My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Paperback: 298 pages
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (July 1, 2016)
Thelma Adams has built a successful career writing profiles of Hollywood’s biggest and brightest stars. From Julianne Moore and George Clooney to Jessica Chastain and Matthew McConaughey, her portfolio is dazzling and reputation as a film critic in the industry stellar.
Now, Adams shifts from Hollywood to the Wild West with THE LAST WOMAN STANDING (Lake Union Publishing; on-sale July 1, 2016), the first biographical novel about Josephine Marcus, Wyatt Earp’s wife, the gutsy Jewish beauty who captured the lawman’s heart in 1881, the year he fought the legendary Gunfight at the OK Corral.
In her well-researched and vividly composed novel, Adams doesn’t waste any time proving her talent as a dynamic writer with a cinematic flair. She explores the brief defining period when Josephine comes-of-age on the American frontier, weaving action, wit, and clever introspection.
The daughter of Jewish immigrants, Josephine shames her tight-knit family (her over-bearing mother begins to sit-shiva the minute Josephine walks out the door) when the 19-year-old follows the smooth-talking and attractive lawman, Johnny Behan, from San Francisco, California to Tombstone, Arizona. Hanging on the slim promise of a wedding, the naïve young woman eventually discovers the older man’s untrustworthy side. She also learns that divided loyalties and corruption plague the silver boom town—with her fiancé at the conflict’s heart. And she can’t pretend she hasn’t noticed the courageous straight-shooter Wyatt Earp who becomes Behan’s sworn enemy.
When Behan betrays Josephine, she leaves him—and immediately faces the harsh realities of being a woman on her own in the Wild West, a world where a lady’s every action depends on a man’s approval. Adams’s storytelling from a female perspective, and her rich and descriptive style, allow the reader to feel Josephine’s desperation as she realizes the only available options she has are prostitution or returning home. That is—until Wyatt Earp declares his love for her. As their romance blossoms and their bond deepens, Behan’s jealousy ignites a rivalry destined for the history books.
THE LAST WOMAN STANDING is a compelling novel: both an epic tale of an improbable romance and a retelling of an iconic American legend through a female lens. Josephine is a charismatic, fierce heroine who seeks to reinvent herself—and find her soul mate—in a lawless outpost among cowboys and lawmen, where few people are what they seem on the surface.
“Adams is that rare, vivid author who brings a cinematic quality to her wildly entertaining fiction.” —Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
BOOK REVIEW
Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp, Doc Holliday, Tombstone, O.K. Corral and Boot Hill. these are names and places that probably ring a bell. For me this book made me realize how little I really knew about the person Wyatt Earp. So, I was thrilled to participate in this blog tour.
This book starts with Josephine Marcus now old and reminiscing her life. Most of the ones from her days in Tombstone are dead, including her beloved Wyatt. And, now she has only memories of her days as a young woman who risks everything to travel from San Francisco to Tombstone to marry Johnny Behan. Only, it never got to be her and Behan, he strung her along and she had enough after finding him in bed with another woman. But, there was Wyatt and a love that would last until the day he died.
I think love stories are best when they are real. When it's about real people that either found love for a few passionate years or a lifetime. Thelma Adam's book about Josephine Earp is engrossing and I loved reading the book. One thing I found so fascinating is that it's not that long ago, it was just at the end of the 1900-century, not several hundred years ago, but still it feels odd to know that Wyatt Earp lived until 1929. I have always felt that Tombstone and The Gunfight at O.K. Corral were much longer ago.
I instantly found Wyatt Earp charming and I can understand Josephine's first reaction in the book to seeing him the very first day in Tombstone. I loved every moment they had together and the scene in the brothel when she thought that she would have to sell her body to support herself is absolutely wonderful. Yeah, I know that sounds very weird, but read the book and you will see why I feel that scene is great.
I could probably go on and on about what I loved about the book, but I will end this review with a quote from the book from the very first moment, Josephine saw Wyatt:
This book starts with Josephine Marcus now old and reminiscing her life. Most of the ones from her days in Tombstone are dead, including her beloved Wyatt. And, now she has only memories of her days as a young woman who risks everything to travel from San Francisco to Tombstone to marry Johnny Behan. Only, it never got to be her and Behan, he strung her along and she had enough after finding him in bed with another woman. But, there was Wyatt and a love that would last until the day he died.
I think love stories are best when they are real. When it's about real people that either found love for a few passionate years or a lifetime. Thelma Adam's book about Josephine Earp is engrossing and I loved reading the book. One thing I found so fascinating is that it's not that long ago, it was just at the end of the 1900-century, not several hundred years ago, but still it feels odd to know that Wyatt Earp lived until 1929. I have always felt that Tombstone and The Gunfight at O.K. Corral were much longer ago.
I instantly found Wyatt Earp charming and I can understand Josephine's first reaction in the book to seeing him the very first day in Tombstone. I loved every moment they had together and the scene in the brothel when she thought that she would have to sell her body to support herself is absolutely wonderful. Yeah, I know that sounds very weird, but read the book and you will see why I feel that scene is great.
I could probably go on and on about what I loved about the book, but I will end this review with a quote from the book from the very first moment, Josephine saw Wyatt:
As Johnny roped his horse to Harry’s wagon and Kitty nagged her stoop-shouldered husband, I felt a weight on one cheek. I sensed eyes staring at me. I don’t know how that’s possible, but it happened just that way, as real as the feeling of sunshine while your eyes are closed. That was the first time I saw Wyatt. He was looking straight at me. I stared right back. He was dead handsome with an athletic build on a six-foot frame, made taller by perfect posture. His hair was blond and thick like his younger brother’s, with a matching mustache and unflinching eyes, the same blue as Morgan’s but twice as intense.
Purchase Links
About Thelma Adams
Thelma Adams is an established figure in the entertainment industry. For two decades, she has penned celebrity features and criticism for high-profile publications. Her portfolio of actor interviews includes Julianne Moore, George Clooney, Jessica Chastain, and Matthew McConaughey, among many others. While covering film for the New York Post, Us Weekly, and Yahoo Movies, Thelma became a regular at film festivals from Berlin to Dubai, Toronto to Tribeca. She sits on the Hamptons International Film Festival Advisory Board and twice chaired the prestigious New York Film Critics Circle. Her debut novel, Playdate, published by Thomas Dunne Books, won high critical acclaim. Adams is often recognized, as she has been invited to share her expertise on many broadcast outlets, including appearances on NBC’s Today, CBS’s Early Show, and CNN. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a history degree from UC Berkeley and earned an MFA from Columbia University. She lives in Hyde Park, New York, with her family.
Thelma Adams’ TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:
Monday, June 27th: WV Stitcher
Tuesday, June 28th: A Bookish Affair
Wednesday, June 29th: The Magic All Around Us
Friday, July 1st: Lavish Bookshelf
Tuesday, July 5th: A. Holland Reads
Wednesday, July 6th: Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews
Thursday, July 7th: Just One More Chapter
Friday, July 8th: Open Book Society
Monday, July 11th: Books Without Any Pictures
Monday, July 11th: FictionZeal
Wednesday, July 13th: Laura’s Reviews
Thursday, July 14th: Reading is My Superpower
Friday, July 15th: Write Read Life
Monday, July 18th: A Bookaholic Swede
Tuesday, July 19th: Books and Bindings
Wednesday, July 20th: West Metro Mommy Reads
Friday, July 22nd: Worth Getting in Bed For
Monday, July 25th: Just Commonly
I have loved Josie from the very first time I heard of her in the TOMBSTONE movie years ago. Everything I've learned about her since then makes me love her even more. What a woman!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a part of the tour!