have been apart and a terrible misunderstanding has occurred between them. They finally end up in bed together and the sex just falls flat. It could have been an incredibly moving, sensual experience, but it really fizzled instead.Another problem I had was the failure of the main characters to resolve misunderstandings. They have a HUGE one where Hazard actually thinks Blaze betrayed him and tried to have him killed. Instead of talking it through, they ignore it. Hazard finally realizes (I'm assuming) that Blaze was innocent, but there is no verbal communication about it. I mean, if I thought somone was trying to kill me, I would want some clarification from them before I had sex with them and built a life with them! :) Despite this shortcomings, this was a great book. It was great writing and an interesting story. I am looking forward to reading the next in this series, "The Silver Flame."
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