The basic plot of the book is as follows. Alaina (Lainie) Costanza is a romance writer, but she's no wimpy, frou-frou darling. Nope, she chain-smokes, drinks on occasion, wears tacky outfits, and is generally a hell-raiser. There are reasons for her behavior I'll get to in a moment; suffice it to say that only two things are keeping her together at this point: her writing talent, and her teenage daughter, Kelly.
John Killian is an outlaw, a former Texas Ranger who feels like he's lost everything. His wife died years ago and he couldn't save her; once that happened, he felt his soul rip apart, and decided to live down to his reputation. Now he's the leader of a notorious bunch of outlaws.
How do these two relate? It's not as simple as it appears at first. At first, Lainie gets thrown back from her time (early 1990s) to Killian's time (late 1800s); Killian isn't exactly overjoyed to see her. Lainie is in a state of shock at first, thinking it's all a dream.
But it's not.
Instead, Lainie finds out slowly that Killian is her soulmate. And that she, in an earlier life, was the wife that left him alone. And as she and Killian learn to trust each other again, they overcome nearly insurmountable problems.
Item 1: Lainie was gangraped at least once. Used to do drugs. Her parents abandoned her, and the foster system didn't work. Her daughter is the result of the rape; she kept her daughter and loves her, which shows enormous strength of character. (As if being creative and reaching for her dreams wasn't enough strength for anyone; well, this is a romance, and I suppose this is a bigger "hook" to grab the reader.)
Item 2: Killian was a Texas Ranger, as I said before, and was a very good law enforcement officer. He was married to Emily (Lainie's previous incarnation), and was sent off on a mission to Mexico. While there, he got thrown in jail; she waited for a long time, then, (perhaps after being raped and abused herself because her husband was gone -- she lived on the Texas frontier alone), ended up killing herself. That's how John became a villain; he felt like he must be one, because his beloved wife had left him like that. And he blamed himself for being thrown in jail, and couldn't forgive himself.
Both characters are looking for salvation, and in this book, they find it. In each other, granted, but that's what they needed. Both needed a second chance with the other, to be able to love and be loved in return. They get that chance through an unusual twist; they don't want to give it up, yet if Lainie doesn't return to the 20th century, Kelly will be put in foster care -- and Lainie knows all about _that_.
So, she and Killian believe it's a choice between love of parent for child and love for each other, and both make love to each other with a sadness that is palpable. Instead of being joyous, they are miserable; they know this is all they are ever likely to have. Yet, how could they pass it up?
How Ms. Hannah brought off the obligatory happy ending is up to you to find out; I will say that I enjoyed it and found it reasonably realistic. (I still wonder, though, how Killian found the 20th century, what he found to do, how Lainie was able to get him the ID she'd so blithely talked about, and what Kelly thought of him. This book demands a sequel.)
So, even though some of the historical details one of the editorial reviews talked about were missing (Lainie doesn't spend much time on detail; she does talk about what the men wear and a lot about the scenery), this book deserves five stars. For more than one reason; it's not every book that shows that love, even a love like this, can be funny, sexy, sweet, poignant, and sad, all by turns.
Yet love, in real life, _is_ like this. And that is why I'd give "When Lightning Strikes" five stars.
Two more things. The character of Viloula is wonderful; check her out. She might live in the late 1800s, but she's a modern woman indeed, and I believed fully in her characterization. Also, Ms. Hannah is to be commended for how she writes her love scenes; the dialogue and description crackles with life, and it shows exactly how Lainie loses what barriers she has left and surrenders to love. And to herself.
Highly recommended. And by far the best book Ms. Hannah has ever written.