The Hostage (Great Chicago Fire Trilogy Series #1) Book

So beware romance fans...this book reads more like fiction than romance until the last 100 pages or so...but when it FINALLY morphs into a romance novel it is really really good romance.

I'm a sucker for the movie Overboard with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. Spoiled rich girl is exposed to hard work, family, and true love for the first time and never looks back. The Hostage is like that. Deborah is a wealthy heiress who is supposed to marry a member of the peer in order to give her wealthy dad the "respect" that he desperately wants. When she rides into Chicago to plead with her father to stop the marriage, little does she know that Chicago is in flames...literally. This book takes place during the Great Fire of 1871 when the heart of Chicago burned to the ground. Tom Silver is also on his way to visit Deborah's dad, but for very different reasons. His is for revenge in the form of murder. He doesn't end up killing Deborah's father, but instead takes Deborah as his hostage, hence the title of the book.

That is a synopsis of Part 1 of this book. Part 2 takes place on the island in which Tom lives for a portion of the year. Tom hopes to secure a ransom to repay people who were wronged by Deborah's father, but ends up being sattled with Deborah instead..her father refuses the ransom. During this part of the book I almost gave up and stopped reading. Tom cannot stand Deborah and is distant and somewhat cruel to her, but gradually her willingness to learn, help out, and befriend people on the island begin to thaw his coldness.

Part 3 is the gem of all gems. Read this book if for nothing else just to have the pleasure of this final portion. Through an unfortunate event, these two get holed up together for and entire winter. (I love a good cabin romance)! The romance takes root, buds, and then blooms into a beautiful relationship. I was moved deeply by Tom and his concern and thoughtfullness when it came to Deborah. The romance was believeable, poignant, and very touching. I can recommend this book, despite the slow start, for Part 3 and the epilogue alone.

Stay patient...Wiggs truly saves her best for the end of this book.