Plucky seamstress Abby Sutton had traveled across the untamed West to the one-room cabin she had inherited. She refused to give up her only home simply because a gruff mountain man claimed he had bought it before her uncle died. No, she would stay put and let the traveling judge decide who rightfully owned the place. Anything could happen in the five weeks before the judge made his way back to town.
Samuel Hart knew he could easily eject the feisty brunette – after all, she was a tiny thing, and he was so big, he scared the local townsfolk. But he couldn’t bring himself to turn a defenseless woman out in the cold … even when she took over his masculine domain with cleaning and laughing and singing and painting the place pink, for godsake.
He had grown used to seeing fear in women’s eyes, but try as he might, the only thing Samuel saw in Abby’s eyes was affection… and the hint of something deeper, something that made him yearn for the life he had never allowed himself to want.
Maureen Child was born 28 September 1951 in California, USA. She and her husband enjoy traveling, usually taking road trips with her parents. When she’s at home, she is kept busy with her two grown children and a somewhat confused golden retriever named Abbey. She is busy writing her next book.
Under her own name, Maureen Child writes short contemporary novels—books she loves to write because of their fast pace and condensed story telling, she is also writing funny, contemporary paranormal romances. Over the years, she’s written under lots of different names and she prefers the term ‘pseudonym’ to ‘alias’. As Ann Carberry, she wrote western historical romances. As Kathleen Kane, she wrote not only Americana romances, but western paranormal romances as well. As Sarah Hart, she wrote one really spectacular western paranormal that is still one of her favorites. And once, Ann Carberry even wrote a Victorian historical which she absolutely loved doing. She writes paranormal romance novels under the pesudonym of Regan Hastings. Now, a USA Today best selling author of more than ninety romance novels and novellas, she is a five time nominee for the prestigious Rita award from Romance Writers of America. One of her novels, A Pocketful Of Paradise, was made into a CBS-TV movie called The Soul Collector, starring Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Greenwood and Ossie Davis.
********* Content: Mild violence, a few sex scenes, some swearing and profanity ********* I read this two years ago. Loved it -- flaws and all! Laughed out loud several times! But it was also poignant, because Samuel Hart is HUGE and the whole town is afraid of him, so he has no friends. His mama warned him when he was a clumsy kid that he should STAY AWAY from people, cuz he might accidentally hurt them. Samuel keeps to himself up on his mountain.
Along comes Abby Sutton, a small but bossy woman with a big heart (hiding a fear of homelessness) and a dreadful taste in clothing and home decor (some funny scenes there!). Abby was irritating to some readers, but I just laughed and went along with it. She claims that her uncle left her Samuel's house and land. (In fact, he sold it to Samuel before he died, so her inheritance was nullified.) Abby obstinately moves in with Samuel until the traveling judge can sort it all out.
Soon enough, Abby enlarges Samuel's lonely life even more by bringing home a vagrant boy, Luke. Then she starts bringing townsfolk home. Now lonely Samuel has lots of love and laughter in his life.
Pretty soon his big ole bed starts rocking. Yup! :-D
An enjoyable and sexy read! Lots of laughs -- I loved the interactions with Luke, who didn't want to wear the sissy clothing Abby sewed for him. And Samuel, who didn't want to hurt her feelings, yet abhorred her taste in paint color. Also, some sizzling sex, and some enjoyable and well-defined seconday characters. The relationship developed fairly quickly but not too fast -- Sam and Abby went from being reluctant housemates, to friendship, to sexual intimacy and trust.
Minor Flaws: Some words are broken up like this: plat form, per form, plea sant. Also, I did not care for a scene towards the end, involving a BIG misunderstanding and a brief separation. Stupid.
From what I gathered in the... 6% of the story that I was able to stomach, Abby's Uncle Silas bequeathed his cabin to her in his will that was read two months ago. Six months ago, Silas sold the cabin to Samuel. Abby goes to the cabin, finds Samuel there, and proceeds to a) treat him like an unfortunate moron, b) attempt to confuse him in the hope of swindling him out of the property he legally owns, and c) say THIS:
"But, Samuel, I've just told you that Uncle Silas named me in his will only two months ago." "Exactly!" The flat of his hand slammed down on the tabletop, and she grabbed for her coffee cup. "Since I bought this property six months ago… Silas couldn't have left it to you!" "But that's what I meant when I said he'd obviously changed his mind." "Huh?" "He may have sold you the cabin first… but he changed his mind later and left it to me!” “Don't you understand?" Samuel said, his frustration mounting with every breath. "The property wasn't his to leave you." "Well, of course it was his." Abby smiled. "If it wasn't his, how could he have sold it to you?" "It was his. Now it's mine!" Samuel felt as though his mind were covered in cobwebs. He knew he was right! So why was it even he was beginning to doubt it? "No, it was his, then you thought it was yours, but now it's mine!" She looked around her again and sighed. "And I can't tell you how exciting it all is. Only a few weeks ago I was in Maryland, and now I'm in my own home!"
