Without the Thunder by Gifford MacShane is a Kobo Plus Bookish Event pick #koboplus #historicalfiction #historicalromance #mustread #giveaway
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    • Mar 8
    • 4 min read

Without the Thunder by Gifford MacShane is a Kobo Plus Bookish Event pick #koboplus #historicalfiction #historicalromance #mustread #giveaway



Title:  Without the Thunder

 

Author: Gifford MacShane

 

Genre: Historical Romance

 

Book Blurb:

 

An outcast Society belle falls in love with a Navajo man. Can they defeat the woman who’s driven to destroy their happiness?


After falling from grace with her family in Philadelphia, Alicia Beaufort is shunted off to relatives in the Arizona Territory. Disturbed at first by the things she learns about the West, she gradually comes to realize that White’s Station has what she’s always longed for: simplicity and peace. Yet all is not quite as it seems in the tranquil village.Alicia begins to keep company with Tommy Twelve Trees, a Navajo man and gifted blacksmith. But she soon finds herself in conflict with her aunt, who hates Tommy because of his race, and who is sending lie-filled letters to her family back home.


While Alicia does her utmost to save her reputation with those she left behind, the man who ruined her arrives in White’s Station. Alicia is terrified that her past will become known—that the villagers and Tommy, whom she’s come to love, will turn against her.


With her family relationships in chaos and past transgressions looming, Alicia knows she has to fight for the future she wants with Tommy, but she has no experience to draw on.


Can Alicia find the strength to take a stand against her family and former lover? Or will all her dreams come to naught?

 

Excerpt:

 

Summer 1890

 

Alicia Beaufort bounced like the kangaroos she’d seen the last time her father had dragged her to his Zoological Society meeting. Up and down and up again on the stagecoach seat, until her bones had turned to jelly. Dirt and dust trickled around the canvas window coverings, creating an atmosphere almost too thick to breathe. The shades were meant to keep out the heat as they lurched through the desert, but to Alicia it seemed hotter than any hell ever preached at her. Even the veil she’d wrapped twice around her face did not prevent the sand from settling in her nose, her hair, her eyelashes.

 

Nausea burned her throat. She hated riding backwards—it made her sick and dizzy. But as the last passenger to board, she’d had no choice of seats. Another bump and she slid forward, would have landed on the floor if a strong hand had not gripped her arm. She smiled grimly at her benefactor.

 

“Thank you.” She tried hard to sound sincere as she jerked free. For the past two days that man had been touching her at every opportunity, and she was heartily sick of him. Turning back toward the window, she muttered, “I know your type.” Safe in the knowledge that the noise of the wheels and the flapping canvas would mask her words, she added, “You smarmy, happy-handed bastard.”

 

Alicia allowed herself a small smile. Cursing usually improved her mood. It was a newly-acquired skill and she hadn’t found many opportunities to put it to use. Her grin widened at the memory of Geoffrey Blandings standing with his mouth agape as she’d cursed at him ferociously. Looking back, it was doubly comical—she’d learned most of the words from him.

 

But she’d said her farewells, both to him and to her family in Philadelphia, and if she were lucky and the driver managed it, she’d begin life anew in the Arizona Territory with her mother’s sister and brother-in-law. She almost laughed aloud at the notion of cursing at the Reverend Mr. Hayes.

 

I wonder what he’s like. I haven’t seen Aunt June since… I guess I was seven or eight. And I only met him that once, at their wedding. They left so quickly afterward—went to a congregation in Ohio, then bit by bit came all the way out here. I’ve no idea what he’s like. I wonder if they really want me, or if it’s just… family. At any rate, I hope we get there before my stomach leaps out and lands on the side of the road. Before the pains hit me again. I don’t know how I’d explain them.

 

The stage picked up speed and she bounced again—a bone-rattling ricochet that dropped her in a heap on the floor, her legs doubled under her, her hat pushed down over her face. As she fought back the veils tangled round her head, she heard a loud crack. A thud. Crack, crack. Someone moaned. Someone shouted. Hot liquid hit her hand. Another thud. Then crack, crack, crack.

 

Freed from the netting at last, Alicia glanced down at her hand, saw blood, and screamed.

 

Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):

 

 

 

 


What makes your featured book a must-read?

 

WITHOUT THE THUNDER is a multicultural age-gap adult Historical Romance set in the Old West, a sensual slow-burn romance. Book 4 of the Donovan Family Saga, it shares characters with the other books in the series, but can be read as a stand-alone.

 

The author moves the story fluidly with descriptive scenes and multiple storylines. I loved and would recommend this book. - BookSprout Review

 

Giveaway –

 

Enter to win a $15 Kobo or Amazon gift card:

 

 

Open Internationally. 

 

Runs March 5 – March 11, 2024.

 

Winner will be drawn on March 12, 2024.

 


Author Biography:


Gifford MacShane is the author of historical fiction that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit. Her novels feature a family of Irish immigrants who settle in the Arizona Territory. With an accessible literary style, MacShane draws out her characters' hidden flaws and strengths as they grapple with physical and emotional conflicts.

 

Singing almost before she could talk, MacShane always loved folk music, whether Irish, Appalachian, or the songs of cowboys. Her love of the Old West goes back to childhood, when her father introduced her to Zane Grey. She became interested in Irish history after realizing her ancestors had lived through the Great Potato Famine. She’s combined these three interests into a series of romances, each with traditional song lyrics and a dash of Celtic mysticism.


The DONOVAN FAMILY SAGA includes WHISPERS IN THE CANYON (Book 1), THE WOODSMAN’S ROSE (Book 2), RAINBOW MAN (Book 3), WITHOUT THE THUNDER (Book 4), and THE WINDS OF MORNING, a prequel novella requested by her fans.


MacShane is a member of the Historical Novel Society and is an #OwnVoices writer. An avid gardener, Giff cultivates pollinator plants and grows tomatoes (not enough) and zucchini (too much). A self-professed grammar nerd, Giff currently lives in Pennsylvania with her husband Richard, the Pied Piper of stray cats.

 

Social Media Links:


Website:        https://giffordmacshane.com

Twitter:         https://twitter.com/AuthorGMacShane

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