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Glorious Dawn
Out of print for nine years, a classic western romance by the bestselling author of Homeplace and Ribbon in the Sky has been brought back by popular demand. The Macklin ranch seemed to be a refuge for Johanna and her ravaged younger sister--until the cruel rancher forces Johanna to marry his son . . . then Johanna faces overwhelming desire for her new husband.
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 12, 1982
64 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy Garlock
87 books382 followersDorothy Garlock was a best-selling American author of over 60 historical romance novels, most of them set in the American West. More than 20 million copies of her books are in print, in 18 languages. Her books have been on the New York Times best seller list seven times. She was named one of the 10 most popular writers of women's fiction four years in a row, from 1985-1988. In 1997, she was awarded the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award. Garlock is also a member of the Romance Writers Hall of Fame.
Garlock worked as an editor, agent and publicist for most of her writing career. She was a native of Texas who grew up in Oklahoma then married and moved to Iowa. Garlock donated many of her manuscripts and other unpublished writings to the University of Iowa libraries.
Pen names include:
Johanna Phillips
Dorothy Phillips
Dorothy Glenn
Garlock worked as an editor, agent and publicist for most of her writing career. She was a native of Texas who grew up in Oklahoma then married and moved to Iowa. Garlock donated many of her manuscripts and other unpublished writings to the University of Iowa libraries.
Pen names include:
Johanna Phillips
Dorothy Phillips
Dorothy Glenn
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 18, 2022
I first read this book when I was 12 years old. It is a surprise that I am not messed up more than I currently am because this was a disaster.The book has an abundance of every bad thing you can imagine to find in a book from 1982.
Racism✓ Slurs✓ Misogyny✓ Violence✓Insufferable characters✓Explicit sexual assault scenes✓ How did I survive this as a child? Maybe I didn't and I am just a ticking time bomb. There is always that possibility.
The book begins with murder, and the assault of the main character's sister Jacy. This sets the tone for the entire book which is itself one big trigger warning. Our mc is Joanna and for most of the book we see the story unfold through her POV. After the assault on her sister and the murder of their parents, life gets even harder.
Awful is a generous term to describe him. I would call him a monster. In this home she also meets one of his sons- Burr because this book is also a romance. God knows how. What follows after she arrives at this new place is a story that I should have never read once let alone twice. This book made my skin crawl. The characters were either terrible or annoying, and the "romance" made me want to punch something.
Nothing is tackled well especially the sexual assault. A previously mute and depressed Jacy becomes lively and happy again because of Luis(Burr's brother). He is hot and has killer cheekbones which I guess also serve as a potent cure. Life must have been hard back then if these were the books been published. I wouldn't have survived with my sanity intact.
Racism✓ Slurs✓ Misogyny✓ Violence✓Insufferable characters✓Explicit sexual assault scenes✓ How did I survive this as a child? Maybe I didn't and I am just a ticking time bomb. There is always that possibility.
The book begins with murder, and the assault of the main character's sister Jacy. This sets the tone for the entire book which is itself one big trigger warning. Our mc is Joanna and for most of the book we see the story unfold through her POV. After the assault on her sister and the murder of their parents, life gets even harder.
Awful is a generous term to describe him. I would call him a monster. In this home she also meets one of his sons- Burr because this book is also a romance. God knows how. What follows after she arrives at this new place is a story that I should have never read once let alone twice. This book made my skin crawl. The characters were either terrible or annoying, and the "romance" made me want to punch something.
Nothing is tackled well especially the sexual assault. A previously mute and depressed Jacy becomes lively and happy again because of Luis(Burr's brother). He is hot and has killer cheekbones which I guess also serve as a potent cure. Life must have been hard back then if these were the books been published. I wouldn't have survived with my sanity intact.
September 15, 2019
Very intense story with the father overshadowing the son in the un-pc department.
June 11, 2022
I disliked this one. Its a book that starts off with its grimness strongly when we first meet our heroine Johanna when her parents has just been murdered and her sister abducted by mexican bandits.Her sister Jacy is later found traumatized after being raped ,she is also pregnant with the rapists baby and has become mute from the ordeal.
Fast forward and the heroine is working as a singer/guitarplayer in a salon (she is really a teacher but no one will hire her after her sister was "ruined") She is approached by a lawyer who offers her a position as a housekeeper to an old wealthy man living in a secluded valley. Thinking its a better job offer than she had so far she accepts and packs up her sister to go.
On the way there the sister catches the eye of a man and he is very kind to her. They later learn he is the old mans illegitemate son. So they come to the valley and it turns out the old man is horrible and he didnt want a housekeeper. He just wanted a blue-eyed and blond woman to come to the valley to marry his OTHER illegitemate son and have blonde blue eyed grandsons since he hates the thought of his son marrying a Mexican girl.