Fucking kill me now. Better yet, kill this poor, delusional woman.
3 ½ stars. Cute story. Sweet and simple. Made me feel good.
I was smiling a lot. It’s typical romance novel stuff. The guy thinks he’s not lovable and assumes she could never love him. He won’t listen to reason. They have a big misunderstanding.
The plot was kind of silly. Abby insists she has a right to the land, but in her heart she knows she doesn’t. But I still liked it. I liked Eesh’s comment: Abby “just wouldn’t take no for an answer and she brought out the best in Samuel.” The romance was fulfilling. The development of friendships with townsfolk and bonds with the boy Luke were heartwarming.
TYPOS AND ERRORS: This book is full of typos and spacing problems - almost every page. Examples: pleas ant, sup plies, off o fwhat. Typos like “he” instead of “lie.” And J instead of I. It’s like a typist was reading the author’s handwriting, not thinking about it, and getting it wrong - and no one checking it afterwards. What a rush job.
DATA: Narrative mode: 3rd person. Kindle count length: 3,503 (241 pages). Swearing language: mild including religious swear words. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: 1. Setting: 1800s Rock Creek, western U.S. Copyright: 1993. Genre: western historical romance.
"Small Treasures" by Kathleen Kane was an excellent read, and, most likely, probably one of the best books I've read. It begins with one of the main characters, Samuel, a big and tall man who has moved away from the big city and desperately trying to make a home for himself in the mountains of Colorado. At the same time, Abby, the other main character of this story, arrives at the same cabin believing that it is rightfully hers, and she wants Samuel out. Samuel and Abby, through strain and compromise, decide to come together and try to possess the same living space because neither one will leave. Soon, though, they find themselves not only trying to share, but wanting to, and it's not only the cabin that Samuel and Abby end up sharing. Promise you, not only will "Small Treasures" dish out a dose of romance, but your share of laughs will present themselves as well. I could read this book over and over again... I give it 5 stars.
Ha sido una historia muy bonita y muy tierna de dos personas que se encontraban solas en el mundo y consiguen formar una familia. Tengo que decir que la historia me ha gustado gracias a algunas reseñas que leí en las que advertían que no te podías tomar la historia muy en serio y que no tenía mucho rigor histórico. De no ser así igual me hubiese resultado un poco simplona o tonta, aunque también es verdad que la protagonista actúa de esa manera más bien por desesperación que por tontería. Aclarado esto, la historia tiene momentos muy simpáticos, que te hacen reír y otros muy dulces y románticos. No hay mucho drama y sí que están presentes el señor Malentendido y la señora Separación. Lo dicho, una historia de amor muy tierna, con protagonistas que se hacen querer y con secundarios entrañables. Para pasar un ratito agradable.
It has been a very nice and tender story about two people who were alone in the world and get to start a family. I have to say that I liked the story thanks to some reviews I read which warned that you could not take the story seriously and had not much historical accuracy. If not for that it would have seem (to me) a bit simplistic or silly, but it is also true that the heroine acts that way more by desperation than by stupidity. The story has funny moments that make you laugh and other very sweet and romantic. There isn't much drama and yes, you´ll find here Mr. Misunderstanding and Mrs. Separation. That said, this is a cute love story, with MC´s who endear themselves and touching secondary characters. To spend a pleasant moment.
This book had good premise, but the writing was very poor and juvenile. Hero is very insecure, which I found both endearing and annoying at the same time. Annoying won.
When it comes to annoying, nothing beats heroine. First she belittles and demeans hero (in her thoughts) and talks to him like he is dumb. Then she just runs roughshod over him. He lets her because he is already besotted with her.
And any time she spoke, it sounded to my ears like she was whining or patronizing the hero. Maybe it was due to the overuse of his name.
"Samuel, where are you going Samuel?" "Why Samuel! That is such a great idea, Samuel!"
The book needs some thorough editing ( Examples: pleas ant, sup plies,tryingtohide... Typos like J instead of I...) In the other half of the book I had trouble following who was saying what. There was sudden jumping from scene to scene. The scenes were not divided into proper paragraphs which also made it difficult to follow the plotline.
I don't recommend you spend any money on this book. Borrow it if you have to read it.
I found Small Treasures by Maureen Child a delightful romance. Our heroine, Abby Sutton has spent everything she had to travel across the untamed West to claim a cottage her uncle has left her when he died. And she refuses to give up her dream to finally have a home of her own because a gruff mountain man claims he bought the cabin and land before her uncle died. Well she would just stay put and let the traveling judge decide who owns the property.Our hero Samuel Hart, the giant of a man, could easily eject the feisty woman, after all she was a tiny thing, and he was so big, he scared the local townsfolk. But he just couldn't bring himself to turn a penniless defenseless woman out in the cold even when she takes over his masculine domain cleaning and laughing and singing and painting the place pink for godsake. Abby is also the first woman who he does not see fear in her eyes.
