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Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite
At the end of the nineteenth century, instant wealth and power were available to those few lucky men who struck it rich in the goldfields of the West. In Notorious Love in Extraordinary Times by Emma Strong, we meet such a man; Sam Strong. When Sam left his difficult, dangerous work of haulage to stake a claim and search for gold near Cripple Creek, Colorado, he was just one of thousands seeking their fortune. But for Sam, the dream came true and he became a multi-millionaire overnight. In a town notorious for its rough and ready justice, violence, hard-drinking, gambling, and gold-digging “sporting women,” Sam tries to maintain a moral and fair lifestyle, especially with the treatment of his mine workers, who he sees as just hard-working men trying to feed their families as best they can and not expendable resources as many other mine owners see them. When the beautiful young doctor Lillian, daughter of a powerful U.S. Senator arrives, to practice in Cripple Creek, Sam falls hopelessly and passionately in love with her but love’s true course never did run smoothly. All Sam truly wants is to leave his wild, hard-drinking and gambling days behind him and settle down with Lillian to create their own family but events of the past seem to constantly dog the pair’s future and Sam must contend with any manner of trials and tribulations.
Notorious Love in Extraordinary Times is a tale based on true events and knowing this gives the story its needed authenticity and gravitas. Author Emma Stone does a marvelous job of painting the scene of an early frontier town built on gold, with all the seedy characters, violence, and chicanery that necessarily goes with a boom town. I particularly enjoyed the main character of Sam who, although a hard-drinking and gambling man, had an innate sense of fairness and morality despite the lies and deception that inevitably seem to be attracted to the search for the elusive yellow metal. Sam was loyal to a fault and defended his friends with forthrightness and fervor but was never one to back down from a fight or not defend his own beliefs. The romantic scenes in this story were beautifully composed and deeply sensual without ever crossing that invisible line into crass and crude. Whilst instant wealth certainly changed Sam’s circumstances, it didn’t seem to change his overall viewpoint on life, or indeed how he treated others, and for me, this was the underlying message of the tale. The author has indicated there is a sequel coming and I look forward to enjoying more adventures with these true-to-life characters. This was a fantastic read and one I greatly enjoyed. I can highly recommend this story.