The heroine then encounters the son,Burr who is a big and rude man and dont want to marry a saloon girl (read prostitute) and definetely not one chosen by his hated father. Well what is Johanna and her sister to do but stay until she can leave the valley in a few months time when the caravan comes through next time.
Things are complicated when her sister Jacy and Luis deepens their relationship and decide to marry. All the while Burr and Johanna fighting and misunderstanding each other culminates in her losing her virginity to him. Now they have to marry each other anyways but they are actually in love deep down,even though he flaunts his mistress in front of her. Charming. All the while there is a subplot with Old Macklin threatening to sell the valley and disinheriting his sons.
Its just a lot to unpack here this is an older romance so I was expecting non-politically correct behavior but I didnt expect the sheer amount of description of women being abused. Did things like this happen back then and happen to even to this day? Yes of course but I thought I was reading a romance and instead we got the rundown about how the old Macklin was scum to pretty much everyone he met. Many of these were women.
Burrs mother was "rescued" by Macklin when her familys caravan was attacked by native americans and then she is raped and abused by him. She completely loses her health and dies after a few years.
Then we get Luis mothers viewpoint and its about the same thing. Then a very young native american girl is raped by that pervert Macklin (for some reason the author thought it appropriate to add that it actually felt good to the girl. WTF?) The native american girl is then taken as the third wife/slave of another man of her tribe and we get a lot of scenes where is she beaten and further sexually abused. Leading up to her nurturing a revenge all these years and finally suceeding to kill Old Macklin. No one is really sad about this.
But the whole book was weighed down by these constant barrages of grim flashbacks.The only thing I can find was nice how the sister Jacy could process her trauma and find a loving relationship with a man after what she went through. The romance between Johanna and Burr I merely found tedious. Apart from the female abuse everything in this book was very lacking in that something that makes it readable and with some strange writing choices made by the author.
The ending of the book is wrapped up by Johanna inheriting the valley,but hold on Old Macklin didnt own the valley it is actually owned already by Burr and Luis...and the man who was wanting to buy the valley was actually an agent of Old Macklins brother who just wanted to reconnect with his brother and nephews. TEH END
Fast forward and the heroine is working as a singer/guitarplayer in a salon (she is really a teacher but no one will hire her after her sister was "ruined") She is approached by a lawyer who offers her a position as a housekeeper to an old wealthy man living in a secluded valley. Thinking its a better job offer than she had so far she accepts and packs up her sister to go.
On the way there the sister catches the eye of a man and he is very kind to her. They later learn he is the old mans illegitemate son. So they come to the valley and it turns out the old man is horrible and he didnt want a housekeeper. He just wanted a blue-eyed and blond woman to come to the valley to marry his OTHER illegitemate son and have blonde blue eyed grandsons since he hates the thought of his son marrying a Mexican girl.
The heroine then encounters the son,Burr who is a big and rude man and dont want to marry a saloon girl (read prostitute) and definetely not one chosen by his hated father. Well what is Johanna and her sister to do but stay until she can leave the valley in a few months time when the caravan comes through next time.
Things are complicated when her sister Jacy and Luis deepens their relationship and decide to marry. All the while Burr and Johanna fighting and misunderstanding each other culminates in her losing her virginity to him. Now they have to marry each other anyways but they are actually in love deep down,even though he flaunts his mistress in front of her. Charming. All the while there is a subplot with Old Macklin threatening to sell the valley and disinheriting his sons.
Its just a lot to unpack here this is an older romance so I was expecting non-politically correct behavior but I didnt expect the sheer amount of description of women being abused. Did things like this happen back then and happen to even to this day? Yes of course but I thought I was reading a romance and instead we got the rundown about how the old Macklin was scum to pretty much everyone he met. Many of these were women.
Burrs mother was "rescued" by Macklin when her familys caravan was attacked by native americans and then she is raped and abused by him. She completely loses her health and dies after a few years.
Then we get Luis mothers viewpoint and its about the same thing. Then a very young native american girl is raped by that pervert Macklin (for some reason the author thought it appropriate to add that it actually felt good to the girl. WTF?) The native american girl is then taken as the third wife/slave of another man of her tribe and we get a lot of scenes where is she beaten and further sexually abused. Leading up to her nurturing a revenge all these years and finally suceeding to kill Old Macklin. No one is really sad about this.
