Book Reviews for Drink Deep from the Well of Good Intentions

As a fictional author I appreciate the complexity of creating a story that is captivating and compelling. Author Donald Montano post civil war-western will hold your attention with his eloquent, descriptive style. He brings the surrounding to life and gives you the amazing feeling of being there as an invisible voyeur. The characters are real in so many ways, tridimensional and well developed. You can almost feel the emotion of their trials and tribulation as you follow John Sampson’s difficult journey as he overcomes obstacles and tribulations. There are so the many twists and turns that make your head spin. You will have difficulty putting this book down until the very end. One of my favorite characters is the stunning and passionate Arley; the complexity of her persona is particularly interesting and will surely captivate the readers. This western novel is written with creativity and style by the talented author. I look forward of reading more offerings from Mr. Montano. Well worth your time and highly recommended. 

The Civil War was over. Nothing was the same. Death, destruction and hatred were everywhere. John Sampson served four years in the war. Now he just wanted a quiet place to be alone. He decided to head west. He never dreamed the war would follow him.

BLOCKBUSTER! Movie-waiting-to-happen. This book is crafted in such a way you get lost in it. The characters are well defined and so life-like you’ll forget it’s fiction. I was enthralled with this book. In my mind I could see it playing at a movie theater. Very few books hit me that way. Put this author on automatic buy. I know I have.

I did find one issues. It’s a personal preference. I’d take out the “end of chapter” statements. It’s a given the chapter ends if the next chapter is labelled.

I have this one a resounding 5 cheers out of 5. copy of book provided by author and I voluntarily reviewed it.

Just an excellent read and hard to put down. The first in a series and the start of a great writing career for Donald Montano. Wow! He draws you quickly into the plot and keeps you invested and engaged, all the time artfully developing his characters. Arley, the female lead, was by far the most interesting character and her journey was absolutely riveting. You will become attached to Sampson as well, the strong, quiet Southerner who gets roped into more than his share of trouble. Sometimes you lose characters you love, which is disturbing, but it is skillfully handled by the author without being manipulative. There are twists and turns, setting the scene for future books but there is also a complete and satisfying ending. Really a terrific read. Don’t miss it.

Im not typically a fan of the Western genre. I was however very pleased with this book. It kinda reminded me of an old time John Wayne style movie. By the end of chapter 2 I was hooked. I needes to figure out what happened and why. What was going to transpire from this deadly fight.

The characters to me made the everything evolve smoothly. The had a complex realistic persona about each of them. That is some talent to create a developed layered world and believable people. I am happy that I decided to read this book and think you will be too.

I grew up with westerns. My father watched them all the time and that was our “quality time” many times throughout my childhood. So reading this book was a bit of a nostalgic experience for me. I was drawn to the rugged demeanor and description of the cowboys, and even more to the headstrong women who played them like a fiddle.

One of the most impressive things about this story was that there was never much of a lull. Every time I began to think there was a part that wasn’t quite necessary and the story could have moved along without it, the author explained exactly why that piece was part of the puzzle. The sex scenes were well written and steamy, but not like contemporary romance, more fitting to that particular genre–with the applicable terminology and all. The gunfight scenes were just as exciting and described vividly enough for me to almost taste the blood on Sampson’s lip.

Arley, Sampson’s love interest worked my nerves a few times with her stubbornness and evil ways, but she and I made amends at the end ? The characters were well developed with personalities you either loved to love, or loved to hate. They all played important roles to the story and I found them fascinating.

Although there were some issues of POV change throughout the story, it didn’t detract me from continuing to flip pages. I enjoyed every minute of this story and recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good western romance–heavy on the western, light on the romance.

Here are some of my favorite lines from this story:

“Time starts moving too fast to waste it on any words but those you really mean.”

“Imagine, a stranger came among us, and now I find he has a kind soul and speaks with the wisdom to make a woman feel whole again.”

“If you’re implying I can be bought that easy, ma’am, then maybe you should make me a better offer.”

And then her gossamer wings melted and she fell back to earth, into a dark abyss that sucked her toward the center of the earth to be submersed in a kind of primal ooze. (I think this one was my favorite!)

A stranger came among them has a new title – Drink deep from the well of good intentions but Goodreads don’t seem to have the book listed so I have left my review here under its original title.

Wow what can I say… Hold onto your cowboy hat, this book challenged me as I’m not a reader of westerns as such, but I defy you not to enjoy this with the added bonus of the story being a mini history class.
The year is 1866 and the novel is set in the Colorado Territory just fifth-teen months after the end of the civil war.
John Sampson has been passing through town after town now the war had finished and as a confederate soldier who lost the battle must start again. John is feeling a little lost following the death of his parents who were murdered just before the war ended.
Lots of big characters in this story they are well written and defined and you know that they will develop much further in book two and three.
Two of the main characters are women and are stubborn, and did I mention gorgeous both different opinions.
We have Hannah Marco begging Sampson to stay and break wild mustangs at the Marco ranch and Arley Ruttlinger almost threatening Sampson to leave town immediately and of course we have the bad guy Rand Calder – he had slowly been squeezing small farms and ranches until they leave and sell up to him.
Max Ruttlinger is wrapped deep in shame following a precious affair with Miss Hannah and his daughter won’t let him forget it and creates a triangle of hate when she reveals she’s been seeing the enemy Calder and lots of henchmen – Lots.
Romance sizzles across the pages, intrigue, plots, twists and turns double crossings and secrets and sadness.
I could genuinely see this being made into a movie, with the bad guys in one side, the good guys on the other and the town folk stuck bang in the middle.
I won’t spoil it for you but we have shoot outs, scams, gunfights, quick draws, affairs, steamy scenes, family lies, illegitimate children and a fantastic horse called Jeb.
I really got into the genre and found myself wanting to research specific pieces of history and the guns that were described.
Donald Montano what can I say you blew it out of the water just like the gun Sampson carries. BANG.
Looking forward to reading the next two installments. Will be starting Escape back to Charleston soon – a sneaky peak reveals that Sampson and Arley are in over their heads again looking for a slave that has ran away and they need to find her quick.
There are four books in this authors collection and I will be adding them all to my read list for 2020.

What an intriguing and engaging novel, that is extremely well written. It drew me into the world of the old west, and into the lives of Arley and John. There’s was a fascinating relationship from the start, that had me emotionally invested. “A Stranger Came Among Them” is a romance, an adventure, an exciting glimpse into a world captured brilliantly by the author. I plan to read the next book in the series.

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