Review: An Interesting Blend of Kung Fu Meet American West
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 19, 2012
I was intrigued by the blurb on this book about the Kung Fu fighting in the American West and a romance between a half-breed Kung Fu Master and a half-Chinese female student.  It was quite an incredible story though not for the faint of heart.Lei Chang is the daughter of the strongest Tong leader in America and she wants more than anything to become a Grand Master of Kung Fu.  Her father, Wan, cannot deny her so she is sent to study at the prestigious dojo of Joey, who trained the current best Grand Master, Wyatt McManus a wealthy Wyoming rancher and businessman.Wyatt and Lei do not hit it off well because he is arrogant and condescending and she has a temper.  Lei loses that temper in a match with Wyatt and ends up showing disrespect by spitting at him.  He then publicly humiliates her.  But this is the moment he begins feeling attracted to the young fiery woman and she with him when later he forces a kiss that she eventually reciprocates.Wyatt is a very hard, dangerous man both to men in his business dealings and with women when he 'loves them and leaves them' for the next one.  Lei has been sheltered all her life and Wyatt's ways are an eye opener for her.  But some things she is quite used to like being the target of half the students in the dojo who are from rival tongs.  She walks a fine line to keep her father from pulling her away from her training and keeping him from interfering because of her growing (albeit mixed) feelings for Wyatt.In the meantime, Martin and Jesse Kendrick leave the high society of Boston to travel back to his family home in Wyoming.  Martin is running for governor.  He uses the excuse of Jesse's horse having behavioral issues to approach Wyatt who has a knack with horses.  Martin wants Wyatt's backing and his money, but makes the mistake first thing of unwittingly insulting Wyatt and his men by slinging racial and class slurs to what he thinks are just a group of cowboys.  Jesse is embarrassed, but also intrigued when she meets the larger than life Wyatt who swats her swaggering husband down like he's a gnat.So many brands are now in the fire of this story.  It was one exciting ride to the very end.The plot is one long twisted rush both due to the romantic entanglements of Wyatt with both Lei and Jesse and then the political storyline comes into the forefront and finally the Tong and Kung Fu element.Truthfully, I'm giving this story one more star than I intended because I realize that it was my own preference and not the author's storytelling that is the issue.My hang up is Wyatt.  There are many aspects about his character that I liked, but there was one big glaring facet that angered me- his treatment of women.  Both women told him 'no' or indicated discomfort with something he wanted them to do while having sex and he just pushed them until they agreed. It was like a Dom who disregarded the safe word. Even if they enjoyed it afterwards, 'no' should have been 'no'.  To be fair, I get why he was rough since he was an angry hurting man over the death of his wife, but that does not mean it gave him the right to disrespect those who came to him willingly.  He wanted the women to try things and he indicates that he would have stopped if at that point they did not want it.That being the said, I was impressed with Taylor Lee's ability to write complex characters.  Wyatt was probably the most complex, but Lei and the others were layered and interesting to get to know.  Wan was very formidable as a tong leader, but had a soft spot for his daughter.  Martin was a true 'love to hate' guy.  I loved the men who were Wyatt's friends.  The camaraderie was great and one of the things I enjoy about the Western genre.Just so the reader knows what they are getting themselves into this story offers violence, rough sex play and dirty sexual talk that might not be everyone's reading preference.Overall well-written and an interesting take on Western historical fiction.