Forever

The Blaines and the McCalls of Crockett, Texas #6

by Ginna Gray

Brawny, blue-eyed builder Reilly McCall was nothing but a shallow skirt-chaser. TV correspondent Amanda Sutherland knew that for sure -- he'd been chasing her forever. But that hardly made him a forever kind of guy. Amanda knew better than to trust a man like Reilly, or any man, with her heart.

But when a real stalker threatened, Amanda found surprising strength behind Reilly's smooth talk. With her world going haywire, Amanda desperately needed something -- someone -- to cling to. Could the charming Texan really be someone she could count on? And could she bring herself to take that ultimate leap of faith?

Genres: Romance, Harlequin

Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1993

About the author

Ginna sold her first novel in 1983, after winning the Golden Heart Award, given by Romance Writers of America for the best unpublished novel in a category. She has been working as a full-time writer ever since. When she finishes her current contracts, Ginna will have written 33 books. She has also given many lectures and writing workshops, and judged in writing contests.

A native Texan, Ginna lived in Houston all her life — until 1993, when she and her husband Brad built their "dream home" and moved to the mountains of Colorado. Ginna also enjoys other creative activities such as oil painting, sewing, sketching, knitting, and needlepoint. "But my first love will always be writing. It is simply part of who I am."

Reviews

[Saly · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favourite book of this series by far because I disliked the heroine a lot. She was insufferable and a shrew and god only knows why the nice-natured hero chased her for two years, then put up with her yo-yo moods and her mocking him and his desire to have a nice simple life. The heroine was stupid about her ambition and treated the hero shabbily at every turn just because her daddy and ex were toads. She was also TSTL refusing to take the threats against her seriously. I wish the hero had dumped her.

[Rappaccini's Daughter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reilly - "There's no reason for you to be jealous or upset. There hasn't been almost from the first."

Amanda - "Reilly.. .what are you saying?"

Reilly - "I'm saying that I haven't made love to another woman since we met."

Amanda stared at him, incredulous. "But... that's been two years!"

Reilly - "Tell me about it," he drawled, his mouth twisting in a wry version of his usual devilish grin.

Reilly - "Aw, Mandy. Sweet Mandy. Don't you understand?" he murmured, and Amanda's entire body tingled with anticipation and fear. "Since we, met, I haven't wanted anyone but you, darlin'. I never will."

--------------------

Hmm, in his brother's book "Building Dreams", Reilly had already met Amanda and been bugging her to go out with him for months when the following scene happened -- Ryan (Reilly's twin brother) goes to Reilly's town house and interrupts Reilly foreplaying with some chick -- shoes off, shirt unbuttoned and halfway out of his jeans, hair mussed, lipstick all over his mouth... And he wasn't happy to be interrupted and neither was the woman. Sounds like he would've gone through with it if Ryan hadn't shown up.

Yes, technically he didn't have full-on sex with anyone since he met Amanda (or so he says), but he's making it sound like it was due to his feelings for her when really it was more a case of coitus interruptus.

And not wanting anyone but her since they met? Seems like he was giving it a good try with Sheila in the previous book.

My point is, this guy is a bit of a liar and that ruined his character for me.

As for Amanda, I didnt like her. She was too abrasive. I don't know why Reilly was so interested in her. I guess it was because she was beautiful and kept rebuffing him, something women didn't usually do.



Bottom line, the hero is a liar (see my spoiler above), also I didn't believe in their romance and just couldn't see these two as being "the one" for each other.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and thought the story was good but there were a couple of things that kept me from loving it. We met the main characters in Building Dreams, Tess & Ryan's story. I've been looking for this book for seemingly, well, forever, to read Amanda and Reilly's story. And, as I said, I enjoyed the basic story. However, I thought it was too obvious who the stalker was from the very beginning and I was proved right. I wish there had been a little more mystery about it. The other thing that I thought was poorly handled (and this surprised me from Gray), was when Reilly broke his hand. I felt the event was needed to push the story along, but then she seemed to forget about it almost as quickly as Amanda did. Reilly should not have been picking Amanda up 30 minutes after they left the hospital. He should not have been in a whirlpool tub with it just "lying on the rim." He would not have gone whitewater rafting that week. These little things bothered me as I thought it could have been a fun addition to the story to actually deal with it. What happens when you wrap it in a plastic bag and then you start to get amorous with it on? Maybe they considered going whitewater rafting but ended up hiking along the river instead. It's a little thing but it kept me from loving this one as much as I have the previous book of the series. Overall, the main characters are still likeable and mostly well-developed. Crusher was a wonderful secondary character in this story--he added a good dose of humor and emotion both.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate not finishing books, and since I usually enjoy Ginna Gray's novels---in spite of all the dated velvet pantsuits, glass-and-chrome coffee tables, and mullets---I'm especially disappointed not to be able to finish this one. But neither the romance nor the mystery are all that compelling, and rather than wait for the heartless heroine to stop abusing her man and/or be responsible about the threats on her life, I decided to put her story down and move on to the next in the series.

[PAINTED BOX]

Brawny, blue-eyed builder Reilly McCall was nothing but a shallow skirt-chaser. TV correspondent Amanda Sutherland knew that for sure -- he'd been chasing her forever. But that hardly made him a forever kind of guy. Amanda knew better than to trust a man like Reilly, or any man, with her heart.

But when a real stalker threatened, Amanda found surprising strength behind Reilly's smooth talk. With her world going haywire, Amanda desperately needed something -- someone -- to cling to. Could the charming Texan really be someone she could count on? And could she bring herself to take that ultimate leap of faith?