I loved these characters, both the main ones and the secondary character. I loved the humor that at points I was laughing out loud at some of what I read. Highly recommend this wonderful romance. Sensual level is a strong 6. Looking forward to reading more of this authors books.
SMALL TREASURES is a funny, charming and timeless historical romance set in the West. I started reading the book thinking I would just read a few pages to see if I was interested--and didn't stop until I reached the end!
I read this book many years ago, but I remember it being a very sweet, funny book. The main character is a short woman, and the male is a lumberjack type. She's very spirited, and he's set in his ways. This was a very fun read, and if I could find a copy I'd gladly read it again.
A naked giant stood in the doorway, a rifle held in one of his huge hands. Hmmmm, this is the first sentence of the book and I wondered how it was going to read. Samuel, a big man leary of his own strength meets Abby, a petite woman who loves life.
Part of the Jove Homespun series, this was a silly light romance about a man who needed to learn more about love and his relationships with others. He was a pessimist, she was an optimist. He thought he didn't need others only to find out how lonely he was before meeting Abby. The plot was goofy and I wanted to knock Samuel's head a few times for acting so mule-headed but it was meant to be a piece of fluff and I liked it. Not great but not bad.
I absolutely loved this book! I can not relate to the other 1-star reviews at all, especially the girl that gave up at 6% of the story. The beginning chapter might have come across as corny (like she said) but it actually flows right into a super sweet love story. I think one of the best things about this book were the personalities of the characters. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I loved the heroine. She was not annoying to me, but rather super positive and hopeful that good things will come, after having a sad childhood. The hero was a lonely, hurting mountain man that needed to be loved, but he was not a jerk about it. The secondary characters were fun as well. There were a few things a little far-fetched, but it didn't distract me from the romance at all.
Thanks Kathleen for recommending this sweet and simple western romance. I enjoyed the small town and sense of community as well as the way that Abby helped the town and Samuel to see Samuel differently.
Abby's quirkiness but general moxie and big heart were endearing. Her attempts to bamboozle Samuel were not. Honesty would have been a better route
I didn't like the 'big misunderstanding' at the end, that is one of my least favorite tropes but all in all it was a nice way to pass a few hours.
Definitely wasn't as bad as some of the reviews make it out to be. The story was a little far fetched, but Abby was very endearing. She just wouldn't take no for an answer and she brought out the best in Samuel. I think most people who like this genre would enjoy this book.
This book was fantastic and I loved / treasured it in my memory ,I've forgotten the title till a very amazingly/great person reminded me of it JennyG ( I love you !!) .I really can't recommend it enough it's sweet, funny ,cute,heart melting romance !
Was she for real? Terrible clueless h--she far surpasses TSTL. I did like the H, but even he was pretty one dimensional. The book improved as I read it, but I almost didn't make it past 10%.
Oh my god, one of the most annoying heroines to ever be written!!! Considered not finishing this book so many times between yesterday and today! Liked the side characters and was ok with the hero but even he was annoying at times!! I mean i enjoyed some parts but the heroine was just doing my head in. Her “quirkiness” ruined everything, she was definitely of the TSTL variety!! And also, Samuel, the hero, is supposed to be so “HUGE” his mothers kept him away from people for his safety, and people faint looking at him and others run or start fights, and yet the heroine mentions he only just over 6 foot tall???? Umm am i missing something? Thats tall but he’s no giant that people would be terrified of. Lol
Not to mention the mountain of typos, odd spaces between words, no spaces between some words and general dumbness of the characters. Avoid at all costs!!!
Book started out with interesting premise: woman arrives to claim cabin bequeathed to her in will and finds new, male owner living there. She insists she has a true claim, because she really has nowhere else to go. She tries to convince him to "share the cabin" by showing him how useful she can be.
Problems: By share the cabin, she means living there together until the claim dispute can be resolved. I couldn't believe the townspeople would accept this arrangement w/o questioning her character, but the author says they do, even after they obviously enter a physical relationship. The heroine is annoyingly dense. The main child character was not well-developed, an obvious plot device. The book was boring and too drawn out. At $3.99, it was also too expensive. Book was filled with typos, bad formatting and spelling errors. I thought maybe it was just my version, but others reviews confirm it's not.
Pluses: I did like the hero at first. He kept me reading. There were some funny moments in the books.
Overall: I was disappointed and regret reading it.
I didn't even get to the end of the sample chapter. I don't particularly like entitled nor dumb heroines. And she sounds both. Believing you are right and actually being right are quite different matters, and pretending not to see it doesn't endear the MC to me.
A gentle, tender, delightful story. Arousing a full gamut of emotions, from laughter to tears. Abbey, Samuel, Luke and the townspeople are wonderfully drawn. If it’s a romantic fairy tale you’re after, this is it! Read this some years ago and loved 🥰 it then too.
A cute story about a plucky little female who tames the big quiet male and creates a home for everyone in the process. If you are looking for a lot of sex - this isn't the book for you.