But the whole book was weighed down by these constant barrages of grim flashbacks.The only thing I can find was nice how the sister Jacy could process her trauma and find a loving relationship with a man after what she went through. The romance between Johanna and Burr I merely found tedious. Apart from the female abuse everything in this book was very lacking in that something that makes it readable and with some strange writing choices made by the author.
The ending of the book is wrapped up by Johanna inheriting the valley,but hold on Old Macklin didnt own the valley it is actually owned already by Burr and Luis...and the man who was wanting to buy the valley was actually an agent of Old Macklins brother who just wanted to reconnect with his brother and nephews. TEH END
August 20, 2024
Can make you so mad you could scream but really holds your attention if you're really into historical fiction I liked it
June 13, 2019
This is one of the heaviest historical romances I’ve ever read; there is so much hate and rage expressed that I became overwhelmed with the negative vibes. After thinking on this, I’ve bounced from a score of 4 to 5 stars – several times. This is an incredibly well-written book about things I don’t usually see in romances – prejudice, racism and unbridled hate.
The book opens with the murder of Johanna and Jacy’s parents; then the outlaws cruelly rape Jacy and steal her away. Three days later, the neighbors find Jacy – in shock and speechless.
Because of Jacy’s obvious condition (she’s pregnant and unable to speak), Johanna is having a hard time getting and keeping a job – any job. Finally, a lawyer says he has a job for her in New Mexico. Johanna is to be the housekeeper of a powerful landowner, Mack Macklin.
These are two innocents thrown to the wolves; Mack and his two illegitimate sons, Burr and Luis, hate and rage at each other. However, there is a strong bond between the two sons. Luis is the lover and Burr is the fighter in the family.
Luis is immediately captivated by Jacy – and she with him. He does not look down on her for a pregnancy she could not prevent; he promises that they will be a family and the baby will be theirs.
Love doesn't come so quickly and easily with Johanna and Burr; he has many of his father’s worst habits. Burr can be just as cutting and insulting as his father – and he takes his rage out on Johanna. Now, Johanna is looking for a way out; she is desperately unhappy with Mack and Burr. Johanna is a woman with a strong backbone – but even she finds the two men impossible to live amongst.
All of the characters are fully fleshed-out. The story is action-packed and moves at a rapid pace. This is one of Dorothy Garlock’s earlier works and it packs a wallop.
The book opens with the murder of Johanna and Jacy’s parents; then the outlaws cruelly rape Jacy and steal her away. Three days later, the neighbors find Jacy – in shock and speechless.
Because of Jacy’s obvious condition (she’s pregnant and unable to speak), Johanna is having a hard time getting and keeping a job – any job. Finally, a lawyer says he has a job for her in New Mexico. Johanna is to be the housekeeper of a powerful landowner, Mack Macklin.
These are two innocents thrown to the wolves; Mack and his two illegitimate sons, Burr and Luis, hate and rage at each other. However, there is a strong bond between the two sons. Luis is the lover and Burr is the fighter in the family.
Luis is immediately captivated by Jacy – and she with him. He does not look down on her for a pregnancy she could not prevent; he promises that they will be a family and the baby will be theirs.
Love doesn't come so quickly and easily with Johanna and Burr; he has many of his father’s worst habits. Burr can be just as cutting and insulting as his father – and he takes his rage out on Johanna. Now, Johanna is looking for a way out; she is desperately unhappy with Mack and Burr. Johanna is a woman with a strong backbone – but even she finds the two men impossible to live amongst.
All of the characters are fully fleshed-out. The story is action-packed and moves at a rapid pace. This is one of Dorothy Garlock’s earlier works and it packs a wallop.
October 11, 2008
I love anything that Dorothy Garlock writew. It always makes me wish I had been born in the 1800's!
July 17, 2022
I don't know what is wrong the heroine.
The so called hero does nothing but disrespect, abuse verbally, mentally , emotionally & physically forces his unwanted attention ( kiss) . That she doesn't know much less knows what is going on & takes it out on her instead of his biological father that brought her & her little sister on false pretenses. Instead of acting like an adult and explaining & clearing up everything to her and to his biological father. Helping her with a job as house keeper that was really necessary considering the pigsty they were living but didn't notice because it was always like that. He instead acts like a teenager and plays games and verbally & emotionally abusive. Also, he he lies to her saying that if she doesn't marry him that his father will sell the ranch to land developers and her sister and husband are thrown out in the street. He basically forces her to do it & denigrates while doing it. He doesn't reveal his love til the last half of the final chapter & is amazed that she loves him too. So am I. She must love cold disrespectful man and her sister is the most obtuse person I have ever seen. You don't need to wait till they tell you that your not happy or something wrong when you're seeing it right in front of your face in the same house,ranch & does
nothing. It said he & his half brother went to war and explored a little around the world but nothing compared to the ranch . I guess they never entered a normal clean house.
