Meggie's Remains by Joanne Sundell

From the author's website...
"Afraid of men, afraid for her sins, afraid for her sanity, and right now afraid for her life, Meggie McMurphy flees Boston once the fiendish terror--so long stalking in her nightmares--surfaces in the light of day. She escapes west to Denver in the wild Colorado Territory, hoping to lose herself among the multitude of townsfolk. The year is 1874.

Twenty-five years old, alone, and near penniless, Meggie struggles to find honest work and to keep the dark secrets of her past just that: a secret. Not so easily done when the handsome, foreboding westerner Ethan Rourke, stumbles upon her on a snowy Denver street. Why it's as if he'd stepped right out of the pages of her beloved romance, Jane Eyre! Safe to encounter such a man on the romance page, it is certainly unsafe, even deadly, for her to encounter such a man in the flesh. Men belong ... six feet under, six feet away ... where to stay safe, the devil must stay!

Hired as a teacher, not in Denver, but in an isolated mountain town in rugged Ute country, Meggie is determined to make a home for herself in Hot Sulphur Springs. There she keeps up her masquerade as Rose Rochester, yearning for a normal life--for companionship and even love--all the while knowing it's only a matter of time until the monstrous changeling from her nightmares will find her, killing any possibility of a life at all."

I was very excited to read this novel for a few reasons...
~ I live in Denver and my best friend lives in Hot Sulphur Springs. So, I am very familiar with the two main settings and was interested to see how Ms. Sundell would capture these towns in 1874.
~I'm a fan of well-written romances. I'm not afraid to admit that I love them.
~As readers of my blog know, I'm a huge fan of first lines and this novel has a great first line.
~Meggie comforts herself in the pages of Jane Eyre, arguably one of the greatest romance novels ever written. I was intrigued to read how Ms. Sundell tied the stories together.

Obviously, I had high expectations and was not, at all, disappointed! This is a fantastic read. Meggie, the heroine, is damaged by her abusive past but determined to make a better life for herself. Ms. Sundell took care to write her main character with depth and believability. Many heroines in romance novels are one-dimensional and, almost, a caricature. This is not Meggie. Her actions and reactions are believable given her past. It's difficult to read some of her flashbacks but it's an insight that the reader needs to appreciate her.

Ethan Rourke has all the great characteristics necessary for a romantic hero without being over the top. This book is definitely not a "bodice-ripper" and Ethan(whose initials mirror those of Jane Eyre's hero, Edward Rochester) is written to be both sensitive and strong. He is confused by Nutmeg (his nickname for Meggie) but comes to love her because of who she is.

I was a little concerned when I realized this book contained "paranormal" aspects, as I don't usually like that genre. The paranormal aspects in Meggie's Remains are integral in the storyline. I never felt, when reading, like it was added just to satisfy a genre "requirement"... sadly, I've read books where that was not the case.
Whether a fan of "paranormal" or not, a reader will not be distracted by these events. There was not a time when I thought it was contrived or the author tried too hard.

I never leave the dust jacket on a hardback I am reading. I was pleasantly surprised when I took it off to find that the cover was "printed" on the book itself. I wish more hardbacks were published like that. It was also printed on whiter paper than most hardbacks. This made it a lot easier on my eyes... especially right before bed :o)

I really enjoyed reading this novel. It was well-written, which is an absolute must for me. I read this book with a more critical eye than usual as I knew I'd be reviewing it. It is, in my opinion, carefully plotted, populated with interesting secondary characters and a perfectly descriptive tour of my beloved Colorado as I imagine it was in 1874. Meggie's Remains was a wonderful introduction to a new-to-me author, Joanne Sundell, as well as a reminder of a classicly beautiful romance, Jane Eyre.