A well-known veteran of the romance writing field, Carla Kelly is the author of forty-three novels and three non-fiction works, as well as numerous short stories and articles for various publications. She is the recipient of two RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America for Best Regency of the Year; two Spur Awards from Western Writers of America; three Whitney Awards, 2011, 2012, and 2014; and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times. Carla's interest in historical fiction is a byproduct of her lifelong study of history. She's held a variety of jobs, including medical public relations work, feature writer and columnist for a North Dakota daily newspaper, and ranger in the National Park Service (her favorite job) at Fort Laramie National Historic Site and Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site. She has worked for the North Dakota Historical Society as a contract researcher. Interest in the Napoleonic Wars at sea led to numerous novels about the British Channel Fleet during that conflict. Carla has also written novels set in Wyoming during the Indian wars, and in the early twentieth century that focus on her interest in Rocky Mountain ranching. Readers might also enjoy her Spanish Brand Series, set against the background of 18th century New Mexico, where ranchers struggle to thrive in a dangerous place as Spanish power declines.
Grade: A Sensuality: SubtleWhen I first got my hands on Marco and
the Devil's Bargain, I was a little let down. I hadn't realized it
was the second in a series, and more importantly, that it followed
the same couple that had already fallen in love and gotten married
in the first book. In the past, I've read other stories like this,
and it seems to me that the sequel is rarely as good as the
original. As a result, I put off reading this one for a little
while, worried that it would fall into that same trap.Silly me. I
should have trusted Carla Kelly to write a wonderful book.Marco and
Paloma Mondragón are happily settled in Spanish New Mexico at the
beginning of 1782. Marco is the juez de campo in Valle del Sol, the
town where they live. His ranch, the Double Cross, is prosperous,
and the people of Valle del Sol are peaceful and law-abiding for
the most part. If he and Paloma long for children, well, that's
only a little bit of sadness to balance the many other blessings
they have.Unfortunately, this peaceful state of affairs is soon to
be upset. News comes to Marco that smallpox has been sweeping
through Texas, and is likely soon to reach Valle del Sol. Although
Marco has been vaccinated, his beloved Paloma has not. Poor Marco
lost his first wife and twin sons to cholera, and now he very much
fears that he will lose his second wife to another disease.As luck
would have it, Dr. Anthony Gill finds himself in Valle del Sol soon
after Marco learns that smallpox will be coming. Anthony, who
recently traveled with a group of traders through Texas, has
collected scabs from the diseased and is prepared to inoculate
Marco's family and friends. However, his aid comes at a
price--Anthony's daughter, Pia Maria, was taken by a group of
Indians and sold to the Comanches, who live in a hidden canyon
somewhat near Valle del Sol. Anthony declares that he will only
help Marco if Marco will agree to take him to the Comanches after
he finishes inoculating the people of Valle del Sol. Reluctantly,
Marco agrees.Paloma, of course, will not let her husband travel
across the Llano Estacado to the Comanches without her, and so it
is that Anthony, Paloma, Marco, and Toshua, the Comanche companion
of Paloma and Marco, find themselves trekking together across snowy
plains into the middle of dangerous Comanche territory.To begin
with, Marco and Paloma are a wonderful couple. They know each other
very well, and in spite of not reading the first book, in which
their characters were initially developed, I came to know them well
too. Paloma is a strong, sweet woman, perfectly suited to her
honorable, Spanish husband. They are both at their best when
they're together--not because they get outrageously maudlin when
apart, but rather because they work as a team when they're
together, supporting each other as all good couples do.However, if
Marco and Paloma were the only two characters I loved, this book
would only make it to B+ territory for me. What made Marco and the
Devil's Bargain a DIK for me was the cast of secondary characters.
Every single one of them, from Anthony Gill down to the Comanches
Marco and Paloma met, was amazingly complex and realistic. I cannot
think of the last time secondary characters seemed so vivid to
me.There are some series which need to be read in order if they are
to be understood. Carla Kelly's Spanish Brand series is not one of
these. Although I didn't read The Double Cross first, as I should
have, I still managed to fall head over heels for Marco and Paloma.
To me, that is a good testament to Ms. Kelly's amazing writing. I
can't wait to get my hands on another one of her books.--Alexandra
Anderson, All About Romance, August 15, 2014
In Kelly's dramatic second Spanish Brand historical (after The
Double Cross), Marco Mondragón, a genial lawman on the New Mexican
frontier in 1782, fears that his young wife, Paloma, will be
stricken by the approaching smallpox epidemic. When their Comanche
friend, Toshua, rescues Anthony Gill, a white physician, from the
desert, they strike the titular bargain: Anthony will inoculate
Paloma and their neighbors, and Marco and Toshua will escort
Anthony to a Comanche hideaway that he suspects harbors his
kidnapped daughter. Kelly brings historical verisimilitude to the
setting, and her story brims with compassion for the human
condition. The slightly saccharine cliché of natives adopting
colonizers as family is mitigated by powerful themes of disease,
infertility, strength in the face of loss, and kindness between
individuals whose cultures are at war. Though la viruela is, in
some ways, the story's main character, the love between Marco and
Paloma, equal parts strong attachment and mutual high regard, takes
emotional center stage, a satisfying oasis of beauty in the midst
of stark harshness.--Publishers Weekly, July 14,2014
"[The Double Cross] packs a full story with plenty of frontier
action and believable, sympathetic characters. I'm already looking
forward to the next entry in the Spanish Brand series, but until
then I will content myself with rereading The Double
Cross."--Heather Stanton, All About Romance
5 Stars: "What a wonderful adventure this book is! Marco's and
Paloma's love for each other has grown, and they express it
enthusiastically and regularly, though not too explicitly.... Carla
Kelly has written another masterpiece about a time and place you
don't typically read about in a historical romance. Her
descriptions are vivid, and she doesn't shy away from the
unpleasant aspects of how hard life was then. Her characters are
well rounded, and interesting. The plot is exciting, and has a
couple twists at the end that I didn't see coming. This amazing
story truly satisfies a love of both romance and history and I
recommend it most highly."--Lady Blue, Romantic Historical Reviews
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