The so called hero does nothing but disrespect, abuse verbally, mentally , emotionally & physically forces his unwanted attention ( kiss) . That she doesn't know much less knows what is going on & takes it out on her instead of his biological father that brought her & her little sister on false pretenses. Instead of acting like an adult and explaining & clearing up everything to her and to his biological father. Helping her with a job as house keeper that was really necessary considering the pigsty they were living but didn't notice because it was always like that. He instead acts like a teenager and plays games and verbally & emotionally abusive. Also, he he lies to her saying that if she doesn't marry him that his father will sell the ranch to land developers and her sister and husband are thrown out in the street. He basically forces her to do it & denigrates while doing it. He doesn't reveal his love til the last half of the final chapter & is amazed that she loves him too. So am I. She must love cold disrespectful man and her sister is the most obtuse person I have ever seen. You don't need to wait till they tell you that your not happy or something wrong when you're seeing it right in front of your face in the same house,ranch & does
nothing. It said he & his half brother went to war and explored a little around the world but nothing compared to the ranch . I guess they never entered a normal clean house.
May 19, 2021
I am always supper annoyed with old western romances that use the minority woman as the temptress, the unlikable one who is attempting to monopolize the attention of the hero. I heavily dislike how Isabella is used as the foil to the virginal, paradigm of woman, the heroine. It's a trope as old as Peter Pan, where the Native American girl was set up against Wendy, but the hero always ends up choosing the "good" woman.
Annnd im also really miffed that he kept his mistress around after he had sex with the heroine. pretty sure he cheated on her, even if they weren't married yet at that point.
also...uh....what's up with the hero's father making lecherous, sexual comments and looks to the heroine??
Annnd im also really miffed that he kept his mistress around after he had sex with the heroine. pretty sure he cheated on her, even if they weren't married yet at that point.
also...uh....what's up with the hero's father making lecherous, sexual comments and looks to the heroine??
August 12, 2019
Johanna and her sister suffered a brutal incident. Left without their father and mother, she sets out to take care of them. An opportunity is brought up and she decided to take it. Working as a house keeper for the Macklin ranch, proves as a big mistake. Can she and her sister survive?
May 25, 2019
Really liked.
February 16, 2021
I really enjoy reading these books. Read it a few times already and yet still fall in love with it.
May 13, 2023
HAIKU BOOK REVIEW: Glorious Dawn, by Dorothy Garlock
Strong, smart heroine
Stuck with gross, rude cheater makes
me want to throw up.
Strong, smart heroine
Stuck with gross, rude cheater makes
me want to throw up.
June 17, 2025
Excellent
A wonderful story of love and hate with love conquering all. A story of loving and caring no matter the circumstances of ones birth.
A wonderful story of love and hate with love conquering all. A story of loving and caring no matter the circumstances of ones birth.
June 30, 2013
review is from: Glorious Dawn
Talk about characterization! Dorothy Garlock does a fabulous job with the characters in this book.
If the characters are bad, they don't suddenly see the light and become wonderful. Old Mack was a mean old cuss, and he died a mean old cuss and nobody missed him.
Naturally, everyone knew the two main characters would eventually fall in love, but oh wow, the getting there was so darn good. What a love story!
I love Dorothy Garlock's historicals, but this one is at the top of the stack.
Well done, Ms Garlock!
Talk about characterization! Dorothy Garlock does a fabulous job with the characters in this book.
If the characters are bad, they don't suddenly see the light and become wonderful. Old Mack was a mean old cuss, and he died a mean old cuss and nobody missed him.
Naturally, everyone knew the two main characters would eventually fall in love, but oh wow, the getting there was so darn good. What a love story!
I love Dorothy Garlock's historicals, but this one is at the top of the stack.
Well done, Ms Garlock!
July 21, 2014
While this book kept me engaged, the characters and plot weren't so great in hindsight. The premise and characters were fairly reasonable. Sure, I enjoyed most of it, but there were a lot of things that just didn't quite make sense. The romance between Johanna and Burr seemed more like a matter of convenience and lust rather than any true romantic feelings. Marriages have been built on less, but I would have preferred it if the plot of this book had been built on more.
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August 31, 2011loved it as i do all dorothy garlock books.
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May 8, 2012Very, very good!!!!
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March 19, 2014Enjoyed the story
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July 28, 2011it was a sad start but i am very happy to read the happy ending :)
December 16, 2015
An unnecessarily long story.The author could have tighten it.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews